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diff --git a/old/67124-0.txt b/old/67124-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5a898fa..0000000 --- a/old/67124-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6654 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Father Thames, by Walter Higgins - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Father Thames - -Author: Walter Higgins - -Release Date: January 7, 2022 [eBook #67124] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Fiona Holmes and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team - at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive/American - Libraries.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FATHER THAMES *** - - - -Transcriber’s Notes. - - -[Illustration: Map of the River Thames from its Source to Windsor] - -[Illustration: Map of the River Thames to Windsor] - - - - -FATHER THAMES - -[Illustration: - -Offices of The Port of London Authority - -_Frontispiece_] - -FATHER THAMES - -[Illustration] - -BY - -WALTER HIGGINS - -WELLS GARDNER, DARTON & CO., LTD. - -3 & 4 PATERNOSTER BUILDINGS, LONDON, E.C. - -[Illustration] - -PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN - - -FATHER THAMES - -BOOK I.—LONDON RIVER. BOOK II.—THE GREAT CITY WHICH THE RIVER MADE. -BOOK III.—THE UPPER RIVER. - -_This book is also issued in separate parts, as above._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - -BOOK I - -LONDON RIVER - -CHAPTER PAGE - -INTRODUCTION: THE RIVER AND ITS VALLEY 1 - -I. LONDON RIVER 15 - -II. THE ESTUARY AND ITS TOWNS 31 - -III. THE MEDWAY AND ITS TOWNS 40 - -IV. GRAVESEND AND TILBURY 52 - -V. THE MARSHES 64 - -VI. WOOLWICH 77 - -VII. GREENWICH 87 - -VIII. THE PORT AND THE DOCKS 101 - - -BOOK II - -THE GREAT CITY WHICH THE RIVER MADE - -I. HOW THE RIVER FOUNDED THE CITY 123 - -II. HOW THE CITY GREW (ROMAN DAYS) 130 - -III. HOW THE CITY GREW (SAXON DAYS) 137 - -IV. HOW THE CITY GREW (NORMAN DAYS) 143 - -V. THE RIVER’S FIRST BRIDGE 147 - -VI. HOW THE CITY GREW (IN THE MIDDLE AGES) 157 - -VII. THE TOWER OF LONDON 166 - -VIII. HOW FIRE DESTROYED WHAT THE RIVER HAD MADE 181 - -IX. THE RIVERSIDE AND ITS PALACES 193 - -X. ROYAL WESTMINSTER—THE ABBEY 209 - -XI. ROYAL WESTMINSTER—THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT 220 - -XII. THE RIVERSIDE OF TO-DAY 227 - - -BOOK III - -THE UPPER RIVER - -I. STRIPLING THAMES 237 - -II. OXFORD 246 - -III. ABINGDON, WALLINGFORD, AND THE GORING GAP 263 - -IV. READING 271 - -V. HOLIDAY THAMES—HENLEY TO MAIDENHEAD 279 - -VI. WINDSOR 285 - -VII. ETON COLLEGE 298 - -VIII. HAMPTON COURT 305 - -IX. KINGSTON 317 - -X. RICHMOND 326 - -XI. RICHMOND TO WESTMINSTER 332 - -INDEX 349 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - -BOOK I - -LONDON RIVER - -CHART OF THE THAMES FROM THE SOURCE TO WINDSOR - -_Front end papers_ - -PORT OF LONDON OFFICES _Frontispiece_ - -PAGE - -HOW THE THAMES WAS MADE 4 - -THE BIRTH OF THE RIVER 8 - -MOUTH OF THE THAMES 16 - -THE NORE LIGHTSHIP 17 - -SHEERNESS 20 - -TRAINING SHIPS OFF GREENHITHE 22 - -LONDON’S GIANT GATEWAY 25 - -THE POOL 27 - -A THAMES-SIDE WHARF 29 - -ROCHESTER CASTLE 48 - -ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL 50 - -GRAVESEND 54 - -A RIVER-SIDE CEMENT WORKS 56 - -TILBURY FORT 58 - -BUGSBY’S REACH 69 - -WOOLWICH 79 - -GREENWICH PARK 88 - -GREENWICH HOSPITAL 94 - -THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY 98 - -DOCKLAND 103 - -DOCKHEAD, BERMONDSEY 107 - -WAPPING AND LIMEHOUSE 109 - -A GIANT LINER 117 - - -BOOK II - -THE GREAT CITY WHICH THE RIVER MADE - -THE THAMES AT LAMBETH, FROM THE AIR 120, 121 - -THE LONDON COUNTY HALL 122 - -ROMAN LONDON (PLAN) 133 - -BASTION OF ROMAN WALL, CRIPPLEGATE CHURCHYARD 135 - -THE CONQUEROR’S MARCH ON LONDON (PLAN) 143 - -OLD LONDON BRIDGE 148 - -AN ARCH OF OLD LONDON BRIDGE 150 - -CHAPEL OF ST. THOMAS BECKET ON THE BRIDGE 152 - -LONDON BRIDGE IN MODERN TIMES 155 - -BAYNARD’S CASTLE BEFORE THE GREAT FIRE 160 - -GROUND PLAN OF THE TOWER 168 - -TRAITOR’S GATE 178 - -THE MONUMENT 182 - -OLD ST. PAUL’S (A.D. 1500) 189 - -THE FLEET RIVER AT BLACKFRIARS (A.D. 1760) 194 - -OLD TEMPLE BAR, FLEET STREET 201 - -THE STRAND FROM THE THAMES (SIXTEENTH CENTURY) 202, 203 - -THE WATER-GATE OF YORK HOUSE 206 - -THE BANQUETING HALL, WHITEHALL 208 - -THE RIVER AT THORNEY ISLAND (PLAN) 210 - -HENRY VII.’S CHAPEL, WESTMINSTER ABBEY 214 - -WESTMINSTER ABBEY 216 - -THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT 221 - -ST. PAUL’S FROM THE SOUTH END OF SOUTHWARK BRIDGE 231 - - -BOOK III - -THE UPPER RIVER - -THE CASTLE KEEP, OXFORD 236 - -THAMES HEAD 238 - -LECHLADE FROM THE FIRST LOCK 240 - -KELMSCOTT MANOR 242 - -MAGDALEN TOWER, OXFORD 252 - -ABINGDON 264 - -THE GATEHOUSE, READING ABBEY 273 - -SONNING 280 - -HENLEY 281 - -DIAGRAM OF THE THAMES VALLEY TERRACES 283 - -WINDSOR CASTLE 286 - -ETON COLLEGE 299 - -HAMPTON COURT, GARDEN FRONT 306 - -KINGSTON 322 - -TEDDINGTON WEIR 324 - -RICHMOND HILL FROM PETERSHAM MEADOWS 327 - -FROM THE TERRACE, RICHMOND 330 - -KEW GARDENS 334 - -PUTNEY TO MORTLAKE (CHAMPIONSHIP COURSE) 338 - -FULHAM PALACE 340 - -RANELAGH 341 - -THE POWER-STATION, CHELSEA 345 - -THE LOLLARDS’ TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE 346 - -CHART OF THE THAMES FROM WINDSOR TO THE NORE _Back end-papers_ - - - - -FATHER THAMES - - -INTRODUCTION - -_The River and its Valley_ - - -England is not a country of great rivers. No mighty Nile winds lazily -across desert and fertile plains in its three and a half thousand miles -course to the sea; no rushing Brahmaputra plunges headlong down its -slopes, falling two or three miles as it crosses half a continent from -icy mountain-tops to tropical sea-board. In comparison with such as -these England’s biggest rivers are but the tiniest, trickling streams. -Yet, for all that, our little waterways have always meant much to the -land. Tyne, Severn, Humber, Trent, Thames, Mersey, Ouse—all these, with -many smaller but no less well-known streams, have played their part in -the making of England’s history; all these have had much to do with the -building up of her commercial prosperity. - -One only of these rivers we shall consider in this book, and that is -old “Father Thames”: as it was and as it is, and what it has meant to -England during two thousand years. In our consideration we shall divide -the River roughly into three quite natural divisions—first, the section -up to the lowest bridge; second, the part just above, the part which -gave the River its chief port and city; third, the upper river. - -However, before we consider these three parts in detail, there is one -question which we might well ponder for a little while, a question -which probably has never occurred to more than a few of us; and that is -this: Why was there ever a River Thames at all? To answer it we must -go back—far, far back into the dim past. As you know, this world of -ours is millions of years old, and like most ancient things it has seen -changes—tremendous changes. Its surface has altered from time to time -in amazing fashion. Whole mountain ranges have disappeared from sight, -and valleys have been raised to make fresh highlands. The bed of the -ocean has suddenly or slowly been thrust up, yielding entirely new -continents, while vast areas of land have sunk deep enough to allow the -water to flow in and create new seas. All this we know by the study of -the rocks and the fossil remains buried in them—that is, by the science -of geology. - -[Illustration: HOW THE THAMES WAS MADE.] - -Now, among many other strange things, geology teaches us that our own -islands were at one time joined on to the mainland of Europe. In those -days there was no English Channel, no North Sea, and no Irish Sea. -Instead, there was a great piece of land stretching from Denmark and -Norway right across to spots miles out beyond the western limits of -Ireland and the northern limits of Scotland. This land, which you will -best understand by looking carefully at the map, p. 4, was crossed by -several rivers, the largest of them one which flowed almost due north -right across what is now the North Sea. This river, as you will see -from the map, was chiefly produced by glaciers of the Alps, and, in -its early stages, took practically the same course as the River Rhine -of these days. As it flowed out across the Dogger district (where now -is the famous Dogger Bank of our North Sea fishermen) it was joined by -a number of tributary rivers, which flowed down eastwards from what -we might call the “back-bone of England”—the range of mountains and -hills which passes down through the centre of our islands. One of these -tributaries was a river which in its early stages flowed along what is -now our own Thames Valley. - -In those days everything was on a much grander scale, and this river, -though only a small tributary of the great main continental river, -was a far wider and deeper stream than the Thames which we know. Here -and there along the present-day river valley we can still see in the -contours of the land and in the various rocks evidences of the time -when this bigger stream was flowing. (Of this we shall read more in -Book III.) Thus things were when there came the great surface change -which enabled the water to flow across wide tracts of land and so form -the British Islands, standing out separately from the mainland of -Europe. - -All that, of course, happened long, long ago—many thousands of years -before the earliest days mentioned in our history books—at a time about -which we know nothing at all save what we can read in that wonderful -book of Nature whose pages are the rocks and stones of the earth’s -surface. - -By the study of these rocks and the fossil remains in them we can -learn just a few things about the life of those days—the strange kinds -of trees which covered the earth from sea to sea, the weird monsters -which roamed in the forests and over the hills. Of _man_ we can learn -very little. We can get some rough idea of when he first appeared in -Britain, and we can tell by the remains preserved in caves, etc., in -some small degree what sort of life he lived. But that is all: the -picture of England in those days is a very dim one. - -How and when the prehistoric man of these islands grew to some sort -of civilization we cannot say. When first he learned to till the soil -and grow his crops, to weave rough clothes for himself, to domesticate -certain animals to carry his goods, to make roads along which these -animals might travel, to barter his goods with strangers—all these are -mysteries which we shall probably never solve. - -Just this much we can say: prehistoric man probably came to a simple -form of civilization a good deal earlier than is commonly supposed. -As a rule our history books start with the year of Cæsar’s coming (55 -B.C.), and treat everything before that date as belonging to absolute -savagery. But there are many evidences which go to show that the -Britons of that time were to some considerable extent a civilized -people, who traded pretty extensively with Gaul (France, that is), and -who knew how to make roads and embankments and, perhaps, even bridges. - -As early man grew to be civilized, as he learned to drain the flooded -lands by the side of the stream and turn them from desolate fens and -marshes to smiling productive fields, and as he learned slowly how to -get from the hillsides and the plain the full value of his labour, so -he realized more and more the possibilities of the great river valley. - - * * * * * - -The Thames flows in what may be regarded as an excellent example of a -river-basin. A large area, no less than six thousand square miles, is -enclosed on practically all sides by ranges of hills, generally chalk -hills, which slope down gently into its central plain; and across -this area, from Gloucestershire to the North Sea, for more than two -hundred miles the River winds slowly seawards, joined here and there by -tributaries, which add their share to the stream as they come down from -the encompassing heights. - -[Illustration: THE BIRTH OF THE RIVER.] - -On the extreme west of the basin lie the Cotswold Hills of -Gloucestershire. Here the Thames is born. The rain which falls on the -hill-tops makes its way steadily into the soil, and is retained there. -Down and down it sinks through the porous limestone and chalk, till -eventually it reaches a layer of impenetrable material—clay, slate, or -stone—through which it can no longer pursue its downward course. Its -only way now is along the upper surface of the stratum of impermeable -material. Thus it comes in time to the places on the hillsides where -the stratum touches the open air (see diagram on p. 8), and there it -gushes forth in the form of springs, which in turn become tiny streams, -some falling westwards down the steep Severn valley, others running -eastwards down the gentler declivity. - -At their northern end the Cotswolds sweep round to join Edge Hill; and -then the hill-wall crosses the uplands of that rolling country which -we call the Central Tableland, and so comes to the long stretch of the -East Anglian Heights, passing almost continuously eastward through -Hertfordshire and North Essex to Suffolk. On the south side the ring of -hills sweeps round by way of the Marlborough Downs, and so comes to the -long scarp of the “North” Downs, which make their way eastwards to the -Kentish coast. - -Within the limits of this ring of hills the valley lies, not perfectly -flat like an alluvial plain, but gently, very gently, undulating, -seldom rising more than two or three hundred feet above sea-level, -save where that great ridge of chalk—the Chiltern-Marlborough -range—straddles right across the basin at Goring. - -Standing on one of the little eminences of the valley we can survey -the scene before us: we can watch the River for many miles winding its -way seawards, and note in all directions the same fertile, flourishing -countryside, with its meadows where the soft-eyed cattle browse on the -rich grass; its warm, brown plough-lands; its rich, golden fields of -wheat, oats, and barley; its pretty orchards and farms close at hand; -its nestling, tidy villages; its little pointed church steeples dotted -everywhere. We can see in the distance, maybe, one or two compact -little towns, for towns always spring up on wide, well-farmed plains, -since the farmers must have proper markets to which to send their -supplies of eggs, butter, cheese, and milk, and proper mills where -their grain may be ground into flour. - -It is a pleasant, satisfying prospect—one which suggests industrious, -thrifty farmers reaping the rich reward of their unsparing labours; -and it is an interesting prospect, too, for this same prosperous -countryside, very little altered during half-a-dozen centuries, has -done much to establish and maintain the position of the Thames as _the_ -great river of England. - -The usefulness of a river to its country depends on several things. In -the first place, it must be able to carry goods—to act as a convenient -highway along which the traffic can descend through the valley towards -the busy places near the mouth. That is to say, it must be navigable to -barges and small boats throughout a considerable portion of its length. -In the second place, there must be the goods to carry. That is to say, -the river must pass through a countryside which can produce in great -quantity things which are needed. In the third place, the chief port of -the river must lie in such a position that it is within comparatively -easy distance of good foreign markets. - -Now let us see how these three conditions apply to the River Thames. - -Firstly, with regard to the goods themselves. If we take our map of -England, and lay a pencil across it from Bristol to the Wash, we -shall be marking off what has been through the greater part of English -history the boundary of the wealthy portion of Britain, for only in -modern times, since the development of the iron and coal fields, and -the discovery that the damp climate of the north was exactly suited to -the manufacture of textiles, has the great industrial North of England -come into being. England in the Middle Ages, and on till a century or -more ago, was an agricultural country; its wealth lay very largely -in what it grew and what it reared; and the south provided the most -suitable countryside for this sort of production. The consequence -was that the Thames flowed right down through the centre of wealthy -England. All round it were the chalk-ranges on which throve the great -herds of long-fleeced sheep that provided the wonderful wool for which -England was famous, and which was in many respects the main source -of her prosperity. In between the hills were the cornfields and the -orchards. And dotted all down the course at convenient points were -thriving towns, each of which could, as it were, drain off the produce -of the area behind it, and so act as a collecting and forwarding -station for the traffic of the main stream. - -The River, too, was quite capable of dealing with the great output, -for it was navigable for barges and small boats as far as Lechlade, a -matter of 150 miles from the mouth, and its tributaries were in most -cases capable of bearing traffic for quite a few miles into the right -and left interior. Moreover, its current at ordinary times was neither -too swift nor too sluggish. - -So that, with the wealth produced by the land and the means of -transport provided by the River, the only things needed to make the -Thames one of Europe’s foremost rivers were the markets. - -Here again the Thames was fortunate in its situation, for its mouth -stood in an advantageous position facing the most important harbours -of Normandy, Flanders, Holland, and Germany, all within comparatively -easy distance, and all of them ready to take our incomparable wool and -our excellent corn in exchange for the things they could bring us. -Moreover, the tides served in such a way that the double tides of the -Channel and the North Sea made London the most easily reached port of -all for ships coming from the south. - -Thus, then, favoured as it was by its natural situation and by its -character, the Thames became by far the most important highway in our -land, and this it remained for several centuries—until the coming of -the railways, in fact. - -Now the River above London counts for very little in our system of -communications. Like all other English waterways, canals and rivers -alike, it has given place to the iron road, notwithstanding the fact -that goods can be carried by water at a mere fraction of the cost of -rail-transport. But our merchants do not seem to realize this; and so -in this matter we find ourselves a long way behind our neighbours on -the Continent. - - - - -LONDON RIVER - - - - -CHAPTER ONE - -_London River_ - - -From its mouth inwards to London Bridge the Thames is not the Thames, -for like many another important commercial stream it takes its name -from the Port to which the seamen make their way, and it becomes to -most of those who use it—London River. - -Now where does London River begin at the seaward side? At the Nore. The -seaward limit of the Port of London Authority is somewhat to the east -of the Nore Light, and consists of an imaginary line stretching from -a point at the mouth of Havingore Creek (nearly four miles north-east -of Shoeburyness on the Essex coast) to Warden Point on the Kent coast, -eight miles or so from Sheerness; and this we may regard quite properly -as the beginning of the River. The opening here is about ten miles -wide, but narrows between Shoeburyness and Sheerness, where for more -practical purposes the River commences, to about six miles. - -Right here at the mouth the River receives its last and most important -tributary—the Medway. - -[Illustration] - -For some miles up the estuary and the lower reaches the character -of the River is such that it is difficult to imagine anything less -interesting, less impressive, less suggestive of what the river -approach to the greatest city in the world should be; for there is -nothing but flat land on all sides, so flat that were not the great -sea-wall in position the whole countryside would soon revert to its -original condition of marsh and fenland. Were we unfamiliar with the -nature of the landscape, a glance at the map would convince us at once, -for in continuous stretch from Sheerness and the Medway we find on -the Kentish bank—Grain Marsh (the Isle of Grain), St. Mary’s Marshes, -Halslow Marshes, Cooling Marshes, Cliffe Marshes, and so on. Nor is -the Essex bank any better once we have left behind the slightly higher -ground on which stand Southend, Westcliff, and Leigh, for the low, flat -Canvey Island is succeeded by the Mucking and East Tilbury Marshes. - -[Illustration: The Nore Lightship. _Where London River joins the Sea._] - -The river-wall, extending right away from the mouth to London on the -Essex side, is a wonderful piece of engineering—man’s continuously -successful effort against the persistence of Nature—a feature strongly -reminiscent of the Lowlands on the other side of the narrow seas. Who -first made this mighty dyke? No one knows. Probably in many places it -is not younger than Roman times, and there are certain things about it -which tend to show an even earlier origin. - -Indeed, so long ago was it made that the mouth and lower parts of the -River must have presented to the various invaders through the centuries -very much the same appearance as they present to anyone entering the -Thames to-day. The Danes in their long ships, prowling round the Essex -and Thanet coasts in search of a way into the fair land, probably saw -just these same dreary flats on each hand, save that when they sailed -unhindered up the River they caught in places the glint of waters -beyond the less carefully attended embankment. The foreign merchants -of the Middle Ages—the men of Genoa and Florence, of Flanders and the -Hanseatic Towns—making their way upstream with an easterly wind and a -flowing tide; the Elizabethan venturers coming back with their precious -cargoes from long and perilous voyages; the Dutch sweeping defiantly -into the estuary in the degenerate days of Charles II.—all these must -have beheld a spectacle almost identical with that which greets our -twentieth-century travellers returning from the East. - -[Illustration: Sheerness on Sea] - -Perhaps, at first sight, one of the most striking things in all this -stretch of the River is the absence of ancient fortifications. True, -we have those at Sheerness, but they were made for the guarding of -the dockyard and of the approach to the important military centre at -Chatham, which lies a few miles up the River Medway. Surely this great -opening into England, the gateway to London, this key to the entire -situation, should have had frowning castles on each shore to call a -halt to any venturesome, invading force. Thus we think at once with our -twentieth-century conception of warfare—forgetting that the cannon of -early days could never have served to throw a projectile more than a -mere fraction of the distance across the stream. - -Not till we pass up the Lower Hope and Gravesend Reaches and come to -Tilbury and Gravesend, facing each other on the two banks, do we reach -anything like a gateway. Then we find Tilbury Fort on the Essex shore, -holding the way upstream. Here, at the ferry between the two towns, the -River narrows to less than a mile in width; consequently the artillery -of ancient days might have been used with something like effectiveness. - -[Illustration: _Training Ships off Greenhithe._ - -“Arethusa” for Homeless Boys - -“Worcester” Nautical Training College] - -From Gravesend westwards the country still lies very low on each bank, -but the monotony is not quite so continuous, for here and there, first -at one side and then at the other, there rise from the widespread -flats little eminences, and on these small towns generally flourish. -At Northfleet and Greenhithe, for instance, where the chalk crops out, -and the River flows up against cliffs from 100 to 150 feet high, there -is by contrast quite a romantic air about the place, and the same may -be said of the little town of Purfleet, which lies four miles up the -straight stretch of Long Reach, its wooded chalk bluffs with their -white quarries very prominent in the vast plain. But, for the most -part, it is marshes, marshes all the way, particularly on the Essex -shore—marshes where are concocted those poisonously unpleasant mixtures -known as “London specials,” the thick fogs which do so much to make -the River, and the Port as well, a particularly unpleasant place at -certain times in winter. When a “London special” is about—that variety -which East Enders refer to as the “pea-soup” variety—the thick, yellow, -smoke-laden mist obscures everything, effectively putting an end to all -business for the time being. - -Passing Erith on the Kent coast, and Dagenham and Barking on the -Essex, we come to the point where London really begins on its -eastward side. From now onwards on each bank there is one long, -winding line of commercial buildings, backed in each case by a vast -and densely-populated area. On the southern shore come Plumstead -and Woolwich, to be succeeded in continuity by Greenwich, Deptford, -Rotherhithe, and Bermondsey; while on the northern side come in -unbroken succession North Woolwich, Canning Town, and Silvertown -(backed by those tremendous new districts—East and West Ham, Blackwall -and Poplar, Millwall, Limehouse, Shadwell, and Wapping). In all the -eleven miles or so from Barking Creek to London Bridge there is -nothing to see but shipping and the things appertaining thereto—great -cargo-boats moving majestically up or down the stream, little tugs -fussing and snorting their way across the waters, wind-jammers of -all sorts and sizes dropping down lazily on the tide, small coastal -steamers, ugly colliers, dredgers, businesslike Customs motor-boats -and River Police launches, vast numbers of barges, some moving -beautifully under their own canvas, some being towed along in bunches, -others making their way painfully along, propelled slowly by their -long sweeps; there is nothing to hear but the noises of shipping—the -shrill cry of the syren, the harsh rattling of the donkey-engines, the -strident shouts of the seamen and the lightermen. Everything is marine, -for this is the Port of London. - -[Illustration: London’s Giant Gateway] - -Here where the River winds in and out are the Docks, those tremendous -basins which have done so much to alter the character of London River -during the last hundred years, that have shifted the Port of London -from the vicinity of London Bridge and the Upper Pool, and placed it -several miles downstream, that have rendered the bascules of that -magnificent structure, the Tower Bridge, comparatively useless things, -which now require to be raised only a very few times in the course of a -day. - -In its course from the mouth inwards to the Port the River is steadily -narrowing. At Yantlet Creek the stream is about four-and-a-half miles -across; but in the next ten miles it narrows to a width of slightly -under 1,300 yards at Coalhouse Point at the upper end of the Lower Hope -Reach. At Gravesend the width is 800 yards, at Blackwall under 400, -while at London Bridge the width at high tide is a little less than 300 -yards. - -[Illustration: THE POOL.] - -Just above and just below the Tower Bridge is what is known as the Pool -of London. Standing on the bridge, taking in the wonderful picture up -and down stream—the wide, filthy London River, with its craft of all -descriptions, its banks lined with dirty, dull-looking wharves and -warehouses, we find it hard to think of this as the River which we -shall see later slipping past Clevedon Woods and Bablock-hythe or under -Folly Bridge at Oxford. Up there all is bright and clean and sunny: -here even on the blithest summer day there is usually an overhanging -pall of smoke which serves to dim the brightest sunshine and add to -the dreariness of the scene. - -Yet, despite its lack of beauty, despite all the drawbacks of its -ugliness and its squalor, this is one of the most romantic places in -all England: a place to linger in and let the imagination have free -rein. What visions these ships call up—visions of the wonderful East -with its blaze of colour and its burning sun, visions of Southern -seas with palm-clad coral islands, visions of the frozen North with -its bleak icefields and its snowy forest lands, visions of crowded -cities and visions of the vast, lonely places of the earth. For these -ordinary-looking ships have come from afar, bearing in their cavernous -holds the wealth of many lands, to be swallowed up by the ravenous maw -of the greatest port in the world. - -[Illustration: Work and Wealth on a Thames-side Wharf.] - -Every minute is precious here. Engines are rattling as the cranes lift -up boxes and bales from the interiors of the ships and deposit them in -the lighters that cluster round their sides. Inshore the cranes are -hoisting the goods from the vessels to the warehouses as fast as they -can. Men are shouting and gesticulating; syrens are wailing out their -doleful cry or screaming their warning note. Everything is hurry and -bustle, for there are other cargoes waiting to take the place of those -now being discharged, and other ships ready to take the berths of those -unloading; and there are tides to be thought of, unless precious hours -are to be wasted. - -It is a fascinating place, is the Pool, and one which never loses its -interest for either young or old. - - - - -CHAPTER TWO - -_The Estuary and its Towns_ - - -Sheppey, on the coast of which is the Warden Point that forms one end -of the Port of London boundary line, is an island, separated from the -mainland of Kent by the Swale. People frequently speak of it as the -“Isle of Sheppey,” but this title is not strictly correct, for the name -Sheppey really includes the word “island.” William Camden, that old -writer on geographical subjects, informs us that “this Isle of Sheepe, -whereof it feedeth mightie great flocks, was called by our ancestours -Shepey—that is, the Isle of Sheepe.” - -Though it is only eleven miles long and five miles broad, this little -island presents within its compass quite a variety of scenery, -especially when the general flatness of the whole area round about -is borne in mind; for, in addition to its riverside marshes, it has -a distinctly hilly ridge, geologically related to the North Downs, -surmounted by a little village rejoicing in the high-sounding name of -Minster-in-Sheppey, wherein at one time was the ancient Saxon “minster” -or “priory” of St. Saxburga. But the oft-repeated words concerning -“prophets” and “honour” apply to this little out-of-the-way corner, for -the men of Kent are wont to say that when the world was made Sheppey -was never finished. - -Naturally, from its situation, right at the entrance to the Thames, -Sheppey always played some considerable part in the warfare of the -lower river. What happened in these parts in very early days we do -not know. We can only conjecture that Celts, coming across from the -mainland of Europe in their frail vessels, found this way into Britain, -and without hindrance sailed up the River to found the tiny settlement -of Llyndin hill: we can only surmise that later some of the Saxons -worked their way guardedly up the wide opening while the main body of -their comrades found other ways into this fair land. Not till the ninth -century do we begin to get any definite record of invasion. Then in -832 we find the Vikings, with their long-boats, hovering about the -mouth of the River, landing in Sheppey and raiding that little island -with its monastery on the hill. They returned in 839; and in 857 they -came with a great fleet of their long-boats—350 of them—in order that -they might advance up the River and make an attack on the city. In 893 -they came yet again, landing either at Milton Creek on the Swale, or -at Milton nearly opposite Tilbury (it is uncertain which); but the men -of London drove them off. So it went on for many years, invasion after -invasion, till the days of Canute, when the River played a very great -part in the warfare, now favouring, now hampering the Danish leaders. - -From the time of the Norman Conquest onwards there was, of course, -nothing in the way of foreign invasions; and the Thames, ceasing to be -a gateway by means of which the stranger might enter England, became -a barrier impeding the progress of the various factions opposing each -other in the national struggles—the War of the Barons, the Wars of the -Roses, and the great Civil War. In these, however, the Thames below -London played no very great part. Not till the days of Charles II., -when the Dutch helped to write such a sorry chapter in our history, did -the Thames again loom large in our military annals. - -Sheerness is, of course, the most famous place on the island, for it -has long been a considerable dockyard and port. The spot on which it -was built was reclaimed from the marshes in the time of the Stuarts, -and was chosen in the days of Charles II. as the situation for a new -dockyard. If we turn up the “Diary” of old Samuel Pepys, the Secretary -of the Admiralty of those days, we shall find under the date of August -18, 1665: “Walked up and down, laying out the ground to be taken in -for a yard to lay provisions for cleaning and repairing of ships, and -a most proper place it is for the purpose;” while on February 27, two -years later, His Majesty was at Sheerness to lay those fortifications -which were destined within less than six months to be destroyed by the -Dutch. - -The other important town in Sheppey is Queenborough, a well-known -packet-station. Originally this was Kingborough, but it was -rechristened by Edward III. in honour of his Queen, Philippa, at the -time when William Wykeham (of whose skill as a builder we shall read in -the chapter on Windsor in Book III.) erected a castle on the spot where -the railway-station now stands. Eastchurch, towards the other end of -the island, developed a splendid flying-ground during the War. - -On the other side of the Medway, forming a peninsula between that river -and the Thames, lies the Isle of Grain—a place which is not an island -and which has nothing whatever to do with grain. It consists of a -marshy promontory with a packet-station, Port Victoria, and a seaplane -base, Fort Grain, and very little else beside. At its western extremity -is the dirty little Yantlet Creek, close to which stands the well-known -“London Stone,” an obelisk set up to mark the point where, prior to the -Port of London Act, ended the power of the Lord Mayor of London in his -capacity as Conservator of the Thames. - -Westwards from Yantlet Creek are great flats out of which rise the -batteries of Shornemead and Cliffe, considerable forts designed to -serve with that of Coalhouse Point, opposite on the Essex shore, as a -defence of the River. They were built in no very remote times, but were -practically never anything else than useless against modern artillery, -and were destined, so later military engineers said, to do more damage -to each other than to any invading foes. - -On the Essex coast, opposite Sheerness, are two famous places, Southend -and Shoeburyness—the one a famous resort for trippers, the other an -important school of artillery. - -Not so very long ago Southend was unheard of. Defoe, who covered the -ground hereabouts pretty thoroughly, makes no mention of it even -as a hamlet; yet to-day it is a flourishing and constantly growing -town—not so much a watering-place nowadays as a rather distant suburb -of London. For here and in the adjacent district of Westcliff, now by -the builders and the trams joined on, and even in Leigh still farther -west, live many of London’s more successful workers, making the -daily journey to and from town. Nor is this surprising, for Southend -is an enterprising borough—one that makes the most of its natural -advantages, and endeavours to cater equally well for the residents and -the casual visitors. Of course, the town will always be associated with -day-trippers from London, folk who come down with their families to get -a “whiff of the briny,” and a taste of the succulent cockles for which -Southend is noted, and to enjoy a ride in one of the numerous boats, or -on the tram that runs along the mile and a half length of Southend’s -vaunted possession, the longest pier in England. And while we laugh -sometimes at these trippers with their ribald enjoyment of strange -scenes, we must admit that they choose a most healthy and enjoyable -place. - -At Shoeburyness, approached by way of the tramcars, things are far more -serious. Cockney joviality seldom gets so far from the pier as this. -Off the land here is a very extensive bank of shallows, and here the -artillerymen carry out their practice, the advantage being that in -such a spot the costly projectiles fired can be recovered and put in -order for future use. - -Canvey Island, which lies tucked away in a little corner to the west -of Leigh, is yet another example of man’s triumph over nature, for it -has veritably been stolen from the waters. It was reclaimed as long -ago as 1622, by one Joas Cropperburgh, who for his labours received -about two thousand of its six thousand acres. And Dutch most assuredly -Canvey is—with quaint Dutch cottages, one of them a six-sided affair, -dated 1621, and set up by the very Dutchmen who came over to construct -the dams, and with Dutch dykes dividing the fields instead of hedges. -Robert Buchanan, in his novel “Andromeda,” wrote of it in these terms: -“Flat as a map, so intermingled with creeks and runlets that it is -difficult to say where water ends and land begins, Canvey Island lies, -a shapeless octopus, right under the high ground of Benfleet and -Hadleigh, and stretches out muddy and slimy feelers to touch and dabble -in the deep water of the flowing Thames. Away across the marshes rise -the ancient ruins of Hadleigh Castle, further eastwards the high spire -and square tower of Leigh Church.” - -At the village of Benfleet, which he mentions, the Danes landed when in -874 they made one of their characteristic raids on the Thames Estuary; -and here they hoarded up the goods filched from the Essex villages till -such time as there should come a wind favourable for the journey home. - -Like various other places on the Estuary and the lower reaches of -the River, Canvey Island has on occasions been proposed as a place -for deep-sea wharves, so that unloading might be carried out without -the journey up river, but so far nothing definite has come of these -suggestions. - - - - -CHAPTER THREE - -_The Medway and its Towns_ - - -From its position right at