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 PICTURESQUE VIEWS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 RIVER THAMES, 
 
 &c. &c. &c.
 
 f'-'ni- 
 
 L,>,/'/f'//../f//'r. /.////^g,Z'///'//-^-/'f'/ /'V T.V! JJJ//' r/oujr////^//^/// .
 
 PICTURESQUE VIEWS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 RIVER THAMES, 
 
 FROM 
 
 ITS SOURCE IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE 
 
 T O 
 
 THE NORE; 
 
 WITH 
 
 OBSERVATIONS 
 
 O N 
 
 THE PUBLIC BUILDINGS and other WORKS OF ART 
 
 IN ITS VICINITY. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 B Y 
 
 SAMUEL IRELAND, 
 
 Author of A Tour through Holland, Brabant, fifr. 
 
 PICTURESQUE VIEWS OF 
 
 The Rivers Medway, Avon, and Wye; — of Graphic Illuftrations 
 
 of Hogarth, and of Pifturefque Views of the 
 
 Inns of Court, &c. &c. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Prhited by C. Clarke, Northumberland-Court, Strand i 
 
 PUBLISHED BY T. E GE R TON, W H I TE H ALL. 
 MDCCCI. 
 
 C O i! O O 
 
 Vj -J ■-, iV ArJl
 
 12 I^ 
 
 TO 
 
 EARL HARCOURT. 
 
 ^r=s^-Z-^j^;JS^i'^=> 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 Slender, as my pre- 
 tentions are to the public favor, I have 
 the greater reafon to flielter myfelf 
 under a diftinguifhed patronage. 
 
 Your Lordfliip's fandion of my 
 labors will be a powerful recom- 
 mendation 5 the true tafte which 
 
 you
 
 ( vi ) 
 
 you are well known to poffefs in 
 the fine arts, and to which you have 
 contributed fo many elegant fpe- 
 cimens, emboldens me, however 
 otherwife diffident ; and prompts me 
 to hope that my attempt may not 
 prove altogether unworthy of the 
 public eye. 
 
 Amidst the many elegant fccne^ 
 difplayed on the banks of the river 
 Thames, few are more defervedly 
 celebrated than thofe which your 
 Lordfhip enjoys ; and which receive 
 additional recommendation from the 
 condefcenfion with which they are 
 rendered acceffible. 
 
 Plain
 
 ( vii ) 
 
 Plain and unadorned language, 
 raifed fcarce above the ftyle of com- 
 mon narrative, may, perhaps, fall 
 fhort of the dignity of the fubjedl ; 
 but to have aimed at one more lux- 
 uriant, by blending the fimplicity 
 of profe with the fanciful ornaments 
 of poetic didlion, would have been 
 ftill farther remote from the true 
 province of this work, which, pro- 
 feffing to hold up the moft faithful 
 mirror to nature, takes as little 
 licence with the pencil as the pen. 
 
 I FLATTER myfclf, your Lord- 
 fhip will not difapprove the fre- 
 quent references to antiquity. The 
 fubjedl, rich as it is, would have 
 
 wanted
 
 ( viii ) 
 
 wanted intereft without them ; and 
 your partiality to that fource of 
 information will befides give far- 
 ther fandtion to my purfuit. 
 
 I have the Honor, 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 To fubfcribe myfelf. 
 
 With great Refpedl, 
 
 Your Lords hip's 
 Very obliged and obedient Servant, 
 
 SAM^- IRELAND. 
 
 NORFOLK-STREET, 
 STRAND. 
 
 Jan. 12th, 179a. 
 
 PRE-
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 Encouraged by the very 
 
 favorable reception which the public has 
 given to a Pi6lurefque lUuftration of a Tour 
 on the Continent, the author of this work 
 has been induced to gratify a wifh long fmce 
 formed, of attempting to difplay the rich 
 fcenery of his own country, a country where 
 nature and art are fo happily combined, as 
 to adorn and fertilize even its remoteft 
 Vol. I. b parts,
 
 ( X ) 
 
 parts, and to have not only afforded the 
 means of happinefs, but added luxury to 
 the enjoyments of a great people. 
 
 Upon entering into fuch a difcufiion, the 
 obje£l that naturally firfl engages our atten- 
 tion is the river Thames, a fcene of induftry, 
 and a fource of oppulence, to which v^e owe 
 fo much both in convenience, falubrity, and 
 everv" relative bleffing that can add to the 
 greatnefs of the firft commercial city in the 
 world. — Indeed it is rather matter of furprife, 
 amidft the numerous publications on the fub- 
 je6l of pi6lurefque fcenery, which have lately 
 employed the pen and pencil of our writers 
 and artifts, that fo leading and capital a feature 
 
 in
 
 ( ^i ) 
 
 in landfcape (hould not have caught the 
 eye, and have pie^occupied the powers of fome 
 one, perhaps, better (killed in defcription, 
 though not lefs ardent in admiration of its 
 pi6lurefque beauties. 
 
 In illuftrating the prefent purfuit, the 
 bridges are certainly the principle obje6ls, 
 and from their number will naturally exclude 
 that variety of fcenery, which would other- 
 wife more fully have diverfified the fubjea. 
 Such other views, however, as are intro- 
 duced, have been feleded as the beft fuited 
 to charafterife the face of the country. They 
 are all from the pencil of the author ; (ex- 
 cept the view of Strawberry-hill, which is 
 b 2 fro"^
 
 ( xli ) 
 
 from a drawing given to him feven or eight 
 years ago, by his late valuable friend Francis 
 Grofe) : the principal part of them were taken 
 in the fummer of 1790, the others from 
 fketches made feveral years fmce, when the 
 idea of this work firft fuggefted itfelf, in 
 confequence of frequent excurfions on this 
 noble river. 
 
 In the defcriptive part he has aimed at a 
 plain and frniple ftyle of narrative, and re- 
 je6led the technical phrafeology of art, 
 judging that 
 
 *' Unerring Nature, lllll divinely bright, 
 *' One clear, unchang'd and univerfal light ; 
 " Life, force, and beauty, muft to all impart, 
 ♦' At one the fource, and end, and tell of art." 
 
 In
 
 ( xiii ) 
 
 In the hiftoric parts little more could be 
 done, than to endeavour at a judicious felec- 
 tion of fuch pafTages from the learned as ap- 
 peared bell calculated to give information ; 
 and in this, as far as the compafs of his work 
 would admit, he is willing to hope he has 
 been in fome degree fuccefsful. 
 
 The engravings are executed by the fame 
 artift who was engaged in the former work, 
 and the writer flatters himfelf equally merit 
 a claim to the public approbation. 
 
 The fuperior excellence of the figure of 
 Thames, at the entrance to Somerfet-placc, 
 which was modelled by John Bacon, Efq. 
 
 R. A.
 
 ( xiv ) 
 
 R. A. is a work of fuch fuperior excellence, 
 as to render any apology for its introduction 
 here as a frontifpiece, unnecefTary. 
 
 The maps annexed to thefe volumes arc 
 added merely to difplay the courfe of the 
 river, not as corre6l geographical delinea- 
 tions of the counties through which it 
 paffes. 
 
 PRINTS
 
 PRINTS 
 
 CONTAINED IN 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME. 
 
 Page 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 Thames-head Bridge ' 
 
 Entrance to 'the Tunnel, leading to Sapperton-hill, 
 
 Glouceftcrfhire 9 
 
 Eifey-bridge, Wiltfiiire 23 
 
 Kempsford Church, Sec. Gloucefterfl-iire 26 
 
 St. John's and the adjoining Bridge acrofs the New 
 
 Cut, near Lechdale 33 
 
 Radcote -bridge, Farringdon-hill, &c 39 
 
 New-bridge, Oxfordfhire "•*••• 47 
 
 Stanton Harcourt 4o' 
 
 Enfham-bridge 5S- 
 
 Blenheim Caftle 61 
 
 Remains
 
 C xvl ) 
 
 Page 
 Remains of Henry XL's Palace as it flood in Wood- 
 
 ftock-park in 17 14 • 7' 
 
 Godftow-bridge, and Remains of the Nunnery 85 
 
 Magdalen College and Bridge, Oxford 89 
 
 Chrift Church College, and South-bridge 113 
 
 Village of Iffley 115 
 
 Earl Harcourt's, at Nuneham Courtenay 119 
 
 View at Abingdon, Berks 131 
 
 Culham-bridge, near Abingdon 138 
 
 Clifton, Oxfordfliire 140 
 
 Shillingford-bridge, Berks „ 143 
 
 Wallingford-bridge, &c 147 
 
 Goering, Oxford/hire 153, 
 
 Caverfham-bridge 159 
 
 Sunning-bridge, &c. Berks 169 
 
 Henley-bridge 1 79 
 
 Marlow-bridge, Sec jn^ 
 
 Cliefden Spring, Bucks 206 
 
 PIC-
 
 
 

 
 H^icturefqitte Mttas 
 
 on THE 
 
 RIVER THAMES, ^c. 
 
 .If ■ — T^^ft-tf-^'^a.-gft •<; 
 
 SECTION L 
 
 The fource of the Thames, this firil: of 
 Britifh rivers, is derived from a copious 
 fpring, called Thames Head, near the vil- 
 lage of Tarlton, about two miles fouth-v^reft 
 of Cirencefter, and is contiguous to the 
 fofle-way leading to Somerfetfliire. Though 
 I could have w^ifhed to have introduced into 
 this work, a view of the fource itfelf, I have 
 yet thought fit to exhibit an adjoining fpot 
 Vol. I. A in
 
 ( 2 ) 
 
 in preference, as forming a better obje6l for 
 the pencil.* 
 
 SoM E writers have aflerted, that the fource 
 of this river is in the neighbourhood of Cob- 
 berly, in Gloucefterfliire, at a place called 
 Seven-Wells Head j but as the former opi- 
 nion is moft prevalent, I fliall date the pre- 
 fent enquiry from thence. 
 
 The name alfo of this river has long 
 been matter of controverfy, even amongft 
 the learned, on whom we ought to relyj 
 it therefore becomes neceflary previoufly to 
 inveftigate the various opinions and autho- 
 rities that have been advanced on the fub- 
 je6l. The vulgar appellation it bears above 
 Oxford is Thame-Ifis, evidently formed 
 
 * The engine with falls, which appears In the annexed 
 view, raifes water from the head, and by its mechanical 
 power, throws up feveral tons of water every minute, fup- 
 plying the Thames and Severn canal. 
 
 from
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 from a combination of the words Thame 
 and Ifis J the fuppofed conflux of which 
 gave rife to a poem of fome eminence, called 
 " The Marriage of Thame and Ifis." How 
 this river obtained the latter name, or at 
 what period, I cannot learn: Stow feems 
 to concur in this poetical fi6tion, and deems 
 every one ignorant who gives the river any- 
 other appellation than that of Ifis ; but to 
 ftiew that no great reliance is to be placed 
 on his opinion, I will ufe his own words, 
 which are fo flatly contradictory to them- 
 felves as to invalidate his authority: he 
 fays, in the fifth chapter of his Survey of 
 London, that " the Thames beginneth a 
 " little above a village called Winchcomb 
 " in Oxfordfliire, and flill increafing, paf- 
 " feth firfl: by the univerfity of Oxford, &c. 
 " to London i" and in the next chapter, 
 that the Ifis " goeth unto Thame in Ox- 
 " fordfliire," (which is more than fifteen 
 miles below Oxford) '* where joining with 
 A 2 "a river
 
 { 4 ) 
 
 " a river of the fame denomination, it lofeth 
 " the name of Ifis or Oufe, and from thence 
 " is called Thamefis all along as it pafleth/' 
 As Mafter Stow, therefore, does not feem to 
 underftand himfelf, I muft, to clear up this 
 difputed point, refer to Camden, on whofe 
 authority I am inclined to rely. He fays, 
 " it plainly appears, that the river was al- 
 " ways called Thames, or Tems, before it 
 " came near the (town of) Thame;" and 
 that in feveral ancient " charters, granted 
 " to the abbey of Malmefbury, as well as 
 " that of Enefham ; and from the old deeds 
 " relating to Cricklade," it is never confi- 
 dered under any other name, than that of 
 Thames. To prove this aflertion, he in- 
 flances, that " in an ancient charter granted 
 " to abbot Adhelm, there is mention made 
 " of certain lands upon the eaft part of the 
 ** river, — cujus vocabulum Temis, juxta 
 ** vadum qui appellatur Summerfordj and 
 " this ford is in Wiltfhire." He likewife 
 
 fays.
 
 ( 5 ) 
 
 feys, it no where occurs under the name of 
 Ifis. 
 
 All hlftorlans, who mention the incur- 
 fions of Ethelwold into Wiltfhire, A. D. 905, 
 or of Canute, in 1016, concur likewife in the 
 fame opinion, by declaring, " that they paf- 
 " fed over the Thames at Cricklade." — 
 There is ftill further reafon for confiding in 
 thefe authorities, as it is not probable, that 
 the Thames Head, an appellation by 
 which the fource has ufually been diflin- 
 gui{hed, fhould give birth to a river of the 
 name of Ifis, which river, after having run 
 half its courfe, ihould reaffume the name of 
 Thames, the appellation of its parent fpring. 
 
 As to the origin of its name, it may pof- 
 fibly be derived from the Saxon Temej-e, or 
 from the Britifh word Tavuys, which implies 
 a gentle ftream, and from which many ri- 
 vers in this ifland derive their appellation ; 
 
 as
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
 as Tame in StafFordfhire, Teme in Hereford- 
 (hire, Tamar in Cornwall, &c. 
 
 Having thus briefly, and from the beft 
 authority adducible, endeavoured to efla- 
 blifli the name of the river whichis the pre- 
 fent fubje6l of difcuflion, I flatter myfelf, I 
 fhall avoid the imputation of blending the 
 hiftory of two rivers, where I mean only to 
 treat of one— the THAMES, 
 
 The great fupply of water, that fwells 
 the early courfe of this river, the Thames 
 Head, is occafioned by the firfl: heavy fall 
 of fnow and rain in the winter feafon, from 
 different parts of the wolds or hills in Glou- 
 cefl:erfliire j which, pouring into the vallies 
 beneath, unites with the fprings in Kemble 
 Vale, contiguous to the Thames Head. 
 
 The village of Kemble, from which this 
 vale takes its name, is finely fituated on an 
 
 eminence.
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 eminence, and commands a rich extent of 
 fcenery, happily diverfified by the eafy 
 winding of the flream, which terminates 
 in a faint view of the Oxfordfhire hills. 
 
 About a mile below the fource of the 
 river is the firft mill conflru6led for grind- 
 ing corn, which is called Kemble mill ; near 
 which the flream receives confiderable ac- 
 ceflion from feveral fprings iiTuing out of 
 the eaftern fide of the wolds, as well as 
 others that flow from Alh coppice, and the 
 vicinity of Somerford j at which place the 
 river may properly be faid to form a con- 
 ftant current ; which, though not more than 
 nine feet wide in the fummer months, yet in 
 the winter feafon becomes fuch a torrent as 
 to overflow the neighbouring meadows for 
 many miles around 3 
 
 " When the calm river, rais'd with fudden rains, 
 *' Or fnows diflblv'd, o'erflows th' adjoining plains." 
 
 In
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 In the fummer months, the Thames Head^ 
 Is fo perfe6lly dry, as to appear no other 
 than a large dell, interfperfed with ftones 
 and weeds. 
 
 From Somerford the ftream gently winds 
 its courfe to the village of Afhton Keynes, 
 and thence to the town of Cricklade, where 
 being united with the river Churn from Ci- 
 rencefler, and other ftreams from Malmef- 
 bury, Barnefly, and the Eaflern fide of Wilt- 
 fhire, they form unitedly a river fufficient 
 for the navigation of boats of about feven 
 tons burthen. 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 SECTION 11. 
 
 Th E new canal, formed by the jun6lion 
 of the Thames and Severn navigation, is 
 an obje6l fo nearly conne6led, as not to be 
 thought irrelevant to the prefent enquiry ; 
 and at the fame time, of fuch importance, 
 as to warrant the introdu6lion of it. 
 
 This canal may be confidered as the moft 
 elaborate and flupendous work of art that, 
 perhaps, any country, has yet accomplifhed j 
 in uniting two of the noblefl rivers in this 
 kingdom. A proje6l was formed more than 
 a century ago to join thefe rivers, and a fur- 
 veymade by Jofeph Moxon, hydrographer to 
 King Charles II. to prove its pra6licability. 
 The idea is likewife fuggefted by Mr. Pope, 
 in a letter to the Honorable Mr. Digby, dated 
 
 Vol. I. B 1722,
 
 ( 10 ) 
 
 1722, which, as it is written with a ftrong 
 poetic and lively imagination, I fhall give in 
 his own words : — " I could pafs whole days 
 " in only defcribing the future, and as yet 
 " vifionary, beauties that are to rife in 
 " thofe fcenes (in Lord Bathurft's woods, 
 " at Cirencefter) the palace that is to be 
 " built, the pavilions that are to glitter, 
 " the colonades that are to adorn them > 
 " nay more, the meeting of the Thames 
 " and Severn, which (when the noble owner 
 " has finer dreams than ordinary) are to be 
 " led into each others embraces, through 
 " fecret caverns of not above twelve or 
 *' fifteen miles, till they rife and celebrate 
 " their marriage in the midfl of an im- 
 " menfe amphitheatre, which is to be the 
 " admiration of pofterity a hundred years 
 " hence: but till this deflined time fliall 
 " arrive, that is to manifefl thofe wonders, 
 " Mrs. Digby mufl content herfelf with fee- 
 ing
 
 ( II ) 
 
 " ing what is at prefent no more than the 
 " fineft wood in England." 
 
