What to See in England Part 43

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

=Nearest Station.=--Keswick.

=Distance from London.=--300 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 7 to 10-1/4 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares=.--Single 42s. 0d. 26s. 7d. 24s. 1d.

Return 81s. 0d. 53s. 0d. 48s. 2d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Keswick Hotel," "Royal Oak,"

"Queen's," etc.

=Alternative Routes.=--Train from King's Cross, Great Northern Railway. Train from St. Pancras, Midland Railway.

Keswick is much resorted to by visitors, as it forms convenient headquarters for exploring the c.u.mberland part of the Lake District. It is a small and not very beautiful town, containing several large hotels.

It is situated in a flat valley through which the Derwent and its tributaries flow, and lies near the north end of Derwent.w.a.ter Lake.

Hills surround it on every side, while the mountains of Skiddaw shield it on the north. Since the discovery of plumbago in the district, Keswick has been famed for its lead-pencils. A renowned week of religious services, known as the "Keswick Convention," takes place here.

Crosthwaite, to the north-west of the town, is famous for its twelfth-century church dedicated to St. Kentigern. It has a long battlemented roof and ma.s.sive square tower, and possesses many old bra.s.ses and monuments, besides a font of the time of Edward III. To most people the monument to Southey will be the chief object of interest. It is a rec.u.mbent figure, with an epitaph in verse by his life-long friend Wordsworth.

Robert Southey was the son of a Bristol linen-draper, and was educated at Westminster and Balliol. Southey and Coleridge were much a.s.sociated with Lovell, a Bristol Quaker. These three friends made a plan--never carried out--of going to the wilds of America and returning to the patriarchal manner of living. They all married three sisters named Fricker. Unfortunately Southey's wife died insane, and he then married a very talented lady named Catherine Bowles. In the beginning of the eighteenth century the Southeys and Coleridges settled in the same house at Greta, near Keswick, and Mrs. Lovell, widow of Robert Lovell, and her son joined the household. Here Southey lived till his death in 1843. In 1813 he was made Poet Laureate, and later was given a pension of 300 a year.

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

ASHNESS BRIDGE, DERWENt.w.a.tER.]

ALNWICK CASTLE

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

=Nearest Station.=--Alnwick.

=Distance from London.=--309 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 7 and 8 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 43s. 1d. ... 25s. 9d.

Return 86s. 2d. ... 51s. 6d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Northumberland Arms," "Star Hotel."

=Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras _via_ Sheffield and York.

Midland Railway.

Standing in a magnificent position overlooking the town from which it takes its name, Alnwick Castle occupies the site of one of the oldest of the border points of defence. It is believed that a fort existed here during the Roman occupation, and that a castle was erected on its site by the Saxons, who named the place _Ealnwic_. Just before the Conquest the castle and barony were the property of one Gilbert Tyson, who was slain at the battle of Hastings. His possessions pa.s.sed into the hands of the Norman lords De Vesci, who held them till about 1297, when the castle and barony were bequeathed by the licence of Edward I. to the Bishop of Durham. Shortly afterwards they were purchased by Lord Henry de Percy, from whom they have descended regularly to the present owner, the Duke of Northumberland. The castle is one of the finest examples of a feudal fortress in England, the walls enclosing an area of five acres, and the grounds, watered by the Alne, presenting scenes of the most varied and romantic beauty.

The two north-western round towers of the keep, together with the Armourer's and Falconer's towers, have recently been swept away in order to accommodate the new Prudhoe Tower. During the last six years 200 workmen have been employed in transforming the feudal interior of the castle into a Roman palazzo.

Alnwick, situated so near the border, was the scene of countless raids and conflicts during the Middle Ages, and with these fights the castle was always closely a.s.sociated. It was besieged in 1093 by Malcolm III., King of Scotland, and defended by Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland. The Scottish king and his son Prince Edward both fell during the siege. King David gained possession of the town in 1135. William the Lion, who took part with young Richard, afterwards Coeur de Lion, against his father Henry II., entered Northumberland in 1174, with 80,000 men, and laid siege to Alnwick; but the attempt was a failure, and William was taken prisoner.

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

ALNWICK CASTLE.

One of the finest examples of a feudal fortress in England.]

LANERCOST PRIORY, c.u.mBERLAND

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

Railway.

=Nearest Station.=--Brampton (Lanercost Abbey is situated 2 miles north of Brampton).

=Distance from London.=--317 miles.

=Average Time.=--Varies between 6 to 9 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 40s. 10d. ... 24s. 4d.

Return 81s. 8d. ... 48s. 8d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--At Brampton--"Howard Arms,"

"White Lion Hotel."

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

Lanercost Priory is situated in a singularly beautiful sylvan valley watered by the river Irthing. Only the sh.e.l.l of the chancel remains, but the nave has been restored, and is now used as the church of the parish.

The walls of the roofless transepts as well as the central tower are still standing. The pillars on the south side support a much decayed clerestory, but on the opposite side both the triforium and clerestory are in a fairly good state of preservation.

A side chapel in the choir contains some very finely carved but battered altar-tombs belonging to the Dacre family--one of them is believed to be that of Lord William Howard. Under what was the refectory of the conventual buildings, one may find the crypt in a very good state of preservation. In it are preserved some Roman altars and carvings discovered at various times in the locality. A number of Roman inscriptions having been discovered on the walls of the Priory Church; it is generally supposed that much of the building material was obtained from the Roman wall. The Rev. J. Maughan has argued for the existence of a Roman station at this point, and its name is believed to have been _Petriana_.

The monastery adjoining the Priory Church belonged to the order of St.

Augustine, and its endowments consisted of all the land lying between the Picts' wall and the river Irthing, upon which the buildings stood, and between Burgh and Poltross.

After the dissolution the monastic buildings were put into a proper state of repair, and were converted into a private residence by Lord Thomas Dacre, who built the castellated portion towards the south, which of course did not belong to the original structure. Half a mile distant from the priory is Naworth Castle, the historic seat of the Earl of Carlisle, and Brampton is famous for its _mote_, which was possibly a Danish fort.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Valentine & Sons, Ltd_.

LANERCOST PRIORY AND STEPPING-STONES.]

CHILLINGHAM CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND

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

=Nearest Station.=--Belford (6 miles from Chillingham).

=Distance from London.=--323 miles.

=Average Time.=--About 9 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 44s. 11d. ... 26s. 11d.

Return 89s. 10d. ... 53s. 10d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=-- =Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras _via_ Newcastle-on-Tyne.