the entrance to the River the Medway -tributary has always offered a considerable contribution to the defence -of London. Going off as it does laterally from the main stream, the -Medway estuary has acted the part of a remarkably fine flank retreat. -Our forces, driven back at any time to the refuge of the River, could -always split up—part proceeding up the main stream towards London, and -part taking refuge in the protected network of waterways behind Sheppey -and the Isle of Grain. So that the indiscreet enemy, chasing the main -portion of the fleet up the estuary of the River, would always be in -danger of being caught between two fires. Which fact probably accounts -for the tremendous importance with which the Medway has always been -regarded in naval and military circles. - -Passing between the Isle of Grain and Sheppey, and leaving on our -left hand the Swale, in which, so tradition says, St. Augustine -baptized King Ethelbert at Whitsun, 596, and on the other bank Port -Victoria, the packet-station, we find nothing very striking till we -catch sight of Upnor Castle, on the western bank of the river, facing -the Chatham Dockyard Extension. This queer old, grey-walled fortress -with its cylindrical towers, built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, -is not a very impressive place. It does not flaunt its strength from -any impregnable cliff, or even fling defiance from the top of a little -hill. Instead, it lies quite low on the river bank. Yet it has had -one spell of real life as a fortress, a few days of activity in that -inglorious time with which the tributary will ever be associated—the -days of “the Dutch in the Medway,” when de Ruyter and van Ghent came -with some sixty vessels to the Nore and in about two hours laid level -with the ground the magnificent and recently-erected fortifications of -Sheerness. This and the happenings of the next few weeks formed, as -old John Evelyn says in his “Diary,” “a dreadfull spectacle as ever -Englishman saw, and a dishonour never to be wiped off!” - -In the pages of Charles Macfarlane’s story, “The Dutch in the Medway,” -is to be found a most interesting account of these calamitous -days, from which we cull the following extracts: “On the following -morning—the memorable morning of the 12th of June—a very fresh wind -from the north-east blew over Sheerness and the Dutch fleet, and a -strong spring-tide set the same way as the wind, raising and pouring -the waters upward from the broad estuary in a mighty current. And -now de Ruyter roused himself from his inactivity, and gave orders -to his second in command, Admiral van Ghent, to ascend the river -towards Chatham with fire-ships, and fighting ships of various rates. -Previously to the appearance of de Ruyter on our coasts, his Grace of -Albemarle had sunk a few vessels about Muscle Bank, at the narrowest -part of the river, had constructed a boom, and drawn a big iron chain -across the river from bank to bank, and within the boom and chain -he had stationed three king’s ships; and having done these notable -things, he had written to Court that all was safe on the Medway, and -that the Dutch would never be able to break through his formidable -defences. But now van Ghent gave his Grace the lie direct; for, -favoured by the heady current and strong wind, the prows of his ships -broke through the boom and iron chain as though they had been cobwebs, -and fell with an overwhelming force upon the ill-manned and ill-managed -ships which had been brought down the river to eke out this wretched -line of defence. The three ships, the _Unity_, the _Matthias_, and -the _Charles V._, which had been taken from the Dutch in the course -of the preceding year—the _Annus Mirabilis_ of Dryden’s flattering -poem—were presently recaptured and burned under the eyes of the Duke of -Albemarle, and of many thousands of Englishmen who were gathered near -the banks of the Medway. - -“On the following morning (Thursday, the 13th of June) at about ten -o’clock, as the tide was rising, and the wind blowing right up the -river, van Ghent, who had been lying at anchor near the scene of his -yesterday’s easy triumph, unfurled his top-sails, called his men to -their guns, and began to steer through the shallows for Chatham. - -“The mid-channel of the Medway is so deep, the bed so soft, and the -reaches of the river are so short, that it is the safest harbour in the -kingdom. Our great ships were riding as in a wet dock, and being moored -to chains fixed to the bottom of the river, they swung up and down with -the tide. But all these ships, as well as many others of lower rates, -were almost entirely deserted by their crews, or rather by those few -men who had been put in them early in the spring, rather as watchmen -than as sailors; some were unrigged, some had never been finished, and -scarcely one of them had either guns or ammunition on board, although -hurried orders had been sent down to equip some of them and to remove -others still higher up the river out of the reach of danger. - -“It was about the hour of noon when van Ghent let go his anchor just -above Upnor Castle. But his fire-ships did not come to anchor. No! -Still favoured by wind and tide, they proceeded onward, and presently -fell among our great but defenceless ships. The two first of these -fire-ships burned without any effect, but the rest that went upward -grappled the _Great James_, the _Royal Oak_, and the _Loyal London_, -and these three proud ships which, under other names, and even under -the names they now bore, had so often been plumed with victory, lay a -helpless prey to the enemy, and were presently in a blaze. - -“Having burned to the water’s edge the _London_, the _James_, and the -_Royal Oak_, and some few other vessels of less note, van Ghent thought -it best to take his departure. Yet, great as was the mischief he had -done, it was so easy to have done a vast deal more, that the English -officers at Chatham could scarcely believe their own eyes when they saw -him prepare to drop down the river with the next receding tide, and -without making any further effort ... the trumpeters on their quarter -decks playing ‘Loth to depart’ and other tunes very insulting and -offensive to English pride.” - -What shall we say of Chatham, Rochester, and the associated districts -of Stroud and New Brompton? It is difficult, indeed, to find a great -deal that is praiseworthy. They may perhaps still be summed up in Mr. -Pickwick’s words: “The principal productions of these towns appear to -be soldiers, sailors, Jews, chalk, shrimps, officers, and dockyard men.” - -Formerly the view from the heights of Chatham Hill must have been a -splendid one, with the broad Medway and its vast marshlands stretching -away for miles across to the wooded uplands of Hoo. Now it appears -almost as if a large chunk of the crowded London streets had been -lifted bodily and dropped down to blot out the beauties of the -scene, for there is little other to be seen than squalid buildings -huddled together in mean streets, with just here and there a great -chimney-stack to break the monotony of the countless roofs. - -The dockyard at Chatham is much the same as any other dockyard, and -calls for no special description. From its slips have been launched -many brave battleships, right down from the days of Elizabeth to our -own times. Here at all seasons may be seen cruisers, battleships, -destroyers, naval craft of all sorts, dry docked for refitting. All day -long the air resounds to the noise of the automatic riveter, and the -various sounds peculiar to a shipbuilding area. - -For many years the dockyard was associated with the name of Pett, a -name famous in naval matters, and it was on one member of the family, -Peter Pett, commissioner at Chatham, that most of the blame for the -unhappy De Ruyter catastrophe most unjustly fell. Somebody had to be -the scapegoat for all the higher failures, and poor Pett went to the -Tower. But not all people agreed with the choice, as we may see from -these satirical lines which were very popular at the time: - -“All our miscarriages on _Pett_ must fall; His name alone seems fit -to answer all. Whose Counsel first did this mad War beget? Who would -not follow when the Dutch were bet? Who to supply with Powder did -forget Languard, Sheerness, Gravesend and Upnor? _Pett_. _Pett_, the -Sea Architect, in making Ships Was the first cause of all these Naval -slips; Had he not built, none of these faults had bin: If no Creation, -there had been no Sin.” - -[Illustration: Rochester Castle.] - -The river here is a very busy place, and is under certain circumstances -quite picturesque. There is a weird blending of ancient and modern, -of the dimly-comprehended past and the blatant, commercial present, -along Limehouse Reach, with its tremendous coal-hoists, and its smoking -stacks, and its brown-sailed barges and snorting tugs—with the great -masses of Rochester Castle and Cathedral looming out behind it all. - -Limehouse Reach is, indeed, an appropriate name, for all along this -part, especially in the suburbs of Stroud and Frindsbury, the lime and -cement-making industries are carried on extensively. Throughout a great -deal of its length the Medway Valley is scarred by great quarries cut -into the chalk hills; for it is chalk and the river mud, mixed roughly -in the proportion of three to one and then burned in a kiln, which give -the very valuable Portland cement, an invention now about a century old. - -[Illustration: Rochester Cathedral] - -Rochester itself is a quaint old place, standing on the ancient Roman -road from Dover to London, and guarding the important crossing of the -Medway. It can show numbers of Roman remains in addition to its fine -old Norman castle, and its Cathedral with a tale of eight centuries. -The town stands to-day much as it stood when Dickens first described -it in his volumes. The Corn Exchange is still there—“oddly garnished -with a queer old clock that projects over the pavement out of a grave, -red-brick building, as if Time carried on business there, and hung out -his sign;” and so are Mr. Pickwick’s “Bull Hotel,” and the West Gate -(Jasper’s Gateway), and Eastbury House (Nuns’ House) of “Edwin Drood”; -also the famous house of the “Seven Poor Travellers.” - - - - -CHAPTER FOUR - -_Gravesend and Tilbury_ - - -The dreary fenland district which stretches from the Isle of Grain -inland to Gravesend is that so admirably used by Dickens for local -colour in his novel, “Great Expectations.” Some of his descriptions of -the scenery in this place of “mudbank, mist, swamps, and work” cannot -be bettered. - -Here is Cooling Marsh with its quaint, fourteenth-century relic, -Cooling Castle Gatehouse, built at the time of the Peasants’ Revolt, -when the rich folk of the land found it expedient to do little or -nothing to aggravate the peasantry. The builder, Sir John de Cobham, -realizing the danger, saw fit to attach to one of the towers of his -stronghold a plate, to declare to all and sundry that there was in his -mind no thought other than that of protection from some anticipated -foreign incursions. This plate is still in position on the ruin, and -reads: - -“Knowyth that beth and schul be That I am mad in help of the cuntre In -knowyng of whyche thyng Thys is chartre and wytnessynge.” - -According to Dr. J. Holland Rose, the authority on Napoleonic subjects, -it was at a spot somewhere along this little stretch that Napoleon at -the beginning of the last century proposed to land one of his invading -columns. Other columns would land at various points on the Essex and -Kent coasts, and all would then converge on London, the main objective. -In fact, the Thames Estuary was such a vulnerable point that it -occupied a considerable position in the scheme of defence drawn up for -Pitt by the Frenchman Dumouriez. - -Gravesend itself from the River is not by any means an ill-favoured -place, despite its rather commercial aspect. Backed by the sloping -chalk hills, and with a goodly number of trees breaking up the mass -of its buildings, it presents a tolerably picturesque appearance. -Particularly is it a welcome sight to those returning to England after -a long voyage, for it is frequently the first English town seen at all -closely. - -[Illustration: Gravesend] - -At Gravesend the ships, both those going up and those going down, -take aboard their pilots. The Royal Terrace Pier, which is the most -prominent thing on Gravesend river front, is the headquarters of the -two or three hundred navigators whose business it is to pilot ships -to and from the Port of London, or out to sea as far as Dungeness on -the south channel, or Orfordness, off Harwich, on the north channel. -These men work under the direction of a “ruler,” who is an official of -Trinity House, the corporation which was founded at Deptford in the -reign of Henry VIII., and which now regulates lighthouses, buoys, etc. - -Gravesend is famous for two delicacies, its shrimps and its whitebait, -and the town possesses quite a considerable shrimp-fishing fleet. - -As in the Medway Valley, the cement works form a conspicuous feature in -the district round about. In fact, all this stretch, where the chalk -hills crop out towards the River’s edge, has been famous through long -years for the quarrying of chalk and the making of lime, and afterwards -cement. As long ago as Defoe’s time we have that author writing: “Thus -the barren soil of Kent, for such the chalky grounds are esteemed, -make the Essex lands rich and fruitful, and the mixture of earth forms -a composition which out of two barren extremes makes one prolific -medium; the strong clay of Essex and Suffolk is made fruitful by the -soft meliorating melting chalk of Kent which fattens and enriches it.” - -[Illustration: A River-side Cement Works] - -On the Essex coast opposite Gravesend are the Tilbury Docks and the -Tilbury Fort—eloquent reminders of the present and the past. At the -Fort the ancient and the new lie in close proximity, the businesslike -but obsolete batteries of modern times keeping company with the quaint -old blockhouse, which at one time formed such an important point in the -scheme of Thames defence. - -This old Tilbury Fort, with its seventeenth-century gateway, has been -so frequently painted that many folk who have never seen it are quite -familiar with its outline. At the beginning of the fifteenth century -the folk of Tilbury, realizing how vulnerable their settlement was, set -to work to fortify it, and later Henry VIII. built a blockhouse here, -probably on the site of an ancient Roman encampment. This, when the -Spanish Armada threatened, was altered and strengthened by Gianibelli, -the clever Italian engineer. Hither Elizabeth came, and, so tradition -says, made a soul-stirring speech to her soldiers: - -[Illustration: THE GATEHOUSE, TILBURY FORT.] - -“My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that are careful of -our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes -for fear of treachery. But I assure you, I do not desire to live to -distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear. I have -always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest -strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects. -And therefore I am come among you at this time, not as for any -recreation or sport, but being resolved, in the midst of the heat and -the battle, to live or die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, -and for my kingdom, and for my people, my honour and my blood, even in -the dust. I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but -I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England, too; and think -foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare -to invade the borders of my realm. To which, rather than any dishonour -should grow by me, I myself will take up arms; I myself will be your -general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field.” - -She had need to feed them on words, for by reason of her own meanness -and procrastination the poor wretches had empty stomachs, or would -have had if the citizens of London had not loyally come to the -assistance of their soldiers. In any case Elizabeth’s exertion was -quite unnecessary, for the winds and the waves had conspired to do for -England what the Queen’s niggardliness might easily have prevented our -brave fellows from doing. - -An earlier and no less interesting drama was enacted at Tilbury and -Gravesend in the reign of Richard II. Close in the train of that -national calamity, the Black Death, came in not unnatural consequence -the outbreak known as the Peasants’ Revolt. Just a short way east of -Tilbury, at a little village called Fobbing, broke out Jack Straw’s -rising; and almost simultaneously came the outburst of Wat Tyler, when -the Kentish insurgents marched on Canterbury, plundered the Palace, -and dragged John Ball from his prison; then moved rapidly across Kent, -wrecking and burning. At Tilbury and Gravesend these two insurgent -armies met, and thence issued their summons to the King to meet them. -He, brave lad of fifteen, entered his barge with sundry counsellors, -and made his way downstream. How he met the disreputable rabble, and -how the peasants were enraged because he was not permitted to land and -come among them, is a well-known story, as is the furious onslaught on -London which resulted from the refusal. - -Thus far up the River came the Dutch in those terrible days of which -we read in our last chapter. They sailed upstream on the day of their -arrival, firing guns so that the sound was heard in the streets of -London, but they came to a halt slightly below the point where the -barricade, running down into the water from the Essex shore, largely -closed up the waterway, and where the little Fort frowned down on the -intruders. No attempt was made to stay them; indeed, none could have -been made, for while the little blockhouse was well provided with -guns, it was practically without powder; and the invaders could have -proceeded right into the Pool of London without hindrance had they but -known it. However, they were content for the time being with merely -frightening the countryside with their terrible noise. As Evelyn says -in his “Diary” (June 10): “The alarm was so great that it put both -country and city into a panic, fear and consternation, such as I hope I -shall never see more; everybody was flying, none knew why or whither.” -Having done this, the Dutch passed downstream to Sheerness, where their -companions were engaged in destroying the fortifications. How long -they stayed in these parts may be judged by this other extract from -Evelyn, dated seven weeks after (July 29): “I went to Gravesend, the -Dutch fleet still at anchor before the river, where I saw five of His -Majesty’s men-of-war encounter above twenty of the Dutch, in the bottom -of the Hope, chasing them with many broadsides given and returned -towards the buoy of the Nore, where the body of their fleet lay, which -lasted till about midnight.... Having seen this bold action, and their -braving us so far up the river, I went home the next day, not without -indignation at our negligence, and the Nation’s reproach.” - -In 1904 it was proposed in the House of Commons that there should be -made at Gravesend a great barrage or dam, right across the River -Thames, with a view to keeping a good head of water in the stream above -Gravesend, much as the half-tide lock (about which we shall read in -Book III.) does at Richmond. This, the proposers said, would do away -with the cost of so much dredging, and would make the building of -riverside quays a much simpler and more satisfactory matter, for by -it the whole length of river between Gravesend and London would be to -all intents converted into one gigantic dock-basin. It was proposed -that the barrage should have in it four huge locks to cope with the -large amount of shipping, also a road across the top and a railway -tunnel underneath. But many weighty objections were urged, and numerous -difficulties were pointed out, so that the scheme fell through; and so -far the only semblance of a barrage known to Gravesend has been that -which was thrown right across the lower River for defensive purposes -during the Great War. - - - - -CHAPTER FIVE - -_The Marshes_ - - -The stretch between Gravesend and the beginnings of the Metropolis can -scarcely be regarded as an interesting portion of the River. True, -there are one or two places which stand out from the commonplace level, -but for the most part there is nothing much to attract; and certainly -from the point of view of the navigator of big ships there is much in -this stretch to repel, for here are to be found the numerous shoals -which tend to make the passage of the River so difficult. - -Indeed, the problem of the constant filling of the bed of the River -has always been a difficult one with the authorities. The River brings -down a tremendous quantity of material (it is estimated that 1,000 tons -of carbonate of lime pass beneath Kingston Bridge each day), and the -tides bring in immense amounts of sand and gravel. Now, what becomes -of all this insoluble material? It passes on, carried by the stream -or the tidal waters, till it reaches the parts of the River where the -downflowing stream and the incoming sea-water are in conflict, and -so neutralize each other that there is no great flow of water. Then, -no longer impelled, the material sinks to the bottom and forms great -banks of sand, etc., which would in time grow to such an extent that -navigation would be impeded, were not dredgers constantly engaged in -the work of clearing the passage. It was largely this obstacle to -efficient navigation that led to the creation of the great deep-sea -docks at Tilbury. - -Northfleet, formerly a small village straggling up the side of a -chalk hill, is now to all intents a suburb of Gravesend, so largely -has each grown in recent years. Here, officially at any rate, are -situated (about a mile to the west of Gravesend proper) those notorious -Rosherville Gardens which in the middle of last century made Gravesend -famous, and provided Londoners with a plausible reason for a trip down -the River. The gardens were laid out in 1830 to 1835 by one Jeremiah -Rosher, several disused chalk-pits being used for the purpose; and here -the jovial Cockney visitors regaled themselves within quaint little -arbours with tea and the famous Gravesend shrimps, and later danced to -the light of Chinese lanterns till it was time to return citywards from -the day’s high jinks. - -The Dockyard at Northfleet, constructed towards the end of the -eighteenth century, was at one time a place of considerable importance, -for here were built and launched numbers of fine vessels, both on -behalf of the Royal Navy and of the East India Company. Now it has -dwindled to comparative insignificance. Indeed, from a shipping point -of view, the only interest lies in the numerous and familiar tan-sailed -barges of the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers; for Northfleet -is one of the main centres of the cement industry so far as the -Thames-side is concerned—an industry which is in evidence right along -this stretch till the chalk hills end at Greenhithe, the town from -which Sir John Franklin set out in 1845 on his illfated expedition to -the North-West Passage. - -At Grays (or Grays Thurrock, as it is more properly called), on the -Essex bank, are numbers of those curious subterranean chalk caves which -are a feature of most of the chalk uplands on both sides of the River, -and which have caused so much discussion among the archæologists. These -consist of vertical shafts, 3 or 4 feet in diameter, dug down through -anything from 50 to 100 feet of sand into the chalk below, where they -widen out into caves 20 or more feet long. As many as seventy-two of -them have been counted within a space of 4 acres in the Hangman’s Wood -at Grays. What they were for no one can tell. All sorts of things -have been conjectured, from the fabulous gold-mines of Cunobeline to -the smugglers’ refuges of comparatively modern times. One thing is -certain: they are of tremendous age. Probably they were used by their -makers mainly as secret storehouses for grain. They are commonly called -Dene-holes or Dane-holes, and are said to have served as hiding-places -in that hazardous period when the Danes made life in the valley -anything but pleasant. But this, while it may have been true, in no way -solves the mystery of their origin. - -Purfleet, especially from a distance, is by no means unattractive, for -quite close to the station a wooded knoll, quaintly named Botany, rises -from the general flatness, and its greenery, contrasting strongly with -the white of the chalk-pits, lifts the town out of that dreariness, -merging into the positively ugly, which is the keynote of this part -of the River beside the Long and Fiddler’s Reaches. The Government -powder-magazine sets the fashion in beauty along a stretch which -includes lime-kilns, rubbish heaps of all sorts, and various small and -dingy works. Here at Purfleet (and also at Thames Haven, lower down -the River) have in recent years been set down great installations for -the storage of petrol and other liquid fuels—a riverside innovation of -great and increasing importance. - -[Illustration: Bugsby’s Reach] - -To the west of Purfleet lies a vast stretch of flats, known as Dagenham -Marshes, in many places considerably lower than the level of the River -at high tide, but protected from its advances by the great river-wall. -Apparently the wall at this spot must have been particularly weak, -for right through the Middle Ages and onwards we find it recorded -that great stretches of the meadows were laid under water owing to -the irruption of the tidal waters into the wall. There were serious -inundations in 1376, 1380, and 1381, when the landowners combined to -effect repairs. Again in 1594 and 1595 there was a serious failure of -the dyke, with the result that the whole adjacent flats were covered -twice a day. Now, this in itself would not have been so extremely -serious; but the constant passing in and out of the water caused a -deep hole to be washed out just inside the wall, and made the material -bank up and form a bar on the opposite side of the stream. For a -quarter of a century nothing was done, but eventually the Dutchman -Vermuyden was called in, and he repaired the wall successfully. But in -the days of Anne came an even more serious irruption, when the famous -Dagenham breach was formed. One night in the year 1707, owing to the -carelessness of the official in charge, the waters broke the dyke -once more, and swamped an area of a thousand acres or more, doing a -vast deal of mischief. Once again the danger to navigation occurred, -as the gravel, etc., swept out at each tide, formed a shoal half-way -across the River, and fully a mile in length. So dangerous, indeed, -was it that Parliament stepped in to find the £40,000 needed for the -repairs—a sum which the owners of the land could not have found. The -waters were partially drained off, and the bank repaired; but a very -big lake remained behind the wall, and remains to this day, as most -anglers are aware. - -Towards the end of last century a scheme was set on foot for the -construction of an immense dock here, because, it was urged, the -excavations already done by the water would render the cost of -construction smaller. Parliament agreed to the proposal, and it -appeared as if this lonely part of Essex might become a great -commercial centre; but the construction of the Tilbury Docks -effectively put an end to the scheme. Now there is a Dagenham Dock, but -it is merely a fair-sized wharf, engaged for the most part in the coal -trade. - -Barking stands on the River Roding, a tributary which comes down by -way of Ongar from the Hatfield Forest district near Epping, and which, -before it joins the main River, widens out to form Barking Creek, which -was, before the rise of Grimsby, the great fishing harbour. - -Barking is a place of great antiquity, and of great historic interest, -though one would scarcely gather as much from a casual glance at -its very ordinary streets with their commonplace shops and rows of -drab houses—just as one would scarcely gather any idea of the charm -of the Roding at Ongar and above from a glimpse of the slimy Creek. -The town, in fact, goes even so far as to challenge the rival claims -of Westminster and the City to contain the site of the earliest -settlements of prehistoric man along the River valley. And certainly -the earthworks discovered on the north side of the town—fortifications -more than forty acres in extent and quite probably of Ancient British -origin—even if they do not justify the actual claim, at least support -the town in its contention that it is a place of great age. - -Little or nothing is known, however, till we come to the time of the -foundation of its Abbey in the year 670. In that year, perhaps by -reason of its solitude out there in the marshes, the place appealed to -St. Erkenwald, the Bishop of London, as a good place for a monastic -institution, and the great Benedictine Abbey of the Blessed Virgin, the -first English convent for women, arose from the low-lying fenlands, -and started its life under the direction of the founder’s sister, St. -Ethelburgha. - -It was destroyed by the Danes when they ventured up river in the year -870, but was rebuilt by King Edgar, after lying practically desolate -for a century. By the time of the Conquest it had become a place of -very great importance in the land, and to it came William after the -treaty with the citizens of London, and to it he returned when his -coronation was over, and there established his Court till such time as -the White Tower should be finished by the monk Gundulf and his builders. - -Certainly it is a strange commentary on the irony of Time that this -present-day desolation of drab streets should once have been the centre -of fashion, to which came all the nobles in the south of England, -bringing their ladies fair, decked out in gay apparel to appear before -the King. - -In 1376 the Abbey met with its first great misfortune. In that year -Nature conspired to the undoing of man’s great handiwork on the River, -and the tide made a great breach at Dagenham, thereby causing the -flooding of many acres of the Abbey lands, and driving the nuns from -their home to higher ground at Billericay. So much was the prosperity -of the Abbey affected by this disaster that the Convent of the Holy -Trinity, in London, granted the Abbess the sum of twenty pounds -annually (a large sum in those days) to help with the reclaiming of the -land. - -Now of all the fine buildings of the Abbey practically nothing is left. -At the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries it passed into the -King’s hands, and was afterwards sold to Lord Clinton. It has since -gone through many ownerships, but no one has seen fit to preserve it. -So that now practically all we can find is a sadly disfigured gateway -at the entrance to the churchyard. This was at one time referred to -as the “Chapel of the Holy Rood Loft atte Gate,” but the name was -afterwards changed to the more conveniently spoken “Fire-bell Gate.” Of -the actual Abbey buildings nothing remains. - -The London church of All Hallows, Barking, standing at the eastern end -of Tower Street, quite close to Mark Lane Station, bears witness to -the privileges and great power of the nunnery in ancient days, for the -church was probably founded by the Abbey, and certainly the patronage -of the living was in the hands of the Abbess from the end of the -fourteenth century to the time of the suppression of the monasteries. - -Just to the west of the Creek mouth is the outfall of the northern -drainage system of London. Vast quantities of sewage are brought daily, -by means of a gigantic concrete outfall sewer, which passes across -the flats from Old Ford and West Ham to Barking; and there they are -deposited in huge reservoirs covering ten acres of ground. The sewage -passes through four great compartments which together hold thirty-nine -million gallons; and, having been rendered more or less innocuous, is -discharged into the Thames at high tide. This arrangement was one of -the chief objections urged against the great barrage at Gravesend. - - - - -CHAPTER SIX - -_Woolwich_ - - -For many years there was a local saying to the effect that “more wealth -passes through Woolwich than through any other town in the world,” and, -though at first sight this may seem a gross exaggeration, yet when we -remember that Woolwich is in two parts, one on each side of the River, -we can see at once the justice of that claim, for it simply meant that -all the vast traffic to and from the Pool of London went along the -Thames as it flowed between the two divisions of the town. - -To-day as we look at the drab, uninteresting place which occupies the -sloping ground extending up Shooter’s Hill and the riverside extent -from Charlton to Plumstead, we find it difficult to believe that this -was ever a place of such great charm that London folk found in it a -favourite summer-time resort. Yet we have only to turn up the “Diary” -of good old Pepys to read (May 28, 1667): “My wife away down with Jane -and Mr. Hewer to Woolwich, in order to a little ayre, and to lie there -to-night, and so to gather may-dew to-morrow morning, which Mrs. Yarner -hath taught her is the only thing in the world to wash her face with; -and I am contented with it.” - -Of course, in those days Woolwich was in the country, surrounded by -fields and woods, in the latter of which lurked footpads ever ready to -relieve the unwary traveller of his purse. Thus we have Pepys writing -in 1662: “To Deptford and Woolwich Yard. At night, I walked by brave -moonlight with three or four armed men to guard me, to Rotherhithe, -it being a joy to my heart to think of the condition that I was now -in, that people should of themselves provide this for me, unspoke -to. I hear this walk is dangerous to walk by night, and much robbery -committed there”; and again in 1664: “By water to Woolwich, and walked -back from Woolwich to Greenwich all alone; saw a man that had a cudgel, -and though he told me he laboured in the King’s yard, yet, God forgive -me! I did doubt he might knock me on the head behind with his club.” - -[Illustration: Woolwich] - -Even a hundred years ago Woolwich was a comparatively small place, -consisting largely of the one main street, the High Street, with -smaller ways running down to the riverside. Shooter’s Hill was then -merely wild heathland, ill-reputed as the haunt of highwaymen. - -Yet, for all that, Woolwich has been an important place through long -years, for here have existed for centuries various Government factories -and storehouses—at first the dockyards, and afterwards the Arsenal. - -Just when the dockyards were founded it is difficult to say, but it is -generally agreed that it was either at the end of the reign of Henry -VII. or at the beginning of that of Henry VIII. Certain it is that from -the latter’s reign down to the early days of Victoria the dockyard -flourished. From its slips were launched many of the most famous of -the early old “wooden walls of England”—the _Great Harry_ (afterwards -called the _Henry Grace de Dieu_), the _Prince Royal_, the _Sovereign -Royal_, and also many of those made famous by the glorious victories -of Drake and Cavendish, and in the wonderful voyages of Hawkins and -Frobisher. The _Sovereign Royal_, which was launched in the time of -Charles I., was a fine ship of over 1,600 tons burden, and carried -no less than a hundred guns. “This royal ship,” says old Stow, “was -curiously carved, and gilt with gold, so that when she was in the -engagement against the Dutch they gave her the name of the ‘Golden -Devil,’ her guns, being whole cannon, making such havoc and slaughter -among them.” - -With the passing away of the “wooden walls” and the advent of those -huge masses of steel and iron which have in modern times taken the -place of the picturesque old “three-deckers,” Woolwich began to decay -as a Royal dockyard; for it soon became an unprofitable thing to build -at Thames-side, and the shipbuilding industry migrated to towns nearer -to the coalfields and the iron-smelting districts. - -Yet Woolwich continued, and has continued right down to this very day, -its activities as a gun-foundry and explosives factory. Just when -this part of the Royal works was founded we do not know. There is a -story extant (and for years the story was accepted as gospel) to the -effect that the making of the Arsenal was due entirely to a disastrous -explosion at Moorfields in the year 1716. Apparently much of the -Government work in those days was put out to contract, and a certain -factory in the Moorfields area took a considerable share in the work. -On one occasion a very large crowd had assembled to witness the casting -of some new and more up-to-date guns from the metal of those captured -by the Duke of Marlborough. Just as everything was ready, a clever -young Swiss engineer, named Schalch, noticed that the material in the -moulds was wet, and he warned the authorities of the danger. No notice -was taken, the molten metal was poured into the castings, and there was -a tremendous explosion. According to the story, the authorities were so -impressed by the part which Schalch had played in the matter that they -appointed him to take charge of a new Government foundry, and gave him -the choice of a site on which to build his new place, and he chose the -Woolwich Warren, slightly to the east of the Royal Dockyards. This is a -most interesting story, and one with an excellent moral, no doubt—such -a story, in fact, as would have delighted the heart of old Samuel -Smiles; but, unfortunately for its veracity, there have been discovered -at Woolwich various records which prove the existence of the Arsenal -before Schalch was born. - -In normal times the Arsenal provides employment for more than eight -thousand hands, but, of course, in war-time this number is increased -tremendously. During the South African War, for instance, more than -twenty thousand were kept on at full time, and the numbers during the -Great War, when women were called in to assist and relieve the boys and -men, were even greater. - -Of course, we cannot see everything at Woolwich Arsenal. There are -certain buildings in the immense area where strangers are never -permitted to go. In these various experiments are being carried out, -various new inventions tested, and for this work secrecy is essential. -It would never do for a rival foreign Power to get even small details -of a new gun, or explosive, or other warlike device. But still there -is much that can