 That once diftant period is now arrived, 
 and the happy junction accomplifhed, un- 
 der the furvey of an able engineer, Mr. Ro- 
 bert Whitworth, in 1782. It may not be 
 improper to mention, that a canal was form- 
 ed by a6l of parliament, in 1730, from the 
 Severn to Wallbridge, near Stroud, at which 
 place the prefent work commences : The 
 new canal afcends by Stroud, through the 
 vale of Chalford, to the height of three hun- 
 dred and forty-three feet, by means of twen- 
 ty-eight locks, and from thence to the en- 
 trance of the tunnel near Sapperton, a dif- 
 tance of about feven miles three furlongs. 
 The canal is forty-two feet in width at top, 
 and thirty at the bottom j proper ware- 
 houfes are conflrudled on its banks for the 
 reception of merchandize from the Severn 
 veffels, and convenience of lading the navi- 
 
 B 2 gation
 
 ( 12 ) 
 
 gation barges. The canal is continued by 
 a fubterraneous pafiage or tunnel, excavated 
 beneath Sapperton hill, and under that part 
 of Lord Bathurfl's grounds called Haley- 
 wood, making a diflance of two miles and 
 three furlongs. 
 
 The tunnel, the entrance to which is the 
 fubje6l of the view annexed to this fe6lion, 
 is near fifteen feet in width, and has fuffi- 
 cient depth of water to navigate barges from 
 fixty to feventy tons burthen ; thefe barges 
 are about eighty feet in length, twelve in 
 width, and draw about four feet of water 
 when loaded ; hence the canal defcending 
 one hundred and thirty-four feet, by four- 
 teen locks, joins the Thames at Lechlade, a 
 diflance of about twenty miles and two fur- 
 longs. 
 
 This work has been atchieved, with im-* 
 menfe labor and perfeverance, out of a loofe 
 
 rock
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 rock of lime and ftone ; and, to fecure the 
 water, it is lined throughout with well-tem- 
 pered clay. Over this canal are many hand- 
 fome bridges of fmgle arches, particularly 
 that at Thames Head, (as defcribed in the 
 view prefixed to the firft fe6lion,) from 
 whence this canal receives a confiderable 
 body of water, as well as at Cirencefter, 
 where it is again fupplied from the river 
 Churn. Near the fouth weft fide of the 
 town of Cirencefter a large bafon is con- 
 ftru6led, with wharfs and warehoufes for 
 the convenience of this navigation. The 
 bafon is fupplied with water by an aque- 
 du6l formed under Lord Bathurft's plea- 
 fure grounds, which are before his houfe. 
 
 The length of the canal from the Severn 
 at Froomlade to Inglefham, where it joins 
 the river Thames, is more than thirty miles j 
 the expence of which has confiderably ex- 
 ceeded the fum of two hundred thoufand 
 
 pounds.
 
 ( H ) 
 
 pounds, three thoufand of which, I am cre- 
 dibly informed by a principal proprietor, 
 have been expended in the gun-powder 
 alone, ufed for the purpofe of blowing up 
 the rock. 
 
 This immenfe work was completed on 
 the 14th of November, 1789, within a period 
 of lefs than {even years from its commence- 
 ment. Nor is it an eafy talk to defcribe the 
 various advantages that feem likely to be 
 derived from its extenfive communication 
 with the different parts of Wales, Briftol, 
 Gloucefter, Shrewlbury, &c. 3 its more in- 
 land navigation, as connefted with the 
 canals of StafFordfhire and Worcefterfhire, 
 and its immediate intercourfe with the 
 Thames from Lechlade towards Oxford, 
 Wallingford, &c. to London : fo various, 
 and fo important, are the benefits derived 
 from hence, both to the individual and the 
 public, the inhabitant who receives with 
 
 little
 
 ( 15 ) 
 
 little expence the produce of the mofl dif- 
 tant quarter of the ifland delivered at his 
 own door, and the traveller who paffes 
 fmoothly and fecurely by it through roads 
 no longer cut to pieces with heavy car- 
 riages, that it is much to be wifhed this 
 work may prove as beneficial to the fpirited 
 and enterprifmg proprietors, as it is a blef- 
 fmg to more than the countries through 
 which it pafles. 
 
 The courfe of this canal having brought 
 me to Earl Bathurft's grounds, fo highly 
 famed for their many beauties in point of 
 natural fituation, as well as artificial cul- 
 ture i I fhould deem myfelf deficient in ob- 
 fervation were I to pafs them unnoticed. 
 This extenfive park is more than twelve 
 miles in circumference; and is interfe6led 
 by four grand viftos, each of which forms 
 a happy termination of extenfive fcenery. 
 Approaching the houfe, the view towards 
 
 Cirencefter
 
 ( J6 ) 
 
 Cirencefier combines a fine affemblage of 
 buildings, not amufing only, but very ftrik- 
 ing to the imagination at firft fight; yet the 
 tower of a Gothic church rifmg fo imme- 
 diately over a modern manfion, and feeming 
 to form a part of it, upon a more deliberate 
 view prefents to the mind rather an hetero- 
 geneous mafs, or accidental form of beauty, 
 than fuch a corre6t model, as would be pro- 
 per to record by the pencil. It feems in- 
 congruous as the fabulous centaur, or as 
 
 *' Humano capiti ceivicem plftor equlnam 
 *' Jungere fi velit." 
 
 In pafling thefe grounds, the mind na- 
 turally reverts to that Auguftan period, in 
 which fome of the brighteft literary charac- 
 ters that ever at any one time adorned this 
 country, gave additional fplendor to this 
 enchanting fpot. 
 
 *' Thefe fcenes could Addifon's chafte notes Infpire : 
 " Here Pope hannonipus ftruck his filver lyre, 
 
 <« Caught
 
 ( 17 ) 
 
 *' Caught 'midft thefe folemn fhades the glorious plan, 
 ** To vindicate the ways of God to man. 
 ** Arbuthnot here, and Swift, with ufeful art, 
 «' Rear'd Satire's dreaded fcourge, or fteel'd her dart. 
 ** Here, Prior, the Graces foi'm'd tliy fofter lay ; 
 *' And taught the moral ftrains to blamelefs Gay. 
 *' Each pleas'd the matter's praifes to engage, 
 *' The fam'd Maecenas of that happier age !" 
 
 Pye's Farringdon Hill, 
 
 The table on which the immortal Pope 
 once reclined, I am informed, has fmce quit- 
 ted the fervice of the Mufes, and is now 
 removed to a common alehoufe in the neigh- 
 bourhood. 
 
 The town of Cirencefter is famed for its 
 antiquity, many evident marks of which are 
 flill remaining to prove it was formerly a 
 Roman flation, and the fragments of the 
 old walls evince it to have been a place of 
 confiderable defence, and in fize not infe- 
 rior to any town in the county. 
 
 As it was not the intention to confine 
 Vol. I. C myfelf
 
 ( i8 ) 
 
 myfelf entirely to a defcription of pl(5lu- 
 refque obje6ls on the banks of the Thames, 
 I (hall digrefs a little for the fake of men- 
 tioning fome fuperior works of art, which 
 I found at Badminton, the feat of the duke 
 of Beaufort, in my route to Bath ; the ex- 
 cellence of fome, and the rare prefervation 
 of others (particularly the gallery of por- 
 traits) render them highly meriting the 
 notice of the antiquary and admirer of the 
 arts. Among the portraits, that of John of 
 Gaunt, fourth fon of Edward III. is a fine 
 fpecimen of painting at that early period. 
 The armour in particular is finiflied with 
 exquifite precifion, richly embofled with 
 gold, and has more the air of a fplendid 
 birth-day fuit, than a covering for defence 
 in battle. The portrait, likewife, of his 
 eldefl fon, the duke of Beaufort, is not in- 
 ferior to the former. 
 
 In this colleclion is the famous fatirical 
 
 picture
 
 ( 19 ) 
 
 pl6lure of Fortune, by Salvator Rofa, men- 
 tioned in Bernardo Dominici's lives of the 
 Neapolitan artifts. It was painted while 
 he was at Rome, and there publickly exhi- 
 bited at the feaft of St. John, to the great 
 mortification of his brother artifts. This 
 pi6lure is coloured in his beft manner, and 
 replete with fatire, in which the church has 
 no fmall fliare. 
 
 The writings of this great artift were in 
 equal eftimation with his pi6lures, and from 
 their pointed fatirical allufions, drew forth 
 an equal number of enemies. For one of 
 them, he was driven into exile ; and there 
 is an excellent portrait of him by himfelf, 
 in this colle6lion, drawn with a fcroU of 
 paper in his hand, faid to be the fatire for 
 which he was banifhed. 
 
 Here is likewife a beautiful portrait of 
 
 that exquifite artiil, Guido, from his own 
 
 C 2 pencil
 
 ( 20 ) 
 
 pencil in a large high-crowned hat and black 
 drapery j and one of Cornelius Janfon, by 
 himfelf, in a fmgular attitude, with the two 
 fore-fingers of the right hand in an upright 
 pofture. I mention thefe pi6tures, as well 
 for their great excellence, as that it may be 
 a means of procuring prints from them, 
 which I do not remember to have feen. 
 Several pi6lures by Berchem, Teniers, &c. 
 will be found to merit the higheft enco- 
 mium. 
 
 The cartooon in the chapel, painted in 
 chiaro ofcuro, is certainly the work of a 
 great mafter. The fubje6l is the Transfi- 
 guration. It is faid to be by the hand of 
 Raphael, and, at his interment, to have been 
 fele6ted from his other works, and carried 
 on his bier 3 but I fufpe6t this not to have 
 been the fa6l, as it is moll probable the 
 finifhed pifture at Rome would have ob- 
 tained that fingular honor. 
 
 This
 
 ( 21 ) 
 
 This cartoon is in fize about eleven feet 
 by nine, and feems to have been originally 
 much larger ; it has fufFered greatly by time. 
 
 That this work was not added to the 
 cartoons in the royal colle6lion, is a cir- 
 cumftance much to be lamented j an offer 
 of three thoufand pounds is reported to have 
 been made for that purpofe, but refufed by 
 its noble owner. 
 
 Returning towards Cirencefter, I can- 
 not avoid mentioning the church at Tet- 
 bury, a modern ilru6lure recently finifhed 
 from a plan of Mr. Hiorne, of Warwick, 
 which for tafte and fimplicity in the Gothic, 
 without redundancy of parts, is the happi- 
 eft fele6lion I remember to have any where 
 feen. 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 23 ) 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Having, in the firft feftlon, aimed at 
 a brief account of the courfe of the Thames 
 from its fource to the town of Cricklade, I 
 {hall refume the fubjeft at that place, the 
 name of which has given rife to much con- 
 troverfy. 
 
 A Greek fchool was anciently founded 
 here, or rather reftored, by the learned arch- 
 bifhop of Canterbury, Theodorus, and af- 
 terwards tranflated to Oxford j from this 
 fchool the name of Greeklade is faid to have 
 been given to the town : but Camden thinks, 
 and with more probability, that it derives 
 its appellation from the Britilh Cerigwlad, 
 i. e. a ftoney country, which epithet well 
 agrees with the nature of its foil. 
 
 The
 
 ( 24 ) 
 
 The town was formerly of much repute; 
 at prefent neither the derivation of its name, 
 or its former confequence, entitle it to much 
 notice -, it being only remarkable for a very 
 large parifh church — for the mode by which 
 they convey their dead to interment, (which 
 is by faflening the coffin on the front of a 
 poft-chaife) — and for the provifion, which, 
 while they had the power, they were accuf- 
 tomed to make for the living, by a more 
 high-priced, than conftitutional, eftimate of 
 their borough franchifes. 
 
 At Cricklade we found the ftream fo 
 fhallow, as not to be in many places more 
 than fourteen inches deep, and fo overgrown 
 with weeds, as to be rendered fcarcely navi- 
 gable even for the fmalleft fifhing-boat. 
 
 In purfuing the courfe of the ftream, about 
 a mile below this town, we find the firft 
 bridge, which is conllru6ted of wood, with 
 
 a hand-
 
 ( 25 ) 
 
 a hand-rail merely for the fafety of foot-paf- 
 fengers. The fketch of it annexed to this 
 fe6lion, may ferve to point out the humble 
 ftate of this noble river and its appendages 
 near its fource, as contrafted with its more 
 expanded courfe and magnificent decora- 
 tions as it approaches the capital, where 
 
 " With rapid courfe it feeks the facred main, 
 " And fattens, as it runs, the fruitful plain." 
 
 From this wooden bridge, which is called 
 Eifey bridge, the town of Cricklade forms a 
 pleafmg termination of profpe6l acrofs the 
 intervening meadows, which though fiat, 
 and rather uninterefting, are happily relieved 
 and interfecled by the winding current of 
 the ftream. Below Water Eaton, there is 
 little variation of profpeft, till we reach 
 Caflle Eaton, where there is a fmall bridge 
 and water-mill, fo pleafingly combined with 
 other objects of rural and unafFeded fcenery. 
 
 Vol. I. D as
 
 ( 26 ) 
 
 as to render them worthy the pencil of the 
 firil artift. 
 
 Approaching Kempsford, a large vil- 
 lage in Gloucefterfhire, the river quits Wilt- 
 fliire, and again enters its native county, 
 dividing it from Berkfhire at Inglefham, 
 where the fcenery is greatly improved, by the 
 combination of an ancient Gothic church, 
 with its ufual appendage, a comfortable vi- 
 carage-houfe : thefe are pleafantly fituated 
 on a verdant flope, rifmg from the margin 
 of the Thames, which, though fhallow, is 
 yet beautifully tranfparent, and, as it ripples 
 in its courfe, difplays a fheltered and gravelly 
 bed, where the neighbouring cattle luxuri- 
 antly balk themfelves in the noon-tide fun. 
 Within this pleafant retreat the Vicarage, 
 we found, not the vicar, but his locum 
 tenens, an humble Welch curate, with a 
 wife and two children, exiiling on twenty- 
 five
 
 ( 27 ) 
 
 five pounds a year, and honeftly confelTing 
 he had, on this fide the grave, no wifh be- 
 yond the addition of ten pounds to his 
 falary ; and could he have obtained this, he 
 might have faid with Swift 
 
 ■ " Thefe things in my pofTeffing, 
 
 *• Are better than the bifhop's blefling." 
 
 Surely if the wifti of this honeft curate be 
 fincere, and his morals equal to his fimpli- 
 city, he cannot fall very fhort of the cha- 
 ra6ler of a primitive chriflian. 
 
 Adjoining to the church, which is a 
 venerable old ftru6lure, there lately ftood a 
 veiy extenfive manfion-houfe, once occupied 
 by John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancafter. He 
 refided here for fome time, but taking a dif- 
 like to the place, on account of the unfor- 
 tunate death of his only fon (which hap- 
 pened here) he granted the manor of Kene- 
 meres, Kenemeresford, or Kempsford, with 
 D 2 other
 
 ( 28 ) 
 
 other lands, to the collegiate church of St. 
 Mary the Lefs, in the caftle of Leicefter, for 
 the maintenance of an hofpital called New- 
 ark, or New Work, of which he was the 
 founder, 28 of Ed. III. 
 
 Within the tower of the church, on the 
 capitals of the pillars, are the arms of this 
 duke, of the earl of Gloucefter, and of king 
 Alfred ; and on the outfide of the church 
 door is nailed a large horfe-fhoe, faid to have 
 belonged to Henry IV. This ancient man-r 
 fion has, by order of its polTefTor, lord Cole- 
 raine, been levelled to the ground, within 
 the laft fix years, when the materials were 
 
 purchafed by Loveden, Efq; of Bur- 
 
 fcott Park, with which he has erected an 
 elegant modern houfe. 
 
 The out- offices and grand entrance to 
 this extenfive building are yet Handing, and 
 are occupied as farm-houfes. 
 
 About
 
 ( 29 ) 
 
 About three miles from this village is 
 fituated the town of Fairford, rendered fa- 
 mous by its church and painted windows. 
 Its founder, John Tame, was a confiderable 
 merchant, and in the fifteenth century com- 
 manded a large veffel, in which he captured 
 a Spanifh fhip bound for Rome. The cargo, 
 among other valuables, confifted of a great 
 quantity of painted glafs, intended for his 
 holinefs the pope j this part of the prize he 
 brought to his patrimonial eftate, where he 
 ere6led the church, a handfome flru6lure, 
 purpofely to depofit thefe paintings, which 
 confift of twenty-eight in number, and are 
 intended to illuftrate fome ftriking pafTages 
 in the Old and New Teftament. They are 
 handed down to us as the works of Albert 
 Durer, which, contrary to the received opi- 
 nion, I by no means credit. The original 
 defigns may poffibly have been by him ; if 
 fo, much of their excellence has been loft by 
 their being copied on t:he glafs, as in point 
 
 of
 
 ( 3° ) 
 
 of drawing they are very defe6live. The 
 figures of the prophets are in every refpedt, 
 in my eflimation, by much the beft part of 
 the work. On the whole, though there is 
 much clearnefs and brilliancy in the colour- 
 ing, yet they are much inferior to what I 
 expedled, from the high eulogiums I had 
 often heard on their merit. 
 
 The river from Kempsford increafes con- 
 fiderably in width as it approaches the town 
 of Lechlade, a diftance of about fix miles, 
 in which courfe are feveral weirs, and one 
 large wooden bridge at Hannington, from 
 whence Highworth church and village appear 
 in the diftance, forming a pleafing obje6l. 
 
