What to See in England Part 17

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

PETERBOROUGH CATHEDRAL

The magnificent west front, which has recently been restored.]

SOUTHAMPTON

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

=Nearest Stations.=--Southampton Docks or Southampton West.

=Distance from London.=--78-3/4 miles.

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

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

Return 23s. 0d. 14s. 6d. 11s. 6d.

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

"London and South-Western Hotel," "Dolphin Hotel," "Royal Pier Hotel," "Flower's Temperance," etc.

=Alternative Route.=--From Paddington. Fares as above.

The earliest accounts of Southampton are vague and uncertain. On the opposite bank of the Itchen, at Bitterne, was the Roman station of Clausentum, but Southampton itself seems to have been originally a settlement of the West Saxons. In the reign of William the Conqueror, Southampton, owing to its situation, became the princ.i.p.al port of embarkation for Normandy. In 1295 it first returned representatives to Parliament, and in 1345 was strongly fortified, and able to contribute twenty-one ships to the Royal Navy, Portsmouth only supplying five. Many expeditions for Normandy embarked here during the reigns of the Plantagenets, and the men who fought and won at Crecy and Agincourt must have pa.s.sed, on the way to their ships, under the old West Gate, which still remains much as it was in those stirring times.

The town is full of interesting relics of every description, one of the most remarkable being the old wall, of which a considerable portion remains; that known as The Arcades, built in a series of arches, being specially noticeable. Close by, in Blue Anchor Lane, is a Norman house, reputed to be King John's palace, and claiming, with several others, to be the oldest house in England.

The town was formerly entered by several gates, two of which, Westgate and Bargate, are still in a good state of preservation.

The Bargate stands in the centre of the High Street, and is an excellent example of mediaeval fortification.

At the head of Blue Anchor Lane is the remarkably picturesque and substantial Tudor house, once the residence of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn, and nearly opposite rises the tall tower of St. Michael's, the oldest church in Southampton. The building is open all day (the keys being obtainable on inquiry), and contains a remarkable carved black marble font, reputed to be of Byzantine origin, and a fine eagle lectern of the fifteenth century.

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

THE BARGATE IN THE HIGH STREET OF SOUTHAMPTON.]

HELMINGHAM HALL

=How to get there.=--Great Eastern Railway. Liverpool Street.

=Nearest Station.=--Woodbridge (10 miles).

=Distance from London.=--79 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 2 to 2-1/2 hours. Quickest train 1 hour 56 minutes.

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

Return 22s. 2d. ... 13s. 4d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"The Bull Hotel," etc., at Woodbridge.

Helmingham Hall, the seat of Lord Tollemache, lies in a beautiful park, ten miles from Woodbridge, in Suffolk, and has been one of the homes of the family for generations. The Tollemache family own two of the finest Tudor houses in this country, Ham House near Richmond, the property of the Earls of Dysart, and Helmingham, which now belongs to the other branch of the Tollemache peerage. Helmingham came to them in the reign of Henry VIII., by the marriage of Lionel Tollemache with the daughter and heiress of Sir William Joyce, who owned a home called Creke Hall.

The present mansion he rebuilt on the same site, in all probability retaining the ancient moat.

The hall is approached through an entrance gateway, giving access to a fine avenue leading directly up a gentle slope to the moat and main drawbridge of the hall. The house, of red brick, wonderfully tinted by the hand of time, is remarkably picturesque, with its twisted chimneys, finely proportioned gables, and beautiful bay windows; and its charm is considerably enhanced by the brickwork, with st.u.r.dy b.u.t.tresses here and there, rising sheer out of the clear and tranquil waters of the moat.

The hall is entered by two bridges, each ending in a drawbridge, which is kept in full working order, and both drawbridges are, and have been for some hundreds of years, hauled up at ten o'clock every night, when the house can only be approached from the park by means of a boat.

On crossing the main bridge, one enters the inner court, a fine red brick quadrangle, much after the style of those at Hampton Court. From this access is gained to the various wings and apartments of the mansion, the finest room being the hall, with its deep oak dado, fireplace, and open timber roof. The best suite of rooms looks out across the moat to the beautiful gardens. These are some of the most magnificent in the county, and they are most carefully and elaborately arranged, and always kept in fine condition. The garden is divided into two portions by a strip of water covered with lilies.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HELMINGHAM HALL.

An Elizabethan moated mansion. Its drawbridge has been lowered and raised every day for about 400 years.]

STONEHENGE, WILTSHIRE

=How to get there.=--Train from Waterloo. South-Western Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Amesbury (1-1/2 miles from Stonehenge).

=Distance from London.=--80 miles.

=Average Time.=--3 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 13s. 2d. 8s. 3d. 6s. 7-1/2d.

Return 23s. 2d. 14s. 8d. 13s. 3d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"The George Hotel" at Amesbury.

"Railway Hotel" (small) at Porton.

=Alternative Route.=--Porton Station, 5-1/2 miles, and Salisbury Station, 8 miles from Stonehenge.

One of the earliest and most enduring works of man in the British Islands is to be seen in the circles of giant stones on Salisbury Plain.

They stand in two concentric circles. The outer ring of monoliths encloses an inner one of blue stones about half their height. These in turn surround a horseshoe formation consisting of the remains of five great trilithons. Some of these stones have fallen across the flat one known as the altar stone, occupying a central position at the head of the horseshoe. On the 21st of June the sun rises exactly in a line with the centre of the horseshoe and the long earthen avenue leading towards the stones, and thus throws a ray between two of the outer monoliths and touches the altar stone. This orientation on the plan of so many eastern shrines proves that Stonehenge was the temple of some early sun-worshipping race of men in Britain.

Sir Norman Lockyer's recent observations at the summer solstice have placed the date of erection at about 1680 B.C., and the discovery of flint implements beneath some Roman remains also points to neolithic times. The upright stones and those resting upon them were originally all mortised and tenoned together, and from the fact that no similar stone is found nearer than Marlborough Downs the primitive men must have hauled the stones considerable distances by means of long leather ropes.

The small blue stones were possibly brought from Normandy.

Other stone circles and similar remains are to be seen at Avebury, Rollright, and Kit's Coty House, a few miles from Rochester. Also in Shropshire there is a district rich in stone circles and prehistoric remains. This is in a line north of Bishops Castle and Shelve, and to those who appreciate wild scenery this part of the county may be specially recommended.

[Ill.u.s.tration: STONEHENGE.

Looking towards the east from the altar stone. The point on the horizon where the sun rises on June 21 is indicated by the small stone seen through the arches.]

NETLEY ABBEY

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