be seen (after permission to visit has been obtained -from the War Office)—remarkable machines which turn out with amazing -rapidity the various parts of cartridges and shells; giant rolling -machines and steam-hammers that fashion the huge blocks of steel, and -tremendous machines that convert them into huge guns; machines by which -gun-carriages and ammunition-waggons are turned out by the dozen. - -Half a century ago there was a great stir at Woolwich when the Arsenal -turned out for the arming of the good ship _Hercules_ a new gun known -as the “Woolwich Infant.” This weapon, which required a fifty-pound -charge of powder, could throw a projectile weighing over two -hundredweights just about six miles, and could cause a shell to pierce -armour more than a foot thick at a distance of a mile. Naturally, folk -in those days thought them terrible weapons. But the “infants” were -soon superseded, for a few years later Woolwich turned out what were -known as “eighty-one-ton guns”—deadly weapons which could fire a shell -weighing twelve hundred pounds. Folk lifted their hands in surprise -at the attainments of those days; but it is difficult to imagine their -amazement if they could have seen our present-day guns firing shells -thirty miles, or the great “Big Bertha,” by means of which the Germans -fired shots from a distance of seventy miles into Paris. - -The tremendous guns of to-day are built up, not cast in moulds all in -one piece, as were those in the early years of the Woolwich foundry. -There is an inner tube and an outer, the latter of which is shrunk -on to the former. The larger tube is heated, and of course the metal -expands. While it is in that condition the other is placed inside, and -the whole thing is lowered by tremendous cranes into a big bath of oil. -The metal contracts again as it cools, and in that way the outer tube -is fixed so tightly against the inner that they become practically one -single tube, but with greatly added strength. The tube is then carried -to a giant lathe, where it receives the rifling on its inner surface. - -When we turn away from Woolwich it is perhaps with something like a -sigh to think that men will spend all this money, and devote all this -time and labour and material, merely in order that they may be able to -blow each other to pieces. - - - - -CHAPTER SEVEN - -_Greenwich_ - - -The history of towns no less than the history of men can tell strange -tales of failure and success. Some have had their era of intoxicating -splendour, have been beloved of kings and commoners alike, have counted -for much in the great struggles with which our tale is punctuated, and -then, their little day over, have shrunk to the merest vestige of their -former glory. Others, unknown and insignificant villages throughout -most of the story, have sprung up, mushroom-like, almost in a night, -and entered suddenly and confidently into the affairs of the nation. - -In the former class must, perhaps, be counted Greenwich. True, it has -not had the disastrous fall, the unspeakable humiliation, of some -English towns—Rye and Winchelsea on the south coast, for instance—yet -over Greenwich now might well be written that word “Ichabod”—“The -glory is departed.” For Greenwich to-day, apart from its two -places of outstanding interest, the Hospital and the Park with its -Observatory, is largely an affair of mean streets, a collection of -tiny, uninteresting shops and drab houses. Yet Greenwich was for long -a place of great fame, to which came kings and courtiers, for here was -that ancient and glorious Palace of Placentia, a strong favourite with -numbers of our monarchs. - -[Illustration: GREENWICH PARK.] - -Really it began its life as a Royal demesne in the year 1443, when the -manor was granted to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, and permission -given for the fortification of the building and enclosing of a park of -two hundred acres. The Duke interpreted his permission liberally, and -erected a new palace, to which he gave the name of Placentia, the House -of Pleasance. He formed the park, and at the summit of the little hill, -one hundred and fifty feet or more above the River, constructed a tower -on the identical spot where the Observatory now stands. On Humphrey’s -death the Crown once more took charge of the property. Edward IV. spent -great sums in beautifying it, so that it was held in the highest esteem -by the monarchs that followed. Henry VII. provided it with a splendid -brickwork river front to increase its comeliness. - -Here, in 1491, was born Henry VIII., and here he married Katherine of -Aragon. Here, too, his daughters, Mary (1515) and Elizabeth (1533), -first saw the light. Edward VI., his pious young son, breathed his last -within the walls. - -In those days the River banks did not present quite the same commercial -aspect as in our own times; the atmosphere was not quite so befouled -by the smoke of innumerable chimneys, the water was not quite so muddy; -and in consequence the journey by water from the City to that country -place, Greenwich, was a little more pleasant. Indeed, it is said that -the view up river from Greenwich Park rivalled that from Richmond Hill -in beauty. In those days all who could went by water, for the River was -the great highway. Then was its surface gay with brightly painted and -decorated barges, threading their way downstream among the picturesque -vessels of that time. - -From Placentia the sovereign could watch the ever-changing but -never-ending pageant of the River, see the many great ships bringing -in the wealth from all known lands, and watch the few journeying forth -in search of lands as yet unknown. Thus on one occasion the occupants -viewed the departure of three shiploads of brave mariners setting forth -to search for a new passage to India by way of the Arctic regions—a -scene which old Hakluyt describes for us: “The greater shippes are -towed downe with boates and oares, and the mariners being all -apparelled in watchet or skie-coloured cloth rowed amaine and made -with diligence. And being come neare to Greenwiche (where the Court -then lay) presently upon the newes thereof the courtiers came running -out and the common people flockt together, standing very thicke upon -the shoare; the privie counsel they lookt out at the windowes of the -court and the rest ran up to the toppes of the towers; and shoot off -their pieces after the manner of warre and of the sea, insomuch that -the toppes of the hilles sounded therewith, the valleys and the waters -gave an echo and the mariners they shouted in such sort that the skie -rang againe with the noyse thereof. Then it is up with their sails, and -good-bye to the Thames.” - -Nor in talking of Greenwich must we forget the famous Ministerial fish -dinners which were for so many years a great event in the life of the -town. This custom arose, it is said, from the coming of the Government -Commissioners to examine Dagenham Breach, when they so enjoyed the -succulent fare set before them that they insisted on an annual -repetition, which function was afterwards transferred to the “Ship” at -Greenwich. - -At the toe of the great horseshoe bend which gives us Millwall and the -Isle of Dogs stands that famous group of buildings known as Greenwich -Hospital, but more correctly styled the Greenwich Naval College. - -This is built on the site of the old Palace. When, following the -Revolution, Charles II. came to the throne, he found the old place -almost past repair, so he decided to pull it down and erect a more -sumptuous one in its place. Plans were accordingly drawn up by the -architect, Inigo Jones, and the building commenced; but only a very -small portion—the eastern half of the north-western quarter—was -completed during his reign. - -It was left to William and Mary, those eager builders, to carry on the -work, which they did with the assistance of Sir Christopher Wren, to -whose powers of architectural design London owes so much. Very little -was done during the life of Queen Mary, but as the idea was hers, -William went on with the work quite gladly, as a sort of memorial to -his wife. - -Of course, a very large sum of money was needed for the erection of -such a place. The King himself provided very liberally—a good deed in -which he was followed by courtiers and private citizens. But quite -a large amount was found in several very interesting ways. Since -the buildings were designed to provide a kind of hospital or asylum -for aged and disabled seamen who were no longer able to provide for -themselves, it was decided to utilize naval funds to some extent. So -money was obtained from unclaimed shares in naval prize-money, from the -fines which captured smugglers had to pay, and from a levy of sixpence -a month which was deducted from the wages of all seamen. Building went -on apace, and (to quote Lord Macaulay) “soon an edifice, surpassing -that asylum which the magnificent Lewis had provided for his soldiers, -rose on the margin of the Thames. Whoever reads the inscription which -runs round the frieze of the hall will observe that William claims -no part in the merit of the design, and that the praise is ascribed -to Mary alone. Had the King’s life been prolonged till the work was -completed, a statue of her who was the real founder of the institution -would have had a conspicuous place in that court which presents two -lofty domes and two graceful colonnades to the multitudes who are -perpetually passing up and down the imperial River. But that part of -the plan was never carried into effect; and few of those who now gaze -on the noblest of European hospitals are aware that it is a memorial of -the virtues of the good Queen Mary, and the great victory of La Hogue.” - -[Illustration: GREENWICH HOSPITAL.] - -In 1705 the preparations were complete, and the first pensioners were -installed in their new home. The place was very successful at the -start, and it grew till at the beginning of the nineteenth century -there were nearly three thousand men residing within the Hospital -walls, and many more boarded out in the town. - -Then through half a century the prosperity of the place began to -decline. The old pensioners died off, and the new ones, as they came -along, for the most part preferred to accept out-pensions and live -where they liked. So that in 1869 it was decided to abandon the place -as an asylum for seamen and convert it into a Royal Naval College, in -which to give training to the officers of the various branches of the -naval services, and also a Naval Museum and a Sailors’ Hospital. - -Perhaps one of the most interesting places in the College is the -Painted Hall, a part of Wren’s edifice, known as King William’s -Quarter. The ceilings of this double-decked dining-hall—the upper part -for officers and the lower for seamen—and the walls of the upper part -are decorated most beautifully with paintings which it took Sir James -Thornhill nineteen years to complete. Around the walls hang pictures -which tell of England’s naval glory—pictures of all sizes depicting our -most famous sea-fights and portraying the gallant sailors who won them. -Naturally Lord Nelson is much in evidence here, and we can see in cases -in the upper hall the very clothes he wore when he received that fatal -wound in the cockpit of the _Victory_—the scene of which is depicted -on a large canvas on the walls; also in cases his pigtail, his sword, -medals, and various other relics. - -The Museum is a fascinating place, for it contains what is practically -a history of our Navy set out, not in words in a dry book, but in -models of ships; and we can study the progress right from the Vikings’ -long-boats, with their rows of oars and their shields hanging all -round the sides, down to the massive super-dreadnoughts of to-day. -Most interesting of all, perhaps, are the great sailing ships—the old -“wooden walls of England”—which did so much to establish and maintain -our position as a maritime nation—the great three-deckers which stood -so high out of the water, and which with their tall masts and gigantic -sails looked so formidable and yet so graceful. There in a case is -the _Great Harry_—named after Henry VIII.—a double-decker of fifteen -hundred tons burden, with three masts, and carrying seventy-two guns. -She was a fine vessel, launched at Woolwich Dockyard in 1515, and was -the first vessel to fire her guns from portholes instead of from the -deck. In another case is the first steam vessel ever used in the Navy -(1830), and a quaint little craft it is. - -This is indeed a splendid collection, and we feel as if we could spend -hours studying these fascinating little models. - -[Illustration: THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY.] - -On the site of Duke Humphrey’s tower in Greenwich Park is the -world-famous Observatory. If you take up your atlas, and look at the -map of the British Isles or the map of Europe, you will see that the -meridian of longitude (or the line running north and south) marked 0° -passes through the spot where Greenwich is shown. This means that all -places in Europe to the right or the left—east or west, that is—are -located and marked by their distance from Greenwich; and, if for no -other reason, this town is because of this fact a very important place -in the world. - -The Observatory was founded in the reign of Charles II. This monarch -had occasion to consult Flamsteed, the astronomer, concerning the -simplifying of navigation, and Flamsteed pointed out to him the need -for a correct mapping-out of the heavens. As a result the Observatory -was built in 1695 in order that Flamsteed might proceed with the work -he had suggested. - -The Duke’s tower was pulled down, and the new place erected; but it -was left to Flamsteed to find his own instruments and pay his own -assistants, all out of a salary of one hundred pounds per annum. -Consequently, he became so poor that when he died in 1719 his -instruments were seized to pay his debts. His successor, Dr. Halley, -another famous astronomer, refitted the Observatory, and some of his -instruments can be seen there now, though no longer in use, of course. - -Few people are allowed inside the Observatory to see all the wonderful -telescopes and other instruments there; but there are several things to -be seen from the outside, notably the time-ball which is placed on the -north-east turret, and which descends every day exactly at one o’clock; -also the electric clock with its twenty-four-hours dial. - - - - -CHAPTER EIGHT - -_The Port and the Docks_ - - -Any person standing on London Bridge a couple of centuries ago would -have observed a scene vastly different from that of to-day. Now we see -the blackened line of wharves and warehouses on the two banks, and up -against them steamers discharging or receiving their cargoes, while out -in the stream a few vessels of medium size and one or two clusters of -barges lie off, awaiting their turn inshore; otherwise the wide expanse -of the stream is bare, save for the occasional craft passing up and -down in the centre of the stream. But in days gone by, as we can tell -by glancing at the pictures of the period, the River was simply crowded -with ships of all kinds, anchored closely together in the Pool, while -barges innumerable plied between them and the shore. - -In very early days only Billingsgate and Queenhithe possessed -accommodation for ships to discharge and receive their cargoes -actually alongside the quay; for the most part ships berthed out in the -stream, and effected the exchange of goods by means of barges. - -Then, as trade increased by leaps and bounds, a number of “legal quays” -were instituted between London Bridge and the Tower, and thither came -the major part of the merchandise. Gradually little docks or open -harbours were cut into the land in order to relieve the congestion of -the quays. Billingsgate was the first of these, and for many years the -most important. Now the dock has for the most part been filled in, and -over it has been erected the famous fish-market, which still carries -on one of the main trades of the little ancient dock. Others were St. -Katherine’s Dock, a tiny basin formed for the landing of the goods of -the monastery which stood hard by the Tower; St. Saviour’s Dock in -Bermondsey on the Surrey side; and Execution Dock close to Wapping Old -Stairs. - -However, with the tremendous growth of trade following the Great Fire -of London, concerning which we shall read in Book II., and with the -growth in the size of vessels and the consequent increase in the -difficulties of navigation, the facilities for loading and unloading -proved totally inadequate, and the merchants were led to protest, on -the grounds that the overcrowding led to great confusion and many -abuses, and for a great number of years they entreated Parliament to -take some action. - -[Illustration: - -DOCKLAND.] - -The coming of the great docks ended the trouble, and also tremendously -changed the Port of London. When the West India Docks were opened -in 1802, ships concerned with the transport of certain articles of -commerce were no longer allowed to lie in the Pool for the purpose of -discharge: they were compelled to go to the particular dock-quays set -aside for their use, and to land there the merchandise they carried. -Thus practically at a stroke of the pen the riverside wharves lost -their entire traffic in such things as sugar, rum, brandy, spices, -and other goods from the West Indies. Similarly, when the East India -Docks were opened all the commerce of the East India Company was -landed there. Thus, gradually, as the various larger docks were made -from time to time, the main business of the Port shifted eastwards to -Millwall, Blackwall, etc. Nor did it stop there. With the coming of -ships larger even than those already catered for, it became necessary -to do something to avoid the passage of the shallow, winding reaches -above Gravesend, and, in consequence, tremendous docks were opened at -Tilbury. So that now vessels of the very deepest draught enter and -leave the docks independent of the tidal conditions, and do not come -within many miles of London Bridge. - -This does not mean that the riverside wharves and warehouses were -rendered useless by the shifting of the Port. So great had been the -congestion that even with the relief of the new docks there was -still—and there always has been—plenty for them to do. To-day there -are miles of private wharves in use: from Blackfriars down to Shadwell -the River is lined with them on both sides all the way; and they share -with the great docks and dock warehouses the vast trade of the Port of -London. - -Let us take a short trip down through dockland, and see what this -romantic place has to show us. We must go by water. That is essential -if we are to see anything at all, for so shut in is the River by tall -warehouses, etc., that we might wander for hours and hours in the -streets quite close to the shore, and yet never catch a glimpse of the -water. - -Leaving Tower Bridge, we find immediately on our left the St. -Katherine’s Docks. These get their name from the venerable foundation -which formerly stood on the spot. This religious house was created and -endowed by Maud of Boulogne, Queen of Stephen, and lasted through -seven centuries down to about a hundred years ago. It survived even -the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which swept away all other London -foundations, being regarded as more or less under the protection of -the Queen. Yet this wonderful old foundation, with its ancient church, -its picturesque cloisters and schools, its quaint churchyard and -gardens—one of the finest mediæval relics which London possessed—was -completely destroyed to make way for a dock which could have been -constructed just as well at another spot. London knows no worse -example of needless, stupid, brutal vandalism! St. Katherine’s Dock -is concerned largely with the import of valuable articles: to it come -such things as China tea, bark, india-rubber, gutta-percha, marble, -feathers, etc. - -London generally is the English port for _tea_: hither is brought -practically the whole of the country’s consumption. During the War -efforts were made to spread the trade more evenly over the different -large ports; but the experiment was far from a success. All the vast -and intricate organization for blending, marketing, distributing, -etc., is concentrated quite close to St. Katherine’s Dock, and in -consequence the trade cannot be managed so effectively elsewhere. The -value of the tea entering the Port of London during 1913, the year -before the War, and therefore the last reliable year for statistics, -was nearly £13,500,000. - -[Illustration: Low water, Dockhead Bermondsey] - -A little below St. Katherine’s, on the Surrey shore, is one of the -curiosities of dockland—a dock which nobody wants. This is St. -Saviour’s Dock, Bermondsey—a little basin for the reception of smaller -vessels. It is disowned by all—by the Port of London Authority, by -the Borough Council, and by the individual firms who have wharves and -warehouses in the vicinity. You see, there is at one part of the dock a -_free_ landing-place, to which goods may be brought without payment of -any landing-dues; and no one wants to own a dock without full rights. -Shackleton’s _Quest_ berthed here while fitting out for its long voyage -south. - -From St. Katherine’s onward for several miles the district on the north -bank is known as Wapping. This was for many years the most marine of -all London’s riverside districts. Adjoining the Pool, it became, and -remained through several centuries, the sojourning-place of “those -who go down to the sea in ships.” Here, at famous Wapping Old Stairs -or one of the other landing-steps which ran down to the water’s edge -at the various quay-ends, Jack said good-bye to his sweetheart as -he jumped into one of the numerous watermen’s boats, and was rowed to -his ship lying out in the stream; here, too, there waited for Jack, -as he came home with plenty of money, all those crimps and vampires -whose purpose it was to make him drunk and rob him of all his worldly -goods. Harbouring, as it did, numbers of criminals of the worst type, -Wapping for many years had a very bad name. Now all that has changed. -The shifting of the Port deprived the sharks of their victims, for -the seamen no longer congregated in this one area: they came ashore -at various points down the River. Moreover, the making of the St. -Katherine and later the London Docks cut out two big slices from the -territory, with a consequent destruction of mean streets. - -[Illustration: - -LIMEHOUSE HOLE.] - -[Illustration: - -ENTRANCE TO WAPPING OLD STAIRS.] - -Close to Wapping Old Stairs was the famous Execution Dock. This was -the spot where pirates, smugglers, and sailors convicted of capital -crimes at sea, were hanged, and left on the foreshore for three tides -as a warning to all other watermen. Now, with the improvements at Old -Gravel Lane, all traces have vanished, and the wrong-doers no longer -make that last wretched journey from Newgate to Wapping, no longer stop -half-way to consume that bowl of pottage for which provision was made -in the will of one of London’s aldermen. - -The goods which enter London Dock are of great variety—articles of food -forming a considerable proportion. - -Limehouse follows on the northern shore, and is perhaps, even more than -Wapping, the marine district of these days. Here, in a place known as -the Causeway, is the celebrated Chinese quarter. Regent’s Canal Dock, -which includes the well-known Limehouse Basin, a considerable expanse -of water, is the place where the Regent’s Canal begins its course -away to the midlands. The chief goods handled at Limehouse Basin were -formerly timber and coal, but since the War this has become the centre -for the German trade. Here are frequently to be seen most interesting -specimens of the northern “wind-jammers.” - -Leaving Limehouse, the River sweeps away southwards towards Greenwich, -and then turns sharply north again to Blackwall. By so doing it forms -a large loop in which lies the peninsula known as the Isle of Dogs—a -place which has been reclaimed from its original marshy condition, and -covered from end to end with docks, factories, and warehouses, save at -the southernmost extremity, where the London County Council have made a -fine riverside garden. In the Isle are to be found the great West India -Docks and the Millwall Docks. The former receive most of the furniture -woods—mahogany, walnut, teak, satin-wood, etc.—and also rum, sugar, -grain, and frozen meat; while the latter receive largely timber and -grain. - -On the Surrey side of the River, practically opposite the West India -and Millwall Docks, are the Surrey Commercial Docks, occupying the -greater portion of a large tongue of land in Rotherhithe. To these -docks come immense quantities of timber, grain, cattle, and hides—the -latter to be utilized in the great tanning factories for which -Bermondsey is famous. - -Blackwall, the last riverside district within the London boundary, is -famous for its tunnel, which passes beneath the bed of the River to -Greenwich. This is but one of a number of tunnels which have been made -beneath the stream in recent years. There is another for vehicles and -passengers passing across from Rotherhithe to Limehouse, while further -upstream are those utilized by the various tube-railways in their -passage from north to south. - -Blackwall has a number of docks, large and small. Among the latter are -several little dry-docks which exist for the overhauling and repairing -of vessels. There was a time when shipbuilding and ship-repairing were -considerable industries on the Thames-side, when even battleships were -built there, and thousands of hands employed at the work; but the trade -has migrated to other dockyard towns, and all that survive now are the -one or two repairing docks at Blackwall and Millwall. - -The Royal Albert and the Victoria Docks come within the confines of -those great new districts, West Ham and East Ham, which have during the -last thirty or forty years sprung up, mushroom-like, from the dreary -flats of East London. Here are such well-known commercial districts as -Silvertown and Canning Town. The former will doubtless be remembered -through many years for the tremendous explosion which occurred there -during the War—an explosion which resulted in serious loss of life and -very great damage to property. It is also famous for several great -factories, notably Messrs. Knight’s soap-works, Messrs. Henley’s cable -and general electrical works, and Messrs. Lyle’s (and Tate’s) sugar -refineries. These places, which employ thousands of hands, are of -national importance. - -Canning Town has to some extent lost its prestige, for it was in -time past the shipbuilding area. Here were situated the great Thames -Ironworks, carrying on a more or less futile endeavour to compete with -the Clyde and other shipbuilding districts. - -This district is, to a large extent, the coal-importing area. Coal is -the largest individual import of the Port of London, as much as eight -million tons entering in the course of a year. The chief articles of -commerce with which the Royal Albert and Victoria Docks are concerned -are: Tobacco, frozen meat, and Japanese productions. - -Vast, indeed, have been the revenues drawn from the various docks. You -see, goods are not entered or dispatched except on payment of various -dues and tolls, and these amount up tremendously. So that the Dock -Companies get so much money from the thirty miles of dockside quays and -riverside wharves that they scarcely know what to do with it, for the -amount they can pay away in dividends to their shareholders is strictly -limited by Act of Parliament. In one year, for instance, so large a -profit was made by the owners of the East and West India Docks that -they used up an enormous sum of money in roofing their warehouses with -sheet copper. - - * * * * * - -In concluding our rapid tour through dockland, it is impossible to -omit a reference to the Customs Officers—those cheery young men who -work in such an atmosphere of unsuspected romance. To spend a morning -on the River with one of them, as he goes his round of inspection of -the various vessels berthed out in the stream, is a revelation. To -visit first this ship and then the other; to see the amazing variety -of the cargoes, the number of different nationalities represented, -both in ships and men; to come into close touch with that strange and -little-understood section of the community, the lightermen, whose work -is the loading of the barges that cluster so thickly round the great -hulls—is to move in a world of dreams. But to go back to the Customs -Offices and see the huge piles of documents relating to each single -ship that enters the port, and to be informed that on an average two -hundred ocean-going ships enter each week, is to experience a rude -awakening from dreams, and a sharp return to the very real matters of -commercial life. - -[Illustration: - -Home From the Indies. A Giant Liner warping into the George V^{th}. -Dock.] - -Nor must we forget the River Police, who patrol the River from Dartford -Creek up as far as Teddington. As we see them in their launches, -passing up and down the stream, we may regard their work as easy; but -it is anything but that—especially at night-time. Then it is that the -river-thieves get to work at their nefarious task of plundering the -valuable cargoes of improperly attended lighters. The River Police must -be ever on the alert, moving about constantly and silently, lurking -in the shadows ready to dash out on the unscrupulous and dangerous -marauders. The headquarters of the River Police are at Wapping, but -there are other stations at Erith, Blackwall, Waterloo, and Barnes. - -In 1903 the question of establishing one supreme authority to deal with -all the difficulties of dockland and take control of practically the -whole of the Port of London was discussed in Parliament, and a Bill -was introduced, but owing to great opposition was not proceeded with. -However, the question recurred from time to time, and in 1908 the Port -of London Act was at length passed. - -This established the Port of London Authority, for the purpose of -administering, preserving, and improving the Port of London. The limits -of the Authority’s power extend from - -Teddington down both sides of the River to a line just east of the Nore -lightship. At its inception the Authority took over all the duties, -rights, and privileges of the Thames Conservancy in the whole of this -area. - - - - -BOOK II - - -[Illustration: - -_Reproduced from photographs by permission of Airco Aerials, Ltd._] - -[Illustration: THE GREAT CITY WHICH THE RIVER MADE - -_Reproduced from photographs by permission of Airco Aerials, Ltd._] - - -[Illustration: THE LONDON COUNTY HALL.] - - - - -THE GREAT CITY WHICH THE RIVER MADE - - - - -CHAPTER ONE - -_How the River founded the City_ - - -England at the time when London first came into being was a very -different place from the well-cultivated country which we know so -well. Where now stretch hundreds of square miles of orderly green -meadows and ploughed fields, divided from each other by trim hedges, -or pretty little copses, or well-kept roads, there was then a vast -dense forest, wherein roamed wolves and other wild animals, and into -which man scarcely dared to penetrate. This stretched from sea to sea, -covering hill and valley alike. Just here and there could be found the -tiny settlements of the native Britons, and in some few cases these -settlements were joined by rough woodland tracks. - -The only real breaks in this widespread covering of green occurred -where the rivers flowed seawards along the valleys. These rivers for -the most part ran their courses in practically the same directions -as at present, but in appearance they were very different from the -rivers we know to-day. No man-made embankments kept them in place in -those days; instead they wandered through great stretches of marsh -and fenland, and spread out into wide, shallow pools here and there -in their courses, so that to cross them was a matter of the greatest -difficulty. - -Such was the Thames when the first “Londoners” formed their tiny -settlement. From the mouth of the River inland for many miles stretched -widespread, impassable marshes; but at one spot—where now stands St. -Paul’s Cathedral—there was a firm gravel bank and a little hill (or -rather two little hills with a stream between), which stood out from -the encompassing wastes. In front of this small eminence stretched a -great lagoon formed by the over-flowing of the River at high tide. This -covered the ground on which have since been built - -Southwark and Lambeth, and stretched southwards as far as the heights -of Sydenham. West of the little hill, running down a deep ravine, -where now is the street called Farringdon Street, was a tributary -river, afterwards known as the Fleet; and beyond that yet another great -marshland stretched away over Westminster, Belgravia, Chelsea, and -Fulham. To the north was the pathless forest. - -This then appealed to the intelligence of a few Ancient Britons as an -ideal spot for a settlement, and so sprang into existence _Llyndin_, -the lake-fortress. - -But that, of course, did not make LONDON, did not raise London to the -position of pre-eminence which it gradually attained, and which it has -held almost without contest through so many centuries. - -Between the time of the formation of this little collection of huts -with its slight protecting stockade and the coming of the Romans much -happened. The Ancient Britons learned to make roads—primitive ones, of -course—and in all probability they learned to make embankments to the -River. Their greatest trade naturally was with Gaul—France, that is—and -also, equally naturally, practically all such trade had to come through -the one most suitable way, the spot which has always, through all the -ages, been the gateway into England—Dover. In the days when sea-going -craft had not reached a high stage of perfection it was necessary to -choose the shortest passage across the channel, and, though no doubt -other ports were used, undoubtedly the bulk of the merchandise came -across the narrow Straits. This meant, without a doubt, an important -road going north-westwards towards the centre of England. - -Now right across the country, from west to east, stretched the great -natural barrier, the River, effectively cutting off all intercourse -between the south of England and the Midlands and north; and at some -place or other this road (afterwards known as Watling Street) had to -cross the barrier. It was inevitable that the spot where this crossing -was effected should be, both from a military and a commercial point -of view, a place of the very greatest importance. In the earliest -days the road skirted the south side of the marshes facing Llyndin, -and passed on to the ford (or ferry) at Westminster, and thence on to -Tyburn. But Llyndin was growing in strength, and the need of a lower -crossing was probably soon felt by the inhabitants of the little hill. -Now lower crossings of the River were by no means simple. As we said -just now, right from the mouth westwards till we reach the spot where -London now stands there was simply a great collection of marshes and -fens. Here and there, on both banks, tiny patches of firmer soil jutted -out from the impassable wastes—the spots where Purfleet and Grays now -stand on the north side, the sites of Gravesend, Greenhithe, Erith, -Woolwich, and Greenwich, on the south side; but in each of these cases -the little gravel bed or chalky bank was faced on the opposite shore by -the dreary flats (an ordinary natural happening caused by the washing -away of the banks, to be seen in any little stream that winds in and -out), so that never was there any possibility of linking up north and -south. - -Only when the little hill at the junction of the River Thames with the -River Lea, somewhere about sixty miles from the open sea, was reached -could any such crossing be made. We said that in the earliest days of -London there was, facing the hill, a great flat which at high tide -became a wide lagoon, stretching southwards to Sydenham. Now this was -quite shallow; moreover, a long tongue of fairly firm gravel ran right -out northwards from the firmer ground till it came to a point nearly -opposite the Llyndin Hill. This firm bed enabled the Britons to lay -down, across the marsh, some sort of a road or causeway joining up with -the main Kent road, and so gave them another lower and practicable -crossing of the River, which, of course, meant a shorter road to the -Midlands and the north. - -This crossing—in all probability a ferry—laid the foundation-stone of -the prosperity of London town, and the building of the first bridge -cemented that foundation. - -Why? Simply because such a bridge, in addition to being a passage -_across_ the River, became a barrier to any passage up and down the -stream. Bridge-building was not at a very advanced stage, and, of -necessity, the arches were small and narrow. This effectively stopped -traffic passing up from the seaward side. On the other hand, the small -arches meant a very great current, and this, with any considerable -tide, rendered the “shooting” of the bridge by smaller boats an -extremely dangerous affair: thus traffic from the landward side came to -a standstill at the bridge. - -This meant that ships, bringing goods up the River from the sea, must -stop at the bridge and discharge their cargoes: also that goods, coming -from inland to go to foreign parts, must of necessity be transhipped -at London. It was inevitable, therefore, that once the bridge was in -position a commercial centre must arise on the spot, and almost certain -that in time a great port would grow into being. So that we may say -quite truly that _the Thames founded London_. - - - - -CHAPTER TWO - -_How the City grew_ (_Roman Days_) - - -Who built the first bridge? We cannot say for certain; but it is fairly -safe for us to assume that the Romans shortly after their arrival in -Llyndin set to work to make a strong wooden military bridge to link up -the town with the important road from Dover. Thousands of Roman coins -have been recovered from the bed of the Thames at this spot, and we -may quite well suppose that the Roman people dropped these through the -cracks as they crossed the roughly constructed bridge. - -This bridge established London once and for all. Previously there had -been the two ferries—that of Thorney (Westminster) and that of Llyndin -Hill, each with its own growing settlement. Either of these rivals -might have developed into the foremost city of the valley. But the -building of the bridge definitely settled the question and caused the -diversion of Watling Street to a course across the bridge, through -the settlement, out by way of what was afterwards Newgate, and on to -Tyburn, where the old way was rejoined. - -Having built the bridge, they set to work to make of London a city, -as they understood it. In all probability it was quite a flourishing -place when they found it. But the Romans had their own thoughts about -building, their own ideas of what a city should be. First, they built -a citadel. The original British stockade stood on the western hummock -of the twin hill, so the Romans chose the eastern height for their -defences. This citadel, or fortress, was a large and powerful one, with -massive walls which extended from where Cannon Street Station now is to -where Mincing Lane runs. Inside it the Roman soldiers lived in safety. - -Gradually, however, the fortress ceased to be necessary, and a fine -town spread out beyond its walls, stretching as far eastwards and -westwards as Nature permitted; that is, to the marshes on the east and -to the Fleet ravine on the west. In this space were laid out fine -streets and splendid villas and public buildings. Along the banks of -the River were built quays and river walls; and trade increased by -leaps and bounds. - -Nor was this all. The Romans, as you have probably read, made -magnificent roads across England, and London was practically the hub -of the series, which radiated in all directions. The old British road -through Kent became the Prætorian Way (afterwards the diverted Watling -Street), and passed through the city to the north and west. Another, -afterwards called Ermyn Street, led off to Norfolk and Suffolk. Yet -another important road passed out into Essex, the garden of England in -those days. - -“How do we know all these things?” you ask. Partly by what Roman -writers tell us, and partly by all the different things which have been -brought to light during recent excavations. When men have been digging -the foundations of various modern buildings in different quarters of -London, they have discovered the remains of some of these splendid -buildings—all of them more or less ruined (for a reason which we shall -see later), but a few in good condition. Fine mosaic pavements have -been laid bare in one or two places—Leadenhall Street for one; and all -sorts of articles—funeral urns, keys, statues, ornaments, domestic -utensils, lamps, etc.