 About three miles below Hannington is 
 Inglefham, where the Severn canal unites 
 with the Thames, which is there confiderably 
 improved, by being cleared of its weeds and 
 other impediments to navigation, through 
 
 the
 
 ( 3' ) 
 
 the attention of the public-fpirited proprie- 
 tors in this undertaking. 
 
 LECHLADEisa large town in Gloucefler- 
 fhire, fituated on the confines of Berkfhire 
 and Oxfordfhire. The ground on which it 
 ftands was formerly called the Lade, from 
 which appellation, conjoined with that of 
 the contiguous river Lech, it derives its com- 
 pound name, Lechlade. That river here 
 empties itfelf into the Thames, which, at 
 this place, is fo much increafed by the junc- 
 tion of the rivers Colne and Churn, as to be 
 capable of navigating vefTels from ninety to 
 an hundred tons burthen. 
 
 In a meadow, near Lechlade, was lately 
 difcovered a large fubterraneous building, 
 fuppofed to have been a Roman bath ; it is 
 near fifty feet in length, forty in breadth, 
 and four feet in height ; and is fupported by 
 
 pillars
 
 ( 32 ) 
 
 pillars of brick, and curioufly inlaid with 
 ftones of variegated colours. 
 
 In the lower church-yard, at Cricklade, 
 is a curious ancient crofs, of which, though 
 1 have not been able to procure the hiflory, 
 the annexed Iketch will give fome idea. 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 33 ) 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 X HE river, from Lechlade, though con- 
 fiderably improved, has yet required the 
 ailiftance of art to aid its navigation -, a 
 fpacious cut, therefore, has been formed for 
 that purpofe, a little below the town, which 
 runs nearly parallel with the old river, and 
 contiguous to St. John's Bridge. A hand- 
 fome arch is thrown acrofs this new cut, 
 which with the old ftru6lure adjoining, forms 
 no unpleafmg obje6l ; the fpire of Lechlade 
 Church appearing over the bridge, and the 
 fmgular circumftance of two navigable 
 ftreams coming fo nearly in contact, fo 
 highly enrich the fcenery, as not to be over- 
 looked by the eye of the pidlurefque traveller. 
 
 The old bridge is of great ftrength and 
 
 antiquity j but I have not been able to pro- 
 
 Vol. I. E cure
 
 (34) 
 
 cure any information of the period in which 
 it was built. 
 
 About half a mile below the bridge, is 
 the village of Burfcott, on the confines of 
 Berkfhire, near which is a new lock and 
 pound, juft finifhed, which has the appear- 
 ance of being well conflru6led, both for con- 
 venience, and difpatch of bufmefs. On an 
 eminence, at fome diftance, is Burfcott Park; 
 in which is ere6led the manfion of Mr. 
 Loveden, from the remains of Kempsford 
 houfe, as mentioned in the lafl fe6lion: 
 the mere value of the lead found on this 
 houfe amounted to five hundred pounds, 
 for which fum the whole of the materials 
 were purchafed. 
 
 Mr. Loveden has added greatly to the 
 beauty of his fituation, by introducing into 
 his park, at a confiderable expence, a fmall 
 canal, from the body of the river, which the 
 
 conflant
 
 ( 3^ ) 
 
 conftant attention of that gentleman has 
 alfo confiderably improved, by means of 
 embankments, and the removal of various 
 obftru6lions. The growth, hov^ever, of the 
 weeds with which it is over-run, though un- 
 pleafant to the eye, and an impediment to 
 the navigation, is certainly the means of 
 preferving many of its finny inhabitants 
 from the ravage of the poacher. The in- 
 creafe of weeds, it muft likewife be obferved, 
 ferves to reitrain the current, and thereby 
 keep up a greater body of water: their 
 growth, as well as that of all fubaqueous 
 plants, is well known to have an increafe 
 proportionate to that of vegetation in the 
 open air, after a fliower of rain. 
 
 Remarking that all the watermen, and 
 perfons concerned in the navigation, have 
 an idea, and boldly aflert, that the river, in 
 this vicinity, freezes firft at the bottom j 
 and that they frequently find ificles and con- 
 
 E 2 gelations
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 gelations adhering to the keels and bottoms 
 of their boats, when there is no appearance 
 of ice on the furface ; and feeling myfelf 
 not fatisfied with this trite and vulgar opi- 
 nion, I am induced to refer for a more phi- 
 lofophical and convincing proof of the af- 
 fertion ; when in Dr. Plott I find the fol- 
 lowing obfervation : — " That the watermen 
 " freqiTcntly meet the ice-meers, or cakes 
 " of ice, in their rife, and fometimes in the 
 *' under-fide including ftones and gravel, 
 " brought with them ab imo -,' and he ob- 
 ferves, " it is confonant to reafon, for that 
 " congelations come from the conflux of 
 " falts, before difperfed at large, is as plain 
 " as the vulgar experiment of freezing a pot 
 " by the fire 3 and that induration and 
 " weight come alfo from thence, fufHciently 
 " appears from the great quantities of them 
 " that are always found in flones, bones, 
 " teflaceous, and all other weighty bodies.'* 
 He likewife feems to credit the afTertion of 
 
 a perfon
 
 ( 37 ) 
 
 a perfon who once faw a hatchet cafually fall 
 overboard into the river, near WalUngford, 
 which was afterwards brought up and found 
 in one of thefe ice-meers. — As my author 
 fometimes deals in the marvellous, I fhall 
 forbear any comment on thefe obfervations. 
 
 The fcenery in this vicinity correfponds 
 with the neglected ftate of the river, being 
 flat, and very uninterefting, till by various 
 windings of the ftream, the diftance expands, 
 and a pleafmg view of Farringdon Hill prc- 
 fents itfelf, which with the various eafy 
 flopes of the neighbouring hills, aided by 
 the villages of Eaton on the right, and 
 Kempfcott on the Oxfordfhire fide of the 
 river, happily relieve the eye, and convey 
 no unpleafmg idea to the admirers of the 
 native beauties of Englifh landfcape. 
 
 n a L* ^^ 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 39 ) 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 RaDCOTE Bridge next prefents itfelf 
 to view ; it is the oldeft ftru6lure we have 
 yet pafTed ; but refpe6ling the period in 
 which it was raifed, the common fources of 
 information have failed. 
 
 From authentic accounts it appears, that 
 a caufeway was certainly begun in the neigh- 
 bourhood, as early as William the Conqueror, 
 moft probably by Robert D'Oyley, who came 
 over with him, and was a very diflinguifhed 
 man in his day ; he built Oxford Caftle, and 
 appears to have been concerned in another 
 work of the fame kind, leading from Friar 
 Bacon's ftudy, at Oxford. 
 
 This bridge and its vicinity are rendered 
 famous by a coniiderable battle fought in 
 
 the
 
 ( 40 ) 
 
 the reign of Richard II. an. 1387, between 
 his highly honored favorite Robert de Vere, 
 Earl of Oxford, Marquis of Dublin, and 
 Duke of Ireland, and the difcontented ba- 
 rons, among whom were Thomas, Duke of 
 Gloucefter, the Earls of Derby, Warwick, 
 &c. in which the troops of the favorite were 
 routed, and he, by fwimming acrofs tho 
 river, efFe6led his efcape. In the poem of 
 Thame and Ifis the fa6l is thus recorded : 
 
 *' Here Oxford's hero, famous for his boar — — • 
 " While clafhing fwords upon his target found, 
 ** And fhow'rs of arrows from his bread rebound, 
 *' Prepar'd for worft of fates, undaunted flood, 
 " And urg'd his beaft into the rapid flood: 
 " The waves in triumph bore him, and were proud 
 " To fmk beneath their honourable load.'* 
 
 After this defeat he fled the realm, and 
 died in banifhment, at Louvain, about five 
 years afterwards, as it is faid, in confequence 
 of a wound received from the tulks of a 
 
 boar.
 
 ( 4' ) 
 
 boar, in the chace of that animal ; his body 
 was, three years after his death, brought to 
 England by order of the king, and at his 
 expence, was with great folemnity interred 
 at Colne, in Eflex. The family creft of the 
 Veres, Earls of Oxford, was a boar. 
 
 About amilediftant from the bridge, is 
 Farringdon Hill, a beautiful eminence, which 
 is terminated by a fmall grove feen at a con- 
 fiderable diilance, from the different points, 
 in the various windings of the river; it 
 derives its name from the neighbouring 
 town of Farringdon, and rifes with an eafy 
 afcent from the vale of White Horfe, be- 
 neath ; which vale takes its name from the 
 fuppofed figure of a white horfe in chalk, 
 which, if ever it had reality, is probably 
 much reflored by the cuftom of weeding it 
 at ilated periods -, the popular opinion runs, 
 that it was formed in commemoration of a 
 victory obtained by Alfred over the Danes -, 
 
 Vol. I. F by
 
 { 42 ) 
 
 by others it is faid to have been marked out 
 by Hengift, who certainly bore on his fland- 
 ard the figure of a white horfe 5 fomething 
 of this kind is ftill to be feen in Dorfetfhire, 
 near Dorchefter, reprefenting the figure of a 
 giant and his club. 
 
 The hill commands an extenfive and richly 
 diverfified fcene, fpreading over part of Berk- 
 fh ire, Oxford fliire, Glouceflerfhire, and Wilt- 
 fhire, as well as of the valley beneath. Be- 
 tween Radcote Bridge and Farringdon Hill 
 ftands an elegant houfe, built by Henry 
 James Pye, Efq. the prefent laureate, (now 
 occupied by Mr. Hallet) : the fpot is hap^ 
 pily chofen, and he has celebrated its beau^ 
 ties in a poem of much merit. At a fmall 
 diftance from Radcote Bridge runs the canal 
 which leads to Abingdon. 
 
 UsEF u L to the commerce of the country, 
 and laudable as the enterprize of forming 
 
 navigable
 
 ( 43 ) 
 
 navigable canals all over the kingdom, mud 
 be acknowledged to be, it is ftill with fome 
 regret we view the old ftream falling almofl 
 into total negledl and difufe. Such, how- 
 ever, in this neighbourhood during the fum- 
 mer months, is the fituation of this noble 
 river, which is then fli allow in water, and 
 overgrown with oziers and weeds j its locks 
 and wiers are falling fafl into decay y and in 
 many places we find only a few old timbers 
 remaining, to mark where fuch aids to na- 
 vigation were once thought of utility. In 
 the winter feafon the river, which hereabouts 
 confiderably overflows the adjacent meadows, 
 is much augmented by the addition of the 
 Windrufli, a large brook, which flowing 
 from the Cotfwold hills, enters Oxfordftiire 
 near Burford, and pafllng by Witney, joins 
 the Thames to the fouth-wefl: of the Even- 
 lode, another river, which, rifing near Stow, 
 in the wold in Glouceflierfliire, likewife falls 
 F 2 into
 
 ( 44 ) 
 
 into the Thames, near Caffington, north- 
 weft of Oxfordfhire. 
 
 Of Burford, Dr. Plott remarks, that with- 
 in his memory a whimfical ceremony was 
 obferved there of making yearly a large dra- 
 gon, and carrying it up and down the town, 
 with much jollity, on Midfummer eve, to 
 which they added a huge giant of proporti- 
 onate fize. This cuftom, he conje6lures, 
 was to commemorate a vi6lory obtained by 
 the Weft Saxons over Ethelbald, King of 
 the Mercians, about the year 750, at a place 
 contiguous to the town, ftill called Battle 
 Edge. On the banner of the Mercian king 
 was depidled a golden dragon. 
 
 It is obferved of the river Windrufli, that 
 it is of fo nitrous a quality, and fo impreg- 
 nated with that abfterfive fait, that thence 
 the blanketting, manufadlured at Witney, 
 
 acquires
 
 ( 45 ) 
 
 acquires a degree of whitenefs fuperior to 
 what is made in any other part of the king- 
 dom. 
 
 Pursuing the courfe of the river, on the 
 right appears Buckland, the feat of Sir Ro- 
 bert Throckmorton — a modern ftru6lure 
 fituated on an eminence. This manfion 
 was built by its prefent pofleflbr, near the 
 fite of the former edifice, part of which flill 
 remains. Its fituation is truly pi6lurefqvie, 
 embowered amidft a thicket of ftately trees, 
 and commands a moft enchanting view of 
 the river beneath, and an extenfive diflance, 
 which though flat, highly abounds with the 
 richeft luxuriance of nature. 
 
 The windings of the river here, in its 
 courfe, form many pleafmg breaks in the 
 landfcape ; and if the fpire of a church, as 
 has been frequently obferved, gives a happy 
 termination to village fcenery, that of Bamp- 
 
 ton
 
 ( 46 ) 
 
 ton claims peculiar notice, as it is a perpe- 
 tual obje6l from the river for many miles^ 
 both above and below it. The remark made 
 by Charles the Second, on that of Harrow 
 on the Hill, which, from its confpicuous 
 fituation, he ftiled the vifible church, will 
 not ill apply to that of Eampton. Ap- 
 proaching the villages of Hinton and Long- 
 worth, the Witham Hills, in Oxfordfhire, 
 are mofl happily combined, and fo beauti- 
 fully foften into each other, as to form a 
 diftance worthy the pencil of Claude le Lor- 
 raine ; and it is to be regretted that the 
 noble city of Oxford is fo concealed from the 
 eye, as not to lend its aid towards giving 
 a kind of claffical finifhing to that fcenery 
 in nature, which Claude labored fo much 
 to perfe6l from art and imagination. 
 
 SEC-
 
 { 47 ) 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 As we approach towards New Bridge, about 
 four miles farther, the fcenery becomes more 
 confined, and the ftream much narrower; 
 yet from the immenfe piers or pointed fler- 
 lings, the fall, in the winter months, may be 
 fuppofed to be amazingly rapid. The bridge 
 is a plain and fimple ftru6lure, in the Gothic 
 ftile, and of great antiquity, but has no ap- 
 pearance of date ; it has on one fide the let- 
 ter O. and on the other B. in Roman cha- 
 ra6lers, to denote the divifion of the counties 
 of Oxford and Berks. The bridge is about 
 two miles from Kingfton Inn, in the high 
 road to Witney. 
 
 With aflat, confined, and rather uninte- 
 refting fcene, the ftream ftill purfues its 
 humble courfe towards Bablac Hythe, a 
 
 little
 
 ( 48 ) 
 
 little below which the face of the country 
 wears a more agreeable afpe6l j the river 
 expands, and becomes a clear pellucid flream, 
 beautifully enriched v/ith verdure -, and the 
 grazing cattle on its margin, give a happy 
 idea of that landfcape we are accuftomed to 
 view on the banks of the Thames, nearer 
 the capital. The majeflic remains of Stan- 
 ton Harcourt, (the ancient feat of the Har- 
 courts,) prefent a venerable pile of building, 
 at the diftance of about two miles, on the 
 Oxfordfhire fide of the river. On a nearer 
 approach, its confequence is not diminifhed ; 
 it is continually receiving the foftering aid 
 of its noble poflefTor ; who, with a know- 
 ledge of the modern elegancies of build- 
 ing, and refinements of art, is not unmindful 
 of the precious remains of antiquity. The 
 noble family of the Harcourts, it is well 
 known, are defcended from the Harcourts 
 in Normandy, who have been in poffeflion 
 of this manfion for near fix hundred years. 
 
 The
 
 ( 49 ) 
 
 The firft barony was granted to Sir Simon 
 Harcourt, Lord High Chancellor, in the 
 reign of Queen Ann, who obtained this 
 title of Baron Harcourt, of Stanton Har- 
 court. The earldom was created in 1749. 
 Much of this noble flru6ture was pulled 
 down by the late Earl. The kitchen of 
 this building is of great antiquity, and An- 
 gularly conftru6led ; it is a fpacious fquare 
 room ; and though a kitchen without a chim- 
 ney, beneath the eaves of the roof are fliut- 
 ters contrived to give vent to the fmoke. 
 It feems to be the opinion of the learned in 
 antiquity, that the windows, from their 
 form, were inferted about the time of Henry 
 the Fourth. An old writer obferves, " it 
 " is either a kitchen within a chimney, or a 
 " kitchen without one." The infide of the 
 chapel, which is no longer in ufe, was a pri- 
 vate oratory for the family, and remains 
 with its painted and gilded ornaments in the 
 ceiling, in a tolerable ftate of prefervation. 
 Vol. I. G In
 
 ( 50 ) 
 
 In the great hall, which joined to the chapel, 
 was formerly much ftained glafs, on which 
 were depicled the different quarterings borne 
 by the Harcourts, and alfo the portraits and 
 armorial bearings of feveral perfons habited 
 like warriors, who were of this ancient fa- 
 mily. This glafs has been lately removed, 
 to prevent its dellru(5lion. 
 
 Mr. Pope feems not to have been fo 
 good an antiquary as a poet -, for in one of 
 his letters he mentions a pane of glafs in 
 this apartment, as a valuable antique, which, 
 upon viewing it at Lord Harcourt's houfe in 
 town, clearly appears to be a forgery, as 
 the charaBer of the letters and figures of 
 the date, " A°Dm 1.3.4.7." is evidently 
 more modern. In the tower of this chapel, 
 which is accefiible by a winding ftair-cafe, 
 are three apartments j the upper of thefe is 
 ftill called Pope's room, from his having 
 occupied it as a fludy, during a whole fum- 
 
 mer
 
 ( 51 ) 
 
 mer which he pafTed in this manfion. Here 
 he finifhed his tranflation of the fifth book 
 of the Iliad, which circumftance he has in- 
 fcribed, with a diamond, on a pane of red 
 glafs, carefully preferved by Earl Harcourt; 
 and which he has politely favoured me with 
 the ufe of, to form from thence a fac fimile. 
 
 
 
 In the church-yard, on a tablet affixed to 
 the fouthfide of the wall adjoining, is the epi- 
 taph written by Pope, on the two lovers, John 
 and Sarah Drew, who were flruck dead by 
 lightening in an adjoining field, during the 
 refidence of our poet at this place. Here 
 likewife are feveral very curious monuments, 
 G 2 one
 
 ( 52 ) 
 
 one in the fouth aide, particularly deferving 
 attention, of a Margaret Byron, wife to Sir 
 Robert Harcourt, who was fent over to 
 Rouen, in Normandy, to receive Margarete 
 of Anjou, Queen of Henry VI. in 1445 ; and, 
 for the various eminent fervices rendered to 
 his Sovereign and his country, received the 
 honor of the garter about the year 1 463 ; he 
 is lying in armour, with the mantle of th? 
 garter thrown over him j and by him, his 
 lady, who has likewife the mantle of the 
 order, with the garter above the left arm, 
 with the motto. 
 
 " HONI SOIT QJJI MAL Y PENSE.' 
 
 Annexed to the end of this fe6lion, is a 
 fketch of this lady's figure, from the monu-^ 
 ment, which, I prefume, will not be unac- 
 ceptable to the admirer of antiquity, as there 
 are but two other inftances known of ladies 
 wearing the infignia of the garter ; one of 
 
 which
 
 ( 53 ) 
 
 which is in the church of Ewelm, in this 
 county, of Alice, daughter of Thomas Chau- 
 cer, wife to William de la Pole, Earl of Suf- 
 folk : the other of Conftance, daughter of 
 John Holland, Earl of Huntingdon, and 
 Duke of Exeter, firft married to Thomas 
 Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, and after, to 
 Sir John Gray, Knight of the Garter, in the 
 reign of Henry V. and Earl of Tankerville, 
 in Normandy. Her monument is in the 
 church of St. Catherine, near the Tower, 
 but quite defaced. 
 
 At Stanton Harcourt is likewife a hand- 
 fome monumental figure of Sir Robert Har- 
 court, who was ftandard- bearer to Henry 
 VII. at the battle of Bofworth Field j and 
 alfo Sheriff for the county of Oxford : in 
 the fame reign he was made Knight of the 
 Bath, at the creation of Henry, Duke of 
 York, afterwards Henry VIII. 
 
 These
 
 ( 54 ) 
 
 These monuments are finely preferved, 
 and have been lately reftored with much 
 care , they are good fpecimens of the monu- 
 mental fculpture of the times, as well as 
 the perfonal decorations and habiliments at 
 that period in ufe. 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 55 ) 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 FROM New Bridge, at the diflance of 
 about feven miles, we reach the ancient vil- 
 lage of Enfham, near which is an elegant 
 bridge of flone, confifling of three arches, 
 ere6led about 1 5 years lince, by Lord Abing- 
 don, whofe liberality and public fpirit have, 
 I am credibly informed, been amply repaid 
 by the revenue derived from this undertak- 
 ing. The building at the extremity of the 
 bridge was intended for an inn ; but, though 
 provided with all proper accommodation 
 and out-buildings, has not proved fo fortu- 
 nate a fpeculation, having never yet, in any 
 way, been occupied. 
 
 The fituation of this bridge is truly pic- 
 turefque ; the river confiderably expands it- 
 fclf, and beautifully meanders amidfl the 
 
 neigh-
 
 ( 56 ) 
 
 neighbouring meadows, fertile in paflure^ 
 and happily fcreened by the contiguous hills, 
 which form a gentle Hope towards its mar- 
 gin. On the Oxfordfhire fide, the various 
 breaks in the dillant fcenery, the happy 
 combination of village objedls, and tinkling 
 of the diftant folds, feem to give an addi- 
 tional beauty and ferenity to the landfcape, 
 in the minds of thofe who chance to trace 
 this fpot, in the clofe of a genial fummer 
 evening. 
 
 The village of Enfliam, whofe Gothic 
 tower adorns the neighbouring fcene, is a 
 place of great antiquity, and in times as far 
 remote as the charter of King Etheldred, is 
 termed " a famous place." A fmall part of 
 the ruins of the abbey is ftill remaining i it 
 was endowed, and dedicated to the Virgin 
 Mary and St. Benedict, about the year 1005. 
 It received confiderable benefa6lions and re- 
 pairs in the reign of Henry I. -, and, at the 
 
 difTo-
 
 i 57 ) 
 
 dlflblution of other religious houfes, in the 
 year 1539, fell into the rapacious hands of 
 Henry VIII. 
 
 ** Who having fpent the treafures of his crown, 
 " Condemns their luxury to feed his own : 
 " Thus he tlie church at once protecSls and fpoils ; 
 " But Princes fwords are fharper than their ftyles.'* 
 
 These remains give but a faint idea of 
 its former extent and magnificence. A fm- 
 gular cuftom, of very ancient date, is recorded 
 of the royalty of Enfham : — It was a pri- 
 vilege formerly allowed to the town's-people, 
 or, rather to the church, on Whit- Monday — 
 to cut down, and bring away (wherever the 
 churchwardens pleafed to mark it out by 
 giving the firft chop) as much timber as 
 could be drawn by men's hands into the 
 abbey yard -^ whence, if they could draw it 
 out again, notwithftanding all the impedi- 
 ments that could be given by the fervants 
 of the abbey, it was then their own. It 
 
 Vol. 1. H feems
 
 ( 58 ) 
 
 feems a goodly kind of fraud enough, to ufe 
 the labours and exertions of a whole village, 
 in dragging a fupply of fuel, the property 
 of the public, into the abbey, only to make 
 a fcramble for the purpofe of getting it out 
 again j nor is there reafon to fuppofe that 
 much of it was ever reftored to the people 
 of the town, after having once been in the 
 clutches of the good fathers, who, doubtlefs, 
 were not wanting in ways and means to ac- 
 complifli what could not be atchieved by 
 force; as Prior obferves of the lion's ikin,. 
 which being too fhort 
 
 *' Was lengthen'd by the fox's tall, 
 
 " And art fupplied where ftrength might fall.'* 
 
 From Enfliam to Woodftock is a plea- 
 fant ride of about four miles ; and here, I 
 perfuade myfelf, that the nature of the fub- 
 je6t will be thought a fufficient apology for 
 digrefling a little from my regular path. 
 
 The
 
 ( 59 ) 
 
 The varied beauties of nature in its vi- 
 cinity, aided by a combination of all that is 
 fublime and magnificent in the works of 
 art, naturally call forth the utmoft degree of 
 attention from the curious, and may, at 
 leaft, tend to evince to foreigners, into whofe 
 hands this worjc may fall, that England is 
 as rich in the choiceft produ6lion of the fine 
 arts, as any other countiy in Europe ; and 
 that Blenheim Caftle, firfl raifed as a monu- 
 ment of Britifh gratitude, in reward of Bri- 
 tifh valour, is now equally celebrated as a 
 repofitory of whatever is fplendid and 
 elegant, 
 
 H 2 SEC-
 
 ( 6i ) 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 r ROM Woodftock the grand entrance 
 to Blenheim Caftle is through a magnificent 
 triumphal arch, raifed to the memory of 
 John, Duke of Marlborough, by Sarah his 
 Duchefs. It is from this diftance the {late- 
 ly pile is moft happily viewed j its various 
 towers, rifmg into the horizon, beautifully 
 break the mafly and more ponderous form 
 it wears on a nearer approach. The ver- 
 dure of the fwelling lawn on which it 
 flands, the fpacious and eafy Hope inclining 
 towards the rich valley below, aided by a 
 fine expanfe of water, wearing the appear- 
 ance of a noble river, terminated by a fpa- 
 cious ftone bridge (the center arch of which 
 is of fuperior demenfions to the famed Ri- 
 alto, at Venice, being a hundred and one 
 feet) with a happy afTemblage of rich groves 
 
 and
 
 ( 62 ) 
 
 and plantations in the diflance, form a 
 beautiful coup d'oeuil, furpalling any thing 
 I remember to have feen in this or any other 
 country. 
 
 The creation of this lake or river was thq 
 work of the famous Brown, who has been 
 heard to boaft, " that the Thames would 
 " never forgive him for what he had done 
 *' at Blenheim." He has, at any rate, taken 
 away part of the fling of the following epi- 
 gram, applied to the firil Duke, who ere6led 
 this bridge ; 
 
 " The lofty bridge his high ambition fhews, 
 *' The ftream an emblem of his bounty flows." 
 
 The brevity of the plan on which the 
 prefent work is conduced, renders it im- 
 poffible to do juftice to the fcenery j but the 
 annexed view may be confidered as a faithful 
 hint of the fuperior excellence of its natural 
 fituation . Approaching nearer to this llately 
 
 pile.
 
 ( 63 ) 
 
 pile, its archite(5lural defers will, to the dif- 
 criminating eye, become more confplcuous. 
 Neither the tafte nor ftyle are fuch as are 
 reconcilable with the principles of either 
 Vitruvius or Palladio, yet what it wants in 
 elegance js amply atoned for in ftrength, 
 and that ponderous and mafiy ftyle, for 
 which it has incurred fo much cenfure, may, 
 from the idea of its durability, at leaft be 
 tolerated, while it bears lafting teftimony, 
 that Vanbrugh built, as Britons fought. 
 
 " Not for an age, but for all time." 
 
 I SHALL forbear further obfervation on 
 this noble ftru6lure, on which fo much has 
 been already written, and only remark on 
 the tranfcendancy of its internal decorations, 
 which combined with fo much true judg- 
 ment and exquifite tafte, render it at prefent, 
 the firft affemblage of the works of art in 
 this kingdom. 
 
 To
 
 ( 64 ) 
 
 To enumerate all the pi6lures in this fu- 
 perb coUeclion would be fuperfiuous, to pafs 
 them over in filence highly reprehenlible. 
 The beft works of Rubens, and in the 
 higheft prefervation, are here feledled, with 
 much judgment and princely munificence : 
 among thofe in the eaft drawing-room is a 
 Bacchanalian fubjedl, in which the heads of 
 the woman and boys eating grapes exhibit 
 a brilliant fpecimen of the rich and animated 
 colouringof that great mafter. 
 
 In the grand cabinet is a pi6lureof Chrift 
 blefling the children, in which is introduced 
 the artift's own portrait. 
 
 The Saviour's return from Egypt, and 
 Lot's departure out of Sodom, prefented 
 to the Duke by the city of Antwerp, are 
 each highly obje6ls of admiration to the eye 
 of the Gonnoifleur ; and of the latter it may 
 be faid, that Antwerp, though rich in the 
 
 works
 
 ( 65 ) 
 
 works of this great mailer, could not have 
 felefted one, by which they could have bet- 
 ter teftified their refpecl and veneration. 
 
 The Catherine of Medicis, in black dra- 
 pery, is a chef d'csuvre in portrait of Ru- 
 bens J the clear colouring of the head and 
 richnefs of the fatin are both inimitable : 
 and the portraits of the wife and child of 
 this artift) prefented to the Duke by the city 
 of Bruflels, are ftill further proofs of his 
 excellence in the art, as well as a teftimony 
 borne by the firft city in Flanders, to the 
 forbearing hand of the conqueror, who, in 
 the midft of vi6lory, nobly upheld his ftiield 
 for the prote6lion of the fofter elegancies 
 of peace. 
 
 I A M happy to obferve, amidft the excel- 
 lent produ6lions of that great mafter, not- 
 withftanding his rich and brilliant ftyle 
 of colouring, that the works of our Eng- 
 
 VoL. I. I lifh
 
 ( 66 ) 
 
 lifh artift, Sir Jofhua, lofe nothing of their 
 original luftre ; I inftance particularly the 
 portrait of Lady Charlotte Spencer, in the 
 character of a gipfey, and the large and 
 beautiful afTemblage of portraits in the Marl* 
 borough family, both of which feem to bid 
 defiance to the hand of Time, as well as 
 dctra6lion. 
 
 In the grand cabinet is a pi6lure of the 
 Miraculous Conception, in which a beauti- 
 ful head of the Virgin, encircled with ftars, 
 highly merits attention ; it is a capital pro- 
 duction of Carlo Dolci. 
 
 In the great drawing-room, famed for its 
 tapeftry recording the military exploits of 
 the firfl Duke, is a pair of beautiful pi6lures 
 enwreathed with flowers, by Rottenhamer, 
 painted with much fweetnefs, and in a very 
 fuperior ilile. Some of the beft works of 
 Luca Giordano will be found here, particu- 
 larly
 
 ( 67 ) 
 
 larly the capital picture of Seneca bleeding to 
 death, in which we have only to regret the 
 unpleafantnefs of the fubjedl, which from its 
 fuperior excellence gives additional pain to 
 the beholder. To particularize each pi6lure, 
 and to defcribe every buft and elegant deco- 
 ration, with which this manfion abounds, 
 would be only giving a repetition of what 
 has been faid before on the fame fubjed. 
 
 From every window of the noble library, 
 which occupies the whole of the weft front, 
 and is full two hundred feet in length, and 
 indeed from every apartment in the manfion, 
 the pidlurefque eye is highly gratified, with 
 the richly variegated fcenery of pendant 
 groves and waving lawns ; of diftant co- 
 lumns, proudly bearing record to its noble 
 founder's greatnefs, and of gardens fo lux- 
 uriant in nature, and fo happily improved 
 by art, as to perfe6lly accord with each 
 other ; nor is the eye offended with that 
 
 1 2 part
 
 { 68 ) 
 
 part of the flower-garden from the defign of 
 Madame Pompadour, at Verfailles, m which, 
 though we find a regularity in the difpofition 
 of the parterres, there is yet a fuperior air 
 of tafte in the tout enfemble. 
 
 In the midfl: of this extend ve and elegant 
 fcenery, the mind naturally reverts to a ruder 
 period, when all around aflumed a folitary 
 ftate, and majeflic pomp. 
 
 The antiquity of Woodftock Park may 
 be afcertained, from its having been a royal 
 refidence, as early as the time of King Al- 
 fred, who is faid, by old writers, to have 
 tranflated Boetius de Confolatione Philofo- 
 phiae, in this place, and who, about the fame 
 time, in all probability, founded the uni- 
 verfity of Oxford. — Camden fays, that in the 
 time of King Ethelred, father of Edward the 
 Confeflbr, it was fo confiderable a place, that 
 he there held a convention of the ftates, and 
 
 enadled
 
 ( 69 ) 
 
 cna£led feveral flatutes. In the reign of 
 Henry I. it is conje6lured that the park was 
 enclofed by a ftone wall, not for deer only, 
 but as a receptacle for foreign animals, fuch 
 as lions, leopards, camels, lynxes, &c. among 
 which a porcupine is mentioned by William 
 of Malmfbury, of which he fays " hifpidis 
 " fetis coopertam, quas in canes infe6lantes 
 '* naturaliter emittunt."-^This extraordi- 
 nary property of this animal, though corre- 
 fponding with the vulgar idea at prefent en- 
 tertained, is, I underftand, much queflioned 
 by the more informed naturalifts of our age, 
 
 Henry II. refided in this palace, where 
 Malcolm, King of Scotland, and Rice, Prince 
 of Wales, came to pay homage to that Mo- 
 narch in 1 1 64 ; and here the honour of 
 knighthood was conferred on JefFery, fur- 
 named Plantagenet, the King's fecond fon 
 by the fair Rofamond. The Princefs Eli- 
 zabeth was confined in this place a confider- 
 
 able
 
 ( 70 ) 
 
 able time, by order of her unnatural fifter 
 Queen Mary ; in which imprifonment the 
 following lines are faid to have been written 
 by her, with charcoal, on the window fhut- 
 ter of the apartment : as I do not recolle<5l 
 they are mentioned by Mr. Walpole, in his 
 Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors, I 
 Ihall prefent them with all their defe6ls to 
 the reader, who may perhaps infer, that fhe 
 was more diflinguifhed for her politics than 
 her poetry. 
 
 *' Oh ! Fortune ! how thy reftlefs wavering ftale 
 " Hath fraught with cares my troubled witt, 
 *' Wittnefs this prefent prifoner, whither Fate 
 " Could bear me, and the joys I quit. 
 " Thou caufed'ft the guiltie to be lofed 
 *' From bands wherein are innocents inclofed, 
 ♦' Caufing the guiltlefs to be ftraites referved, 
 " And freeing thofe that death well deferved, 
 " But by her malice can be nothing wroughte, 
 " So God fend to my foes all they have thought.'* 
 
 >* Anno Dom, 1555. Elizabeth prifoner.'* 
 
 The
 
 ( 71 ) 
 
 The remains of this palace, as it flood 
 in the year lyi^t I have endeavoured in the 
 annexed Iketch to preferve for the curious 
 in topography, as I cannot learn that it has 
 ever been engraved, nor is it generally known. 
 The original drawing is in the pofleffion of 
 the Duke of Marlborough. It is much to 
 be regretted, that the firft Duke, through the 
 perfuafion of the Earl of Godolphin, fhould 
 have fuffered thefe valuable remains to be 
 razed to the ground, though its relative fitu- 
 ation, as a pi6lurefque objeft, it is natural 
 to fuppofe, would have preferved it from de- 
 predation. 
 
 The fite on which this palace flood, is 
 marked to poflerity by the circumflance of 
 two fycamore trees, planted on a fine eleva- 
 tion, at a fmall diflance from the bridge : 
 their broad and fpreading arms feem to point 
 to the eye of obfervation and philofophy the 
 happy fpot where royalty once refided, and 
 
 at
 
 { 72 ) 
 
 at the fame time to indicate the fure and 
 fatal ravages either of relentlefs Time, or the 
 equally deftru6live effe<5ts of a Gothic and 
 taflelefs mind. 
 