—have been brought to light, many of which you can -still see if you take the trouble to visit the Guildhall Museum and the -London Museum. In a court off the Strand may still be seen an excellent -specimen of a Roman bath. - -[Illustration: - -ROMAN LONDON] - -But perhaps the most interesting of all the Roman remains are the -two or three fragments of the great wall, which was not built till -somewhere between the years 350 and 365 A.D. At this time the Romans -had been in occupation for several hundred years, and the city had -spread quite a distance beyond the old citadel walls. The new wall -was a splendid one, twenty feet high and about twelve feet thick, -stretching for just about three miles. It ran along the river front -from the Fleet River to the corner where the Tower stands, inland to -Bishopsgate and Aldersgate, then across to Newgate, where it turned -south again, and came to the River not far from Blackfriars. - -Several fine sections of the ancient structure can still be seen in -position. There is a large piece under the General Post Office yard, -another fine piece in some wine cellars close to Fenchurch Street -Station, a fair piece on Tower Hill, and smaller remnants in Old Bailey -and St. Giles’ Churchyard, Cripplegate. - -[Illustration: BASTION OF ROMAN WALL, CRIPPLEGATE CHURCHYARD.] - -What do these fragments teach us? That things were not all they should -be in London. Instead of being built with the usual care of Roman -masonry, with properly quarried and squared stones, this wall was made -up of a medley of materials. Mixed in with the proper blocks were odd -pieces of buildings, statues, columns from the temples, and memorials -from the burying grounds. Probably the folk of London, feeling that the -power of Rome was waning, were stricken with panic, and so set to work -hurriedly and with such materials as were to hand to put together this -great defence. - -Nor were they unwise in their preparations, for danger soon began to -threaten. From time to time there swooped down on the eastern coasts -strange ships filled with fierce warriors—tall, fair-haired men, -who took what they could lay their hands on, and killed and burned -unsparingly. So long as the Roman soldiers were there to protect the -land and its people, nothing more happened than these small raids. The -strangers kept to the coasts and seldom attempted to penetrate up the -river which led to London. - -But these coast raids only heralded the great storm which was -approaching, for the daring sea-robbers had set covetous eyes on the -fair fields of Britain. - - - - -CHAPTER THREE - -_How the City grew_ (_Saxon Days_) - - -In the year 410 the Romans were compelled to leave Britain. Troubles -had become so great in Rome itself that it was necessary to abandon -all the outlying colonies to their fate. From that moment began a -century and a half of pitiful history for our country. There was now -no properly drilled army to ward off attacks; and the raids of the -“sea-robbers” increased in number and intensity. Saxons, Angles, and -Jutes, they came in vast numbers, gradually working their way inland -from the coast. - -And what happened to Londinium, as the Romans called our city? We do -not know, for there is a great gap in our history; probably it perished -of starvation. We know that little by little the strangers increased -their grip—the Jutes in Kent and Hampshire (and later in Surrey), the -Saxons in Kent, Essex, and Sussex; and that as they did so London was -gradually surrounded. - -Now London was a comparatively large place, with a considerable -population, even after the Romans had gone; and the slow tightening of -the Saxon grip must have meant starvation, for everything London wanted -for its use came from a distance, owing to the impossibility of growing -anything in the surrounding marshy districts. And in the absence of any -reliable account we can only assume that in consequence the inhabitants -little by little deserted the city, and made their way westwards; that -the quays were deserted, the ships rotted at their moorings, the finely -constructed streets were befouled with grass and briars, the splendid -villas fell to pieces, the great wall in places crumbled to ruins. -So that when eventually the Saxons did reach London, after years of -struggle and fierce engagements, their victory was a hollow one. And -there is much to support this assumption, for we find that in their -chronicles the Saxons make practically no mention of the first city -of the land, which they most assuredly would have done had it been -anything other than derelict. Nor did they stay at London when they -arrived. Probably such a place of desolation was of no use to them; -they were not interested in ruined cities; they wanted open ground with -growing crops. So they passed on, and London probably stood silent and -dead for years, the empty skeleton of a city, while Time and Nature -completed the ruin which savage assaulters might otherwise have carried -out. Thus we may conjecture ended the first of London’s three lives. - -When, after a time, things settled down in Britain, a new London -began to rise on the site of the old city. Gradually the folk, mainly -the East Saxons, settled on the outskirts of the deserted city, and, -little by little, they made their way within the old walls; numbers of -the old fugitives crept back to join them; merchants came and patched -up the broken, grass-grown quays; houses were built; and life began -anew. Steadily the progress continued. At first the houses were rough -wattle-and-mud affairs, set down in any fashion on the old sites, but -gradually proper rows of small, timbered houses rose on all sides, -with numbers of little churches dotted here and there. - -Then at the end of the eighth century the old trouble, invasion, began -again. This time it was the Vikings (or Danes), the adventurous spirits -of the fiords of Norway and the coasts of Denmark, men who risked the -terrors of the hungry North Sea that they might plunder the monasteries -and farms of the north and east of England. They, too, found our -country a fair place, after their own cold, forbidding coasts; and the -raids increased in frequency. - -In the year 832 they were at the mouth of the Thames, landing in -Sheppey; and in 839 came their first attempt to sail up the Thames. -They were beaten off this time, but they had learned of a proper entry -to which they might return later. In 851 came their great attempt. With -three hundred and fifty of their long ships they came, sailed right up -the River to London Bridge, stormed and plundered the city. But their -triumph was short-lived, for their army was well beaten at Ockley in -Surrey, as it made its way southward down the Stane Street. - -It seemed as if England and London might be tranquil once more; but -the Vikings came in still greater numbers, and began to winter in our -land instead of returning as had been their custom. The record of -the next twenty years is one of constant harrying, with great armies -marching throughout the countryside—plundering, killing, burning, with -apparently no object. - -When Alfred came to the throne, London was practically a Danish city; -but he soon set to work and drove them out. And, though England -suffered long and often from these foes, from that time onwards, the -fortress being rebuilt, London never again fell to the invaders. When, -eventually, Canute did enter London in 1017, after a considerable but -entirely unsuccessful siege, it was at the invitation of the citizens, -who accepted him as their King. - -Under this wise King followed an era of prosperity for the growing -city. Danish merchants settled within its walls; the wharves were busy -once again; foreign traders sailed up the River to Billingsgate, their -boats laden with wine, cloth, and spices from the East; and so rapidly -London became once more a great commercial centre. Indeed, such was -its size and importance that it paid one-fifth of the whole tax which -Canute levied on the kingdom. - -From this time onward London progressed steadily; and so, too, did -that other city, Westminster, which had sprung into being at another -crossing, a few miles higher up the Thames—one more city made by the -River, as we shall see later on. - - - - -CHAPTER FOUR - -_How the City grew_ (_Norman Days_) - - -The year 1066 was yet another fateful year for the people of England -and the citizens of London. When William of Normandy defeated Harold at -Senlac, near Hastings, many of the English fled to London, prepared to -join the citizens in a stout defence of their great city; but no such -defence was necessary. - -[Illustration: THE CONQUEROR’S MARCH ON LONDON] - -William skirted the dense forest of Andredeswealde, and, striking the -main road at Canterbury, progressed to Southwark, which he destroyed. -Now, good soldier and wise man that he was, William saw that a definite -attack on London would be a difficult matter, and would profit him -nothing. So he set to work to do what others had done before him—to cut -off the city from its supplies. Marching westwards, he made his way to -the crossing at Wallingford, and there reached the north bank of the -River. Striking north-east again, he came soon to Watling Street once -more, and thus cut off all the northern trade. London was in this way -cut off from practically the bulk of its supplies; and the citizens -were glad to make terms before worse things happened. - -Probably the surrender occurred sooner than it might otherwise have -done, by reason of the exceedingly mixed nature of the population. -London counted among its citizens, as we can tell by reference to -the documents of the time, merchants from many different parts of -France—Caen and Rouen in particular—and from Flanders and Germany. - -William kept loyally to the promises which he had made in the treaty, -maintaining the rights of the city, and seeing that the thirty or -forty thousand citizens had the proper protection he guaranteed. True, -he built the great threatening Tower of London, about which we shall -read in another chapter, but it is very probable that even in that the -citizens saw only a strengthening of the old bastions built in former -days for the guarding of the city. - -Practically all our knowledge of London life in Norman days comes to us -from the writings of one FitzStephen, a faithful clerk in the service -of Thomas Becket. FitzStephen, who was present at the Archbishop’s -murder, wrote a life of his master, and prefaced it with a short -account of the city. From his description we learn much of interest. -We gather that, besides the great Cathedral, there were thirteen large -churches and one hundred and twenty-six smaller parish churches; that -the walls protected the city on all sides save the river front, where -they had been pulled down to make room for wharves and stores. Says -FitzStephen: “Those engaged in the several kinds of business, sellers -of various things, contractors for various works, are to be found every -morning in their different districts and shops. Besides there is in -London, on the river bank, among the wines in ships, and in cellars -sold by the vintners, a public food shop; there meats may be found -every day, according to the season, fried and boiled, great and small -fish, coarsest meats for the poor, more dainty for the rich.” He also -has much to tell us about the sports, which included archery, leaping, -wrestling, and football. “In Easter holidays they fight battles on -the water. A shield is hung upon a pole in mid-stream, a boat is made -ready, and in the forepart thereof standeth a youth, who chargeth the -shield with a lance. If so be that he breaketh the lance against the -shield, he hath performed a worthy deed; but if he doth not break his -lance, down he falleth into the water.... To this city, from every -nation under heaven, do merchants delight to bring their goods by -sea.... The only pests of London are the immoderate quaffing of fools -and the frequency of fires.” - - - - -CHAPTER FIVE - -_The River’s First Bridge_ - - -From our point of view, engaged as we are in the study of London’s -River and its influence on the city, perhaps the most interesting thing -that happened in Norman days was the building of the first stone London -Bridge. - -Other bridges there had been from remote times, and these had taken -their part in the moulding of the history of London, but they had -suffered seriously from flood, fire, and warfare. In the year 1090, -for instance, a tremendous storm had burst on the city, and while the -wind blew down six hundred houses and several churches, the flood -had entirely demolished the bridge. The citizens had built another -in its place; but that, too, had narrowly escaped destruction when -there occurred one of those dreadful fires which FitzStephen laments. -The years 1135-6 again had brought calamity, for yet another fire -had practically consumed the entire structure. It had been remade, -however, and had lasted till 1163, when it had been found to be in such -a very bad condition that an entirely new bridge was a necessity. - -[Illustration: OLD LONDON BRIDGE.] - -The new bridge was the conception of one Peter, the priest of a small -church, St. Mary Colechurch, in the Poultry. This clergyman was a -member of a religious body whose special interest was the building -of bridges, in those times regarded as an act of piety. Skilled in -this particular craft, he dreamed of a bridge for London such as his -brother craftsmen were building in the great cities of France; and he -set to work to amass the necessary funds. King, courtiers, common -folk, all responded to his call, and at last, in 1176, he was able to -commence. Unfortunately, he died before the completion of his project, -for it took thirty-three years to build; and another brother, Isenbert, -carried on after him. - -A strange bridge it was, too, when finished; but good enough to last -six and a half centuries. It was in reality a street built across the -River, 926 feet in length, 40 feet wide, and some 60 feet above the -level of high water. Nineteen pointed arches, varying in width from 10 -to 32 feet, upheld its weight over massive piers which measured from 23 -to 36 feet in thickness. So massive were these piers that probably only -about a third of the whole length of the Bridge was waterway. This, -of course, meant that the practice of “shooting” the arches in a boat -was a perilous adventure, for with such narrow openings the current -was tremendous. So dangerous was it that it was usual for timid folk -to disembark just above the Bridge, walk round the end, and re-embark -below, rather than take the risk of being dashed against the -stone-work. Which wisdom was embodied in a proverb of the time—“London -Bridge was made for wise men to go over and fools to go under.” - -[Illustration: AN ARCH OF OLD LONDON BRIDGE: QUEEN ELEANOR BEING STONED -IN 1263.] - -Strangely enough, old London Bridge forestalled the Tower Bridge by -having in its centre a drawbridge, which could be raised to allow -vessels to sail through, much as the bascules of the modern bridge can -be lifted to allow the passage of the great ships of to-day. There were -on each side of the roadway ordinary houses, the upper stories of which -were used for dwellings, while the ground floors acted as shops. In the -middle of the Bridge, over the tenth and largest pier, stood a small -chapel dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury, the youngest of England’s -saints. - -But, even when a stone bridge was erected, troubles were by no means -over. Four years after the completion, in July, 1212, came another -disastrous fire, and practically all the houses, which, unlike the -Bridge itself, were built of timber, were destroyed. In the year 1282 -it was the turn of the River to play havoc. As we said just now, only -about a third of the length was waterway. This condition of things -(avoided in all modern bridges) meant a tremendous pressure of the -current, both at ebb and flow, and an enormous pressure at flood time. -When, in the year mentioned, there came great ice-floods, five arches -were carried away, and “London Bridge was broken down, my fair lady.” -From that time onwards there was a considerable series of accidents -right down to the time of the Great Fire of London, concerning which we -shall read in a later chapter. - -[Illustration: CHAPEL OF ST. THOMAS BECKET.] - -Old London Bridge, during its life, saw many strange happenings. In -1263, for instance, a great crowd gathered, wherever the citizens could -find a coign of vantage, for the Queen, Eleanor of Provence and wife -of Henry III., was passing that way on her journey from the Tower to -Windsor. But this was no triumphal passage, for the Queen was strongly -opposed to the Barons, who were still working for a final settlement -of Magna Charta. Enraged at her action, the people of London waited -till her barge approached the Bridge, and then they hurled heavy stones -down upon it and assailed the Queen with rough words; so that she was -compelled with her attendants to return to the Tower, rather than face -the enraged mob. - -The year 1390 saw yet another queer event. Probably most of you -understand what is meant by a tournament. Well, at this time, there -was much rivalry between the English and Scottish knights, and a tilt -was proposed between two champions, Lord Wells of England and Earl -Lindsay of Scotland. The Englishman, granted choice of ground, chose -by some strange whim London Bridge for the scene of action rather than -some well-known tournament ground. On the appointed day the Bridge -was thronged with folk who had come to witness this unusual contest -in the narrow street. Great was the excitement as the knights charged -towards each other. Three times did they meet in the shock of battle, -and at the third the Englishman fell vanquished from his charger, to be -attended immediately by the gallant Scottish knight. - -[Illustration: LONDON BRIDGE IN MODERN TIMES.] - -The Bridge, as the only approach to the city from the south, was the -scene of many wonderful pageants and processions, as our victorious -Kings came back from their wars with France, or returned to England -with their brides from overseas. Such a magnificent spectacle was the -crossing in state of Henry V. after the great victory of Agincourt -in the year 1415. The battle, as most of you know, took place in -October of that year, and at the end of November the King passed over -the Bridge at the head of his most distinguished prisoners and his -victorious soldiers, amid the tumultuous rejoicing of London’s jubilant -citizens. - -Yet another strange scene was enacted when Wat Tyler, at the head of -his tens of thousands, passed over howling and threatening, after being -temporarily held back by the gates which stood at the south end of the -Bridge. - -So the old Bridge lasted on, living through momentous days, till, in -the year 1832, it was removed to give place to the new London Bridge -which had been erected sixty yards to the westwards. - - - - -CHAPTER SIX - -_How the City grew_ (_in the Middle Ages_) - - -London in that period which we speak of as the Middle Ages was indeed -a remarkable city. Dotted about all over it, north and south, west and -east, were great monasteries and nunneries and churches, for in those -days the Church was a tremendous power in the land; while huddled -together within its confines were shops, houses, stores, palaces, -all set down in a bewildering confusion. Of palaces there was indeed -a profusion; in fact, London might well have been called a City of -Palaces. But they were not arranged in long lines along the banks -of canals, as were those of Venice, nor round fine stately squares, -as in Florence, Genoa, and other famous cities of the Continent. -London’s palaces nestled in the city’s narrow, muddy lanes, between -the warehouses of the merchants and the hovels of the poor. They -paid little or no attention to external beauty, but within they were -splendid structures. - -Now, what did this mean? That the common people of London constantly -came into contact with the great ones of the land. The apprentice, sent -on an errand by his master, might at any moment be held up as Warwick -the King-maker, let us say, emerged from his gateway, followed by a -train of several hundred retainers all decked out in his livery; or the -Queen and her ladies might pass in gay procession to view a tournament -in the fields just north of the Chepe. In that way the citizens learned -right from their earliest day that London was not the only place in -England, that there were other folk in the land, and great ones too, -who were not London merchants and craftsmen. - -This constant reminder that they were simply part and parcel of the -great realm of England did this for the people of London: it made them -keen on politics, always ready to take sides in any national strife. On -the other hand, it gave them great pride. The citizens soon discovered -that, though they were not the only folk in the land, they counted for -much, for whatever side or cause they supported always won in the end. -This, of course, more firmly cemented the position of London as the -foremost spot in the kingdom. - -Very beautiful indeed were some of the palaces, or inns, as they were -quite commonly called. They were in no sense of the word fortresses; -their gates opened straight on to the narrow, muddy lanes without -either ditch or portcullis. Inside there was usually a wide courtyard, -surrounded by the various buildings. Unfortunately the Great Fire and -other calamities have not spared us much whereby we can recall such -palaces to mind. Staple Inn, whose magnificent timbered front is still -one of London’s most precious relics, is of a later date, but possesses -many of the medieval characters. Crosby Hall, in Bishopsgate Street, -was a fine specimen. This was erected in the fifteenth century by a -grocer and Lord Mayor, Sir John Crosby, a man of great wealth; and -for some time it was the residence of Richard III. For many years it -remained to show us the exceeding beauty of a medieval dwelling; but, -alas, that too has gone the way of all the others! A portion of it, the -great Hall, has been re-erected in Chelsea. - -[Illustration: BAYNARD’S CASTLE BEFORE THE GREAT FIRE.] - -Otherwise most of these palaces remain only as a name. Baynard’s -Castle, one of the most famous of all, which stood close to the western -end of the river-wall, lasted for 600 years from the Norman Conquest to -the time of the Great Fire, but it is only remembered in the name of a -wharf and a ward of the city. Coldharbour Palace, which stood in Thames -Street with picturesque gables overhanging the River, passed from a -great place in history down to oblivion. - -So with all the rest of these elaborate, historic palaces, about which -we can read in the pages of Stow, that delightful chronicler of London -and her ways; they either perished in the flames or were pulled down to -make way for hideous commercial buildings. - -London in the Middle Ages passed through a period of great prosperity; -but, at the same time, it suffered terribly through pestilence, famine, -rebellions, and so on. The year 1349 saw a dreadful calamity in the -shape of the “Black Death”—a kind of plague which came over from -Asia. The narrow, dirty lanes, with their stinking, open ditches, the -unsatisfactory water-supply, all caused the dread disease to spread -rapidly; and a very large part of London’s citizens perished. - -Moreover, famine followed in the path of the pestilence which stalked -through the land. So great was the toll of human life throughout -England that there were but few left to work on the land; and London, -which depended for practically all its supplies on what was sent from -afar, suffered severely. Still, despite all these troubles, the Middle -Ages must be regarded as part of the “good old times,” when England -was “merry England” indeed. True, the citizens had to work hard, and -during long hours, but they found plenty of time for pleasure. Those of -you who have read anything of Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” will know -something of the brightness of life in those times, of the holidays, -the pageants and processions, the tournaments, the fairs, the general -merrymaking. - -All of which, of course, was due to good trade. The city which the -River had made was growing in strength. London now made practically -everything it needed, and within its walls were representatives of -practically every calling. As Sir Walter Besant says in his fine book, -“London”: “There were mills to grind the corn, breweries for making -the beer; the linen was spun within the walls, and the cloth made and -dressed; the brass pots, tin pots, iron utensils, and wooden platters -and basins, were all made in the city; the armour, with its various -pieces, was hammered out and fashioned in the streets; all kinds of -clothes, from the leathern jerkin of the poorest to the embroidered -robes of a princess, were made here.... - -“There was no noisier city in the whole world; the roar and the racket -of it could be heard afar off, even at the risings of the Surrey hills -or the slope of Highgate. From every lane rang out, without ceasing, -the tuneful note of the hammer and the anvil; the carpenters, not -without noise, drove in their nails, and the coopers hooped their -casks; the blacksmith’s fire roared; the harsh grating of the founders -set the teeth on edge of those who passed that way; along the river -bank, from the Tower to Paul’s Stairs, those who loaded and those who -unloaded, those who carried the bales to the warehouses, those who -hoisted them up; the ships which came to port and the ships which -sailed away, did all with fierce talking, shouting, quarrelling, and -racket.” - -As we picture the prosperity of those medieval days there comes into -our minds that winding silver stream which made such prosperity -possible, and we seem to see the River Thames crowded with ships from -foreign parts, many of them bringing wine from France, Spain, and other -lands, for wine was one of the principal imports of the Middle Ages, -and filling up the great holds of their empty vessels with England’s -superior wool; others from Italy, laden with fine weapons and jewels, -with spices, drugs, and silks, and all wanting our wool. A few of those -ships in the Pool were laden with _coal_, for in the Middle Ages this -new fuel—sea-coal, as it was called to distinguish it from the ordinary -wood charcoal—made its appearance in London. Nor did London take to -it at first. In the reign of Edward I. the citizens sent a petition, -praying the King to forbid the use of this “nuisance which corrupteth -the air with its stink and smoke, to the great detriment of the health -of the people.” - -But the advantages of the sea-coal rapidly outweighed the disadvantages -with the citizens, and the various proclamations issued by sovereigns -came to nought. Before long several officials were appointed to act as -inspectors of the new article of commerce as it came into the wharves. -The famous Dick Whittington and various other prominent citizens of -London made large fortunes from their coal-boats. - - - - -CHAPTER SEVEN - -_The Tower of London_ - - -London has many treasures to show us, if we take the trouble to look -for them, but it has no relic of the past so perfect as its Tower—a -place which every Briton, especially every Londoner, ought to see and -try to understand. - -If only the Tower’s silent old stones could suddenly gain the power -of speech, what strange tales they would have to tell of the things -which have occurred during their centuries of history—tales of things -glorious and tales of things unspeakably tragic. Though the latter -would easily outweigh the former in number, I am afraid; for this grim -stronghold is a monument to evil rather than to good. - -The Tower has often been spoken of as the _key_ to London, and there is -truth in the saying, for its position is certainly an excellent one. -When William of Normandy descended on England with his great company of -knights and their retainers, he professed to have every consideration -for the people of London, and certainly he treated the citizens quite -fairly according to the terms of the treaty. But, at the same time, he -apparently did not feel any too sure of them, and so he called in the -monk, Gundulf, to erect a fortress, which to all appearances was merely -a strengthening of the fortifications already there, but which in -reality was intended to serve as a constant reminder of the power and -authority of the conquering king. - -The spot chosen was the angle at the eastern corner, just where the -wall turns sharply inland from the River, and no position round London -could have been better chosen. In the first place it guarded London -from the river approach, ready to hold off any enemy venturesome -enough to sail up the Thames to attack the city. But also, and this -undoubtedly was what was in the mind of the Conqueror, it frowned down -on the city. - -A formidable Norman Keep was erected, with walls 15 feet thick, so -strongly built that they stand to-day practically as they stood 900 -years ago, save that stone-faced windows were put in a couple of -centuries ago to take the place of the narrow slits or loopholes which -served for light and ventilation in a fortress of this sort. - -[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF THE TOWER.] - -To understand the Tower of London properly (and we really want some -idea of it before any visit, otherwise it is merely a confusion of -towers and open spaces without any meaning) we must realize that it -consists of three separate lines of defences, all erected at different -times. The innermost, the Keep or White Tower, we have touched upon. -Beyond that, and separated from it by an open space known as the -Inner Ward, is the first wall, with its twelve towers, among them the -Beauchamp Tower, the Bell Tower, the Bloody Tower, and the Wakefield -Tower. Then, beyond that again, and separated by another open space -known as the Outer Ward, is yet another wall; and still beyond is -the Moat, outside everything. So that any attacking army, having -successfully negotiated the Moat, would find itself with the outer wall -to scale and break, and within that another inner wall, 46 feet high. -The garrison, driven back from these two, could even then retire to the -innermost keep, with its walls 15 feet thick, and there hold out for a -great length of time against the fiercest attacks. So that, you will -readily see, the Tower was a fortress of tremendous strength in days -before the use of heavy artillery. - -The outer defences were added to William’s White Tower from time to -time by various monarchs. The first or inner wall, 8 feet thick, begun -in the Conqueror’s days, was added to and strengthened by Stephen, -Henry II., and John. The outer wall and the Moat were completed by -Henry II.; and the Tower thus took its present shape. - -Most of our Sovereigns, from the Conqueror’s time right down to the -Restoration, used the Tower of London. Kings and Queens who were -powerful used it as a prison for their enemies; those who were weak and -feared the people used it as a fortress for themselves. This latter -use of the Tower was particularly instanced in the reign of Stephen—an -illuminating chapter in the story of London. - -Stephen, following the death of Henry I., was elected King by the -Great Council, and duly crowned in London; but the barons soon saw -that he was unfitted for the task of ruling, and they took sides with -the Empress Matilda, hoping thereby to get nearer the independence -they desired. Stephen for a time held his own with the aid of a number -of trusty barons, but in 1139 he offended the Church by his rough -treatment of the Bishops of Lincoln and Salisbury, and his supporters -fell away. Consequently he was compelled in the following year to seek -safety in the Tower, close to his loyal followers, the citizens of -London. - -Now the constable of the Tower in those days was one Geoffrey de -Mandeville, about as unscrupulous and cruel a rascal as could be -imagined. Stephen, to ensure his support, made him Earl of Essex, and -for a time all went well. But when, following Stephen’s defeat and -capture in 1141, the Empress Matilda moved to London to be crowned, -Geoffrey de Mandeville had not the slightest compunction in taking -sides with her, for which he was rewarded by the gift of castles, -revenues, and the office of Sheriff of Essex. But Matilda offended -the citizens of London to such an extent that they drove her from -the city and attacked Mandeville in the Tower. Whereupon Mandeville, -without any hesitation, transferred his allegiance to Maud of Boulogne, -Stephen’s wife, who was rallying his scattered forces—which allegiance -was purchased by making Mandeville the Sheriff of Hertfordshire, -Middlesex, and London, as well. Nothing, however, could serve to make -this treacherous man act straightly, and when later Stephen found him -planning yet another revolt in favour of Matilda, he attacked him -suddenly, took him prisoner, and removed him from all public affairs. - -This chapter in English history is far from showing the English nobles -in a good light, but it is exceedingly interesting as revealing the -extent to which London was beginning to count in the kingdom. - -To-day we enter from the city side by what is known as the Middle -Tower—a renovated and modernized gateway, with a big, stone-carved -Royal Arms above its arch. The name “Middle” strikes us as curious, -seeing that it is the first protection on the landward side, until we -remember or learn that originally there was another Tower, the Lion -Tower, nearer the city (approximately where the refreshment room now -stands) and separated from the Middle Tower by a drawbridge. But the -Lion Tower disappeared many many years ago, and only two of the three -outer defences remain, the Middle Tower and the Byward Tower, the -latter reached by a permanent bridge over the Moat. - -Once through the Byward Gateway and we are between the inner and outer -defences. Leaving on our left the Bell Tower, a strong, irregular, -octagonal tower, which gets its name from the turret whence curfew -bell rings each night, we walk along parallel to the River, past the -frowning gateway of the Bloody Tower on our left, with its low arch -which originally gave the only entrance to the Inner Ward, and on our -right, and exactly opposite, the Traitor’s Gate, the riverside passage -through the outer walls. Skirting the Wakefield Tower, we pass through -a comparatively modern opening, and so come upon the amazing Norman -Keep of William the Conqueror. - -This Keep is not quite square, though it appears to be, and no one of -its four sides corresponds to any other. Its greatest measurements are -from north to south 116 feet, and from east to west 96 feet. Inside, -three cross walls, from 6 to 8 feet thick, divide each floor into three -separate apartments of unequal sizes. It is a building complete in -itself, with everything required for a fortress, a Royal dwelling, and -a prison. Probably, as you walk about the cold, gloomy chambers, you -will say to yourselves that you can understand the fortress and the -prison parts, but that you could never imagine it as a dwelling. But -you must remember that with coverings on the floor and with the bare -walls hung with beautiful tapestries, as was the custom in early days, -and with furniture in position, the apartments must have presented a -much more comfortable appearance. - -The first story, or main floor, was the place where abode the -garrison—the men-at-arms and their officers; and above on the other two -floors were the State apartments—St. John’s Chapel and the Banqueting -Hall on the second story, and the great Council Chamber of the -Sovereign on the third floor. Beneath were great dungeons, terrible -places without light or ventilation, having in those days no entrance -from the level ground, but reached only by that central staircase which -rose from them to the roof. - -In these days the Keep is largely used as an armoury; and we can gain a -fine idea of the different kinds of armour worn in different periods, -and of the weapons used and of the cruel implements of torture. It -also contains several good models of the Tower at different times, and -a short study of these will do much to get rid of the confusion which -most folk feel as they hurry from tower to tower without any general -idea of the place. - -Leaving the ancient Keep, we cross the only wide open space of -the fortress, a paved quadrangle which keeps its antique and now -inappropriate name of Tower Green, where in bygone days some of the -Tower’s most famous prisoners have paraded in solitude on the grass. -Here, marked by a tablet, is the site of the scaffold where died Lady -Jane Grey, Anne Boleyn, Katherine Howard, and other famous prisoners of -State. It is a quiet, moody spot, where the black ravens of the Tower, -as they stand sentinel beneath the sycamore trees, at times seem the -only things in keeping with the sadness of the place. - -To our right is the little Church of St. Peter ad Vinculam, which will -be shown to us by one of the quaintly garbed “Beef-eaters” (if one -can be spared from other duties), the famous Yeomen of the Guard who -still wear the uniform designed in Henry the Eighth’s days. Concerning -this little sanctuary Lord Macaulay wrote: “There is no sadder spot on -earth.... Death is there associated with whatever is darkest in human -nature and in human destiny, with the savage triumph of implacable -enemies, with the inconstancy, the ingratitude, the cowardice of -friends, with all the miseries of fallen greatness and of blighted -fame. Thither have been carried through successive ages, by the rude -hands of gaolers, without one mourner following, the bleeding relics of -men who had been the captains of armies, the leaders of parties, the -oracles of senates, and the ornaments of courts.” - -Close together in a small space before the Altar, raised slightly -above the level of the floor, lie the mortal remains of two Queens, -Anne Boleyn and Katherine Howard, Margaret of Salisbury, last of the -proud Plantagenets, Lord and Lady Rochford, the Dukes of Somerset, -Northumberland, Monmouth, Suffolk, and Norfolk, the Earl of Essex, Lady -Jane Grey, Lord Guilford Dudley, and Sir Thomas Overbury. - -As we pass on and come to the Beauchamp Tower, and later to the Bloody -Tower, we see the tiny prisons where these unfortunates, and many -others, languished in confinement, waiting their tragic end, whiling -away the weary hours by carving quaint inscriptions on the stone walls; -and, in the latter, we are shown the tiny apartment where perished the -little Princes at the instigation of their uncle, Richard III. - -From our point of view there remains just one more thing to consider, -and that is the Tower’s connection with the River. Probably few of us, -as we try to think back through the centuries, realize how important -the Thames was even as a highway. We know from our reading that -London’s streets were narrow, crooked, and of very little use for a -big amount of traffic; yet we do not see in our mind’s eye the great -waterway which everybody, rich and poor, used in those days, alike -for business and pleasure. And, of course, the Tower contributed very -largely to this water traffic, for the King, his nobles, and all who -had business at Westminster, travelled constantly to and fro in the -great painted barges which made the River a gayer and brighter place -than it is in our days. For the purpose of such travellers there was -provided the Queen’s Steps at the Tower Wharf, in order to avoid the -use of the sinister Traitor’s Gate—that low, frowning archway, which -gave entrance from the River, and through which very many famous -persons, innocent and guilty alike, passed to their doom, brought -thither by water at the behest of the Sovereign. - -[Illustration: TRAITOR’S GATE.] - -According to John Stow, who wrote in Elizabeth’s reign, the Tower -was then “a citadel to defend or command the city; a royal palace -for assemblies or treaties; a prison of state for the most dangerous -offenders; the only place of coinage for all England at this time; the -armoury for warlike provision; the treasury of the ornaments and jewels -of the Crown; and general conserver of most records of the King’s -courts of justice at Westminster.” All that is changed now. The Tower -has long since ceased to be a Royal residence. As a defence of the city -it would not last more than a few minutes against modern artillery. -Save for the period of the great war, when it held the bodies of -numerous spies and traitors and saw the execution of several, it has -for many years given up its claim to be a prison. The records which -filled the little Chapel of St. John have now been moved to the Record -Office, and the making of money goes on at the Mint just across the -road. The Crown Jewels still find a home here, in the Wakefield Tower, -the prison where Henry VI. came to his violent end. Yet, despite all -these changes, the fortress is still the Tower of London—perhaps the -city’s most fascinating relic. - - - - -CHAPTER EIGHT - -_How Fire destroyed what the River had made_ - - -Leaving the Tower by the Byward Gate, and passing along Great Tower -Street and Eastcheap, we come to the spot - -“Where London’s column pointing to the skies, Like a tall bully, lifts -its head and lies.” - -This is, of course, the Monument, which for many years indicated to -all and sundry that the Great Fire of 1666 was the work of the Roman -Catholics. Till the year 1831 the inscription, added in 1681 at the -time of the Titus Oates affair, perpetuated the lie in stone, but in -that year it was removed by the City Council. Now the gilt urn with -its flames, which we can see well if we ascend the 345 steps to the -iron cage at the top, merely commemorates the Fire itself, without any -reference to its cause, as in the original structure. From the top -of the Monument we can get perhaps the very finest of all views of -London and its River. - -[Illustration: THE MONUMENT.] - -But there is one thing which should preface our account of the Great -Fire, and that is an account of the Great Plague which visited and -afflicted London in the previous year. Of course, the Fire was in one -sense a terrible disaster for London, yet the destruction which it -wrought was in reality a great blessing to the plague-ridden city. - -The Plague, by no means the first to visit London, came over from the -Continent, where for years it had been decimating the large cities. It -broke out with terrible power in the summer of the year 1665—a dry, -scorching summer which made the flushing of the open street drains an -impossible thing, and gave every help to the dread pestilence. If we -want to read a thrilling description of London at this time we have -only to turn to the “Journal of the Plague Year,” by Defoe, the author -of “Robinson Crusoe.” This was not actually a journal, for Defoe was -only four years old in 1665, but it was a faithful account based on -first-hand information. In its simply written pages (to quote from -Sir Walter Besant) “we see the horror of the empty streets; we hear -the cries and lamentations of those who are seized and those who are -bereaved. The cart comes slowly along the streets with the man ringing -a bell and crying, ‘Bring out your dead! Bring out your dead!’ We think -of the great holes into which the dead were thrown in heaps and covered -with a little earth; we think of the grass growing in the streets; -the churches deserted; the roads black with fugitives hurrying from -the abode of Death; we hear the frantic mirth of revellers snatching -to-night a doubtful rapture, for to-morrow they die. The City is filled -with despair.” As we can well imagine, the King and his courtiers fled -from Whitehall and the Tower away into the country; the Law Courts were -shifted up river to Oxford. Naturally all business stopped, and trade -was at a standstill. Ships in hundreds lay idle in the Pool, waiting -for the cargoes which came not, because the wharves and warehouses -were deserted; laden ships that sailed up the Thames speedily turned -about and made for the Continental ports. So it went on, the visitation -increasing in fury, till in September there were nearly 900 fell each -day. Then it abated slightly, but continued through the winter, on into -the following summer, and in the end more than 97,000 people perished -out of a population of 460,000. - -Then, on September 2, came that other catastrophe, the Great Fire. -Starting in a baker’s shop in Pudding Lane, near the Monument, it was -driven westwards by a strong east wind. - -The London of Stuart days gave the Fire every possible help. Not much -survives to-day to show us what things were like, but the quaint, -timber-fronted houses of Staple Inn (Holborn) and No. 17, Fleet Street, -and the pictures painted at the time, give us a fair idea of the -inflammable nature of the buildings; and when we remember that these -wooden houses, old, dry, and coated with pitch, were in some streets so -close to those opposite that it was possible to shake hands from the -overhanging upper stories, we are not surprised at the rapidity with -which the Fire spread. - -The diaries of two gentlemen—Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, the former -one of the King’s Ministers, the latter a wealthy and learned gentleman -of the Court—bring home to us plainly the terror of the seven days’ -visitation. To begin with, very few took any special notice of the -outbreak: fires were too common to cause great consternation. Even -Pepys himself tells us that he returned to bed; but when the morning -came and it was still burning, he was disturbed. Says he: “By and by -Jane tells me that she hears that above 800 houses have been burned -down to-night by the fire we saw, and that it is now burning down all -Fish Street, by London Bridge. So I made myself ready presently, and -walked to the Tower; and there got up upon one of the high places; and -there I did see the houses at that end of the bridge all on fire, and -an infinite great fire on this and the other side of the end of the -bridge.” - -London Bridge, as you will remember from a former chapter, was very -narrow, and the houses projected out over the River, held in place -by enormous timber struts; and these, with the wooden frames of the -three-storied houses, gave the fire a good hold. Moreover the burning -buildings, falling on the Bridge, blocked the way to any who would -have fought the flames. After about a third of the buildings had been -destroyed the fire was stopped by the pulling down of houses and the -open space; but not before it had done great damage to the stone -structure itself. The heat was so intense that arches and piers which -had remained firm for centuries now began to show signs of falling to -pieces, and it was found necessary to spend £1,500, an enormous sum in -those days, on repairs before any rebuilding could be attempted. - -Day after day the Fire continued. Says Evelyn: “It burned both in -breadth and length, the churches, public halls, Exchange, hospitals, -monuments, and ornaments, leaping after a prodigious manner from -house to house and street to street, at great distances one from the -other.... - -“Here we saw the Thames covered with goods floating, all the barges -and boats laden with what some had time and courage to save, as, on -the other, the carts, etc., carrying out to the fields, which for many -miles were strewed with movables of all sorts, and tents erected to -shelter both people and what goods they could get away.... - -“(Sept. 7) At my return I was infinitely concerned to find that goodly -Church (cathedral), St. Paul’s, now a sad ruin. It was astonishing to -see what immense stones the heat had in a manner calcined, so that -all the ornaments, columns, friezes, capitals, and projectures of -massie Portland stone flew off, even to the very roof, where a sheet -of lead covering a great space (no less than six acres by measure) -was totally melted; the ruins of the vaulted roof falling broke into -St. Faith’s, which being filled with the magazines of books belonging -to the Stationers, and carried thither for safety, they were all -consumed, burning for a week following.... Thus lay in ashes that -most venerable Church, one of the most ancient pieces of early -piety in the Christian world, besides near 100 more. The exquisitely -wrought Mercers’ Chapel, the sumptuous Exchange, the august fabric of -Christchurch, all the rest of the Companies’ Halls, splendid buildings, -arches, entries, all in dust.... - -[Illustration: OLD ST. PAUL’S (A.D. 1500).] - -“The people who now walked about the ruins appeared like men in some -dismal desert or rather in some great city laid waste by a cruel -enemy....The by-lanes and narrower streets were quite filled up with -rubbish, nor could one have possibly known where he was, but by the -ruins of some Church or Hall, that had some remarkable tower or -pinnacle remaining....” - -Just as the Plague was by no means the first plague which had visited -the city, so there had been other serious outbreaks of fire, but those -two visitations were by far the worst in the history of London. We can -gather some idea of the scene of desolation which resulted when we read -that the ruins covered an area of 436 acres—387 acres, or five-sixths -of the entire city within the walls and 73 acres without; that the Fire -wiped out four city gates, one cathedral, eighty-nine parish churches, -the Royal Exchange, Sion College, and all sorts of hospitals, schools, -etc. - -Yet gradually, not within three or four years, as is commonly stated -in history books, but slowly, as the ruined citizens found money for -the purpose, there rose from the débris another London—a London with -broader, cleaner streets, with larger and better-built houses of stone -and brick; with fine public buildings and a new Cathedral—a London more -like the city which we know. So _modern_ London began its life. - -The River did not make a new London as it had made the old city. Shops, -markets, quays, public buildings, did not spring up naturally in places -where the trade of the time demanded them, as they had done in the old -days, otherwise much would have changed. Instead, the new city very -largely rebuilt itself on the foundations of the old, quite regardless -of comfort or utility. - -Its supremacy as a Port was never in doubt. With the tremendous break -in London’s commerce, caused first by the Plague and then by the -devastation of the Fire, it would have seemed possible for the shipping -to decrease permanently; but it never did. So firmly was London Port -established in the past that it lived on strongly into modern times, -despite many excellent reasons why it should lose its great place. - - - - -CHAPTER NINE - -_The Riverside and its Palaces_ - - -To-day, when we stand upon Waterloo Bridge and let our gaze rest upon -the Embankment, as it sweeps round in the large arc of a circle from -Blackfriars past Charing Cross to Westminster, it is hard indeed to -picture the time when these massive buildings—hotels, public buildings, -suites of offices, etc.—were not there, when the green grass grew -right down to the water’s edge on the left _strand_ or bank of the -River, when a walk from the one city to the other was a walk through -country lanes and fields. It is hard indeed to brush away all the ugly, -grey reminders of the present, and see a little of the past in its -beauty—for beautiful the River undoubtedly was in Plantagenet, Tudor, -and Stuart times. - -We have spoken of the growth of the city, and what the River meant -to it; of the wharves and warehouses which extended from the Tower -to the Fleet River. That was the commercial London of those days. -Westwards from the Fleet, along the side of the Thames, spread the more -picturesque signs of London’s prosperity—the dwellings of some of the -wealthy and influential. - -[Illustration: THE FLEET RIVER AT BLACKFRIARS (A.D. 1760).] - -From the western end of the city—Ludgate and Newgate—spread out -westwards the suburbs, part of the city, though not actually within -its walls, until an outer limit was reached at Temple Bar, situated at -the western extremity of one of London’s most famous thoroughfares, -Fleet Street, named after the little river which flowed down where -Farringdon and New Bridge Streets are, and which emptied itself, and -still empties itself, in the shape of a main drain, into the Thames -beneath Blackfriars Bridge. - -Between Fleet Street and the River stood the Convent of the White -Friars, and that most famous of places the Temple. - -In the Middle Ages the Church was far more intimately concerned with -the everyday life of the people than it is to-day, for the simple -reason that the clergy attended to the care of the sick and aged, to -the teaching of the young, and other charitable works. Now it must be -understood that there were in this country two classes of clergy—the -monks, who were known as “regular clergy” (who lived by a regulus -or rule), and the ordinary clergy, much as we have them to-day, in -charge of our cathedrals, parish churches, etc., these last being -known as “secular clergy.” For the upkeep of the Church folk paid -what were known as “tithes.” To begin with, this “tithe,” or tax, was -handed over to the bishop, who divided it out into four parts—one for -the building itself, one for the poor, one for the priest, and one -for himself. Gradually, however, the “regulars” obtained control of -affairs, receiving the tithes, and, instead of giving the full quarters -to the “seculars,” they simply paid them what they thought fit, and -appropriated the remainder for themselves. This led to two things: -the monasteries became enormously wealthy, and the seculars became -exceedingly poor and dissatisfied; so that there was constant strife -between the two branches. Many nobles, ignorant of the true condition -of affairs, and wishing the excellent charitable work of the Church to -be continued, made great gifts to the Church. Unfortunately these very -great gifts were sometimes apt to do the very opposite to what their -donors intended. Instead of the monks devoting themselves more and -more earnestly to the care of the needy, they began to think more of -their own comfort and position. They erected for themselves extensive -and comfortable dwellings, with their own breweries, mills, and farms, -and they lived on the fat of the land. They indulged themselves until -their luxury became a byword with the common people. Then arose two -great teachers, St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic, who were led -to protest against the abuses. They founded new Orders of religious -men—called the Friars—who went from place to place with no money and -only such clothes as covered them. These men believed in and taught the -blessedness of poverty. - -Many of them came over from the Continent and settled in various parts -of the city. If you pick up a map of London, even one of to-day, you -will see such names as Blackfriars, Whitefriars, Crutched Friars, -Austin Friars—showing where they made their homes. Some, the Black -Friars, took up a position and eventually built for themselves a fine -monastery and church just outside the city walls at the mouth of -the Fleet River. Others, the White Friars or Carmelite Monks, made -themselves secure just to the west of the Fleet. - -Whitefriars was one of London’s sanctuaries; within its precincts -wrong-doers were safe from the arm of the Law. Now, in certain periods -of our history, such things as sanctuaries were good; they frequently -prevented innocent men and women suffering at the hands of tyrants and -unscrupulous enemies. So that the right of sanctuary was always most -jealously guarded. But, as time went on, this led to abuses, and when -the monasteries were closed by Henry VIII., the Lord Mayor of London -asked the King to abolish the sanctuary rights of Blackfriars; but he -would not do so. The consequence was that Blackfriars and Whitefriars, -particularly the latter, became sinks of iniquity. In the latter, which -was nicknamed Alsatia, congregated criminals of all sorts—thieves, -coiners, forgers, debtors, cut-throats, burglars—as we can read in -Scott’s novel, “The Fortunes of Nigel.” For years it held its evil -associations, but it became so bad that in 1697 there was passed a -Bill abolishing for ever the sanctuary rights of Whitefriars. - -West of Whitefriars is the Temple, which, with its quiet old -courtyards, its beautiful church, and its restful gardens stretching -down to the Embankment, is one of London’s most fascinating places. - -It gets its name from its founders, the Knights Templars—a great Order -of men who lived in the time of the Crusades, and whose white mantles -with a red cross have been famous ever since. These knights, who took -vows to remain unmarried and poor, set themselves the great task of -guarding the pilgrims’ roads to the Holy Land. - -In 1184 the Red Cross Knights settled on the banks of the River Thames, -and made their home there in what was called the New Temple. For 130 -years they abode there, gradually increasing in wealth and power, till -in the end their very strength defeated them. Princes and nobles who -had given them great gifts of money for their worthy work saw that -money used, not for charitable purposes, but to keep up the pomp and -luxury of the place, and soon various folk in high places coveted the -Templars’ wealth and power, and determined to defeat them. - -So well did these folk work that in 1313 the Order was broken up, and -the property came into the King’s hands. A few years later the Temple -was leased by the Crown to those men who were studying the Law in -London, and in their hands it has been ever since, becoming their own -property in the reign of King James I. - -Originally the Temple was divided into three parts—the Inner Temple, -the Outer Temple, and the Middle Temple. The Outer Temple, which stood -west of Temple Bar, and therefore outside the city, was pulled down -years ago, and now only the two remain. - -Here in their chambers congregate the barristers who conduct the cases -in the Law Courts just across the road; and here are still to be found -the students, all of whom must spend a certain time in the Temple (or -in one of the other Inns of Court—Gray’s Inn or Lincoln’s Inn) before -being allowed to practise as a barrister. - -[Illustration: OLD TEMPLE BAR, FLEET STREET (NOW AT THEOBALD’S PARK).] - -The Temple Church, which belongs to both Inns of Court, is one of the -few pieces of Norman architecture which survive to us in London. It -is round in shape, now a rare thing. On the floor, and in many other -places, may be seen the Templars’ emblem—the red cross on a white -ground with the Paschal Lamb in the centre. Figures of departed knights -keep watch over this strange church, their legs crossed to signify (so -it is said) that they had fought in one or other of the Crusades. - -[Illustration: - -The Strand from the ... Castle Hill. Ealing. York House. Durham House. -Bedford House.] - -[Illustration: - -... Thames in the XVI^{cent} Temple Church. Somerset House. Arundel -House. Essex House. Whitefriars Stairs.] - -The Temple Gardens, which still run down to the Embankment, were one -time famous for their roses, and, according to Shakespeare, were the -scene of that famous argument which led to the bitter struggle known as -the War of the Roses. You probably remember the famous passage, ending -with the lines— - -“And here I prophesy—this brawl to-day, Grown to this faction in the -Temple Garden, Shall send between the red rose and the white A thousand -souls to death and deadly night.” - -_First Part of King Henry VI._, Act II. Sc. 4. - -Westwards from the Temple as far as Westminster stretched a practically -unbroken line of palaces, each standing in beautiful grounds which -sloped down in terraces to the water’s edge. There was Somerset House, -which for long was a Royal residence. Lord Protector Somerset began -the building of it in 1549, pulling down a large part of St. Paul’s -cloisters and also the churches of St. John’s, Clerkenwell, and St. -Mary’s le Strand to provide the materials for his builders; but long -before its completion Somerset was executed for treason, and the -property went to the Crown. - -Here Elizabeth lived occasionally while her sister Mary was reigning. -The old palace was pulled down in 1756, and the present fine building -erected on the site. This modern structure, with its fine river front, -so well combines strength and elegance that it seems a pity it does not -stand clear of other buildings. - -The rest of the palaces, westwards, survive for the most part only as -names. Where now rises the great mass of the Savoy Hotel once stood -the ancient Palace of the Savoy, rising, like some of the city houses, -straight out of the River, with a splendid water-gate in the centre. -It was the oldest of the Strand palaces, being built by Peter of -Savoy as early as 1245. After various ownerships, it passed into the -hands of John of Gaunt, and was his when it was plundered and almost -entirely burnt down by the followers of Wat Tyler in 1381. From that -time onwards it had a chequered existence, being in turn prison and -hospital, till at last in 1805 it was swept away when the approach to -Waterloo Bridge was made. There is still in the street leading down to -the Embankment the tiny Chapel Royal of the Savoy, but it has been too -often restored to have much more interest than a name. - -Where now comes the Cecil Hotel stood originally the famous palace or -inn of the Cecils, the Earls of Salisbury. York House, the town palace -of the Archbishops of York, stood where now is Charing Cross Station. -This at one time belonged to the famous Steenie, Duke of Buckingham and -favourite of James I. Buckingham pulled down the old house in order -that another and more glorious might rise in its place; but this was -never done. Only the water-gate was built, and this lovely relic still -stands in the Embankment Gardens, and from its position, some distance -behind the river-wall, shows us how skilful engineers have saved quite -a wide strip of the foreshore. - -In all probability each of these Strand palaces had its water-gate, -from which the nobles and their ladies set out in their gay barges -when about to attend the Court at Westminster or go shopping in London. - -[Illustration: THE WATER-GATE OF YORK HOUSE.] - -Just beyond York House came Hungerford House, which has given its -name to the railway bridge crossing from the station; and then came -Northumberland House, which was the last of the great historic -riverside palaces to be demolished, being pulled down in comparatively -modern times to make way for Northumberland Avenue. Other famous -palaces are remembered in the names of Durham Street and Scotland Yard. - -When in 1529 Wolsey fell from his high estate, Henry VIII., his -unscrupulous master, at once took possession of his palace at -Whitehall, and made it the principal Royal residence. To give it -suitable surroundings he formed (for his own sport and pleasure) -the park which we now call St. James’s Park. When later he -dissolved the monasteries he seized a small hospital, known as St. -James-in-the-Fields, standing on the far side of the estate, and -converted it into a hunting lodge. This afterwards became the famous -Palace of St. James’s. - -Of Whitehall Palace all that now remains is the Banqueting Hall (now -used to house the exhibits of the United Service Institution), built -in the reign of James I. by the famous architect Inigo Jones; the rest -perished by fire soon after the revolution of 1688. For some time -afterwards St. James’s Palace was the only Royal residence in London, -but the Sovereigns soon provided themselves with the famous Kensington -and Buckingham Palaces. - -[Illustration: THE BANQUETING HALL, WHITEHALL PALACE.] - - - - -CHAPTER TEN - -_Royal Westminster—The Abbey_ - - -The story of Westminster is nearly as old as that of London itself. - -In our first chapter we spoke of the position of London being fixed to -a large extent by the Kent road passing from Dover to the Midlands. -That road, heading from Rochester, originally passed over—and still -passes over—the Darent at Dartford, the Cray at Crayford, the -Ravensbourne at Deptford; and then made its way, not to the crossing -at Billingsgate, but to a still older ford or ferry which existed in -very early days at the spot where Westminster now stands. If you look -at the map of London, you will see that the Edgware Road, passing in a -south-easterly direction from St. Albans, comes down, with but a slight -curve, as if to meet this north-westerly Kent road. That they did so -meet there is but little doubt, and this meeting gave us the Royal City -of Westminster. - -[Illustration: THE RIVER AT THORNEY ISLAND.] - -In pre-Roman days Lambeth and Westminster, Belgravia and Chelsea, were -simply reedy marshes. Out of them rose a number of gravelly islands -of various sizes, and one of these, larger and more solid than the -rest—Thorney or Bramble Island—became in due course the site of the -city which for centuries was second only to London itself; for though -the building of the Bridge and the rapid growth of the Port meant the -diversion of the Kentish Watling Street to a new route through London, -the Thorney Island settlement grew just as steadily as that of the -bluff lower down the stream, till eventually it held England’s most -celebrated Abbey and Royal Palace, and its Houses of Parliament. - -As so often happened in early days, the settlement developed round -a religious house. Probably it originated in a British fortress. -Certainly it comprised a considerable Roman station and market. But all -that lies in the misty past. The legend remains that in the year 604 -Sebert, King of the East Saxons, there founded a minster of the west -(St. Peter’s) to rival the minster of the east (St. Paul’s) which was -being erected within the City of London; and indeed we are still shown -in the Abbey the tomb of this traditional founder. - -When we come to the reign of Edward the Confessor we begin to get to -actual definite things. Edward, as we know from our history books, was -a very religious man, almost as much a monk as a King; and he took -special delight in rebuilding ruined churches. While he was in exile in -Normandy he made a vow to St. Peter that he would go on pilgrimage to -Rome if ever he came into his kingdom. When, in the passage of time, he -became King, and proposed to carry out his vows, his counsellors would -not hear of such a journey; and, in the end, the Pope of Rome released -him from his vow on condition that he agreed to build an Abbey to the -glory of St. Peter. - -This Edward did. His own particular friend, Edwin, presided over the -small monastery of Thorney, so Edward determined to make this the site -of his new Abbey. Pulling down the old place, he devoted a tenth part -of his income to the raising of the new “Collegiate Church of St. Peter -of Westminster.” Commenced in the year 1049, it became the King’s -life-work, and was consecrated only eight days before his death. - -In order that he might see the builders at work on his favourite -project, he built himself a palace between the Abbey and the River, and -for fifteen years he watched the rising into being of such an Abbey as -England had never known. He endowed it lavishly with estates, and gave -it the right of sanctuary, whereby all men should be safe within its -walls. - -Of course, the fine structure we see as we stand in the open space -known as Broad Sanctuary is not the Confessor’s building. Of that, all -that now remains is the Chapel of the Pyx, the great schoolroom of -Westminster School, which was the old monks’ dormitory, and portions -of the walls of the south cloister. The rest has been added from time -to time by the various Sovereigns. Henry III., in 1245, pulled down -large portions of the old structure, and erected a beautiful chapel -to contain the remains of the Abbey’s founder, and this chapel we can -visit to-day. In it lies the sainted Confessor, borne thither on the -shoulders of the Plantagenet nobles whose humbler tombs surround the -shrine; also his Queen, Eleanor; Edward III., and that Queen who saved -the lives of the burghers of Calais; also the luckless Richard II. - -[Illustration: Henry VII.’s Chapel, Westminster Abbey.] - -Other Sovereigns also took a share; but it was left to Henry VII. to -give us the body of the Abbey mainly in the shape we know. At enormous -expense he erected the famous Perpendicular chapel, called by his -name—one of the most beautiful and magnificent chapels in the whole -world. - -When we stand in the subdued light in this exquisite building, and -examine the beautifully fretted stone-work of its amazing roof—a “dream -in stone,” its “walls wrought into universal ornament,” the richly -carved, dark-oak stalls of the Knights of the Bath with the banners -of their Order drooping overhead—we find it hard to recall that this -miserly man was one of the least popular of England’s Kings. - -In this spot lie, in addition to the remains of Henry himself, those of -most of our later Kings and Queens. Here side by side the sisters Mary -and Elizabeth “are at one; the daughter of Catherine of Aragon and the -daughter of Anne Boleyn repose in peace at last.” Here, too, rests that -tragic figure of history, Mary Queen of Scots; and James I., Charles -I., William III., Queen Anne, and George II. - -For numbers of us one of the most interesting parts of the Abbey will -always be “Poets’ Corner,” in the south transept. Here rest all that -remains of many of our mightiest wielders of the pen, from Chaucer, the -father of English poetry, down to Tennyson and Browning. Many of the -names on the monuments which cluster so closely together are forgotten -now, just as their works are never read; but the tablets to the memory -of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Dryden, Dickens, Tennyson, and Browning, -will always serve to remind us of the mighty dead. The north transept -is devoted largely to the monuments to our great statesmen and our -great warriors. - -[Illustration: WESTMINSTER ABBEY.] - -In the Choir we come upon the Coronation Chairs. The Confessor in -building his church had in mind that the Abbey should be the place of -coronation of England’s Sovereigns; and down through the centuries -this custom has been observed. Indeed, certain parts of the regalia -worn by the King or Queen on Coronation Day are actually the identical -articles presented to the Abbey by Edward himself. The old and battered -chair is that of Edward I., the “hammer of the Scots,” who lies buried -with his fellow Plantagenets in the Confessor’s Chapel. Just under -the seat of the chair is the famous “stone of destiny,” brought from -Scone by Edward, to mark the completeness of the defeat. Its removal to -Westminster sorely troubled our northern neighbours, for they believed -that the Supreme Power travelled with that stone. Since those days -every English Sovereign has been crowned in this chair. Its companion -was made for Mary, wife of William III. - -In the Nave lies one of the most frequently visited of all the -tombs—the last resting-place of the Unknown Warrior, who, brought over -from France and buried with all the grandeur and solemnity of a Royal -funeral, typifies for us the thousands of brave lads who made the great -sacrifice—who died that we might live. - -What most of us forget is that the place which we call Westminster -Abbey was only the Chapel belonging to the Abbey, the place where the -monks worshipped. In addition there was a whole collection of buildings -where the monks ate, slept, studied, worked, etc. Of these most have -been swept away. If we pass out through the door of the South Aisle we -can see the ancient cloisters where the monks washed themselves, took -their exercise and such little recreation as they were allowed, and -where they buried their brothers. There was also the Abbot’s House, -which afterwards became the Deanery, and there was the Chapter House, -a building which fortunately has been preserved to us almost in its -original condition. This was the place where the business of the Abbey -was conducted, where the monks came together each day after Matins in -order that the tasks of the day might be allotted and God’s blessing -asked, where afterwards offenders were tried and penances imposed. Till -the end of the reign of Henry VIII. the House of Commons met in this -chamber when the monks were not using it; and afterwards it was set -aside as an office for the keeping of records. When in 1540 came the -dissolution of the Abbey, the Chapter House became Royal property, and -that is why we now see a policeman in charge of it instead of one of -the Abbey vergers. - - - - -CHAPTER ELEVEN - -_Royal Westminster—The Houses of Parliament_ - - -When in the eleventh century Edward the Confessor built the palace from -which to survey the erection of his beloved Abbey, he little dreamed -that upon the very spot would meet the Parliament of an Empire greater -even than Rome; nor did he realize that through several centuries -Westminster Palace would be the favourite home of the Kings and Queens -of England. - -William Rufus added to the Confessor’s edifice, and also partially -built the walls of the Great Hall, which is the sole thing that -remains of the ancient fabric. Other Kings enlarged the palace from -time to time. Stephen erected the Chapel of St. Stephen, in which met -the Commons from the time of Edward VI. till the year 1834, when a -terrible fire wiped out practically the whole of the ancient Palace of -Westminster. - -[Illustration: THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.] - -To-day, when we stand on Westminster Bridge or Lambeth Bridge, and -survey the huge building which provides London with one of its greatest -landmarks, we are looking at a new Palace: from the River not a stone -of the old structure is visible. A magnificent Palace it is too! Its -towers, one at each end, rise high into the air, one of them 320 feet -high, the other 20 feet more; and its buildings cover a matter of 8 -acres. From Westminster Bridge we see the whole of the river front, -900 feet long, with the famous “terrace” in front, where in summer the -Members of Parliament stroll and take tea with their friends. - -Westminster Hall, which fortunately survived the disastrous fire of -1834, is on the side farthest from the River: it runs parallel with the -House of Commons, and projects from the main building just opposite the -end of the Henry VII. Chapel in the Abbey. - -If we enter the Parliament buildings we shall very possibly do so by -the famous hall known as St. Stephen’s Hall—built on the site of the -ancient House of Commons. Westminster Hall then lies to our