 In this park was born the father of Eng- 
 lifli poetry, Geoffry Chaucer, who refided 
 here for a confiderable time, near the area 
 before the grand entrance, upon the fpot 
 on which a modern houfe now ftands : 
 
 " Here he dwelt 
 *' For many a chearful day thefe ancient walls 
 *' Have often heard him, while his legends blithe 
 *' He fang, of love, or knighthood, or the wiles 
 *' Of homely life, through each eftate and age, 
 *' The fafhions and the follies of the world 
 " With cunning hand pourtraying/' 
 
 On a beautiful elevation in this park 
 flands the high lodge, commanding one of 
 the mofl extenfive and elegant fcenes in the 
 kingdom. In this earthly paradife, the witty 
 and diflipated earl of Rochefler once lived ; 
 
 and
 
 ( n ) 
 
 and in this charming retreat he died, accord- 
 ing to Dr. Burnett, full of penitence and 
 remorfe, earneftly defirous of exchanging this 
 Elyfian fcene for one more permanent. Nor 
 does this fa6l reft folely on the authority of 
 this venerable prelate j for we find it record- 
 ed in a very elegant paftoral by the mufe 
 of a contemporary poet, whofeeffufions have 
 not often, if ever, been fo happy. 
 
 1. 
 
 ** AS on his death-bed gafping Strephon lay, 
 " Strephon the wonder of the plains, 
 " The noblefl of th' Arcadian fwains ; 
 " Strephon the bold, the witty, and the gay: 
 ** With many a figh and many a tear he faid, 
 ** Remember me, ye fhepherds, when I'm dead. 
 
 ir, 
 
 " Ye trifling glories of this world, adieu, 
 
 " And vain applaufes of the age ; 
 
 " For when we quit this earthly ftage, 
 «' Believe me, /hepherds, for I tell you true ; 
 " Thofe pleafures which from virtuous deeds we have, 
 " Procure thefweeteft flumbers in the grave. 
 Vol. I. K Then
 
 ( 74 ) 
 in. 
 
 ** Then (Ince your fatal hour muft furely come, 
 ** Surely your heads lie low as mine, 
 " Your bright meridian fun decline ; 
 
 *' Befeech the mighty Pan to guard you home : 
 
 *' If to Elyfium you would happy flic, 
 
 *' Live not like Strephon, but like 5trephon die,** 
 
 Amidst the various beauties of this no^ 
 ble and extenfive park, rich in Arcadian 
 fcenery, and abounding in fubjedt for poetic 
 fiiTtion, one is naturally led to contemplate 
 the haplefs fate of the frail and beauteous 
 Rofamond, whofe celebrated name at all 
 times recurs with that of Woodftock. Little 
 indeed remains now to authenticate the 
 truth of her fatal ftory, except the faint 
 traces of her famous bath, amidft the dark 
 recefles of the groves, about the northern 
 part of the park. Of the bower conftru6led 
 for her reception — nor of the mazy labyrinth 
 through which fhe might have been con- 
 du6led to the palace, concealed from the 
 
 jealous
 
 ( 7S ) 
 
 jealous eye of Queen Eleanor — it is much to 
 be lamented, that no veftiges are now dii^ 
 coverable j nor does even the rudeft (ketch 
 of the pencil exift, to throw any light on 
 this romantic fubje6l. 
 
 *' What art can trace the vlllonary fcenes, 
 ** The flow*ry groves and everlafting greens, 
 " The babbling founds that mimic Echo plays, 
 *' The fairy fhade and its eternal maze ?" 
 
 Certain it is, that at the age of fifteen, the 
 charms of this unfortunate daughter of Lord 
 Clifford attra61:ed the attention of the amo- 
 rous Monarch. 
 
 The hiflory of this accomplifhed fair one 
 is too well known to need a repetition. The 
 manner of the Queen's difcovering her fecret 
 retreat, and the caufe of Rofamond's death, 
 are varioufly related. By fome it is faid, 
 that fitting withoutfide her bower, to take 
 the air, while bufied at her work, fhe fpied 
 the Queen j and in attempting her efcape, 
 K 2 dropped
 
 ( 76 ) 
 
 dropped her ball of fdk, which catching in 
 her foot, unravelled, and left a clue for the 
 Queen to difcover her retreat. By others it 
 is conje6lured, that the thread of filk was 
 dropped accidentally by the king, at the 
 entrance to the bower j but it may as rea- 
 fonably be concluded, agreeable to the old 
 ballad, that the enraged Queen forced the 
 fecret from the Knight who was entrufled 
 with the care of the labyrinth. 
 
 " And forth fhe calls the trufly knight 
 
 *' In an unhappy hour, 
 *' Who, with his clue of twined thread, 
 
 *' Came from this famous bower." 
 
 Historians of the greateft veracity feeni 
 not to credit her being poifoned : it is more 
 than probable that the ftory might have 
 arifen from the figure of a cup faid to have 
 been fculptured on her tomb — no uncom- 
 mon decoration in a Catholic church. 
 
 Bromp-
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
 Brompton, Knighton, and Higden, hlf- 
 torians of repute, all feem to agree that fhe 
 died a natural death, foon after her conceal- 
 ment in the bower. Equivocal, and uncer- 
 tain as the caufe of the death of this unfor- 
 tunate beauty may appear, it is beyond con- 
 troverfy, that flie was interred in the choir 
 at Godftow Nunnery, near Oxford, where, 
 in the early and innocent part of her life, 
 fhe had refided a confiderable time ; and in 
 the year 1191, according to Hoveden, the 
 corpfe was removed by order of Hugh, Bi- 
 fliop of Lincoln, who, on vifiting this nun- 
 nery, and obferving a tomb covered with filk, 
 and lighted by a profufion of wax tapers, 
 enquired to whom it belonged, and being 
 anfwered, to Rofamond, miflrefs to King 
 Henry, he exclaimed, in a fit of zeal, " Take 
 " this harlot from hence, and bury her 
 " without the church, left through her the 
 " Chriftian religion fhould be fcandalized, 
 " and that other women, warned by her ex- 
 
 " ample,
 
 ( 78 ) 
 
 " ample, may refrain from unlawful and 
 " adulterous love." 
 
 The Queen, in Mr. Addifon's Opera of 
 Rofamond, thus enjoins her attendants : 
 
 " Beneath thofe hills, a convent {lands, 
 *' Where the fam'd flreams of Ifls ftray, 
 *' Thither the breathlefs corfe convey, 
 *' And bid the cloifter'd maids with care 
 " The due folemnities prepare." 
 
 Of this nunnery little remains but the 
 chapel given in the annexed (ketch, and a 
 wall, which denotes it to have been a place 
 
 of
 
 ( 79 ) 
 
 of confiderable extent. The ground is in 
 feveral places broken up, and the appearance 
 of an arched way is plainly difcernable 5 but 
 the -ftory of its having been a fubterraneous 
 pafTage to Woodftock does not feem pro- 
 bable. The fame idea takes place with re- 
 fpe6t to moft of the religious houfes in the 
 kingdom ; as if popular enquiry could not 
 reft fatisfied with dete6ling the pranks and 
 doublings of nun and prieft above ground, 
 but muft ftill, mole-like, be delving after 
 fuppofed hidden myfteries and communis 
 cations below. 
 
 God STOW Nunnery, or Place of God, 
 was founded about the latter end of the 
 reign of Henry I. by Editha, an infpired 
 matron pf Winchefter. She perfuaded herfelf, 
 or was perfuaded by her prieft, that fhe was 
 diredled by a vifion to this neighbourhood, 
 where a light from Heaven was to appear, 
 that would point out the fpot on which ftie 
 
 fhould
 
 ( 8o ) 
 
 fhould ere6l a nunnery. AfTifted, after- 
 wards, by various donations of the pious, 
 (for whatever vifions fhe might have been 
 promifed, it does not appear that any of 
 them were vifions of gold) fhe was enabled 
 to compleat her proje6l, and about the year 
 1138, the building was confecrated, and 
 Editha prefided as abbefs over twenty-four 
 fair nuns. Henry 11. and his fon. King 
 John, were liberal benefa6tors to this reli- 
 gious inftitution. The latter bequeathed 
 a confiderable fund for mafles to be faid, 
 and " that thefe holy virgins might relieve 
 *' with their prayers, the foules of his fa- 
 " ther. King Henrie, and of Lady Rofa- 
 ** mond, there interred.'* 
 
 Immense fums were expended at Rofa- 
 mond's interment, as well by her noble pa- 
 rents as by her enamoured fovereign, who 
 was lavifti in the decorations of this fair 
 unfortunate's tombs the workmanfhip of 
 
 which,
 
 ( 8i ) 
 
 which, according to the defcription of Ra- 
 nulph Higden, the hiftorian, " feems to have 
 " been of wood, and of wonderful contri- 
 " vance, that her cheft, cofRn, or tomb, to 
 " be feen in the chapter-houfe, is not above 
 " two feet long, or perhaps fquare, but a 
 " ftupendous piece of workmanfhip, where- 
 " in might be feen the confli6ts of cham- 
 " pions, the geftury of animals, the flight 
 " of birds, with fifhes leaping, and all done 
 " without the affiftance of man." 
 
 Notwithstanding the body was re- 
 moved, as before obferved, from the place 
 where it was originally depofited, yet the 
 opinion of the bigoted priefl did not obtain 
 much among the minds of the well-informed, 
 by whom fhe was confidered after her death 
 as little lefs than a faint j 
 
 '* And, 'fpite of Fame, her fate revers'd believe, 
 
 " O'erlook her crimes, and think fhe ought to live." 
 
 Vol. I. L Leland
 
 ( 82 ) 
 
 Leland records the following infcrip- 
 tion on a crofs, which, he fays, flood near 
 the entrance of the nunnery-gate. 
 
 " Qui meat hac oret, fignum falutis adoret. 
 
 *' Utque fibi detur veniam Rofamunda precetur." 
 
 After the removal of the body from the 
 church it was placed in the chapter-houfe, 
 whence, fays Speed " the chafte fifters ga- 
 " thered her bones, and put them in a per- 
 " fumed leather bag, inclofmg them fo in a 
 " lead, and layde them againe in the church 
 " under a fayre large grave-ftonej about 
 *' whofe edges a fillet of braffe was inlay'd, 
 " and thereon written her name and praife : 
 " thefe bones were at the fuppreflion of 
 " that nunnery fo found." This agrees 
 with Leland's account of its fituation after 
 the difTolution of the nunnery, " who fays 
 " Rofamunde's tumbe at Godftowe nunnery 
 " was taken up of late j it is a flone with 
 
 " this
 
 ( 83 ) 
 
 ** this infcription, ' Tumba Rofamundae ;' 
 " her bones were clofed in lede, and within 
 " that, bones were clofed in lether ; when it 
 " was opened, there was a fweet fmell came 
 « out of it." 
 
 A LARGE ftone coffin is now {landing in 
 the chapel, which there is little reafon to 
 believe ever contained the remains of this 
 faded flower. 
 
 The following lines are written on the. 
 wall, faid to have been copied from thofe 
 on her tomb ; 
 
 *• Hicjacet in tumba, Rofa Mundi, non Rofamunda; 
 <* Non redolet, fed olet, quae redolere folet." 
 
 Perhaps this recital of well-known cir- 
 cumftances may be thought prolix, and fo- 
 reign to the fubje6l ; but as the mind is 
 naturally fond of incident bordering on ro- 
 L 2 mance.
 
 ( H ) 
 
 mance, this legendary tale, as it beguiles the 
 moment, may plead an apology for its in- 
 troduction. 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 85 ) 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 GODSTOW NUNNERY, of which 
 fo much has been faid in the laft fe6lion, is 
 contiguous to the bridge bearing that name, 
 approaching which, the view from the river 
 continues to improve in every break and eafy 
 winding of its current. The depth of water 
 is encreafed, and its verdant meadows greatly 
 enrich the diflant profpedl, abounding in 
 pi6lurefque fcenery, combining the villages 
 of Handborough and Garfington ; thefe are 
 fcreened by the range of the Witham Hills, 
 which form a kind of amphitheatre, and on 
 a nearer approach give a grandeur to the 
 landfcape, we have not before witnefTed. Yet 
 even here the imagination is not gratified : 
 the contiguity of the noble palace of Blen- 
 heim, which we have juft quitted, recurs to 
 the mind, and we naturally regret, that thofe 
 hills will in no part admit a diftant view of 
 
 that
 
 ( 86 ) 
 
 that noble edifice. Thus no fooner are we 
 pleafed with obje6ls as they appear, but we 
 are defirous of alTociating with them other 
 forms which cannot be brought within our 
 reach j and though the barrier is placed by 
 the hand of nature, we are ftill too apt to 
 difquiet ourfelves and verify the obfervation 
 of Prior, that 
 
 " The wifhed-for fomething unpoflefs'd, 
 ** Corrodes and leavens all the reft." 
 
 The Gothic fimplicity and the antiquity 
 of God flow bridge, with the adjoining re- 
 mains of the nunnery wall, and contiguous 
 woody fcenery -, the perpetual moving pic- 
 ture on the water, produced by the pafTage 
 of wefl country barges, and the gayer fcenery 
 prefented by the pleafure boats, and fele6l 
 parties from the neighbouring univerf\ty, 
 render it in every point of view a happy fub- 
 je(5l for the pencil. 
 
 A CUT is now forming at fome diflance 
 
 above
 
 ( 87 ) 
 
 above the bridge, which will turn the cur- 
 rent of the river a little from its prefent 
 channel, towards the ruins of the nunnery 
 wall, and when it falls in again with the old 
 flream a little below the bridge, will con- 
 liderably aid the navigation. 
 
 The beauty of the fcenery a little below 
 Godftow ftill encreafes, and the river nobly 
 expanding itfelf, feems proudly urging its 
 courfe, to pay its tribute to that ancient and 
 noble feminary of learning, Oxford, whofe 
 venerable towers and lofty domes all happily 
 unite to form a general mafs of objedls fu- 
 perior to any thing which this country can 
 boaft. 
 
 Passing nearer to the city, as we ap- 
 proach the village of Medley, each particular 
 in this noble aflemblage of buildings is beau- 
 tifully marked, and happily difcriminated by 
 the chearful rays of light now darting on 
 them from a mid-day fun. 
 
 Near
 
 ( 88 ) 
 
 Near Medley was anciently a very conli- 
 derable monaflery, of which little now re- 
 mains to mark its former greatnefs. 
 
 Within about a mile of the city the 
 Warwickfhire canal approaches very near to 
 the Thames ftream, and from that point 
 runs almoft parallel with it, till it reaches 
 the place of its deftination. The immenfe 
 utility of this navigation, in the article of 
 coals particularly, promifes confequences to 
 this city and the neighbouring country, 
 which, it is to be hoped, will compenfate for 
 the heavy expence and great delays which 
 have attended the execution of this fpirited 
 adventure. 
 
 We next approach to High or Hithe 
 Bridge, which confifts of three arches, but is 
 fo confined in fituation, as to afford no point 
 fufficiendy pi6lurefque to give it a place in 
 this work. 
 
 SEC
 
 ( B9 ) 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 wF the UniveiTity and ancient City of 
 Oxford, at once the pride of our own coun- 
 try, and juftly the admiration of foreigners, 
 fo much has been ah'eady written, that it is 
 fcarcely poffible to advance any thing new 
 on the fubje6t : yet, unequal as I feel myfelf 
 to the talk of making any addition to the 
 hiflory and antiquities of this place, it is, at 
 the fame time, fo clofely connected with my 
 prefent enquiry, and fo richly ftored with 
 the elegancies of art and fcience, that on 
 fome of thefe fubje6ls, I prefume, I am by 
 the very nature of my undertaking, called 
 upon to hazard an opinion of my own ; I 
 fhall, therefore, briefly remark on fuch 
 works of art, as either appear to have fu- 
 perior merit, or afford obfervations that may 
 tend to aid a comparifon between the flate 
 Vol. I. M of
 
 ( 9° ) 
 
 of the arts, at a former period, and that 
 which they hold at prefent. 
 
 The annexed view of Magdalen bridge, 
 though not properly an appendage of the 
 Thames, has ftill fo much merit in its de- 
 fign, as to render it no unfit objedl to place 
 at the head of this feftion : it was begun in 
 the year 1772, by Mr. John Gwynn, who 
 was a native of this city 3 whofe work, tho' 
 by no means a perfe6l model of beauty, will 
 ftill be thought to add more credit to the 
 archite6t, in point of tafte and defign, than 
 to thofe who had the confervancy of the river 
 over which it pafTes. It is a fpacious ftone 
 bridge, five hundred and twenty-fix feet in 
 length, confining of eleven arches, five of 
 which are without the necefiary accompany- 
 ment, water j under the other fix run two 
 fliallow branches of the river Cherwell : it 
 certainly forms a noble entrance to the city 
 from the London road, and may poflibly be 
 
 of
 
 ( 91 ) 
 
 of fome utility at a future period, when 
 taile and good fenfe may take into confide- 
 ration, fhould the thing be pra6licable, the 
 uniting of two ftreams, which conne6led 
 would conftitute one river that will do 
 honour to the univerfity. 
 
 The High-ftreet, to which the bridge 
 leads, contains the nobleft and moft deverfi- 
 fied aflemblage of archite6lural obje6ls, per- 
 haps, in this country, and ftrongly imprelTes 
 the mind with an idea of the magnificence 
 and Gothic fplendor of earlier times. The 
 eafy curve in which this entrance is con* 
 ilru6led, adds much to its beauty, asflraight 
 lines (notwithflanding the opinion of Sir 
 Chriftopher Wren, in his intended plan of 
 London) are certainly not pleafing to the 
 critical eye, though they may contribute to 
 the health and convenience of a great city. 
 
 Mz Mag*
 
 ( 92 ) 
 
 Magdalen College, at the foot of the 
 bridge, is a noble fpecimen of the Gothic 
 ftyle of building : its lofty tower, which is 
 about one hundred and fifty feet high, was 
 erefted anno 1492, under the dire6lion of 
 that princely prelate Wolfey, who was at 
 that time Fellow and Burfar of the college. 
 The fcale of it may be faid to correfpond 
 with the daring aims and character of his 
 mind ; and if, as fome have faid, he exhaufted 
 the revenues of the college in this under- 
 taking, it marks them fo much the more 
 flrongly. 
 
 Within thefe walls the antiquary will 
 find much matter for fpeculation, particu- 
 larly in noticing the hieroglyphics cut in 
 flone, which furround the cloifters i the hif- 
 tory of which has been formerly matter of 
 much controverfy; nor is it yet decided, 
 whether it is the work of licentioufnefs, or 
 a fyftem of morality for the benefit of the 
 
 college J
 
 ( 93 ) 
 
 college ; fo little are we able, in the prefent 
 day of refinement, to judge of the intentions 
 of our forefathers (at leaft when fpeaking 
 in fuch parables) whether to fcourge or to 
 promote impiety. The moft prevalent opi- 
 nion that I have been able to colle6t, is that 
 they were intended (ftrange as the ideas 
 may be, which fome of thefe fymbolical 
 figures may feem at firft view to prefent) to 
 fhadow out the virtues and qualities that 
 fhould unite in the character of their pre- 
 lident. 
 
 Some painted glafs in the anti-chapel, 
 though much impaired, has yet excellence 
 enough to recommend it to notice. The 
 altar-piece, reprefenting the Refurre6Vion, 
 painted by Ifaac Fuller, is fo devoid of merit, 
 as to render it no farther an obje6l of at- 
 tention than to point out the low ftate of 
 hiflory painting at that period, compara- 
 tively with that of the prefent day ; if ever 
 
 his
 
 ( 94 ) 
 
 his tafte, as has been reported, led him to 
 the ftudy of Michael Angelo, it certainly 
 feems to have forfaken him when he fele6ted 
 only his imperfections, 
 
 Mr. Addison, who was a more elegant 
 writer than a critic on painting, has be- 
 flowed much encomium on this work in a 
 Latin poem, to be found in the Mufae Ang- 
 licanse. 
 
 An ancient cuftom is ftill obferved in this 
 college : — On May-day morning the chorif- 
 ters fmg a latin hymn, precifely as the clock 
 ftrikes five , and the bridge and neighbour^ 
 hood, fhould the morning prove fair, are 
 generally thronged with the liflening croud, 
 A lamb ufed formerly to be roafled whole 
 on the leads of the tower, for breakfaft; 
 but in this age of refinement, a dinner is 
 fubflituted, at which the lamb is not for- 
 
 gotten. 
 
 The
 
 ( 95 ) 
 
 The court to the grand entrance of the 
 phylic-garden, on the left, as you pafs the 
 bridge, is from a defign of Inigo Jones, 
 executed by Nicholas Stone j it is in the 
 Doric order, with ruftic decorations, and is 
 not unworthy fo great a mafler. 
 
 Qu_een's College is a modern ftru(5lure, 
 begun about the year 1672, and fomewhat 
 refembling the ftyle of the Luxemburgh pa- 
 lace. The cupola is certainly not propor- 
 tionate to the reft of the fa9ade, being much 
 too large, and totally mifplaced. It has be- 
 fides more the air of a canopy held over the 
 Queen than an embellifhment to a public 
 edifice. The nick-name of falt-cellar and pep- 
 per-box, beftowed on this building and the 
 neighbouring fpires of All Souls, by fome 
 young ftudents, though ludicrous, is not in- 
 applicable to the whimfical combination of 
 objefts, which from hence prefent themfelves 
 in a certain point of view. 
 
 Queen's
 
 ( 96 ) 
 
 Queen's College was founded by;. Ro- 
 bert Egglesfield, ConfefTor to Queen Philippaj 
 Con fort of King Edward III. in 1340. To 
 the admirers of painted glafs twelve win- 
 dows of confiderable merit will be found in 
 the chapel, dated 151 8; and one over the 
 altar, reprefenting the Nativity, by Price, in 
 1 7 17. Several ancient cufloms are flill ob- 
 ferved in this college, particularly one on a 
 New-year's-day, when the Burfar of the col- 
 lege gives to each member a needle and 
 thread, with this injun6lion, "take this and 
 be thrifty." This cullom is faid to derive 
 its origin from the founder's name, Egglef- 
 field, the anagram of which forms in the 
 French, aiguille a needle, and fil a thread. 
 
 The ceremony of introducing a boar's 
 head on Chriftmas-day is ftill attended to, 
 and accompanied with much folemnity, by 
 an old monkifh carol, which is fung by the 
 Tabcrders, who bring in the boar's head. 
 
 The
 
 ( 97 ) 
 
 The origin of the cuftom of bringing up 
 this boar's head at Chriilmas is faid to have 
 arifen from a taberder or fcholar of the fo- 
 ciety, who walking in the vicinity of Oxford, 
 and reading Ariftotle's Logic, was encoun- 
 tered by a wild boar, and in defending him- 
 felf thruft his Ariftotle down his throat, and 
 choaked him, when 
 
 <* Inftead of avoiding the mouth of the beaft, 
 
 *' He ramm'd in a volume, and cried — Gisecum eft." 
 
 I AM doubtful whether thisftory has not 
 been invented to fhew the effect of logic, 
 which I believe to this day is often thrufl 
 down the throat of the hearer, and is found 
 inftead of improving the faculties, to have 
 overwhelmed them. 
 
 In the chapel of the college of All Souls^ 
 founded by Bifhop Chichely in 1437, over 
 the altar is a pi6lure by Mengs. The fub- 
 je6l is Chrifl's firft appearance to Mary 
 
 Vol, I, N Magdalen
 
 ( 98 ) 
 
 Magdalen after his refurre6lion, or as it Is 
 ufually called, the Noli me tangere : there is 
 much clear and brilliant colouring in this 
 piflure, particularly in the body of the prin- 
 cipal figure. The countenance of the Mag- 
 dalen is happily and elegantly exprelTed with 
 a placid mixture of dignity and grief fuited 
 to the occafion -, but there is about the eyes 
 too much glare of rednefs. The drawing of 
 the principal figure is likewife formal, and 
 wants elegance ; it is, however, with all its 
 defe6ts, a work of much merit. An engra- 
 ving has been made from it by the late Mr. 
 Sherwin. 
 
 Several other pi6lures are to be found 
 in this college on hiflorical fubje6ls, by Sir 
 James Thornhill, whofe merit in that branch 
 of the art, as an Englifh painter, feems to me 
 to have been unrivalled, till the exertions 
 made by feveral of our artifls in the prefent 
 period. 
 
 In
 
 ( 99 ) 
 
 In a fmall room adjoining to the library 
 are fome fpecimens of painted glafs, v/hich 
 have been removed from thence, and are co- 
 eval with the foundation of this college. 
 Among thefe are the portraits of Henry VI. 
 and of the founder. 
 
 The ancient cuflom is flill obfervedhere 
 of celebrating the difcovery of a large mal- 
 lard, or drake, faid to be found in a drain or 
 fewer, at the time of digging for the foun- 
 dation of the college. This mallard has by 
 fome been degraded into a goofe ; be it one 
 or the other, it is certainly the caufe of a 
 jovial evening in the hall, on the 14th of Ja- 
 nuary, when this merriment is heightened 
 by an excellent old fong, fung in comme- 
 moration of this event. I fliall give as a 
 fpecimen the introdu6lory and concluding 
 llanzas. 
 
 " GrifEn, buftard, turkey, capon, 
 *' Let other hungry mortals gape on ; 
 
 N 2 « And
 
 ( loo ) 
 
 " And on the bones their ftomach fall hard ; 
 
 " But let All Souls men have their mallard. 
 *' Oh ! by the blood of King Edward, 
 *' Oh ! by the blood of King Edward, 
 ** It was a fwapping, fwapping, mallard. 
 
 " The Romans once admired a gander 
 " More than they did their chief commander ; 
 *' Becaufe he fav'd, if fome don't fool us, 
 " The place that's call'd from th' head of Tolus« 
 " Oh ! by the blood, &c. 
 
 *' Therefore let us flng, and dance a galllard, 
 *« To the remembrance of the mallard : 
 *' And as the mallard dives in pool, 
 ** Let us dabble, dive, and duck in bowl. 
 « Oh ! by the blood, &;c." 
 
 The venerable and Gothic pile, Saint 
 Mary's church, forms no inconfiderable ob- 
 je6t in the range of buildings on the north 
 of the High-flreet. The body of it was 
 creeled in the reign of Henry VII. j and the 
 ponderous tower, with its lofty fpire and or- 
 naments, niches, and ftatues, was added by 
 
 the
 
 ( >°I ) 
 
 the firft Bifhop of Oxford, in the reign of 
 Henry VIII. who was the laft Abbot of 
 Ofeney. The elegant portal was raifed by 
 Dr. Owen, Chaplain to Archbifhop Laud, 
 in 1637, and ftrikes me, from the tafte of 
 its embellifhments and contour of the figure 
 of the Virgin and the infant Chrift holding a 
 crofs in the pedeftal above, as being from a 
 defign of Rubens or Diepenbeck. It is fin- 
 gular that the figure of the child holding 
 the crofs fhould have, in thofe or any other 
 times, been deemed an obje6l worth dwelling 
 upon, as a corroborative proof, among others, 
 of the Archbifhop Laud's attachment to po- 
 pery. It is even fuppofed to have formed 
 an article of impeachment againft that pre- 
 late J but enthufiafm in religious tenets has 
 ever been too fatally marked with fangui- 
 nary meafures, and a deviation from that 
 which ought to be their firft principle- 
 humanity. 
 
 On
 
 ( 102 ) 
 
 On the fouth fide of the High-ftreet (lands 
 Univerfity College, founded by King Alfred 
 in 872 : but the prefent ftru6lure was raifed 
 in 1 634. The hall is of flill more modern 
 date, and is in a fuperior flile of Gothic de- 
 fign. The figure of Alfred, by Wilton, in 
 the common room, is the befl piece of fculp- 
 ture I remember to have feen of that artift : 
 it will not add, however, to this eulogy, 
 when it is obferved to be from a model of 
 Ryfbrack. 
 
 Of that magnificent edifice, the college 
 of Chrifl's Church, founded by Wolfey, 
 its flately entrance and happy feleftion of 
 Gothic proportions, too much cannot be 
 faid in commendation ; but it is with regret 
 to be obferved, that the excellence of its 
 grand front is confiderably injured by the 
 
 contra6led fituation of the ftreet on which 
 it {lands. The fpacious and noble quadran- 
 gle infpires the mind on a firfl view with 
 
 every
 
 ( 103 ) 
 
 every idea of ancient grandeur; and were 
 there no other remains of the cardinal's 
 princely mind, this alone would bear lafting 
 teflimony to his unbounded munificence. 
 The beautiful roof of the elegant ilair-cafe 
 
 leading to the hall is fupported only by a iin^ 
 gle pillar, which, with the Gothic fret- work 
 in the cieling of the fpacious hall above, and 
 the vaulted roof of the choir, particularly 
 faid to have been conftru6led under the direc- 
 tion of Wolfey, are truly deferving of critical 
 obfervation. The elegant tower was defigned 
 by Sir Chriftopher Wren, and is well adapted 
 to harmonize with the reft of the building. 
 
 Among the many portraits in the hall 
 are two by Sir Jofhua Reynolds ; the one a 
 fine head of Dr. Markham j the other, of 
 ftill fuperior excellence, the charming por- 
 trait of Dr. Robinfon, the Lord Primate of 
 Ireland, on which if I may venture an opi- 
 nion, I think his beft work in portrait. 
 
 Here
 
 ( I04 ) 
 
 Here are two fine heads, the one of Lord 
 Chief Baron Skinner ; the other of Welbore 
 Ellis, Efq; (now Lord Mendip,) by Gainf-* 
 borough : and an excellent head of Dr. 
 Hooper, Bifhop of Bath and Wells, by Ho- 
 garth ; of which an engraving, in this rage 
 for the works of that great mafter, fhould 
 not be withheld from the public. At the 
 north corner of the weft end of the church, 
 is a window painted by L Oliver, the fubjedt 
 Peter delivered out of prifon by the angel ; 
 the colouring in parts is brilliant, and the 
 drawing throughout much to be admired : 
 it was painted by Ifaac Oliver, whom Mr. 
 Walpole conje6lures to have been the fon of 
 James, the younger brother of the celebrated 
 Peter Oliver. This window was painted by 
 him, when in a very advanced age, having 
 the following infcription : 
 
 " Oliver atat. fuae 84, anno 1700, pinxit deditque." 
 
 I SHALL
 
 ( lOJ ) 
 
 I SHALL remark farther, from Mr. Wal- 
 pole, of this artift, "that he was eflimable 
 " for his own merit, and that of his family, 
 " and that he alone preferved the fecret of 
 " painting on glafs." 
 
 Of the elegant additional building to the 
 
 north-eaft of the great quadrangle, called 
 Peckwater Court, the three fides were found- 
 ed by Dr. RadclifFe, a Canon of this church, 
 under the dire6lion of Dean Aldrich, equally 
 famed for his abilities in the elegant arts, 
 and for his talents as a man of learning. It 
 is regularly noble in its parts, without a 
 redundancy of ornament, and will, in all 
 probability, long remain a monument of the 
 tafte and good fenfe of its archite6t, the 
 Dean, 
 
 The apartments in the library are noble 
 and fpacious, and well conftru6led for the 
 purpofes to which they are applied, except 
 
 Vol, I. fome
 
 ( io6 ) 
 
 fome of the lower ones, which, I confefs, 
 might have been decorated with better judg- 
 ment : I mean thofe applied to the reception 
 of General Guife's colle6lion of pi6lures; 
 many of which, if original, are fo defaced 
 by the hands of injudicious pi6lure cleaners, 
 as to leave very faint remains of excellence, 
 and fcarcely to merit a place in the cabinet 
 of a competent and well-lkilled amateur in 
 the graphic art. I fnall point out a few 
 among them, that feem to have the moft 
 excellence, and appear to be genuine works 
 of the maflers to whom they are imputed. 
 
 The Martrydom of Erafmus, a fketch for 
 the great picture in St. Peter's church at 
 Rome, by N. Pouflin — A fketch of a man 
 and horfe, by Vandyck — Three heads, car- 
 toons, by Raphael, on paper — A portrait of 
 the Duke d'Alva, by Titian j and that of a 
 Venetian Nobleman, its companion j the 
 heads and hands of which are clear and richly 
 
 coloured
 
 ( 107 ) 
 
 coloured — A holy family, by Parmegiano j 
 the children beautifully painted. The Vir- 
 gin contemplating her Child 5 Primaticcio : 
 the head of the Virgin is graceful, and full 
 of elegance 5 but the figure much too tail— 
 Of the family of the Caracci, reprefented in 
 a butcher's fhop, imputed to the pencil of 
 Annibal ; as it is a difputed pi6lure, 1 fhall 
 fufpend my judgment as to the mafter ; yet it 
 may be fafely allowed to be a work of great 
 merit. The anxiety of the foldier, who is 
 buying the meat, is forcibly exprelTed j as are 
 likewife the inferior parts of the picture : it 
 is to be regretted, that fo much merit has 
 been laviflied on fo difgufting a fubjecl. Of 
 two pictures, faid to be by Raphael, the one 
 a Nativity, the other a Madona, they have 
 been fo repaired by a modern hand, that he 
 has fairly eclipfed the fair original. 
 
 In New College, founded by William of 
 
 Wyckham, the painted glafs, by that excel- 
 
 O 2 lent
 
 ( io8 ) 
 
 lent artift, Jervaife, after the cartoons of Sir 
 Jofliua Reynolds, is highly deferving com- 
 mendation. Though Mr. Jervaife cannot 
 be faid to have reftored the art of painting 
 on glafs, he certainly has greatly contributed 
 to its excellence, by having happily united 
 his labours w^ith fome of the firfl artifts of 
 the prefent day, to give that fpecies of paint- 
 ing fomething more to recommend it than 
 mere gaudy colouring. This idea will be 
 better proved by a comparifon of his works 
 with the old windows in the chapel of this 
 college, which were painted as early as its 
 foundation. 
 
 Much is due to Mr. Wyatt for his judi- 
 cious care in attempting to reflore the re- 
 mains of the ancient Gothic altar in the 
 chapel, which, though it may have fuffered 
 greatly from the hand of time, and certainly 
 more from the ravages of reformation, is not 
 yet fo defaced, that it fhould be out of the 
 
 power
 
 ( 109 ) 
 
 power of fo maflerly an artift, to reflore In 
 it, one of the fineft fpecimens of ancient ele- 
 gance in the Gothic ftyle, remaining in this 
 Kingdom. 
 