left, as -we enter, down a flight of steps. - -Let us descend for a few moments, for the Hall is perhaps the finest -of its kind in all our land. Its vast emptiness silences the words -which rise to our lips: we feel instinctively that this is a place -of wonderful memories. Our eyes travel along the mighty, carved-oak -roof which spans the great width of the building, and we can scarcely -believe that this roof was built so long ago as the time of Richard -II., or even earlier, and that it is still the actual timbers we see in -places. - -What stories could these ancient stones beneath our feet tell us, -had they but the power! What tales of joy and what tales of terrible -tragedy! Here were held many of the festivities which followed the -coronation ceremonies in the Abbey. Henry III. here showed to the -citizens his bride, Eleanor of Provence, when “there were assembled -such a multitude of the nobility of both sexes, such numbers of the -religious, and such a variety of stage-players, that the City of -London could scarcely contain them.... Whatever the world pours forth -of pleasure and glory was there specially displayed.” And yet a few -years later saw that same Henry taking part in a vastly different -spectacle—when, in the presence of a gathering equally distinguished, -he was compelled to watch the Archbishop of Canterbury as he threw to -the stone floor of the Hall a lighted torch, with these words: “Thus be -extinguished and stink and smoke in hell all those who dare to violate -the charters of the Kingdom.” - -A plate let into the floor tells us that on that spot stood Wentworth, -Earl of Strafford, strong Minister of a weak King, when he was tried -for his life; while upon the stairs which we have descended is another -tablet to mark the spot whence that weak King himself, Charles I., -heard his death sentence. Here, too, were tried William Wallace, Thomas -More, and Warren Hastings, while just outside in Old Palace Yard the -half-demented Guido Fawkes and the proud, scholarly Sir Walter Raleigh -met their deaths. - -Returning to St. Stephen’s Hall, which is lined with the statues -of the great statesmen who were famous in the older chamber, and -passing up another flight of steps, we find ourselves in the octagonal -Central Hall, or, as it is more usually called, the Lobby. Here we are -practically in the middle of the great pile of buildings. To our right, -as we enter, stretches the House of Lords and all the apartments that -pertain to it—the Audience Chamber, the Royal Robing Room, the Peers’ -Robing Room, the House of Lords Library—ending in the stately square -tower, known as the Victoria Tower. To our left lies the House of -Commons and all its committee, dining, smoking, reading-rooms, etc., -ending in the famous “Big Ben” tower. “Big Ben” is, of course, known -to everybody. Countless thousands have heard his 13½ tons of metal -boom out the hour of the day, and have set their watches right by the -14-foot minute-hands of the four clock-faces, which each measure 23 -feet across. - -The House of Lords itself is a fine building, 90 feet long and 45 -feet wide, its walls and ceiling beautifully decorated with paintings -representing famous scenes from our history. At one end is the King’s -gorgeous throne, and beside it, slightly lower, those of the Queen and -the Prince of Wales. Just in front is the famous “Woolsack,” an ugly -red seat, stuffed with wool, as a reminder of the days when wool was -the chief source of the nation’s wealth. On this, when the House is in -session, sits the Lord Chancellor of England, who presides over the -assembly. - -The House of Commons is not quite so ornate: here the benches are -upholstered in a quiet green. At the far end is the Speaker’s Chair. -The Speaker, as you probably know, is the chairman of the House of -Commons, the member who has been chosen by his fellows to control the -debates and keep order in the House. In front of the Speaker’s Chair is -a table, at which sit three men in wigs and gowns, the Clerks of the -House. On the table lies the Mace—the heavy staff which is the emblem -of authority. - - - - -CHAPTER TWELVE - -_The Riverside of To-day_ - - -The Riverside of to-day is noticeable for many things, but for nothing -more so than the very great difference between the two banks. On the -one hand we have a magnificent Embankment sweeping round through almost -the entire length of the River’s passage through London, with large and -important buildings surmounting the thoroughfare; while on the other -hand we have nothing but a huddled collection of commercial buildings, -right on the water’s edge—unimposing, dingy, and dismal, save in the -one spot where the new County Hall breaks the ugly monotony and gives -promise of better things in future for the Surrey shore. - -The Embankment on the Middlesex side may perhaps be said to be one of -the outcomes of the Great Fire, for, though its construction was not -undertaken till 1870, it was one of the main improvements suggested -by Sir Christopher Wren in his scheme for the rebuilding of London. -The Victoria Embankment, which sweeps round from Blackfriars to -Westminster, is a mile and a quarter long. Its river face consists of a -great granite wall, 8 feet in thickness, with tunnels inside it for the -carrying of sewers, water-mains, gas-pipes, etc., all of which can be -reached without interfering with that splendid wide road beneath which -the Underground Railway runs. There is a continuation of the Embankment -on the south side from Westminster to Vauxhall, known as the Albert -Embankment, while on the north it runs, with some interruptions, as far -as Chelsea. - -One of the most interesting sights of the Embankment is Cleopatra’s -Needle—a tall stone obelisk, which stands by the water’s edge. This -stone, one of the oldest monuments in the world, stood originally -in the ancient city of On, in Egypt, and formed part of an enormous -temple to the sun-god. Later it was shifted with a similar stone to -Alexandria, there to take a place in the Cæsarium—the temple erected in -honour of the Roman Emperors. Centuries passed: the Cæsarium fell into -ruins, and Cleopatra’s obelisk lay forgotten in the sand. Eventually -it was offered to this country by the Khedive of Egypt, but the task -of transporting it was so difficult that nothing was done till 1877-8, -when Sir Erasmus Wilson undertook the enormous cost of the removal. It -has nothing to do with Cleopatra. - -Of the bridges over the River we have already dealt with the most -famous—the remarkable old London Bridge which stood for so many -centuries and only came to an end in 1832. Westminster Bridge, built in -1750, was the first rival to the ancient structure, and though it was -but a poor affair it made the City Council very dissatisfied with their -possession. Nor was this surprising, for the old bridge had got into a -very bad state, so that in 1756 the City Fathers decided to demolish -all the buildings on the bridge, and to make a parapet and proper -footwalks. - -Up to the time of King George II. there was at Westminster merely a -jetty or landing-stage used in connection with the ferry that was used -in place of the ancient ford; but during this King’s reign Westminster, -and, shortly afterwards, Blackfriars Bridge, came into being. Battersea -and Vauxhall, Waterloo (built two years after the battle), Southwark, -Chelsea, and Lambeth followed in fairly rapid succession. Of these, -Westminster, Blackfriars, Battersea, Vauxhall, and Southwark have -already been rebuilt. - -Old Vauxhall Bridge was the first cast-iron bridge ever built; -Wandsworth was the first lattice bridge; Waterloo Bridge the first ever -made with a perfectly level roadway. Hungerford Bridge, which stretched -where now that atrociously ugly iron structure, the Charing Cross -Railway bridge, defiles the River, was originally designed by Brunel, -the eminent engineer, to span the gorge over the Avon at Clifton, -but it was eventually placed in position across the Thames. When the -atrocity was built the suspension bridge was taken back to Clifton, -where it now hangs like a spider’s web over the mighty gap in the hills. - -[Illustration: ST. PAUL’S FROM THE SOUTH END OF SOUTHWARK BRIDGE.] - -Until the close of the nineteenth century London Bridge enjoyed the -distinction of being the lowest bridge on the River’s course; but in -1894 the wonderful Tower Bridge was opened. This mighty structure, -which was commenced in 1886, cost no less than £830,000. In its -construction 235,000 cubic feet of granite and other stone, 20,000 tons -of cement, 10,000 yards of concrete, 31,000,000 bricks, and 14,000 tons -of steel were used. In its centre are two bascules, each weighing 1,200 -tons, which swing upwards to allow big ships to pass into the Pool. -Although these enormous bascules, the largest in the world, weigh so -much, they work by hydraulic force as smoothly and easily as a door -opens and shuts. - -Of the buildings on the south side of the River practically none -are worthy of notice save the Shot Tower—where lead-shot is made by -dropping the molten metal from the top of the shaft—the new County -Hall, and St. Thomas’s Hospital at Westminster. The County Hall is a -splendid structure, one of the finest of its kind in the whole world. -It possesses miles of corridors, hundreds of rooms, and what is more, -a magnificent water frontage. The architect is Mr. Ralph Knott. St. -Thomas’s Hospital, which stands close to it, is one of a number of -excellent hospitals in various parts of London. When in 1539 the -monasteries were closed, London was left without anything in the way -of hospitals, or alms-houses, or schools; for the care of the sick, -the infirm, and the young had always been the work of the monks and -the nuns. In consequence, London suffered terribly. Matters became so -extremely serious that the City Fathers approached the King with a -view to the return of some of these institutions. Their petition was -granted, and King Henry gave back St. Bartholomew’s, Christ’s Hospital, -and the Bethlehem Hospital. Later King Edward VI. allowed the people -to purchase St. Thomas’s Hospital—the hospital of the old Abbey of -Bermondsey. When in 1871 the South-Eastern Railway Company purchased -the ground on which the old structure stood, a new and more convenient -building was erected on the Albert Embankment opposite the Houses of -Parliament. - -As we stand once more on Westminster Bridge and see the two great -places, one on each side, where our lawmakers sit—those of the Nation -and those of the great City—our glance falls on the dirty water of -old Father Thames slipping by; and we think to ourselves that great -statesmen may spring to fame and then die and leave England the poorer, -governments good and bad may rise and fall, changes of all sorts may -happen within these two stately buildings, the very stones may crumble -to dust, but still the River flows on—silent, irresistible. - - - - -BOOK III - -THE UPPER RIVER - - -[Illustration: THE CASTLE KEEP, OXFORD.] - - - - -THE UPPER RIVER - - - - -CHAPTER ONE - -_Stripling Thames_ - - -Just where the Thames starts has always been a matter of argument, for -several places have laid claim to the honour of holding the source of -this great national possession. - -About three miles south-west of Cirencester, and quite close to that -ancient and famous highway the Ackman Street (or Bath fosseway), -there is a meadow known as Trewsbury Mead, lying in a low part of the -western Cotswolds, just where Wiltshire and Gloucestershire meet; and -in this is situated what is commonly known as “Thames Head”—a spring -which in winter bubbles forth from a hollow, but which in summer is so -completely dried by the action of the Thames Head Pump, which drains -the water from this and all other springs in the neighbourhood, that -the cradle of the infant Thames is usually bone-dry for a couple of -miles or more of its course. This spot is usually recognized as the -beginning of the River. - -[Illustration: THAMES HEAD.] - -If, however, we consider that the source of a river is the point at -greatest distance from the mouth we shall have to look elsewhere; -for the famous “Seven Streams” at the foot of Leckhampton Hill, from -which comes the brook later known as the River Churn, can claim the -distinction of being a few more miles from the North Sea; and this -distinction has frequently been recognized as sufficient to grant the -claim to be the true commencement. - -But the Churn has always been the Churn (indeed, the Romans named the -neighbouring settlement from the stream—Churn-chester or Cirencester); -and no one has ever thought of calling it the Thames. Whereas the -stream beginning in Trewsbury Mead has from time immemorial been known -as the Thames (Isis is only an alternative name, not greatly used in -early days); and so the verdict of history seems to be on its side, -whatever geography may have to say. - -Nevertheless it matters little which can most successfully support -its claim. What does matter is that Churn, and Isis, and Leach, and -Ray, and Windrush, and the various other feeders, give of their waters -in sufficient quantity to ensure a considerable river later on. From -the point of view of their usefulness both the main stream and the -tributaries are negligible till we come to Lechlade, for only there -does navigation and consequently trade begin. But if the stream is not -very useful, it is exceedingly pretty, with quaint rustic bridges -spanning its narrow channel, and fine old-world mills and mansions and -cottages and numbers of ancient churches on its banks. - -[Illustration: - -Lechlade from the First Lock.] - -The first place of any size is the little town of Cricklade, which can -even boast of two churches. Here the little brooks of infant Thames -(or Isis) and Churn join forces, and yield quite a flowing stream. At -Lechlade the rivulet is joined by the Colne, and its real life as a -river commences. From now on to London there is a towing-path beside -the river practically the whole of the way, for navigation by barges -thus early becomes possible. - -From Lechlade onwards to Old Windsor, a matter of about a hundred -miles, the upper Thames has on its right bank the county of Berkshire, -with its beautiful Vale of the White Horse, remembered, of course, -by all readers of “Tom Brown’s Schooldays.” On the left bank is -Oxfordshire as far as Henley, and Buckinghamshire afterwards. - -In and out the “stripling Thames” winds its way, clear as crystal as -it slips past green meadows and little copses. There is very little to -note as we pass between Lechlade and Oxford, a matter of forty miles or -so. Owing to the clay bed, not a town of any sort finds a place on or -near the banks. Such villages as there are stand few and far between. - -Just past Lechlade there is Kelmscott, where William Morris dwelt for -some time in the Manor House; and the village will always be famous -for that. There in the old-world place he wrote the fine poems and -tales which later he printed in some of the most beautiful books ever -made, and there he thought out his beautiful designs for wall-papers, -carpets, curtains, etc. He was a wonderful man, was William Morris, a -day-dreamer who was not content with his dreams until they had taken -actual shape. - -[Illustration: KELMSCOTT MANOR.] - -On we go past New Bridge, which is one of the oldest, if not the very -oldest, of the many bridges which cross the River. Close at hand the -Windrush joins forces, and the River swells and grows wider as it -sweeps off to the north. Away on the hill on the Berkshire side is -a little village known as Cumnor, which is not of any importance in -itself, but which is interesting because there once stood the famous -Cumnor Hall, where the beautiful Amy Robsart met with her untimely -death, as possibly some of you have read in Sir Walter Scott’s novel -“Kenilworth.” Receiving the Evenlode, the River bends south again, -and a little later we pass Godstow Lock, not far from which are the -ruins of Godstow Nunnery, where Fair Rosamund lived and was afterwards -buried. Between Godstow and Oxford is a huge, flat piece of meadowland, -known as Port Meadow: this during the War formed one of our most -important flying-grounds. - -Henceforward the upper Thames is interrupted at fairly frequent -intervals by those man-made contrivances known as _locks_—ingenious -affairs which in recent years have taken the place of or rather -supplemented the old-fashioned weirs. For any river which boasts of -serious water traffic the chief difficulty, especially in summer-time, -has always been that of holding back sufficient water to enable the -boats to keep afloat. Naturally with a sloping bed the water runs -rapidly seawards, and if the supply is not plentiful the river soon -tends to become shallow or even dry. In very early days man noticed -this, and, copying the beaver, he erected dams or weirs to hold -back the water, and keep it at a reasonable depth. And down through -the centuries until comparatively recent years these dams or weirs -sufficed. As man progressed he fashioned his weirs with a number of -“paddles” which lifted up and down to allow a boat to pass through. -When the craft was moving downstream just one or two paddles were -raised, and the boat shot through the narrow opening on the crest of -the rapids thus formed; but when the boat was making its way upstream -more paddles were raised so that the rush of water was not so great, -and the boat was with difficulty hauled through the opening in face of -the strong current. This very picturesque but primitive method lasted -until comparatively recent years. Now the old paddle-locks have gone -the way of all ancient and delightful things, and in their places we -have the thoroughly effective “pound-locks”—affairs with double gates -and a pool or dock in between—which in reality convert the river into -a long series of water-terraces or steps, dropping lower and lower the -nearer we approach the mouth. - - - - -CHAPTER TWO - -_Oxford_ - - -One hundred and twelve miles above London Bridge there is the second -most celebrated city on the banks of the Thames—Oxford, the “city of -spires,” as it has been called. By no means a big place, it is famous -as the home of our oldest University. - -Seen from a distance, Oxford is a place of great beauty, especially -when the meadows round about are flooded. Then it seems to rise from -the water like some English Venice. Nor does the beauty grow less as -we approach closer, or when we view the city from some other point. -Always we see the delicate spires of the Cathedral and the churches, -the beautiful towers of the various colleges, the great dome of the -Radcliffe Camera, all of them nestling among glorious gardens and fine -old trees. - -The question at once comes into our minds, Why is it that there is a -famous city here? Why should such a place as this, right out in the -country, away from what might be called the main arteries of the life -of England, be one of the most important seats of learning? - -To understand this we must go back a long way, and we must ask -ourselves the question, Why was there ever anything—even a village—here -at all? If we think a little we shall see that in the early days, when -there were not very many good roads, and when there were still fewer -bridges, the most important spots along a river were the places where -people could cross: that is to say, the fords. To these spots came -the merchants with their waggons and their trains of pack-horses, the -generals with their armies, the drovers with their cattle, the pilgrims -with their staves. All and sundry, journeying from place to place, made -for the fords, while the long stretches of river bank between these -places were never visited and seldom heard of. - -Now, what made a ford? Shallow water, you say. Yes, that is true. But -shallow water was not enough. It was necessary besides that the bed of -the stream should be firm and hard, so that those who wished might -find a safe crossing. And places where such a bottom could be found -were few and far between along the course of the Thames. Practically -everywhere it was soft clay in which the feet of the men and the -animals and the wheels of the waggons sank deep if they tried to get -from bank to bank. - -But, just at the point where the Thames bends southwards, just before -the Cherwell flows into it, there is a stretch of gravel which in years -gone by made an excellent ford and provided a suitable spot on which -some sort of a settlement might grow. - -How old that settlement is no one knows. Legend tells us that a Mercian -saint by the name of Frideswide, together with a dozen companions, -founded a nunnery here somewhere about the year 700. Certainly the -village is mentioned under the name of Oxenford (that is, the ford of -the oxen) in the Saxon Chronicle, a book of ancient history written -about a thousand years ago; and we know that Edward the Elder took -possession of it, and, building a castle and walls, made a royal -residence. So that it is a place of great antiquity. - -Another question that comes into our minds is this, When did Oxford -become the great home of learning which it has so long been? Here -again the truth is difficult to ascertain. Legend tells us that King -Alfred founded the schools, but that is rather more than doubtful. We -do know that during the twelfth century there was a great growth in -learning. Right throughout Europe great schools sprang into existence, -one of the most important being that in Paris. Thither went numbers of -Englishmen to learn, and they, returning to their own land, founded -schools in different parts, usually in connection with the monasteries -and the cathedrals. Such a school was one which grew into being at St. -Frideswide’s monastery at Oxford. Also King Henry I. (Beauclerc—the -fine scholar—as he was called) built a palace at Oxford, and there he -gathered together many learned men, and from that time people gradually -began to flock to Oxford for education. They tramped weary miles -through the forest, across the hills and dales, and so came to the -little town, only to find it crowded out with countless others as poor -as themselves; but they were not disheartened. There being no proper -places for teaching, they gathered with their masters, also equally -poor, wherever they could find a quiet spot, in a porch, or a loft, or -a stable; and so the torch was handed on. Gradually lecture-rooms, or -schools as they were called, and lodging-houses or halls, were built, -and life became more bearable. Then in 1229 came an accident which yet -further established Oxford in its position. This accident took the form -of a riot in the streets of Paris, during the course of which several -scholars of Paris University were killed by the city archers. Serious -trouble between the University folk and the Provost of Paris came of -this; and, in the end, there was a very great migration of students -from Paris to Oxford; and, a few years after, England could boast of -Oxford as a famous centre of learning. - -But it was not till the reign of Henry III. that a real college, as we -understand it, came into being. Then, in the year 1264, one Walter -de Merton gathered together in one house a number of students, and -there they lived and were taught; and thus Merton, the oldest of the -colleges, began. Others soon followed—Balliol, watched over by the -royal Dervorguilla; University College, founded by William of Durham, -who was one to come over after the Paris town and gown quarrel; New -College; and so on, college after college, until now, as we wander -about the streets of this charming old city, it seems almost as if -every other building is a college. And magnificent buildings they -are too, with their glorious towers and gateways, their beautiful -stained-glass windows, their panelled walls. To wander round the city -of Oxford is to step back seemingly into a forgotten age, so worn and -ancient-looking are these piles of masonry. Modern clothes seem utterly -out of place in such an antique spot. - -[Illustration: - -MAGDALEN TOWER _from the_ BRIDGE.] - -Different folk, of course, will regard different colleges as holding -pride of place; but, I am sure, all will agree that one of the finest -is Magdalen College, a beautiful building standing amid cool, green -meadows. Very fine indeed is the great tower, built in 1492, from the -top of which every May morning the College choir sings a glad hymn of -praise; and very fine too are the cloisters below, and the lovely leafy -walks in whose shade many famous men have walked in their youthful days. - -If we grant to Magdalen its claim to be the most beautiful of the -colleges, we must undoubtedly recognize Christ Church as the most -magnificent. We shall see something of the splendour of Cardinal -Wolsey’s ideas with regard to building when we talk about his palace -at Hampton Court, and we need feel no surprise at the grandeur of -Christ Church. Unfortunately, Wolsey’s ideas were never carried out: -his fall from favour put an end to the work when but three sides of the -Great Quadrangle had been completed; and then for just on a century -the fabric stood in its unfinished state—a monument to o’erleaping -ambition. Nevertheless it was completed, and though it is not all that -Wolsey intended it to be, it is still one of the glories of the city. -Built round about the old Cathedral, it stands upon the site of the -ancient St. Frideswide’s priory. - -The famous “Tom Tower” which stands in the centre of the front of the -building was not a part of the original idea: it was added in 1682 -by Dr. Fell, according to the design of Sir Christopher Wren, the -architect of St. Paul’s Cathedral. “Tom Tower” is so called because of -its great bell, brought from Osney Abbey. “Great Tom,” which weighs no -less than six tons, peals forth each night at nine o’clock a hundred -and one strokes, and by the time of the last stroke all the College -gates are supposed to be shut and all the undergraduates safely within -the College buildings. - -The most wonderful possession of Christ Church is its glorious “Early -English” hall, in which the members of the College dine daily: 115 feet -long, 40 feet broad, and 50 feet high, it is unrivalled in all England, -with perhaps the exception of Westminster Hall. Here at the tables have -sat many of England’s most famous men—courtiers, writers, politicians, -soldiers, artists—and the portraits of a number of them, painted by -famous painters, look down from the ancient walls. - -But these are only two of the colleges. At every turn some other -architectural beauty, some dream in stone, discloses itself, for the -colleges are dotted about all over the centre of the town, and at every -other corner there is some spot of great interest. To describe them all -briefly would more than fill the pages of this book. - -Nor are colleges the only delightful buildings in this city of -beautiful places. There is the famous Sheldonian Theatre, built from -Wren’s plans: this follows the model of an ancient Roman theatre, -and will seat four thousand people. There is the celebrated Bodleian -Library, founded as early as 1602, and containing a rich collection of -rare Eastern and Greek and Latin books and manuscripts. The Bodleian, -like the British Museum, has the right to call for a copy of every book -published in the United Kingdom. - -But Oxford has known a life other than that of a university town: -it has been in its time a military centre of some importance. As we -sweep round northwards in the train from London, just before we enter -the city, the great square tower of the Castle stands out, one of the -most prominent objects in the town. And it is really one of the most -interesting too, though few find time to visit it. So absorbed are most -folk in the churches and chapels, the libraries and college halls, with -their exquisite carvings and ornamentations and their lovely gardens, -that they forget this frowning relic of the Conqueror’s day—the most -lasting monument of the city. Built in 1071 by Robert d’Oilly, boon -companion of the Conqueror, it has stood the test of time through all -these centuries. Like Windsor, that other Norman stronghold, it has -seen little enough of actual fighting: in Oxford the pen has nearly -always been mightier than the sword. - -One brief episode of war it had when Stephen shut up his cousin, the -Empress Maud, within its walls in the autumn of 1142. Then Oxford -tasted siege if not assault, and the castle was locked up for three -months. However, the River and the weather contrived to save Maud, -for, just as provisions were giving out and surrender was only a -matter of days, there came a severe frost and the waters were thickly -covered. Then it was that the Empress with but two or three white-clad -attendants escaped across the ice and made her way to Wallingford, -while her opponents closely guarded the roads and bridges. - -Nor in our consideration of the glories of this beloved old city must -we forget the River—for no one in the place forgets it. Perhaps we -should not speak of _the_ River, for Oxford is the fortunate possessor -of two, standing as it does in the fork created by the flowing together -of the Thames and the Cherwell. The Thames, as we have already -seen, flows thither from the west, while the Cherwell makes its way -southwards from Edgehill; and, though we are accustomed to think of -the Thames as the main stream, the geologists, whose business it is to -make a close study of the earth’s surface, tell us that the Cherwell -is in reality the more important of the two; that down its valley in -the far-away past flowed a great river which with the Kennet was the -ancestor of the present-day River; that the tributary Thames has grown -so much that it has been able to capture and take over as its own -the valley of the Cherwell from Oxford onwards to Reading. But that, -of course, is a story of the very dim past, long before the days of -history. - -The Cherwell is a very pretty little stream, shaded by overhanging -willows and other trees, so that it is usually the haunt of pleasure, -the place where the undergraduate takes his own or somebody else’s -sister for an afternoon’s excursion, or where he makes his craft fast -in the shade in order that he may enjoy an afternoon’s quiet reading. -A walk through the meadows on its banks is, indeed, something very -pleasant, with the stream on one side of us and that most beautiful of -colleges, Magdalen, on the other. Here as we proceed down the famous -avenue of pollard willows, winding between two branches of the stream, -we can hear almost continuously the singing of innumerable birds, for -the Oxford gardens and meadows form a veritable sanctuary in which live -feathered friends of every sort. - -But the Thames (or Isis as it is invariably called in Oxford) is the -place of more serious matters. To the rowing man “the River” means -only one thing, and really only a very short space of that: he is -accustomed to speak of “the River” and “the Cher,” and with him the -latter does not count at all. Everybody in the valley, certainly every -boy and girl, knows about the Oxford and Cambridge Boatrace, which is -held annually on the Thames at Putney, when two selected crews from the -rival universities race each other over a distance. Probably quite a -few of us have witnessed the exciting event. Well, “Boatrace Day” is -merely the final act of a long drama, nearly all the scenes of which -take place, not at Putney, but on the river at the University town. -For the Varsity “eight” are only chosen from the various college crews -after long months of arduous preparation. Each of the colleges has its -own rowing club, and the college crews race against each other in the -summer term. A fine sight it is, too, to see the long thin “eights” -passing at a great pace in front of the beautifully decorated “Barges,” -which are to the college rowing clubs what pavilions are to the cricket -clubs. - -These “barges,” which stretch along the river front for some -considerable distance, resemble nothing so much as the magnificent -houseboats which we see lower down the river at Henley, Maidenhead, -Molesey, etc. They are fitted up inside with bathrooms and -dressing-rooms, and comfortable lounges and reading-rooms, while their -flat tops are utilised by the rowing men for sitting at ease and -chatting to their friends. Each college has its own “barge,” and it is -a point of honour to make it and keep it a credit to the college. The -long string of “barges” form a very beautiful picture, particularly -when the river is quiet, and the finely decorated vessels with their -background of green trees are reflected in the smooth waters. - -May is the great time for the River at Oxford, for then are held the -races of the senior “crews” or “eights.” Then for a week the place, -both shore and stream, is gay with pretty dresses and merry laughter, -for mothers and sisters, cousins and friends, flock to Oxford in their -hundreds to see the fun. But to the rowing man it is a time of hard -work—with more in prospect if he is lucky; for, just as the “eights” of -this week have been selected from the crews of the February “torpids” -or junior races, so from those doing well during “eights week” may be -chosen the University crew—the “blues.” - -Many have been the voices which have sung the praises of the “city of -spires,” for many have loved her. None more so perhaps than Matthew -Arnold, whose poem “The Scholar Gypsy”—the tale of a University lad -who was by poverty forced to leave his studies and join himself to a -company of vagabond gipsies, from whom he gained a knowledge beyond -that of the scholars—is so well known. Says Arnold of the city: “And -yet as she lies, spreading her gardens to the moonlight, and whispering -from her towers the last enchantments of the Middle Ages, who will -deny that Oxford, by her ineffable charm, keeps ever calling us nearer -to the true goal of all of us, to the ideal, to perfection—to beauty, -in a word?” - -There are many interesting places within walking distance of Oxford, -but perhaps few more delightful to the eye than old Iffley Church. This -ancient building with its fine old Norman tower is a landmark of the -countryside and well deserves the attention given to it. - - - - -CHAPTER THREE - -_Abingdon, Wallingford, and the Goring Gap_ - - -Between Oxford and Reading lies a land of shadows—a district dotted -with towns which have shrunk to a mere vestige of their former -greatness. To mention three names only—Abingdon, Dorchester, and -Wallingford—is to conjure up a picture of departed glory. - -[Illustration: ABINGDON.] - -At Abingdon, centuries ago, was one of those great abbeys which -stretched in a chain eastwards, and helped to ensure the prosperity -of the valley; and the town sprang up and prospered, as was so often -the case, under the shadow of the great ecclesiastical foundation. -Unfortunately the monks and the citizens were constantly at -loggerheads. The wealthy dwellers in the abbey, where the Conqueror’s -own son, Henry Beauclerc, had been educated, and where the greatest -in the land were wont to come, did not approve of tradesmen and -other common folk congregating so near the sacred edifice. Thus in -1327 the proud mitred Abbot refused to allow the citizens to hold a -market in the town, and a riot ensued, in which the folk of Abingdon -were backed up by the Mayor of Oxford and a considerable crowd of the -University students. A great part of the Abbey was burned down, many -of its records were destroyed, and the monks were driven out. But -the tradesmen’s triumph was short-lived, for the Abbot returned with -powerful support, and certain of the ringleaders were hanged for their -share in the disturbance. - -However, the town grew despite the frowns of the Church, and it soon -became a considerable centre for the cloth trade. Not only did it -make cloth itself, but much of the traffic which there was between -London and the western cloth-towns—Gloucester, Stroud, Cirencester, -etc.—passed through Abingdon, particularly when its bridge had been -built by John Huchyns and Geoffrey Barbur in 1416. - -When, in 1538, the abbey was suppressed, the townsfolk rejoiced at -the downfall of the rich and arrogant monks, and sought pleasure and -revenge in the destruction of the former home of their enemies. So that -in these days there is not a great deal remaining of the ancient fabric. - -A few miles below Abingdon is Dorchester (not to be confused with the -Dorset town of the same name), not exactly on the River, but about a -mile up the tributary river, the Thame, which here comes wandering -through the meadows to join the main stream. Like Abingdon, Dorchester -has had its day, but its abbey church remains, built on the site of the -ancient and extremely important Saxon cathedral; and, one must confess, -it seems strangely out of place in such a sleepy little village. - -Wallingford, even more than these, has lost its ancient prestige, -for it was through several centuries a great stronghold and a royal -residence. We have only to look at the map of the Thames Valley, and -note how the various roads converge on this particularly useful ford, -to see immediately Wallingford’s importance from a military and a -commercial point of view. A powerful castle to guard such a valuable -key to the midlands, or the south-west, was inevitable. - -William the Conqueror, passing that way in order that he might discover -a suitable crossing, and so get round to the north of London (p. 143), -was shown the ford by one Wygod, the ruling thane of the district; and -naturally William realized at once the possibilities of the place. A -powerful castle soon arose in place of the old earthworks, and this -castle lasted on till the Civil War, figuring frequently in the many -struggles that occurred during the next three or four hundred years. - -It played an important part in that prolonged and bitter struggle -between Stephen and the Empress Maud, and suffered a very long siege. -Again, in 1646, at the time of the Civil War, it was beset for -sixty-five days by the Parliamentary armies; and, after a gallant stand -by the Royalist garrison, was practically destroyed by Fairfax, who saw -fit to blow it up. So that now very little stands: just a few crumbling -walls and one window incorporated in the fabric of a private residence. - -Between Wallingford and Reading lies what is, from the geographical -point of view, one of the most interesting places in the whole length -of the Thames Valley—Goring Gap. - -You will see from a contour map that the Thames Basin, generally -speaking, is a hill-encircled valley with gently undulating ground, -except in the one place where the Marlborough-Chiltern range of chalk -hills sweep right across the valley. - -By the time the River reaches Goring Gap it has fallen from a height -of about six hundred feet above sea-level to a height of about one -hundred feet above sea-level; and there rises from the river on each -side a steep slope four or five hundred feet high—Streatley Hill on the -Berkshire side and Goring Heath on the Oxfordshire side. - -The question arises, Why should these two ranges of hills, the -Marlborough Downs and the Chiltern Hills, meet just at this point? Is -it simply an accident of geography that their two ends stand exactly -face to face on opposite sides of the Thames? - -Now the geologists tell us that it is no coincidence. They have studied -the strata—that is, the different layers of the materials forming the -hills—and they find that the strata of the range on the Berkshire side -compare exactly with the strata of the other; so that at some remote -period the two must have been joined to form one unbroken range. How -then did the gap come? Was it due to a cracking of the hill—a double -crack with the earth slipping down in between, as has sometimes -happened in the past? Here again the geologists tells us, No. Moreover -they tell us that undoubtedly the River has _cut its way_ right through -the chalk hills. - -“But how can that be possible?” someone says. “Here we have the Thames -down in a low-lying plain on the north-west side of the hills, and -down in the valley on the south-east side. How could a river flowing -across a plain get up to the heights to commence the wearing away at -the tops?” Here again the geologists must come to our aid. They tell us -that back in that dim past, so interesting to picture yet so difficult -to grasp, when the ancient, mighty River flowed (see Book I., Intro.), -the chalk-lands extended from the Chilterns westwards, that there was -no valley where now Oxford, Abingdon, and Lechlade lie, but that the -River flowed across the top of a tableland of chalk from its sources -in the higher grounds of the west to the brink at or near the eastern -slope of the Chilterns; and that from this lofty position the River -was able to wear its way down, and so make a =V=-shaped cutting in -the end of the tableland. Afterwards there came an alteration in the -surface. Some tremendous internal movement caused the land gradually -to fold up, as it were; so that the tableland sagged down in the -middle, leaving the Marlborough-Chiltern hills on the one side and -the Cotswold-Edgehill range on the other, with the Oxford valley in -between. But by this time the =V=-shaped gap had been cut sufficiently -low to allow the River to flow through the hills, and to go on cutting -its way still lower and lower. - - - - -CHAPTER FOUR - -_Reading_ - - -Reading is without doubt the most disappointing town in the whole of -the Thames Valley. It has had such a full share of history, far more -than other equally famous towns; has been favoured by the reigning -monarch of the land through many centuries; has taken sides in internal -strife and felt the tide of war surging round its gates; it has counted -for so much in the life of England that one feels almost a sense of -loss in finding it just a commonplace manufacturing town, with not a -semblance of any of its former glory. - -Like many other towns in England, it sprang up round a religious -house—one of the string of important abbeys which stretched from -Abingdon to Westminster. But before that it had been recognized as an -important position. - -We have seen that Oxford, Wallingford, and other places came into -existence by reason of their important fords across the River. Reading -arose into being because the long and narrow peninsula formed by the -junction of the Kennet with the Thames was such a splendid spot for -defensive purposes that right from early days there had been some sort -of a stronghold there. - -Here in this very safe place, then, the Conqueror’s son established his -great foundation, the Cluniac Abbey of Reading, for the support of two -hundred monks and for the refreshment of travellers. It was granted -ample revenues, and given many valuable privileges, among them that -of coining money. Its Abbot was a mitred Abbot, and had the right to -sit with the lords spiritual in Parliament. From its very foundation -it prospered, rising rapidly into a position of eminence; and, like -the other abbeys, it did much towards the growth of the agricultural -prosperity of the valley, encouraging the countryfolk to drain and -cultivate their lands properly. - -[Illustration: - -The Gatehouse Reading Abbey] - -Though we first hear of it as a fortified place, and though at -different times in history it felt the shock of war, Reading was never -an important military centre, for the simple reason that it did -not guard a main road across or beside the River. Consequently the -interruptions in its steady progress were few and far between, and the -place was left to develop its civilian and religious strength. This -it did so well that during the four hundred years of the life of the -Abbey it always counted for much with the Sovereigns, who went there -to be entertained, and even in time of pestilence brought thither -their parliaments, whose bodies were in the end buried there. By the -thirteenth century the Abbey had risen to such a position that only -Westminster could vie with it in wealth and magnificence. - -And now what remains of it all? Almost nothing. There is what is -called the old Abbey gateway, but it is merely a reconstruction with -some of the ancient materials. In the Forbury Gardens lie all that -is left, just one or two ivy-grown fragments of massive masonry, -outlining perhaps the Chapter House, in which the parliaments were -held, and the great Abbey Church, dedicated to St. Thomas Becket, where -were the royal tombs and where in 1339 John of Gaunt was married. -For the rest, the ruins have served all and sundry as a quarry for -ready-prepared building stone during several centuries. Much of it was -used to make St. Mary’s Church and the Hospital of the Poor Knights of -Windsor; while still more was commandeered by General Conway for the -construction of the bridge between Henley and Wargrave. - -How did the Abbey come to such a state of dilapidation? Largely as -a result of the Civil War. The Abbey was dissolved in 1539, and the -Abbot actually hung, drawn, and quartered, because of his defiance. The -royal tombs, where were buried Henry I., the Empress Maud, and others, -were destroyed and the bones scattered; and from that time onwards -things went from bad to worse. Henry VII. converted parts of it into -a palace for himself and used it for a time, but in Elizabethan days -it had got into such a very bad state that the Queen, who stayed there -half-a-dozen times, gave permission for the rotting timbers and many -cartloads of stone to be removed. But it remained a dwelling till the -eventual destruction during the Rebellion. - -During the war which proved so disastrous for the great Abbey, Reading -was decidedly Royalist, but the fortunes of war brought several changes -for it. It withstood for some time during 1643 a severe siege by the -Earl of Essex, and, just as relief was at hand, it surrendered. Then -Royalists and Parliamentarians in turn held the town; and naturally -with these changes and the fighting involved the place suffered -greatly, especially the outstanding building, the Abbey. St. Giles’ -Church, which escaped destruction, still bears the marks of the -bombardment. - -But the town refused to die with the Abbey. The Abbey had done much -to establish and vitalize the town. In its encouragement of the -agriculture of the districts it had created the necessity for a central -market-town, and Reading had grown and flourished accordingly. Thus, -when the Abbey came to an end, the town was so firmly established that -it was enabled to live on and prosper exceedingly. - -Now Reading passes its days independent, almost unconscious, of the -past, with its glory and its tragedy. Nor does the River any more -enter into its calculations. To Reading has come the railway; and the -railway has made the modern town what it is—an increasingly important -manufacturing town and railway junction, and a ready centre for the -rich agricultural land round about it; a hive of industry, with -foundries, workshops, big commercial buildings, and a University -College; with churches, chapels, picture-palaces, and fast-moving -electric-tramcars, clanging their way along streets thronged with busy, -hurrying people—in short, a typical, clean, modern industrial town, -with nothing very attractive about it, but on the other hand nothing to -repel or disgust. - -Reading’s most famous industries are biscuit-making and seed-growing. -Messrs. Huntley and Palmer’s biscuits, in the making of which four or -five thousand people are employed, are known the world over; and so -are Messrs. Sutton’s seeds, grown in, and advertised by, many acres of -beautiful gardens. - -The Kennet, on which the town really stands, is a river which has lost -its ancient power, for the geologists tell us that along its valley the -real mighty river once ran, receiving the considerable Cherwell-Thames -tributary at this point. Now, whereas the tributary has grown in -importance if not in size, the main stream has shrunk to such an -enormous extent that the tributary has become the river, and the river -the tributary. Of course, passing through Reading the little river -loses its beauty, but the Kennet which comes down from the western end -of the Marlborough Downs and flows through the Berkshire meadows is a -delightful little stream. - - - - -CHAPTER FIVE - -_Holiday Thames—Henley to Maidenhead_ - - -The western half of that portion of the River which has for its bank -the county of Buckinghamshire might well be spoken of as “holiday -Thames,” for it is on this lovely stretch that a great part of the more -important river pleasure-making is done. Certainly we get boating at -Richmond, Kingston, Molesey, etc., nearer the metropolis, but it is of -the Saturday or Sunday afternoon sort, where Londoners, weary from the -week’s labours, find rest and solace in a few brief hours of leisurely -punting or rowing. But, between Maidenhead and Henley, at places like -Sonning, Pangbourne, and Cookham, folk live on or by the River, either -in houseboats or waterside cottages, and the River is not just a -diversion, but is for the time being the all-important thing. - -[Illustration: SONNING.] - -Nor is this difficult to understand, for the River here is -extraordinarily beautiful—a place to linger in and dream away the -hours. Henley, which commences the stretch, lies just within the -borders of Oxfordshire, and here is celebrated what is, next to the -Boatrace at Putney, the most famous of all Thames festivals—for Henley -Regatta draws rowing men (and women) from all parts, and crews come -from both the Old World and the New to compete in the open races. The -River then is almost covered with craft of all sorts moored closely -together, with just a narrow water-lane down the centre for the passage -of the competing boats; and the bright dresses and gay parasols of the -ladies, with the background of green trees, all reflected in the water, -make a brilliant and pleasing spectacle. - -[Illustration: HENLEY.] - -A few miles below Henley is Great Marlow, a clean and compact little -riverside town, whose chief interest lies, perhaps, in the fact that -here the poet Shelley lived for a time, writing some of his wonderful -poems. Shelley spent much of his time on the River, and learned to love -it very much, so that in after years we find him writing from Italy: -“My thoughts for ever cling to Windsor Forest and the copses of Marlow.” - -The seven miles between Marlow and Maidenhead contain the most glorious -scenery in the whole valley, for the River here for a considerable -distance flows between gently rising hills whose slopes are richly -wooded, the trees in many places coming right down to the water’s -edge. Alike in spring, when the fresh young green is spreading over -the hillsides, and in autumn, when the woods are afire with every -tint of gold and brown, the Cliveden Woods and the Quarry Woods of -Marlow, with their mirrored reflections in the placid waters below, -are indescribably beautiful. Above the woods, high on the Buckingham -bank, stands Cliveden House, magnificently situated. In the old mansion -which formerly stood on the spot was first performed Thomson’s masque -“Alfred.” This is very interesting, for the masque contained “Rule, -Britannia,” composed by Dr. Arne; so here the tune was sung in public -for the first time. - -At various spots along the stretch we can see quite clearly the -terraces which indicate the alteration in the position of the -river-bed. High up towards the tops, sometimes actually at the tops of -the hillsides, are the shallow, widespread gravel beds which show where -in the dim past the original great Thames flowed (see Book I., Intro.). -Then lower down come other terraces, with more gravel beds, to show a -second position of the River, when, after centuries, it had cut its way -lower and diminished in volume. Thus: - -[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF THE THAMES VALLEY TERRACES.] - -Well-marked terraces can be found on the Berkshire side of the River -between Maidenhead and Cookham, also at Remenham not far from Henley. -They are visible on both sides of the River at Reading. Above Reading -similar terraces, with their beds of river gravel, may be seen at -Culham and Cholsey, between Radley and Abingdon, and also at Oxford. - - - - -CHAPTER SIX - -_Windsor_ - - -Windsor Castle, seen from the River at Clewer as we make our way -downstream, provides us with one of the most magnificent views in the -whole valley. Standing there, high on its solitary chalk hill, with -the glowing red roofs of the town beneath and the rich green of the -numerous trees clustering all round its base, the whole bathed in -summer sunshine, it is a superb illustration of what a castle should -be—ever-present, magnificent, defiant. - -Yet, despite its wonderful situation, the finest without doubt in all -the south of England, Windsor has had little or no history, has rarely -beaten off marauding foes, and seldom taken any part in great national -struggles. Built for a fortress, it has been through the centuries -nothing more than a palace. - -Erected by the builder of the Tower, William of Normandy, and -probably for the same purpose, it has passed in many ways through a -parallel existence, has been just what the Tower has been—an intended -stronghold, a prison, and a royal residence. Yet, whereas the Tower -has been intimately bound up with the life of England through many -centuries, Windsor has, with just one or two brief exceptions, been -a thing apart, something living its life in the quiet backwaters of -history. - -[Illustration: WINDSOR CASTLE.] - -The Windsor district was always a favourite one with the rulers of the -land even before the existence of the Castle. Tradition speaks of a -hunting lodge, deep in the glades of the Old Windsor Forest, close by -the river, as belonging to the redoubtable King Arthur, and declares -that here he and his Knights of the Round Table stayed when they -hunted in the greenwood or sallied forth on those quests of adventure -with which we are all familiar. What is more certain, owing to the -bringing to light of actual remains, is that Old Windsor was a Roman -station. Certainly it was a favourite haunt of the Saxon kings, who in -all probability had a palace of some sort there, close to the Roman -road which passed by way of Staines to the camp at Silchester; and -its value must have been thoroughly recognized. Edward the Confessor -in particular was especially fond of the place, and when he founded -and suitably endowed his wonderful Abbey at Westminster he included -“Windsor and Staines and all that thereto belongs” among his valuable -grants to the foundation over which his friend Edwin presided. - -In those days the Castle Hill was not even named. True, its -possibilities as a strategic point were recognized, by Harold if by no -other, for we read in the ancient records that Harold held on that spot -four-and-a-half hides of land for defensive purposes. - -But it remained for William the Conqueror, that splendid soldier and -mighty hunter, to recognize the double possibilities of Windsor. -Naturally, following his victory, he made himself familiar with -Harold’s possessions, and, coming shortly to Windsor, saw therein the -means of gratifying two of his main interests. He inspected the ancient -Saxon royal dwelling and saw at once its suitability as a retiring -place for the King, surrounded by the great forest and quite close to -that most convenient of highways, the River. And at the same time, -warrior as he was, he understood the value of the little chalk hill -which stood out from the encompassing clay. - -Certainly it belonged to the Abbey as a “perpetual inheritance,” but -to such as William that was not likely to matter much. All England was -his: he could offer what he liked. So he chose for exchange two fat -manors in Essex—Wokendune and Feringes—fine, prosperous agricultural -places, totally different from the unproductive wastelands of Windsor -Hill; and the Abbot, wise man that he was, jumped at the exchange. Thus -the Church was satisfied, no violence was done, and William secured -both the Forest and the magnificent little hill commanding then, as it -does now, many miles of the Thames Valley. - -Why did he want it? For two reasons. In the first place, he wanted an -impregnable fortress within striking distance of London. True, under -his orders Gundulf had built the Tower, frowning down on the city of -London; but a fortress which is almost a part of the city, even though -it be built with the one idea of striking awe into the citizens, is -really too close at hand to be secure. A fortress slightly aloof, -and therefore not quite so liable to sudden surprise, yet within a -threatening distance, had vastly greater possibilities. - -William’s other great passion was “the chase.” Listen to what the -ancient chronicler said about him: “He made many deer-parks; and he -established laws therewith; so that whosoever slew a hart or a hind -should be deprived of his eyesight. He loved the tall deer as if he -were their father. Hares he decreed should go free. His rich men -bemoaned it; and the poor men shuddered at it. But he was so stern, -that he recked not the hatred of them all; for they must follow withal -the King’s will if they would live, or have land, or possessions, or -even his peace.” For this the surrounding forests rendered the position -of Windsor a delightful one. - -Thus came into existence the Norman Keep of Windsor Hill, and beneath -it shortly after the little settlement of New Windsor. When Domesday -Book was prepared the little place had reached the number of one -hundred houses, and thenceforward its progress was steady. By the time -of Edward I. it had developed to such an extent that it was granted a -charter—which document may still be seen in the Bodleian Library at -Oxford. - -With the Kings that came after the Conqueror Windsor soon became a -favourite residence. Henry I., marrying a Saxon Princess, Edith, niece -of the Confessor, lived there and built a fine dwelling-place with a -Chapel dedicated to the Confessor and a wall surrounding everything. - -During the reign of John, Windsor was besieged on more than one -occasion, and it was from its fastness that the most wretched King -who ever ruled—or misruled—England crept out to meet the Barons near -Runnymede, just over the Surrey border. - -Henry III., finding the old fabric seriously damaged by the sieges, -determined to rebuild on a grander scale, and he restored the walls, -raised the first Round Tower, the Lower and Middle Wards, and a Chapel; -but, save one or two fragments, all these have perished. - -However, it is to Edward of Windsor—the third King of that name—that we -must look as the real founder of the Windsor of to-day. He rebuilt the -Chapel and practically all the structures of Henry III., and added the -Upper Ward. - -In connection with this last a very interesting story is told. Edward -had on the spot two very distinguished prisoners—King David of -Scotland and King John of France—rather more like unwilling guests -than prisoners, since they had plenty of liberty and shared in the -amusements of the Court. One day the two were strolling with Edward in -the Lower Ward, taking stock of the new erections, when King John made -some such remark as this: “Your Grace’s castle would be better on the -higher ground up yonder. You yourself would be able to see more, and -the castle would be visible a greater way off.” In which opinion he was -backed by the King of Scotland. Edward’s reply must have surprised the -pair of them, for he said: “It shall be as you say. I will enlarge the -Castle by adding another ward, and your ransoms shall pay the bill.” -But Edward’s threat was never carried out. King David’s ransom was paid -in 1337, but it only amounted to 100,000 marks; while that of King -John, a matter of a million and a half of our money, was never paid, -and John returned to England to die in the year 1363 in the Palace of -the Savoy. - -In the building of Windsor, Edward had for his architect, or -superintendent, a very famous man, William Wykeham, the founder and -builder of Winchester School and New College, Oxford. Wykeham’s salary -was fixed at one shilling a day while at Windsor, and two shillings -while travelling on business connected with the Castle. Wykeham’s chief -work was the erection of the Great Quadrangle, a task which took him -ten years to complete. While there at work, he had a stone engraved -with the Latin words, _Hoc fecit Wykeham_, which translated means -“Wykeham made this.” Edward was enraged when he saw this inscription, -for he wanted no man to share with him the glory of rebuilding Windsor; -and he called his servant to account for his unwise action. Wykeham’s -reply was very ingenious, for he declared that he had meant the motto -to read: “This made Wykeham” (for the words can be translated thus). -The ready answer appeased the King’s wrath. - -The method by which the building was done was that of forced labour—a -mild form of slavery. Edward, instead of engaging workmen in the -ordinary way, demanded from each county in England so many masons, so -many carpenters, so many tilers, after the fashion of the feudal method -of obtaining an army. There were 360 of them, and they did not all come -willingly, for certain of them were thrown into prison in London for -running away. Slowly the work proceeded, but in 1361 the plague carried -off many of the craftsmen, and new demands were made on Yorkshire, -Shropshire, and Devon, to provide sixty more stone-workers each. When -at length the structure was completed in 1369, it included most of the -best parts of Windsor Castle—the Great Quadrangle, the Round Tower, -St. George’s Hall and Chapel, and the outer walls with their gates and -turrets. - -The Chapel was repaired later on, under the direction of another -distinguished Englishman, Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English -poetry, who for over a year was “master of the King’s works” at -Windsor. In 1473 the Chapel had become so dilapidated that it was -necessary to pull it down, and Edward IV. erected in its place an -exceedingly beautiful St. George’s Chapel, as an act of atonement for -all the shed blood through which he had wallowed his way to the throne. - -Queen Elizabeth was very fond indeed of Windsor, and frequently came -thither in her great barge. She built a banqueting hall and a gallery, -and formed the fine terrace which bears her name. This terrace, on the -north side, above the steep, tree-planted scarp which falls away to -the river valley, is an ideal place. Behind rise the State Apartments: -in front stretches a magnificent panorama across Eton and the plain. -On this terrace the two Charleses loved to stroll; and George III. was -accustomed to walk every day with his family, just an ordinary country -gentleman rubbing shoulders with his neighbours. - -It is a wonderful place, is Windsor Castle—very impressive and in -places very beautiful; but there is so much to write about that one -scarcely knows where to begin. Going up Castle Hill, we turn sharp to -the left, and, passing through the Gateway of Henry VIII., we are in -the Lower Ward, with St. George’s Chapel facing us in all its beauty. - -This fine perpendicular Chapel is, indeed, worthy of the illustrious -order, the Knights of the Garter, for whom it is a place both of -worship and of ceremonial. - -The Order of the Knights of the Garter was founded by Edward III. in -the year 1349, and there were great doings at Windsor on the appointed -day—St. George’s Day. Splendid pageants, grand tournaments, and -magnificent feasts, with knights in bright armour and their ladies in -the gayest of colours, were by no means uncommon in those days; but on -this occasion the spectacle was without parallel for brilliance, for -Edward had summoned to the great tournament all the bravest and most -famous knights in Christendom, and all had come save those of Spain, -forbidden by their suspicious King. From their number twenty-six were -chosen to found the Order, with the King at their head. - -St. George’s Chapel has some very beautiful stained-glass windows, -some fine tracery in its roof, and a number of very interesting -monuments. The carved stalls in the choir, with the banners of the -knights drooping overhead, remind us certainly of the Henry VII. -Chapel at Westminster. Within the Chapel walls have been enacted some -wonderful scenes—scenes pleasing, and scenes memorable for their -sorrow. Here have been brought, at the close of their busy lives, many -of England’s sovereigns, and here some of them—Henry VI. and Edward IV. -among them—rest from their labours. Queen Victoria, who loved Windsor, -lies with her husband in the Royal Tomb at Frogmore, not far away. - -The Round Tower, which stands practically in the centre of the -clustered buildings and surmounts everything, is always one of the most -interesting places. From its battlements may be seen on a clear day no -less than twelve counties. We can trace the River for miles and miles -as it comes winding down the valley from Clewer and Boveney, to pass -away into the distance where we can just faintly discern the dome of -St. Paul’s. - - - - -CHAPTER SEVEN - -_Eton College_ - - -Standing on the north terrace, or on the hundred steps which ascend -from Thames Street, with behind us the fabric which William Wykeham did -so much to fashion, we gaze out to yet another place which Wykeham made -possible—the famous College of Eton. - -True, he had nothing whatever to do with the building of Eton itself, -but he founded Winchester School, which is commonly spoken of as -England’s oldest public school; and this served the boy-king, Henry -VI., as a model for his new foundation, so that Eton is in many -respects, both as regards buildings and management, a copy of the older -place. - -The first charter is dated 1441. Henry was then only nineteen years -old, yet he says that “from the very foundation of his riper age” he -dreamed of “a solemn school at Eton where a great number of children -should be freely taught the rules of grammar.” The school was to be -called “The Kynges College of oure Ladye of Eton, beside Wyndesore.” - -[Illustration: Eton College] - -Henry, in order that he might be certain he and his assistants were -following the excellent Winchester model, paid a number of visits to -that school, and made a close study of its ways. There he was brought -much into contact with William Waynflete, who had become master of -Winchester in 1429 and done much to keep the school at its high level; -and the result was that in 1442 Henry persuaded him to become the -first master of Eton, whither he came, bringing with him from the -older foundation half-a-dozen favourite scholars to be a model for all -newcomers. Eton began with “twenty-five poor scholars” to be educated -at the King’s cost, but this number was soon increased to seventy. - -Henry did not live to see his splendid scheme in being. In fact, the -beautiful chapel which he had designed was never completed at all; -moreover, the fabric itself, which he had desired to be made of “the -hard stone of Kent,” was very largely built of brick. Nor did the -College as a whole rise into being in one great effort. Like most -historic buildings, it grew little by little into its present self, -with just a bit added here and a bit renovated there, so that the whole -thing is a medley of styles. - -In these days Eton, like most of the big public schools, is far from -being what its founder intended it to be—a school for the instruction -of deserving poor boys. Instead it has become a very exclusive college -for the education of the sons of the rich. - -There are usually just over eleven hundred boys in residence, seventy -of whom are known as “collegers,” while the other thousand odd are -called “oppidans.” For the old statute which decided on the number of -“collegers” as seventy is still obeyed, and Henry’s wish is kept in -the letter, if not in the spirit. The “collegers” live in the actual -College buildings, have their meals in the College Hall; and they wear -cloth gowns to distinguish them from the rest of the scholars. These -other thousand odd boys, the sons of gentlemen and other folk who can -afford to pay the great sum of money necessary, live in the various -masters’ houses, which are built close at hand. - -The “collegers,” who win their positions as the result of a stiff -examination, are practically the holders of very valuable scholarships, -for they pay only small sums towards their expenses. And, generally -speaking, they have a better time of it, even though they may be looked -down on and called “tugs” by some of the more snobbish “oppidans”; for -the College buildings are better than most of the houses. Moreover, -the “collegers” have two large playing fields of their own, so that -they can avoid the crush in the school fields. - -Just when the “oppidans” began to take their place is by no means -certain; but it could not have been very long after the foundation, for -there is actually in existence the letter of an “oppidan” written in -the year 1467, forty years after the opening. It is a very interesting -letter, written to the boy’s elder brother, and enclosing for his -inspection a specimen of the writer’s Latin verses (the making of Latin -verse has always been a speciality at Eton). The letter also suggests -the forwarding of “12 lbs. of figgs and 8 lbs. of raisins,” so, you -see, boys were boys even in those far-off days. - -Many of Eton’s most picturesque customs have either died out or been -suppressed by the authorities. One of the more famous of these was -“Montem,” given up in 1847. On a certain day, once every three years, -the scholars marched in procession to Salt Hill—that is, to “the -mountain” (_ad montem_ means “to the mountain”); and there certain of -their number made a collection of money from all and sundry, giving -little pieces of salt in exchange. Usually royalty from Windsor met -them there, and contributed generously to the fund. “Montem” was a -gay festival, for fancy-dress was the order of the day, and there was -plenty of noise and colour as the merry procession made its way up the -hill to the music of several bands, followed by a crowd of visitors. -In 1846 the authorities decided to put an end to the celebration, -because with the coming of the railway to Windsor an unwelcome crowd -of excursionists presented itself each year, and the picturesque -gathering degenerated into a vulgar rabble. One old custom which still -survives is “Threepenny Day.” On the 27th day of February each year, -the anniversary of the death of a Provost named Lupton, builder of the -picturesque gateway, each of the “collegers” receives a bright new -threepenny-bit, provision for which is made in a sum of money left by -Lupton and another Provost. - -Eton, like that other and older seat of learning to which many Etonians -make the journey up the valley, gains much from its nearness to the -River, for swimming and rowing are two favourite pastimes with the boys -of this school. The latter pastime reaches its zenith on the “fourth -of June”—the great day which Eton keeps in honour of George III.’s -birthday. Then the College is besieged by hundreds of relatives and -friends, and there is a fine water-carnival on the River. - - - - -CHAPTER EIGHT - -_Hampton Court_ - - -Nearly twenty miles below Windsor we come upon the ancient palace of -Hampton, better known in these days as Hampton Court, beautifully -situated among tall trees not far from the river bank. It is a -wonderful old place—one of the nation’s priceless possessions—and once -inside we are loth to leave it, for there is something attractive about -its quaint old courtyards and its restful, bird-haunted gardens. - -Certainly it is the largest royal palace in England, and in some -respects it is the finest. Yet, strangely enough, it was not built for -a King, nor has any sovereign lived in it since the days of George II. -Wolsey, the proud Cardinal of Henry VIII.’s days, erected it for his -own private mansion, and it is still the Cardinal’s fabric which we -look upon as we pass through the older portions of the great pile of -buildings. - -[Illustration: HAMPTON COURT, GARDEN FRONT.] - -Wolsey was, as you probably know, the son of a comparatively poor man, -yet he was possessed of great gifts, and when he left Oxford he soon -rose to a position of eminence. The Kings, first of all Henry VII., -then “bluff King Hal,” showered honours and gifts on him. The Pope -created him a Cardinal, and Henry VIII. gave him the powerful position -of Lord Chancellor of England. Wolsey, as befitted his high station, -lived a life of great splendour, the pomp and show of his household -rivalling even that of the King. Naturally such a man would have the -best, even of palaces. - -As we pass through the wonderful old courts of the Cardinal’s dwelling -we can imagine the vast amount of money which it must have cost to -build, for it was magnificent in those days quite beyond parallel; and -we cannot wonder that King Henry thought that such a building ought to -be nothing less than a royal residence. - -Little differences soon arose. Wolsey, indeed, had not lived long at -Hampton Court when there came an open breach between the King and -himself. The trouble increased, and he fell from his high place very -rapidly. When in 1526 he presented Hampton Court Palace to the King -something other than generosity must have prompted the gift. - -Henry VIII. at once proceeded to make the palace more magnificent -still. He pulled down the Cardinal’s banqueting hall and erected a -more sumptuous one in its place; and this we can see to-day. Built in -the style known to architects as Tudor, it is one of the finest halls -in the whole of our land. Many huge beams of oak, beautifully fitted, -carved, and ornamented, support a magnificent panelled and decorated -roof, while glorious stained-glass windows (copies of the original ones -fitted under Henry VIII.’s directions) fill the place with subdued -light. The Great Gatehouse also belongs to Henry’s additions, and, -with its octagonal towers and great pointed arch, has a very royal and -imposing appearance. - -Though no sovereign has dwelt in the palace for a century or more, it -was for nearly two hundred years a favourite residence of our Kings -and Queens, and many famous events have taken place within its walls. -Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth were both very partial to the palace -and its delightful gardens, and they spent much time there. Indeed, it -is said that the latter was dining at Hampton when the glorious news -of Drake’s defeat of the Spanish Armada was carried to her. James I. -resided at the palace after his succession to the throne, and there, in -addition to selling quite openly any number of knighthoods and peerages -in order that he might add to his scanty means, he held the famous -conference which decided that a uniform and authorized translation of -the Bible should be made. In the great hall countless plays and masques -were performed, and probably the mighty Shakespeare himself visited the -place. King Charles I. spent many days at the Court, some of them as a -prisoner of the Parliamentary soldiers; and here too Cromwell made a -home until shortly before the time of his death. After the Restoration -Charles II. and his Court settled at the palace, and in the surrounding -parks indulged their fondness for the chase. - -Immediately Mary and her husband, William of Orange, came to the -throne they commenced the alterations which have largely given us the -palace of to-day. The old State apartments were pulled down and, under -the direction of Sir Christopher Wren, larger and more magnificent -ones were erected, something on the lines of the famous French royal -palace at Versailles. At the same time William ordered the grounds to -be laid out in the style of the famous Dutch gardens. The next three -sovereigns, Anne, and the first and second Georges, all lived at the -Court; but from that time onwards it ceased to be a royal residence. -George III. would not go near the place. The story is told that on -one occasion at Hampton Court his grandfather boxed his ears soundly, -and he vowed never again to live on the scene of such an indignity. -At any rate, he divided up its thousand rooms into private suites of -apartments, which were given as residences to persons of high social -position whose incomes were not large enough to keep them. And to this -day a very considerable portion of the palace is shut off from public -view for the same purpose. - -However, the parts which we can visit are extremely interesting. -Entering at the main gate by Molesey Bridge, we cross the outer Green -Court and come to the Moat. In Wolsey’s time this was crossed by a -drawbridge of the sort in use when palaces were fortresses as well -as dwelling-places. We now pass into the buildings over a fine old -battlemented Tudor bridge. - -This was built by Henry VIII. in honour of Anne Boleyn; but for -centuries it lay buried and forgotten. Then one day, just before the -War, workmen came upon it quite accidentally as they were cleaning out -the old Moat. - -Once through the gateway we come straight into the first of the -old-world courtyards—the Base Court—and we feel almost as if we had -stepped back several hundred years into a bygone age. The deep red -brickwork of the battlements