 IxM Wadham College will be found a work 
 of Ifaac Fuller of a fnig-ular kind. It is 
 an altar-piece, painted on an afh- coloured 
 cloth, which ferves as a middle tint to the 
 fliades, which are of brown crayon. The lights 
 are heightened by white, and being worked 
 up as a crayon pi6lure, and prelTed with hot 
 irons, which caufe an exfudation from the 
 canvafs, fo incorporate the crayon with the 
 texture of the canvafs, as to render the 
 colours proof againfl the hard rubbing even 
 of a brufli. 
 
 The fecond court at Trinity College, is, 
 from a defign of Sir Chriftopher Wren, and 
 may juftly vie with any modern edifice in 
 
 this
 
 ( no ) 
 
 this univerlity. A curious manufcript of 
 Euclid is Ihewn in the library : it is a tranf- 
 lation from the Arabic into Latin, before 
 the difcovery of the original Greek by Ade- 
 lardus Bathonienfis, in 1130. 
 
 In Worcefter College will likewife be 
 found an invaluable treafure, Inigo Jones's 
 Palladio, with his own manufcript notes in 
 Italian. It was bequeathed to this college 
 by Dr. Clarke. In the polTeffion of the Duke 
 of Devonfhire is another work of this kind, 
 with notes in Latin. 
 
 In the various colleges and halls in this 
 venerable receptacle of knowledge, each has 
 its ihare of learned and curious treafures, 
 which, from the brevity of this work, are 
 too numerous to be particularized. I have, 
 therefore, only aimed at a few flight remarks 
 on fuch obje6ls as flruck me moft forcibly, 
 
 and
 
 ( III ) 
 
 and which, I hope, may ferve as an apology 
 for paiTing unobferved many things that 
 more informed minds might have brought 
 forward to notice, in one of the firft femi- 
 naries in the univerfe. 
 
 SEC
 
 ( lu ) 
 
 SECTION XL 
 
 On quitting Oxford, we pafTed the an- 
 cient bridge, formerly called Grand Pont, 
 or South Bridge, but which is now better 
 known by the appellation of Folly Bridge. 
 It is faid, by fome, to have derived this name 
 from the circumflance of Friar Bacon hav- 
 ing chofen this fpot, being on the fide of a 
 public road, and on the banks of a navigable 
 river, for the fituation of his ftudv — a fitu- 
 ation, of all others, it fhould feem, the leaft 
 adapted to the purpofes of retirement and 
 cultivation of the mind. Another, and more 
 probable, account is, that it was fo called 
 from fome original defeft in the arches, 
 which were obliged to be fupported by addi- 
 tional means. The bridge was built, ac- 
 cording to Anthony Wood's account of Ox- 
 ford, as early as the Conqueft, by Robert 
 Vol. I. P D'Oyley,
 
 ( IH ) 
 
 D'Oyley, on the fite of one flill older, which 
 is faid, by authentic records, to have been 
 (landing prior to the time of King Etheldred. 
 
 The ancient tower, called Friar Bacon*s 
 Study, to which I have juft referred, flood 
 at the fouth end of this bridge, and was 
 occupied by him as an obfervatory. This 
 friar was of the Francifcan order, and a ce- 
 lebrated allronomer. From his philofophi- 
 caldifcoveries, and particularly the invention 
 of gun-powder, he had, amongfl the vulgar, 
 the imputation of being a magician, and, 
 from thofe better informed, the epithet of 
 Do6lor Mirabilis. It was ridiculoufly faid 
 of this tower, that whenever it fell, a more 
 learned man than the friar mull neceffarily 
 be pafiing under it. Without reproach to 
 the learning of the univerfity, it appears, 
 however, to have ilood fome centuries, and, 
 at length, a few years fmce, it came down, 
 in the courfe of other improvements than 
 
 thofe
 
 /' ( "5 ) 
 
 cho^e of fcience, and not becaufe fome one 
 more learned than the friar happened to be 
 then pafling that way. 
 
 The noble College of Chrift Church, and 
 its contiguous buildings, form a beautiful 
 combination of obje6ls from the neigh- 
 bouring meadows on the margin of the river. 
 At the extremity of thefe meadows the ri- 
 ver Cherwell unites itfelf with the Thames, 
 which gently winds its current through a 
 delightful range of verdant fcenery, Oxford 
 flill remaining in view, till we reach the vil- 
 lage of Iffley, about a mile and a half below 
 the city. Tliis enchanting fpot is a com-r 
 binationof all that is defirable in pi6lurefque 
 landfcape. It is fituated on a beautiful emi- 
 nence, commanding an extenfive diftance, 
 which includes every obje6t in the univerfity; 
 the fcene is completed by the meandering 
 courfe of the river beneath, on the banks 
 of which, immediately under the eye, is a 
 P 2 fpacious
 
 ( i'6 ) 
 
 fpacious mill, worked by the current of the 
 flream, which gives a happy foreground to 
 the rural obje6ls above. From fuch an af- 
 femblage, what a complete feleftion of parts 
 for the pencil of a Hobbima or a Ruyfdael ! 
 The admirers of Englifli landfcape, will, I 
 flatter myfelf, receive fome gratification from 
 the annexed fketch, which, being faithful, 
 will convey a tolerable idea of the beauties 
 of the fcenery. 
 
 The church of Iffley, on the fummit, is a 
 fine remain of the Saxon ftyle of building, 
 particularly its portal, which is richly deco- 
 rated. 
 
 Dr. Nowel has a moft enviable and 
 charming refidence in this vicinity. 
 
 A LITTLE below this fcene we reach 
 Sandford lock and mill, where the foft and 
 elegant views, for which this river in fome 
 
 parts
 
 ( 117 ) 
 
 parts is fo peculiarly diftinguifhed, begin to 
 difplay themfelves in an eminent degree. 
 The luxuriant hand of Nature has here been 
 peculiarly difFufive : the rich clumps of trees 
 and verdant lawns, perpetually meeting the 
 eye at every break of the river, on our 
 approach to Nuneham Courtenay, ftrongly 
 imprefs the mind of the admirer of rural 
 objects, and leave not a wifh to examine 
 the eafy negligences of nature by the rigid 
 and fevere rules of art ^ the efFe6l of fuch an 
 enquiry can only tend to diminifh our plea- 
 fures in the purfuit of pi6lurefque fcenery, 
 where nature will be found to be invariably 
 right, though fome parts, taken feparately, 
 might be pointed out as difgufting, and 
 
 '* Figures monftrous and mif-fliap'd appear, 
 
 " Confider'd fingly, or beheld too near, 
 
 *' Which, but proportion'd to their light, or place, 
 
 " Due diftance reconciles to form and grace." 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 119 ) 
 
 SECTION xir. 
 
 Pu R S U I N G the courfe of the river, the 
 landfcape, as we approach Earl Harcourt's, 
 at Nuneham Courtenay, both from its na- 
 tural fituation, and highly cultivated ftate 
 of improvement, forms a fele6lion of pic- 
 turefque obje6ts fo happily combined as to 
 be deemed claflically elegant. The v^ell- 
 chofen fituation of this manfion is v^^orthy 
 the tafte of its noble owner, where, from 
 every point, the eye of obfervation meets 
 the higheft gratification. The city of Ox- 
 ford, at the diflance of fix miles, happily 
 bounds the view towards the north, while, 
 on the other fide, the town of Abingdon 
 gradually rifes, amidfl a rich and fertile 
 country, interfperfed with villages and fruit- 
 ful woods. The Berkfliire Downs and Vale 
 of White Horfe appear acrofs the neigh- 
 bouring
 
 ( 120 ) 
 
 bouring meadows, which are pleafingly hi- 
 terfe6led by the eafy winding of the river, 
 which, for many miles, is vifible from either 
 fide this charming retreat. 
 
 The houfe, which is of ftone, was built 
 by the late Earl, about thirty years fmce, 
 and is well fituated amidft a beautiful park 
 of twelve hundred acres in extent; which 
 park, with the gardens containing about 
 thirty-eight acres, were principally laid out 
 by the celebrated Mr. Brown. The flower- 
 garden does not contain more than an acre 
 and a quarter; yet its beautiful irregularity, 
 and happy fituation by nature, together with 
 its high fl:ate of cultivation from the hand 
 of tafle, in the difpofal of the fhrubberies, 
 &c. aided by the well-chofen fele6lion of 
 bufts, vafes, &c. render it altogether the 
 mofl: perfedl aflemblage I remember to have 
 feen. The beauties of this enchanting fpot 
 
 cannot be more happily exprefled than in the 
 
 elegant
 
 ( 12> ) 
 
 elegant lines of Andrew Marvel, infcribed on 
 a tablet above the center arch in the bower : 
 
 " Society is all but rude 
 
 *' To this delicious folitude ; 
 
 " Where all the flowers and trees do clofe, 
 
 " To weave the garland of repofe." 
 
 Within the houfe are many elegant 
 apartments, particularly the drawing room, 
 the defign of which feems to-^have been from 
 the Banquetting-houfe, at Whitehall. 
 
 The fele6lion of pi6lures is, as may be 
 imagined from the well-known tafte of the 
 noble owner, formed with much judgment. 
 Four large landfcapes in the great drawing- 
 room, by Van Artois, three of which are en- 
 riched with the figures of Teniers, are a 
 happy combination of the fuperior talents 
 of thofe great mafters. The celebrated land- 
 fcape by Rubens, the fubje<5l of which i?, 
 a cart overturning by moonlight, or, as it 
 
 Vol. I. Q_ is
 
 ( 122 ) 
 
 is called, La Charette Emboiirbee, is a du- 
 plicate of that in the Houghton colle6lion. 
 The Naval regatta, on the Texel, by Van 
 de Velt, junior, is one of the firft works of 
 that excellent painter 5 the variety of vefiels, 
 and multitude of figures, all bufily em- 
 ployed, are touched with fo much delicacy 
 and precifion, as to mark the fuperiority of 
 the mafiicr ; the clear tone of colouring in 
 the Iky, and happy tranfparency of the wa- 
 ter, in this pi6lure, are wonderful. The 
 Moon-light on the water, by Vander Meer, 
 and the Landfcape, by Both, are capital 
 works. 
 
 I SHALL forbear to remark further on 
 this valuable colleftion of pi6lures, and re- 
 fer to the ancient mapS of England, which 
 are curiouily wrought in tapeftry, and are 
 here preferved in a fpacious room, built ex- 
 prefsly for their reception by their noble 
 pofiefTor. They were purchafed, about ten 
 
 years
 
 ( 123 ) 
 
 years fince, at the fale of the late Mr. Shel- 
 don's effe6ls, at his manfion at Wefton, near 
 Long Compton, in Warwickfliire. 
 
 These maps are certainly the earlieft fpe- 
 cimens of tapeftry-weaving in this kingdom. 
 The rivers, hills, clumps of trees, and even 
 windmills, are particularly exprefled, and 
 with much art in their execution ; but the 
 names of the towns, &c. are frequently ill- 
 fpelt. The names of Francis and Richard 
 Hickes appear on them j but whether they 
 were the weavers or defigners of this work, 
 is not clearly underftood. 
 
 For the introdu61:ion of this manufactory 
 into the kingdom, we are indebted to Mr. 
 William Sheldon, in the reign of Hen. VlII. 
 In every map the Sheldon arms, with all 
 their quarterings, are introduced. This Mr, 
 William Sheldon died in 1570. 
 
 Q^ The
 
 ( 124 ) 
 
 The maps were purcliafed by Mr. Horace 
 Walpole, at the above fale for thirty guineas , 
 and were by him prefented to Earl Har- 
 court. 
 
 At a fmall diflance from the houfe, the 
 late Earl has ere6ted an elegant church from 
 a plan of his own in the Ionic order, which, 
 from the Angularity of its defign, is highly 
 deferving notice. 
 
 Descending the beautiful lawns, which 
 form an eafy fiope towards the margin of 
 the river, the fpacious manfion of Sir James 
 Stonehoufe, at Radley, on the oppofite fide 
 of the w^ater, appears a pleafmg obje6t, and 
 to the left of the grounds, in a very pi6lu- 
 refque fituation, the eye is delighted with 
 the fine remains of that venerable piece of 
 antiquity removed from Oxford, commonly 
 called Carfax, which is here preferved by his 
 
 Lordfhip
 
 ( 
 
 12 
 
 ) 
 
 Lordfhip from any further depredation, ex- 
 cept that of all-confuming Time. 
 
 The recefs in which it is placed is amidft 
 a (lately and variegated thicket of trees, fo 
 happily difpofed as to feen\ purpofely de- 
 figned for its reception. The original fitu- 
 ation of this piece of antiquity is well known 
 to have been in the centre of the principal 
 ftreet in Oxford ; and, probably, from its 
 fituation in the middle of four ways, or qua- 
 tre voiz (in old French) it obtained the vul- 
 gar
 
 ( 126 ) 
 
 gar appellation of Carfax ; or, perhaps, 
 with as much probability, from Carrefour, 
 the place where feveral ftreets meet. 
 
 The decayed flate of this building, and 
 its inconvenient fituation, induced the Uni- 
 verfity very lately to take it down, and ju- 
 dicioufly to place it in hands, where it might 
 remain a gratification to the curious, and a 
 pleafmg monument of antiquity. The noble 
 Earl has caufed fome Latin and Englifli lines 
 to be infcribed on this building, on its being 
 placed in his ground ; the latter of which 
 run as follows : 
 
 This building called CarfaK, 
 Ere6led for a Conduit at Oxford, 
 
 By Otho Nicholfon, 
 
 In the year of our Lord MDCX. 
 
 And taken down in the year MDCCLXXXVII. 
 
 To enlarge the High Street, 
 
 Was prefcnted by the Univerfity 
 
 To George Simon, Earl Harcourt, 
 
 Who caufed it to be placed here. 
 
 A BRIEF
 
 ( 127 ) 
 
 A BRIEF account of this venerable pile 
 may perhaps not prove unacceptable to the 
 reader ; I fhall give it from a manufcript 
 formerly in the polTeffion of Mr. Hanwell, 
 deputy treafurer of Chrift Church College, 
 in the univerfity of Oxford : he fays " It 
 " v^as built in 1610, by Otho Nicholfon, 
 " M. A. the expence of which building, to- 
 " gether with the charge of bringing the 
 " water by pipes from the conduit-houfe, 
 " near Hinkfey, coft two thoufand five hun- 
 " dred pounds. After its ereftion the found- 
 '' er was made treafurer to King James I. In 
 " Chrift Church Library, which was for- 
 " merly a chapel, is a fmall monument, 
 " eredledto his memory; it is adorned with 
 " fculptures correfponding with the deco- 
 " rations on the Carfax ; on the fouth of 
 " which are twelve fun-dials, three towards 
 " each point of the compafs : between each 
 " corner is finely carved, in a kind of open 
 
 *' work
 
 ( 128 ) 
 
 " work, the capital letter O. a fmall figure 
 " of a mermaid holding a comb and look- 
 " ing-glafs: then the capital letter N. and 
 " a fmall figure of the fun, &c. The letters 
 *' O.N. the initials of the founder's name, 
 " form a rebus, from the analogy between 
 " the arms and name of the founder — no 
 " uncommon mode formerly of expreffing 
 " devices ; on the weft fide are the arms of 
 " the city and vmiverfity of Oxford, with 
 " thofe of the founder j and on the north 
 " and eaft are fimilar devices. Under the 
 " curious arches, which concenter in the 
 " top, is a large ciftern, over which is a 
 " figure of the Emprefs Maud, riding on an 
 " ox, which figure is furrounded with brafs 
 " net work J this building is adorned with 
 ** many curious emblematic devices, coats of 
 " arms of England, Scotland, France, &c. 
 " the feven w^orthies. King James, King Da- 
 " vid," &c. — and at the conclufion of this 
 
 manufcript
 
 ( 129 I 
 
 manufcript is added — " But I leave a more 
 " elegant account to be done by a better 
 " hand ; only I fay this, 
 
 " He that won't commend me, 
 " Let him come and mend me." 
 
 Q£iTTiNG this delightful fcenery, and 
 purfuing the courfe of the river towards 
 Abingdon, about a mile below Nuneham, 
 the retrofpeftive view of the country, and 
 noble buildings interfperfed in its vicinity, is 
 truly delightful. Within about a mile of 
 the town of Abingdon, a new cut is formed 
 for the convenience of the navigation, which 
 has rendered the old ftream towards Culham 
 bridge entirely ufelefs -, this cut has not only 
 fhortened the diflance towards Abingdon 
 very confiderably, but is become neceflary 
 from the fhallownefs of the ftream, which 
 in dry feafons has not fufficient water for 
 the purpofes of navigation. 
 
 Vol. I. R SEC-
 
 «q 
 
 <5 

 
 ( 131 ) 
 
 SECTION XIII. 
 
 X HE approach towards Abingdon by an 
 eafy fweep of the current affords a very 
 pleafing view, but the drought of the prefent 
 feafon rendered the paflage at Abbey Lock 
 impra6licable, and fubjecled us to fome in- 
 convenience, as we were there obliged to 
 have the boat dragged over. 
 
 Near Abingdon the river Ock waflies 
 the fouth fide of the town. This fmall river 
 derives its fource from the Vale of White- 
 Horfe, near Kingfton-Lifle, and gently wind- 
 ing its current empties itfelf, near Abingdon, 
 into the Oufe, which river flowing north- 
 ward from Faringdon divides its ftream as 
 it enters this town. 
 
 R 2 The
 
 ( 132 ) 
 
 The annexed view, though not properly 
 upon the Thames, is yet fo clofely conne6led 
 with it, as to render it a necelTary appendage 
 to this work. 
 