and the walls, the quaint chimneys, -doorways, windows, and turrets, all belong to the distant past; they -make on us an impression which not even the splendour of Wren’s -additions can remove. Passing through another gateway—Anne Boleyn’s—we -come into the Clock Court, so called because of the curious old -timepiece above the archway. This clock was specially constructed for -Henry VIII., and for centuries it has gone on telling the minute of the -hour, the hour of the day, the day of the month, and the month of the -year. - -The Great Hall, which we may approach by a stairway leading up from -Anne Boleyn’s Gateway is, as we have already said, a magnificent -apartment. The glory of its elaborate roof can never be forgotten. -Hanging on its walls are some very famous tapestries which have been -at Hampton Court since the days of Henry VIII. Among these are “tenne -pieces of new arras of the Historie of Abraham,” made in Brussels—some -of the richest and most beautiful examples of the art of weaving -ever produced. From the Great Hall we pass into what is known as the -Watching Chamber or the Great Guard Room—the apartment in which the -guards assembled when the monarch was at dinner, and through which -passed all who desired audience of their sovereign. On its walls are -wonderful old Flemish tapestries which once belonged to Wolsey himself. -From the Watching Chamber we pass to another chamber through which the -dishes were taken to the tables which stood on the dais at the end of -the Hall. - -Returning once more to the ground floor we go through a hall and find -ourselves in Fountain Court. Here we enter another world entirely. -Behind us are the quaint, old-fashioned courtyards, and the beautiful, -restful Tudor buildings. The sudden change to Wren’s architecture -has an effect almost startling. Yet when once we have forgotten the -older buildings and become used to the very different style we see -that Wren’s work has a beauty of its own. The newer buildings are -very extensive, and the State apartments are filled with pictures and -furniture of great interest. Entrance is obtained by what is called -the King’s Great Staircase. The first room, entered by a fine doorway, -is the Guard Room, a fine, lofty chamber with the upper part of its -wall decorated with thousands of old weapons—guns, bayonets, pistols, -swords, etc. From thence we pass to the round of the magnificent -royal apartments—King’s rooms, Queen’s rooms, and so on, some thirty -or more of them—all filled with priceless treasures—beautiful and -rare paintings, delightful carvings from the master hand of Grinling -Gibbons, so delicate and natural that it is difficult to believe they -are made of wood, furniture of great historical interest and beauty. -Here are the famous pictures—the “Triumph of Julius Cæsar,” nine -large canvases showing the Roman emperor returning in triumph from -one of his many wars. These were painted by Mantegna, the celebrated -Italian artist, and originally formed part of the great collection -brought together at Hampton Court by Charles I. They are a priceless -possession. Here, too, are the famous “Hampton Court Beauties” and -“Windsor Beauties,” the first painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, the -second by Sir Peter Lely, each portraying a number of famous beauties -of the Court. Walking leisurely round these apartments we can obtain -an excellent idea of the elaborate style of furnishing which was -fashionable two or three centuries ago. - -Yet, despite all these most valuable relics of the past, which many -people come half across the world to view, for some folk the supreme -attraction of Hampton Court will always be the gardens. Very beautiful -they are too—the result of centuries of loving care by those, Kings -and commoners, who had time and inclination to think of garden making. -Perhaps to William of Orange must be given greatest credit in the -matter, for it was he who ordered the setting-out of the long, shady -avenues and alleys, and the velvety lawns and orderly paths. But we -must not forget our debt of gratitude to Henry for the wonderful little -sunken garden on the south side of the palace, perhaps one of the -finest little old English gardens still in existence; and to Charles I. -for the Canal, over a mile long, with its shady walk, and its birds and -fishes, and its air of dreamy contentment. - -Tens of thousands visit these grounds in the summer months, and the -old grape-vine is always one of the chief attractions. Planted as long -ago as 1768, it still flourishes and bears an abundant crop each year, -sometimes as many as 2,500 bunches, all of fine quality. Its main stem -is now over four feet in circumference, and its longest branch about -one hundred and twenty feet in length. On the east front, stretching -in one unbroken line across the Home Park for three-quarters of a mile -towards Kingston, is the Long Water, an ornamental lake made by Charles -II. North of the buildings is another garden, known as the Wilderness, -and here we may find the celebrated Maze, constructed in the time of -William and Mary. This consists of a great number of winding and -zig-zag paths, hedged on each side with yew and other shrubs; and the -puzzle is to find the way into the little open space in the centre. -On almost any day in the summer can be heard the merry laughter of -visitors who have lost their way in the labyrinth of paths. - -Still farther north lies Bushey Park, with its famous Chestnut Avenue, -stretching over a mile in the direction of Teddington. Here are more -than a thousand acres of the finest English parkland; and this, -together with the large riverside stretch known as the Home Park, -formed the royal demesne in which the monarchs and their followers -hunted the deer. - -As was said at the beginning of the chapter, only with reluctance do we -leave Hampton Court, partly because of its very great beauty, partly -because of its enthralling historical associations. As we turn our -backs on the great Chancellor’s memorial, we think perhaps a trifle -sadly of all that the place must have meant to Wolsey, and there -come to mind those resounding words which Shakespeare put into his -mouth—“Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness.” - - - - -CHAPTER NINE - -_Kingston_ - - -Already we have seen that in many cases, if not in most, the River has -founded the towns on its banks. These have sprung up originally to -guard either an important crossing or the junction of a tributary with -the main stream or a “gate” where the River has found a way through the -hills; and then, outliving the period of their military usefulness, -they have developed later into centres of some commercial importance. -Thus it has been with Kingston-upon-Thames, a place of ancient fame, -for, according to the geology of the district, there must have been at -this spot one of the lowest fords of the River. - -That there was on Kingston Hill a Roman station guarding that ford -there can be very little doubt; and there are evidences that a -considerable Roman town was situated here, for the Roman remains -brought to light have been fairly abundant. - -Workmen digging or ploughing on the hillside up towards Coombe Warren -have, at various times in the past, discovered the foundations of Roman -villas, with gold, silver, and bronze coins of the fourth century, and -numerous household goods, and in one place a cemetery full of funeral -urns. - -But it was not till Saxon times that Kingston came to the heyday of its -existence. Then it was a place of the greatest possible importance, -for here England was united into one country under one King. Prior -to the union England was divided off into a number of states, which -found amusement in fighting each other when they were not fighting -the ancient Britons in their western fastnesses. These states were -Northumbria, in the north; Mercia in the Midlands; Wessex in the -south-west; and, in addition, the smaller areas of East Anglia, Essex, -and Kent. When any one chieftain or king was sufficiently strong to -defeat the others, and make them do his will, he became for the time -being the “bretwalda,” or overlord; but it was a very precarious -honour. The kings in turn won the distinction, but the greater ones -emerged from the struggle, and in the end Egbert, king of Wessex, by -subduing the Mercians, became so powerful that all the other kings -submitted to him. Thus Egbert became the first king or overlord of all -the English (827), and picked on Kingston as the place for his great -council or witenagemot. - -Then followed the terrible years of the Danish invasions, and England -was once more split up into sections; but the trouble passed, and -Edward the Elder, elected and crowned king of Wessex at Kingston, -eventually became the real King of England, the first to be addressed -in those terms by the Pope of Rome. - -Thence onward Kingston was the recognized place of coronation for the -English Kings, till Edward the Confessor allotted that distinction to -his new Abbey at Westminster. In addition, it was one of the royal -residences and the home of the Bishops of Winchester, whose palace was -situated where now a narrow street, called Bishop’s Hall, runs down -from Thames Street to the River. So that Kingston’s position as one of -the chief towns of Wessex was acknowledged. - -The stone on which the Saxon Kings were crowned stands now quite close -to the market-place, jealously guarded by proper railings, as such a -treasure should be. Originally it was housed in a little chapel, called -the Chapel of St. Mary, close to the Parish Church, and with it were -preserved effigies of the sovereigns crowned; but unfortunately in the -year 1730 the chapel collapsed, killing the foolish sexton who had been -digging too close to the foundations. Then for years the stone was -left out in the market-place, unhonoured and almost unrecognized, till -in the year 1850 it was rescued and mounted in its present position. -According to the inscription round the base, the English Kings crowned -at Kingston included Edward the Elder (902), Athelstan (924), Edmund I. -(940), Edred (946), Edwy the Fair (955), Edward the Martyr (975), and -Ethelred II. (979). - -That most wretched of monarchs, King John, gave the town its first -charter, and for a time at least resided here. In the High Street -there is now shown a quaint old building to which the title of “King -John’s Dairy” has been given, and this possibly marks the situation of -the King’s dwelling-place. - -There was a castle here from quite early days, for we read that in -1263, when Henry III. was fighting against his barons, Kingston Castle -fell into the hands of de Montfort’s colleagues, who captured and held -the young Prince Edward; and that Henry returned in the following year -and won the castle back again. At the spot where Eden Street joins the -London Road were found the remains of walls of great thickness, and -these, which are still to be seen in the cellars of houses there, are -commonly supposed to be the foundations of a castle held by the Earls -of Warwick at the time of the Wars of the Roses, and possibly of an -even earlier structure. - -Right down through history Kingston, probably by reason of its -important river crossing, has had its peaceful life disturbed at -intervals by the various national struggles. Armies have descended on -it suddenly, stayed the night, taken their fill, and gone on their -way; a few have come and stayed. Monarchs have broken their journeys -at this convenient spot, or have dined here in state to show their -favour. For Kingston, as the King’s “tun” or town should, has always -been a distinctly Royalist town, has invariably declared for the -sovereign—right or wrong. - -[Illustration: KINGSTON.] - -Thus in 1554, when young Sir Thomas Wyatt raised his army of ten -thousand to attack London, and found the Bridge too strong to force, -he made his way westwards to the convenient crossing at Kingston; but -the inhabitants broke down their bridge to delay his progress, and so -enabled Mary to get together a force; for which act of devotion the -citizens were rewarded with a free charter by Queen Mary. - -Similarly, in the Civil War the town stood firmly by Charles, despite -the fact that the town was occupied by cavaliers and roundheads in -turn. Thus in October, 1642, the Earl of Essex settled down with -several thousand men; while in November Sir Richard Onslow came to -defend the crossing. But the inhabitants showed themselves extremely -“malignant”; though when, just after, the King came to the town with -his army he was greeted with every sign of joyous welcome. - -Also at Kingston occurred one of the numerous risings which happened -during the year 1648. All over the land the Royalists gathered men -and raised the King’s standard, hoping that Parliament would not be -able to cope with so many simultaneous insurrections. In July the -Earl of Holland, High Steward of Kingston, the Duke of Buckingham, -and his brother Lord Francis Villiers, got together a force of -several hundred horsemen, but they were heavily defeated by a force of -Parliamentarians, and Lord Villiers was killed. - -[Illustration: Teddington Weir] - -Nowadays, despite the fact that the town has held its own through -a thousand years, neither losing in fame a great deal nor gaining, -Kingston does not give one any impression of age. True, it has some -ancient dwellings here and there, but for the most part they are hidden -away behind unsightly commercial frontages. - -Between Kingston and Richmond the River sweeps round in an inverted -=S=-bend, passing on the way Teddington and Twickenham, formerly -two very pretty riverside villages. The former possess the lowest -pound-lock on the River (with the exception of that of the half-tide -lock at Richmond), and also a considerable weir. It is the point at -which the tide reaches its limit, and thereby gets its name Teddington, -or Tide-ending-town. - - - - -CHAPTER TEN - -_Richmond_ - - -Richmond is an old place with a new name, for though its history goes -back to Saxon times, it did not get its present name till the reign of -Henry VII., when “Harry of Richmond” rechristened it in allusion to the -title which he received from the Yorkshire town. Prior to that it had -always been called Sheen, and the name still survives in an outlying -part of the town. - -Sheen Manor House had been right from Saxon days a hunting lodge and -an occasional dwelling for the Sovereigns, but Edward III. built a -substantial palace, and, absolutely deserted by all his friends, died -in it in the year 1377. He was succeeded by his young grandson, the -Black Prince’s child Richard, who spent most of his childhood with his -mother Joan at Kingston Castle, just a mile or two higher upstream. -Richard’s wife, Queen Anne of Bohemia, died in Sheen Palace in the -year 1394, and Richard was so upset that he had the palace pulled down, -and never visited Sheen again. - -[Illustration: Richmond Hill from Petersham Meadows] - -This, however, by no means ended the life of Sheen as a royal -residence, for Henry V. built a new house, and when, in 1498, this was -burned down, Henry VII. built a new palace on a much grander scale, -and at the same time gave it the name which it still bears. With the -Tudor kings and queens Richmond was a very great favourite. “Bluff King -Hal” loved to hunt in its woodland, and here, in 1603, “good Queen -Bess” died, after forty-five years of a troublous but prosperous and -progressive reign. Charles I. spent much of his time here, and he it -was who added Richmond Park to the royal domain in the year 1637. - -After the Civil War the palace was set aside for the use of the -widowed Queen Henrietta Maria, but by that time it had got into a very -dilapidated condition; and little or nothing was done to improve it. -So that before long this once stately palace fell to pieces and was -removed piecemeal. Now all that remains of it is a gateway by Richmond -Green. - -Richmond to-day is merely a suburb of London, one of the pleasure -grounds of the city’s countless workers, who come hither on Saturdays -and Sundays either to find exercise and enjoyment on the River, or -to breathe the pure air of the park. This New Park, so called to -distinguish it from the Old Deer Park, which lies at the other end of -the town, is a very fine place indeed. Surrounded by a wall about -eleven miles long, it covers 2,250 acres of splendid park and woodland, -with glorious views in all directions. In it are to be found numerous -deer which spend their young days here, and later are transferred to -Windsor Park. The Old Deer Park, of which about a hundred acres are -open to the public for football, golf, tennis, and other pastimes, lies -by the riverside between the town and Kew Gardens. - -[Illustration: From the Terrace Richmond] - -The view of the River Thames from the Terrace on Richmond Hill is -world-famous. Countless artists have painted it, and many writers have -described it; and probably it has deserved all the good things said -about it, for even now, spoiled as it is by odd factory chimneys and -unsightly buildings dotted about, it still remains one of the most -delightful vistas of the silvery, winding River. Those of you who -have read Scott’s “Heart of Midlothian” will probably remember the -passage (chapter xxxvi.) which describes it: “The equipage stopped -on a commanding eminence, where the beauty of English landscape was -displayed in its utmost luxuriance. Here the Duke alighted and desired -Jeanie to follow him. They paused for a moment on the brow of a hill, -to gaze on the unrivalled landscape which it presented. A huge sea -of verdure, with crossing and intersecting promontories of massive -and tufted groves, was tenanted by numberless flocks and herds, which -seemed to wander unrestrained and unbounded through the rich pastures. -The Thames, here turreted with villas and there garlanded with -forests, moved on slowly and placidly, like the mighty monarch of the -scene, to whom all its other beauties were but accessories, and bore -on its bosom a hundred barks and skiffs, whose white sails and gaily -fluttering pennons gave life to the whole. The Duke was, of course, -familiar with this scene; but to a man of taste it must be always new.” - -Nor have the poets been behindhand with their appreciation, as the -following extract from James Thomson’s “Seasons” shows: - -“Heavens! what a goodly prospect spreads around, Of hills, and dales, -and woods, and lawns, and spires, And glittering towers, and gilded -streams, till all The stretching landscape into smoke decays.” - - - - -CHAPTER ELEVEN - -_Richmond to Westminster_ - - -Just below Richmond, on the borders of the Middlesex village of -Isleworth, there is a foot-passenger toll-bridge, with what is known as -a half-tide lock. The arches of this bridge are open to river traffic -during the first half of the ebb-tide and the second half of the flow, -but the River is dammed for the remainder of the day in order that -sufficient water may be kept in the stretch immediately above. This, -for the present, is the last obstruction on the journey seawards. - -Isleworth, with its riverside church, its ancient inn, “The London -Apprentice,” and its great flour-mill, is a typical riverside village -which has lived on out of the past. Between it and Brentford lies the -magnificent seat of the Dukes of Northumberland—Sion House—a fine -dwelling situated in a delightful expanse of parkland facing Kew -Gardens on the Surrey shore. - -Of Kew Gardens, which stretch beside the River from the Old Deer Park -almost to Kew Bridge, it is difficult for one who loves nature to speak -in moderate terms, for it is one of the most delightful places in the -whole of our land. At every season of the year, almost every day, there -is some fresh enchantment, some glory of tree or flower unfolding -itself, so that one can go there year after year, week in and week out, -without exhausting its treasure-house of wonders, even though there is -only a matter of 350 acres to explore. - -[Illustration: - -KEW PALACE AND KEW GARDENS.] - -The Royal Botanical Gardens, as their proper name is, were first -laid out by George III. in the year 1760, and were presented to the -nation by Queen Victoria in the year 1840. Since then the authorities -have planned and worked assiduously and wisely to bring together a -botanical collection of such scope and admirable arrangement that -it is practically without rival in the world. Here may be seen, -flourishing in various huge glasshouses, the most beautiful of tropical -and semi-tropical plants—palms, ferns, cacti, orchids, giant lilies, -etc.; while in the magnificently laid out grounds are to be found -flowers, trees, and shrubs of all kinds growing in a delightful -profusion. There is not a dull spot anywhere; while the rhododendron -dell, the azalea garden, the rock garden, and the rose walks are -indescribably beautiful. Nor is beauty the only consideration, for the -carefully planned gardens, with their splendid museum, are of untold -value to the gardener and the botanist. - -Nor must we forget that Kew had its palace. Frederick, Prince of Wales, -father of George III. and great patron of Surrey cricket, resided at -Kew House, as did his son after him. The son pulled down the mansion in -1803 and erected another in its place; and, not to be outdone, George -IV. in turn demolished this. The smaller dwelling-house—dignified now -by the title of palace—a homely red-brick building, known in Queen -Anne’s time as the “Dutch House,” was built in the reign of James I. In -it died Queen Charlotte. - -If we speak with unstinting praise of Kew, what shall we say of -Brentford, opposite it on the Middlesex side of the stream? Surely no -county in England has a more untidy and squalid little county town. Its -long main street is narrow to the point of danger, so that it has been -necessary to construct at great cost a new arterial road which will -avoid Brentford altogether; while many of its byways can be dignified -by no better word than slums. Yet Brentford in the past was a place of -some note in Middlesex, and had its share of history. Indeed, in recent -times it has laid claim to be the “ford” where Julius Cæsar crossed on -his way to Verulam, a claim which for years was held undisputedly by -Cowey Stakes, near Walton. - -Now the Great Western Railway Company’s extensive docks, where numerous -barges discharge and receive their cargoes, and the incidental sidings -and warehouses, the gas-works, the various factories and commercial -buildings, make riverside Brentford a thing of positive ugliness. - -On the bank above the ferry, close to the spot where the little Brent -River joins the main stream, the inhabitants, proud of their share -in the nation’s struggles, have erected a granite pillar with the -following brief recital of the town’s claims to notoriety: - -54 B.C.—At this ancient fortified ford the British tribesmen, under -Cassivelaunus, bravely opposed Julius Cæsar on his march to Verulamium. - -A.D. 780-1.—Near by Offa, King of Mercia, with his Queen, the bishops, -and principal officers, held a Council of the Church. - -A.D. 1016.—Here Edmund Ironside, King of England, drove Cnut and his -defeated Danes across the Thames. - -A.D. 1640.—Close by was fought the Battle of Brentford between the -forces of King Charles I. and the Parliament. - -From Kew Bridge onwards the River loses steadily in charm if it gains -somewhat in importance. The beauty which has clung to it practically -all the way from the Cotswolds now almost entirely disappears, giving -place to a generally depressing aspect, relieved here and there with -just faint suggestions of the receding charm. - -A short distance downstream is Mortlake, once a pretty little riverside -village, now almost a suburb of London, and quite uninteresting save -that it marks the finish of the University Boatrace. This, as all folk -in the Thames Valley (and many out of it) are aware, is rowed each year -upstream from Putney to Mortlake, usually on the flood-tide. - -[Illustration: - -PUTNEY to MORTLAKE Championship Course] - -Barnes, on the Surrey shore, is a very ancient place. The Manor of -Barn Elmes was presented by Athelstan (925-940) to the canons of St. -Paul’s, and by them it has been held ever since. The name possibly came -from the great barn or spicarium, which the canons had on the spot. The -place is now the home of the Ranelagh Club—a famous club for outdoor -pursuits, notably polo, golf, and tennis. - -Fulham Palace, on the Middlesex bank, not far from Putney Bridge, is -the “country residence” of the Bishops of London. For nine centuries -the Bishops have held the manor of Fulham, and during most of the time -have had their domicile in the village. In these days, when Fulham is -one of the utterly dreary districts of London, with acres and acres -of dull, commonplace streets, it is hard indeed to think of it as a -fresh riverside village with fine old mansions and a wide expanse of -market-gardens and a moat-surrounded palace hidden among the tall trees. - -[Illustration: - -Fulham Palace The Quadrangle Fitz James Gateway.] - -The River now begins to run through London proper, and from its banks -rise wharves, warehouses, factories, and numerous other indications -of its manifold commercial activities. Thus it continues on past -Wandsworth, where the tiny river Wandle joins forces and where there -is talk of erecting another half-tide lock, past Fulham, Chelsea, -Battersea, Pimlico, Vauxhall, and Lambeth, on to Westminster. - -[Illustration: RANELAGH.] - -At Chelsea and Vauxhall were situated those famous pleasure-gardens—the -Ranelagh and Cremorne Gardens at the former, and the Spring Gardens -at the latter—which during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries -provided London with so much in the way of entertainment. Vauxhall -Gardens were opened to the public some time after the Restoration, and -at once became popular, so that folk of all sorts, rich and poor alike, -came to pass a pleasant evening. An account written in 1751 speaks of -the gardens as “laid out in so grand a taste that they are frequented -in the three summer months by most of the nobility and gentry then -in or near London.” The following passage from Smollett’s “Humphrey -Clinker” aptly describes the dazzling scene: “A spacious garden, part -laid out in delightful walks, bounded with high hedges and trees, and -paved with gravel; part exhibiting a wonderful assemblage of the most -picturesque and striking objects, pavilions, lodges, graves, grottos, -lawns, temples, and cascades; porticoes, colonnades, rotundas; adorned -with pillars, statues, and paintings; the whole illuminated with an -infinite number of lamps, disposed in different figures of suns, stars, -and constellations; the place crowded with the gayest company, ranging -through those blissful shades, and supping in different lodges on -cold collations, enlivened with mirth, freedom, and good humour, and -animated by an excellent band of music.” - -In the early days most of the folk came by water, and the river was -gay with boatloads of revellers Barges and boats waited each evening -at Westminster and Whitehall Stairs in readiness for passengers; and -similarly at various places along the city front craft plied for hire -to convey the citizens, their wives and daughters, and even their -apprentices. - -Ranelagh was not quite so ancient, and it encouraged a slightly better -class of visitor: otherwise it was the counterpart of Vauxhall, as was -Cremorne. It was famous, among other things, for its regatta. In 1775 -this was a tremendous water-carnival. The River from London Bridge -westwards was covered with boats of all sorts, and stands were erected -on the banks for the convenience of spectators. - -Ranelagh was demolished in 1805, but Vauxhall persisted right on till -1859, when it too came under the auctioneer’s hammer. Where Cremorne -once stood is now the huge power-station so prominent in this stretch -of the river; and the famous coffee-house kept by “Don Saltero” in the -early eighteenth century was in Cheyne Walk. - -Chelsea in its day has achieved fame in quite a variety of ways. -Apart from its pleasure gardens it has come to be well-known for its -beautiful old physic-garden; its hospital for aged soldiers, part -of the gardens of which were included in Ranelagh; its bun-house; -its pottery; and last, but by no means least, for its association -with literary celebrities. Here have lived, and worked, and, in some -cases, died, writers of such different types as Sir Thomas More, -whose headless body was buried in the church, John Locke, Addison, -Swift, Smollett, Carlyle—the “sage of Chelsea”—Leigh Hunt, Rossetti, -Swinburne, and Kingsley. Artists, too, have congregated in these quiet -streets, and the names of Turner and Whistler will never be forgotten. - -[Illustration: THE POWER-STATION, CHELSEA.] - -At Lambeth may still be seen the famous palace of the Archbishops of -Canterbury, a beautiful building of red-brick and stone, standing in -an old-world garden. Some parts of it are very old: one, the Lollards’ -Tower, is an exceedingly fine relic of medieval building. Close at -hand stands the huge pile of buildings which house the pottery works -of Messrs. Doulton. For some reason or other Lambeth has long been -associated with this industry. - -[Illustration: THE LOLLARDS’ TOWER, LAMBETH PALACE.] - -As early as 1670 one Edward Warner sold potters’ clay here, and -exported it in huge quantities to Holland and other countries, and -various potters, some Dutch, settled in the district. All this stretch -of the River seems to have been famous for its china-works in the past, -for there were celebrated potteries at Fulham, Chelsea, and Battersea -as well. Of these Battersea has passed away, and its productions are -eagerly sought after by collectors, but Fulham and Lambeth remain, -while Chelsea, after a long interval, is reviving this ancient craft. - -Thus we have traversed in fancy the whole of this wonderful -River—so fascinating to both young and old, to both studious and -pleasure-seeking. The more we learn of it the more we are enthralled by -its story, by the immense share it has had in the shaping of England’s -destinies. - -We started with a consideration of what those wonderful people the -geologists could tell us of the River in dim, prehistoric days; and we -feel inclined to turn once more to them in conclusion. For they tell -us now that the Thames is growing less; that, just as in times past -it captured the waters of other streams and reduced them to trickling -nothings, so in turn it is succumbing day by day to the depredations -of the River Ouse, which is slowly cutting off its head. Some day, -perhaps, the Thames will be just a tiny rivulet, and the Port of London -will be no more; but I think the tides will ebb and flow under London -Bridge many times before it comes to pass. - - - - -INDEX - -Abingdon, 263-5 - -Alfred, King, 141, 249 - -All Hallows, Barking, 75 - -Ancient Britons, 120-6 - -Arnold, Matthew, 261 - -Arthur, King, 287 - - -Barking, 71-6 Abbey, 72-5 Sewage Works, 75-6 - -Barnes, 338-9 - -Battersea, 340, 347 - -Baynards Castle, 160 - -Becket, Thomas, 145, 151, 274 - -Benfleet, 39 - -Besant, Sir Walter, 162-3, 184 - -Big Ben, 225 - -Billingsgate, 101-2 - -Black Death, 161 - -Blackfriars, 195-7 - -Blackwall, 112-3 Tunnel, 113 - -Boatrace, Universities, 259, 338 - -Boleyn, Anne, 175-7, 310-11 - -Brentford, 336 - -Bridges, 205, 230, 232, 242 - -Buckingham Palace, 208 - -Bushey Park, 316 - - -Canning Town, 114 - -Canute, 141-2 - -Canvey Island, 38-9 - -Cement, 49, 55-6 - -Chatham, 46-7 - -Chaucer, Geoffrey, 162, 294 - -Chelsea, 341, 343-4, 347 - -Cherwell, 257-8 - -Chilterns, 10, 268-70 - -Cholsey, 284 - -Churn, River, 240 - -Cleopatra’s Needle, 228 - -Cliveden Woods, 282-3 - -Coal, 114-5, 164-5 - -Coldharbour Palace, 160 - -Colne, River, 240 - -Cookham, 279 - -Cooling Castle, 52-3 - -County Hall, 232-3 - -Cremorne Gardens, 343 - -Cricklade, 240 - -Crosby Hall, 159 - -Culham, 284 - -Cumnor, 243 - -Customs Officers, 115-6 - - -Dagenham Breach, 70 - -Dagenham Dock, 71 Marshes, 68-71 - -Danes, 18, 33, 140-1 - -Defoe, Daniel, 36, 183-4 - -Dene-holes at Grays, 67-8 - -De Ruyter, 41 - -Dickens, Charles, 51, 52 - -Dockland, 24-6 - -Docks: Blackwall, 112-3 East India, 104 Execution, 102, 110 London, -110-1 Millwall, 112 Regent’s Canal, 111 Royal Albert, 113-4 St. -Katherine’s, 102, 105 St. Saviour’s, 102, 108 Surrey Commercial, 112 -Victoria, 113 West India, 112 - -“Don Saltero,” 343 - -Dorchester, 265-6 - -Duke of Buckingham, 205 - -Dumouriez, 53 - -Durham Palace, 207 - -Dutch in the Medway, 42-5 - - -Eastchurch, 35 - -East Ham, 113-4 - -East India Docks, 104 - -Edward the Confessor, 211 - -Eleanor of Provence, 153, 223 - -Embankment, The, 227-8 - -Estuary, The, 16-19, 31-39 defence of, 52 - -Eton College, 298-304 - -Evelyn, John, 41, 61-2, 186-90 - -Evenlode, River, 243 - -Execution Dock, 110-1 - - -Fire of London, the Great, 159 - -FitzStephen, 145-7 - -Flamsteed, 99 - -Fleet River, 193-5 Street, 195 - -Fobbing, 60 - -Fort Grain, 35 - -Franklin, Sir John, 66 - -Frindsbury, 49 - -Fulham, 339 - - -Godstow, 243 - -Goring Gap, 267-8 - -Gravesend, 52-6 proposed dam, 62-3 - -Grays, 67 - -Great Marlow, 281-2 - -Greenhithe, 21, 66 - -Greenwich, 87-100 Hospital, 92-7 Ministerial dinners at, 91 -Observatory, 98-100 Royal births at, 89 - -Grey, Lady Jane, 175 - - -Hakluyt, 90-1 - -Halley, 100 - -Hampton Court, 305-16 - -Harold, King, 143, 288 - -Henley, 280-1 - -Holiday Thames, 279-284 - -Houses of Parliament, 220-6 - -Howard, Katherine, 175-7 - -“Humphrey Clinker,” 342 - -Humphrey, Duke, 88 - -Hungerford House, 206 - - -Iffley, 262 - -Isis, 239, 259 - -Isle of Dogs, 112 Grain, 35 - -Isleworth, 332 - - -Jack Straw, 60 - -John Ball, 60 - -Jones, Inigo, 92 - - -Kelmscott, 241 - -Kennet, River, 277 - -Kew Gardens, 333-5 Palace, 335 - -Kingston, 317-25 - -Knights of the Garter, 296-7 - -Knights Templar, 199-202 - - -Lambeth, 344-7 - -Lechlade, 239 - -Legal quays, 102 - -Limehouse, 111-2 Basin, 111 Reach, Medway, 49 - -Llyndin Hill, 125, 130 - -London, a city of palaces, 157 and the Danes, 140-2 Fire of, 181-192 -fires in, 25, 151, 181 fogs, 23 foundation of, 123-9 Friars in, 195-8 -Hospitals, 233 in Norman days, 143-6 in Middle Ages, 157-65 in Roman -days, 130-6 in Saxon days, 137-40 Plague in, 183-4 reasons for position -of, 126-9 remains of Roman Wall, 133-6 Tower of, 166-80 - -London Bridge, 147-156 a great procession on, 155 a tournament on, 154 -its dangers, 151 its relation to the City, 128-9 - -L.C.C. County Hall, 232 - -London Dock, 110-1 - -London Stone, Yantlet Creek, 35 - -Lower Reaches, 19-23 - - -Macfarlane, Charles, 42 - -Maidenhead, 46 - -Marshes on banks, 16, 64-76 - -Mandeville, Geoffrey de, 171-2 - -Matilda, Empress, 170-2 - -Maud of Boulogne, 105, 171 - -Medway, River, 40-51 - -Merton, Walter de, 251 - -Millwall Dock, 112 - -Minster-in-Sheppey, 32 - -Monument, The, 181-2 - -Morris, William, 241-2 - -Mortlake, 338 - - -New Bridge, 242 - -Nore Lightship, 15, 118 - -Northfleet, 65-6 - -Northumberland House, 207 - - -Old Windsor, 287 - -Oxford, 246-262 Bodleian Library, 255 Castle, 256 Colleges, 251-5 -founding of the University, 249-51 its origin, 247-8 Tom Tower, 254 - - -Pangbourne, 279 - -Peasants’ Revolt, 60 - -Pepys, Samuel, 34, 77, 186 - -Peter of Colechurch, 148 - -Pett, Peter, 47 - -Pilots, 55 - -Placentia, Palace of, 89 - -Plague, the Great, 183-4 - -Pool, The, 26-8 - -Port Meadow, 243 - -Port of London, 23-6, 101-19 Authority, 15, 118-19 - -Port Victoria, 35 - -Princes in Tower, 171 - -Purfleet, 68 - -Putney, 338-9 - - -Queenborough, 35 - -Queenhithe, 101 - - -Radley, 284 - -Ranelagh Gardens, 343 - -Reading, 271-8 Abbey, 272-6 and the Civil War, 275 modern, 277-8 - -Regent’s Canal Dock, 111 - -Richmond, 326-31 - -River police, 116-8 - -Rochester, 49-51 - -Roding, River, 71-2 - -Roman remains in London, 132-5 - -Rosherville Gardens, 65 - -Rotherhithe, 113 - -Royal Albert Dock, 113-4 Victoria Dock, 113-4 - - -Savoy Palace, 204-5 - -Saxon Kings crowned at Kingston, 319-20 - -“Scholar Gypsy,” 261-2 - -Scotland Yard, 207 - -Shadwell, 105 - -Sheen, 327 - -Sheerness, 34 - -Sheppey, 31-3 - -Shoeburyness, 37-8 - -Shooter’s Hill, 77-9 - -Silvertown, 114 - -Sion House, 332 - -Somerset House, 203 - -Sonning, 279-80 - -Southend, 36-7 - -St. James’s Park, 207 - -St. Katherine’s Dock, 102, 105 - -St. Paul’s Cathedral, 124, 188, 191, 211 - -St. Saviour’s Dock, 102, 108 - -St. Thomas’s Hospital, 233 - -Staple Inn, 159 - -Stephen, King, 170, 256, 267 - -Stow, 161, 179 - -Strand, The, 193 - -Streatley, 268 - -“Stripling Thames,” 237-45 - -Stroud, 49 - -Surrey Commercial Dock, 112 - -Swale, The, 41 - - -Tea, 106 - -Teddington, 325 - -Temple Bar, 232 Church, 201 Gardens, 202 - -Temple, The, 199-203 - -Thame, River, 265 - -Thames Haven, 68 - -Thames Head, 237 - -Thames River, early tributaries of, 239 geology of, 267-70 locks -on, 243-5 material brought down by, 64-5 origin of, 2-5 reasons for -importance, 11-14 terraces of bed, 283-4 the basin of, 7-10 the -sources, 237-9 tunnels under, 113 - -Thorney Island, 130, 211-2 - -Tilbury, 57-63 Docks, 71, 104 Fort, 57 Elizabeth at, 57-8 - -Tower Bridge, 231 - -Tower of London, 166-80 - -Trewsbury Mead, 237-9 - -Twickenham, 325 - - -Upnor Castle, 4 - - -Vale of the White Horse, 241 - -Vauxhall Gardens, 341-3 - - -Wallingford, 144, 266-7 - -Wandle, River, 340 - -Wandsworth, 339 - -Wapping, 108-10 Old Stairs, 108-10 - -Watling Street, 126, 130, 132, 144 - -Wat Tyler, 60, 156, 204 - -Waynflete, William, 299 - -West Ham, 113-4 - -West India Dock, 104, 112 - -Westminster, 209-226 the founding of, 210 - -Westminster Abbey, 212-9 Chapter House, 218 Confessor’s Chapel, 213 -founding of, 212 Henry VII. Chapel, 215 Poets’ Corner, 215 Remains of -Old Abbey, 213 Tomb of Unknown Warrior, 218 - -Westminster Hall, 222 Palace, 220 - -Whitefriars, 197-9 - -Whitehall Palace, 207-8 - -Whittington, Dick, 165 - -Widths of the Thames, 15, 26 - -William and Mary, 92, 309 - -William the Conqueror, 73, 143, 256, 266, 285, 288 - -Windrush, River, 242 - -Windsor, 285-304 growth of Castle, 288-95 origin of, 287 Round Tower, -297 St. George’s Chapel, 296 - -Wolsey, Cardinal, 207, 253, 305 - -Woolwich, 77-86 Arsenal, 81-6 Dockyard, 80-1 - -Wren, Sir Christopher, 92, 228, 309, 312 - -Wykeham, William, 35, 293, 298 - - -Yantlet Creek, 35 - -York House, 205 - - -PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN FOR WELLS GARDNER, DARTON AND CO., LTD., -LONDON, E.C. - - - - -THE HISTORIC THAMES - -[Illustration] - - -OXFORD - -By Mrs. HAMILTON FYFE. Illustrated by L. RUSSELL CONWAY. 3s. 6d. net. - - -OXFORD - -A Portfolio of Twelve Pictures of Oxford from Drawings by L. 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