 Abingdon is of very great antiquity j its 
 ancient appellation was Sheovefham; and 
 Camden conje6lures that fynods were held 
 here as early as 742 j and an anonymous 
 writer obferves, " that it was in ancient times 
 " a famous city, goodly to behold, full of 
 " riches, encompafled with very fruitful 
 " fields, green meadows, fpacious paftures, 
 " and flocks of cattle abounding with milk. 
 
 " He RE the king kept his court, and hither 
 ** the people reforted, while confultations 
 " were depending about the greatefl and 
 " moft weighty affairs of the kingdom." 
 
 Ciss, a King of the Weft Saxons, built a 
 fpacious abbey here, about the year 6y^y foon 
 
 after
 
 ( 133 ) 
 
 after which it afiumed the name of Abban- 
 dun, or the Abbey's Town. This abbey was 
 foon after deftroyed by the Danes, but by the 
 liberality of King Edgar, and the induftry of 
 the Norman abbots, it recovered its magnifi- 
 cence, and rivalled in wealth and gi-andeur 
 any abbey in the kingdom. William the 
 Conqueror refided here fome time ; and in 
 this abbey his fon Henry received his edu- 
 cation. 
 
 Of the crofs, of excellent workman fhip, 
 ere6led in the Market-place by Henry VI. 
 as mentioned by Leland and others, no 
 traces are remaining; it was deftroyed in 
 the cival wars. 
 
 The confequence of this abbey was fuch, 
 
 as to afford a principal fupport to the town, 
 
 till the reign of Henry V. by whom a bridge 
 
 was conftru6led over the Thames at Cul- 
 
 ham, and another atBurford, acrofs the ri- 
 ver
 
 ( J34 ) 
 
 ver Oufe. From that circumftance the town 
 of Abingdon acquired fo much additional 
 traffic, as to rank amongft the firfl towns in 
 the county. The building thefe bridges, in 
 1416, was under the immediate order of 
 the King, as appears from the following 
 Latin diftich, formerly infcribed on a win- 
 dow, in the church of St. Helens, in this 
 town : 
 
 " Henricus Quintus, quarto fundaverat anno, 
 
 " Rex ponteraBurford, fuper undas atque CulhaiPiford." 
 
 The work was confiderably affifted by the 
 donations of Jeffray Barbur, a wealthy mer- 
 ch ant of thi s place who gave a thoufand marks 
 towards completing it, and making a caufe- 
 w'ay between the bridge of Culham and that 
 of Abingdon, and in confequence the high 
 road to London was turned through the town. 
 His monument, which is now in the church 
 of St. Helens, was originally in the abbey 
 
 church.
 
 ( '35 ) 
 
 church, whence it was removed by the hi- 
 habitants at the Diflblution. 
 
 The following lines, fele6led from a quaint 
 tranflation of fome Latin verfes, mentioned 
 by Afhmole, may tend to give a general idea 
 of the ftate of bridge building in the time 
 of Henry V. and of the great advantages 
 expefted to be derived from it by the people 
 at large. 
 
 *' King Henry the Fifth, in the fifth of his reign, 
 
 *' At Burford and Culham did bridges build twain ; 
 
 " Between thefe two places, but from Abingdon moft, 
 
 " The King's highways now may be eafily paft ; 
 
 *' In one thoufandfour hundred and ten more by fix, 
 
 " This fo pious work did his Majefty fix : 
 
 " Ye pafTengers now who fliall travel this way, 
 
 " Befurc that you mind for the founder to pray. 
 
 " King Henry the Fifte, in his fourth yere, 
 *' He hath I found for his folke a bridge in Berkefchurc, 
 " For cartis with cariage may goo and come clere, 
 " That many wynters afore were marred in themyre, 
 
 " And
 
 ( '36 ) 
 
 " And fom oute of her fadels flette to the groundc 
 
 *' Went forthe in the water wift no man whare, 
 
 <* Five wekys after, oi-, they were I founde, 
 
 " Her kyn and her knowlech caught hem up with care, 
 
 " Upon the day of Seynt Albon they began this game, 
 " And John Huchyns layde the firfte ftoon in the Kynges 
 *' name. 
 
 ** It was a folace to fee in a fomer fefonn, 
 
 " C. C. C. I wyffe workyng onys, 
 
 " iiii &iiii relyv'd be refon, 
 
 " To wete who wrought beft were fet for the nonce. 
 
 *' The peple preved her power with thepecoyfe 
 
 " The mattok was mann handeled right welle a whyle ; 
 
 " With fpades and fchovells they made fuch a noyfe 
 
 *' That men myght here hem thens a myle. 
 
 «« Wyves went oute to wite now they wrcfughte, 
 
 ♦' V fcare in a flok, it was a fayre fight i 
 
 *' In bred cloths bright, white brede they brought, 
 
 ♦' Cheefe and chekenes clerelych a dyght. 
 
 The
 
 ( 137 ) 
 
 " The gode Lord of Abcndon, of his londe, 
 " For tlie breed of the bridge xxiil. foot large, 
 " It was a greet focour of erthe and of fonde, 
 " And that he abated the rent of the barge. 
 " And C. pownde, and xvli. was truly payed. 
 " Be the bondes of John Huchyns and Banbery alfo, 
 •' For the waye and the barge, thus It mufl be fayed, 
 " Thereto witnefle Abendon, and many oon moo. 
 *' For now is Culham Hithe, I com to an ende, 
 " An al the contre the better, and no man the worfe ; 
 ♦' Few folke there were coude that way wende, 
 " But they waged a wed, or payed of her purfe ; 
 " And if it were a begger had breed in his bagge, 
 " He fchulde be ryght foone i bid for to goo aboute, 
 " And of the pore penyles the hiereward wold habbe 
 " A hood or a girdel, and let hem goo withoute ; 
 ♦* Many moo myfcheves there were 1 fay, 
 " Culham hithe hath caufid many a curfe ; 
 " I blyfled be our helpers, we have a better waye, 
 ♦* Without any peny for cart and for horfe. 
 •' Thus accordld the kynge and the covent, 
 " And the commons of Abendonn, as the abbot wolde; 
 •' Thus they were eafed, and fet all in oon affent, 
 *« That al the brekynges of the bridge, the town here 
 " fchulde. 
 Vol. I. S "This
 
 ( 138 ) 
 
 " This was preved a6te alfo in parlement, 
 
 " In perpetual pees to have and to holde ; 
 
 *' This tale is i tolde in noon other extent, 
 
 ** But for myrthe, and in memory to young and to olde." 
 
 A HANDSOME wliarf is lately completed 
 at the extremity of the town of Abingdon, 
 beyond which the new cut, forming a fmall 
 curve, joins the main river a little below Cul- 
 ham bridge j which, with the neighbouring 
 town, affords no unpleafing object. 
 
 The village of Sutton Courtenay, about a 
 mile from the bridge, happily terminates 
 the view from the water j and the contiguous 
 mill and lock greatly enrich the beauty of 
 the fcenery. The toll of this lock is very 
 heavy on the commerce of this river, being 
 one pound fifteen fhillings on every barge. 
 We paffed it on a Sunday, and confequently 
 the mill not being at work, the want of wa- 
 ter obliged us to have the boat dragged over 
 
 the
 
 ( 139 ) 
 
 the neighbouring meadows for more than 
 half a mile, which occafioned no fmall delay, 
 and a confiderable expence. 
 
 The general face of the country incur 
 farther progrefs was dull and uninterefting' 
 'till we approached Dorchefter j where, pafT- 
 ing Appleford, the village of Long Witten- 
 ham, and the contiguous range of hills, con- 
 fiderably enrich the fcene. Within this 
 church, under the King's Arms, which are 
 placed over the rood-loft, is the following 
 whimfical Latin diflich — 
 
 " Qui leo de Juda eft, & flos de Jefle, leones 
 *' Protegat, & flores Carole Magne ruos." 
 
 Near this is a figure of Death, under 
 which is the following couplet— 
 
 " IVIan is a glafs, life is as water weakly wall'd about, 
 ♦' Sin brought in Death, Death breaks the glafs, fo 
 •' runs this water out." 
 
 S 2 From
 
 ( HO ) 
 
 From Long Wittenham the river winds 
 f addenly towards Clifton, a village in Ox- 
 fordfliire, v^here the combination of obje6ls 
 is truly pi6lurefque. A fmall church, fitu- 
 ated on a richly variegated bank, rifing almoft 
 perpendicularly on the border of the river, 
 (on which the traffic of the ferry-boats gives 
 a perpetually moving pi6lure) cannot but at- 
 tra6l the eye of obfervation. The water 
 here is remarkably fliallow, yet perfectly 
 tranfparent, and beautifully fhews the clear 
 and gravelly bed of the river. Faffing Bur- 
 cot, the manfion of Mr. Bufh, the extenfive 
 woody fcenery of his grounds forms a beau- 
 tiful fcreen on the Oxfordiliire fide of the 
 river for a confiderable diflance. 
 
 As we approach Little Wittenham, the 
 fcenery is rich, and the obje6ls fo happily 
 combined, and within fo confined a fpace, 
 as to render them fit fubje(5ls for the pencil. 
 
 Towards
 
 ( HI ) 
 
 Towards Dorchefler the river narrows 
 exceedingly, and for a great extent runs near- 
 ly in a ilraight line, which gives it more the 
 appearance of a pleafurable canal than a na- 
 vigable river. Here xhzfombre fliades of the 
 neighbouring woods are beautifully reflected, 
 and give a happy ferenity to the fcene. 
 Near this fpot the river Tame empties itfelf 
 into the main ftream, where a wooden 
 bridge is conftrufted for a communication 
 with the neighbouring meadows. This river 
 rifes in the county of Bucks, and pafles the 
 town to which it gives appellation i v/here, 
 
 •• With a faint kifs it mocks the walls of Tame, 
 ♦' And leaves behind her nothing but a name." 
 
 It next vifits Dorchefler, 
 
 " Which wondering at her fpeed, 
 
 " Moft gladly bids the happy match fucceed." 
 
 So fings the author of the poem on the Mar- 
 riage of Tame and Ifis. 
 
 Dor-
 
 ( H2 ) 
 
 Dorchester is a town atprefent of lit- 
 tle confequence, but formerly it held a confi- 
 derable rank among the Britifh cities, by the 
 name of Ci vitas Dorcinia. It was anciently 
 a bifhop's fee, founded by one Birinus, called 
 the apoftle of the Weft Saxons, to whom the 
 common people paid fo great a veneration, 
 that in the hiftory of Alchefter it is faid, " A 
 " round hill there ftill appears, where the 
 " fuperftitious ages built Birinus a fhrine, 
 " teaching them that had any cattle amifs, 
 " to creep to that flirine." A blackfmith in 
 the town is in pofleflion of the gold ring, 
 faid to have been that of Birinus. Near 
 this ancient town of Dorchefter, the Tame 
 forms a jun6lion with the main river, from 
 which it is by many abfurdly believed to 
 have derived the appellation of Thames. 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 143 ) 
 
 SECTION XIV. 
 
 1 HE beauty of the fcenery from the vi- 
 cinity of Dorchefter, greatly improves in 
 verdure and richnefs. The eafy Hoping hills 
 on the Berkfhire fide of the river are crowned 
 with a variegated combination of fylvan ob- 
 jeftsj while here and there a chalky break 
 in the cliff renders the view flrikingly diver- 
 fified, and highly intereftlng. The fhort 
 reaches in the river, as we approach towards 
 Shillingford, it muft be allowed, prevent 
 that extent of fcenery which is perhaps ne- 
 celfary to form what may be called majeftic 
 in landfcapej yet the parts, though limple, 
 are fo happily affociated, as to be truly 
 gratifying to the eye. 
 
 Th£
 
 ( H4 ) 
 
 The light and elegant bridge of Shilling- 
 ford, with the variety of carriages that are 
 continually pafling and repaffing, aided by 
 the gliding obje6ls on the water beneath, 
 greatly add to the natural beauty of the 
 landfcape. In this delightful retreat the 
 fkilful angler finds high gratification in his 
 purfuit, and ample fources of contempla- 
 tion. 
 
 Here blifsful thoughts his mind engage, 
 " To crouded, noify fcenes unknown ; 
 Wak'd by fome bard's in{lru6bive page, 
 " Or cahn refieflions all his own." 
 
 The river makes a beautiful curve below 
 Shillingford, at the termination of which 
 Benfington, or Benfon church, which has 
 been recently repaired, meets the eye in a 
 pleafmg point of viewj little more than the 
 fpire, which is perfe6lly white, appears above 
 a luxuriant range of yellow waving corn 
 
 fields.
 
 ( 145 ) 
 
 fields, while in the diftance the back ground 
 is formed from the hills of Nettlebed and the 
 adjoining woods. 
 
 The village of Benfon, though at prefent 
 of little note, is extremely ancient, and for- 
 merly had the appellation of a royal vill. It 
 was taken from the Britons in 572, and 
 held by the Weft Saxons for two hundred 
 years after; when Offa, King of Mercia, 
 being determined they Ihould hold no place 
 on this fide the water, forcibly pofleffed him-» 
 felfof it in 778. 
 
 At a fmall diftance from this village 
 formerly ftood a beautiful ftrufture, occu- 
 pied as a royal palace, called Ewelm, or 
 New Elm, which was built by William 
 de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, but has long 
 been fufFered, from its unhealthy fituation, 
 to fall into decay. Weft of the church a 
 Roman road pafTed the river near this place. 
 
 Vol. I. T and
 
 ( 146 ) 
 
 and took Its dire6lion towards Sylchefler, in 
 Hampfliire, formerly the celebrated V"indo- 
 ma or Vindonum of the Romans, and the 
 Caer Segont of the Britons. 
 
 A L I T T L E below Benfon is a fpacious lock 
 and mill^ which, with the gentle fall of its 
 waters, forming a continual cafcade, con- 
 ne6ls a pleafmg fele6lion of obje6ls, highly 
 worthy the exertions of an artifl ; and it is 
 with regret I feel that the prefent work is fo 
 limited as to admit but a fmall part of thofe 
 beauties, which are ever prefenting them- 
 felves to the eye. 
 
 SEC
 
 ( 147 ) 
 
 SECTION XV. 
 
 From Benfon lock the ancient bridge 
 and town of Wallingford appear, at about a 
 mile diftance, acrofs the neighbouring mea- 
 dows i but the obje(5ls there are not {o hap- 
 pily combined for the pencil, as at the view 
 from below the bridge, whence the annexed 
 fketch was taken. The antiquity of the 
 bridge, from its appearance, feems to vie 
 with the old eft ftru6lure of the kind on the 
 Thames: it is truly Gothic, and of immenfe 
 ftrength. The pointed angular fterlings on 
 the upper fide are fo well conftrudbed, as to 
 be capable of refifting the moft violent tor- 
 rent of water from the winter floods. The 
 fpire of the church was built about eighteen 
 years fmce, at the fole expence of the late 
 Judge Blackftone i and, though fmgular in 
 its tafte, is not an unpleafmg obje6l. 
 
 T 2 Wal-
 
 ( 148 ) 
 
 Wallingford is fuppofed to have been 
 the chief city of the Attrebatii, and is called 
 by Antoninus, Attrebatum. Camden con- 
 jeclures its Bi itifli name to have been Guall- 
 hen, which fignifies the*' old fort": from 
 thence its prefent appellation " Wallingford'* 
 is derived. Here the fhallownefs of the 
 flream certainly rendered it moft commodi- 
 ous for the purpofes of fording acrofs. 
 
 The town of Wallingford, in the reign of 
 Edward the Confeflbr (which w^as prior to 
 the conflru6lion of the bridge) appears by 
 Doomfday Book to have contained two hun- 
 dred and feventy-fix houfes, "yielding nine 
 " pounds tax, — and thofe that dwelt there 
 " did the King fervice on horfeback, or elfe 
 « by fea." 
 
 A FINE ruin of the old caftle prelents 
 itfelf not far from the river fide, formerly 
 fo well fortified as to be deemed impreg- 
 nable ',
 
 { 149 ) 
 
 nable ; which is proved from the frequent 
 attacks made on it by King Stephen^ in 
 which he was always repulfed. The origin 
 of this caftle is allowed to have been as early 
 as the invafion of the Romans, and its de- 
 molition about the time of the Danes and 
 Saxons. It was reilored after the defeat of 
 Harold, by William the Conqueror, who 
 paffing with his army acrofs the Thames at 
 the ford, encamped on this fpot before he 
 marched to London. 
 
 It appears that this place made a vigorous 
 defence in favour of the Emprefs Matilda, 
 and her fon Henry then abroad, againfl Ste- 
 phen, who raifed a confiderable fort on the 
 oppofite fide of the river at a place called 
 Craumafh. Henry foon after coming to 
 England, attempted the relief of the place, 
 while Stephen was equally defirous of giving 
 fuccour to the befiegers. Both parties, how- 
 ever, being dilTatisfied with their fituation, 
 
 wifely
 
 ( 15° ) 
 
 wifely agreed to a compromife j and a con- 
 ference being held on the banks of the 
 Thames, the refult was, that Stephen fhould 
 enjoy the crown during his life, and that 
 Plenry fhould fucceed him. The caftle pro- 
 bably remained in a ruinated ftate from 
 about that period till the time of the civil 
 wars, when an order was ifTued for its total 
 demolition. That original order, figned by 
 Thurlow, Secretary to Cromwell, was in 
 the pofTeflion of an Alderman of Walling- 
 ford, who died about fix years fince. 
 
 This town loft much of its popularity 
 from a dreadful plague, which happened in 
 the year 1348; at which time, according to 
 Leland, it contained fourteen churches -, at 
 prefent it has only three. Its confequence, 
 hiftory fays, was much diminilhed by the 
 building of Culham and Dorchefter bridges, 
 which removed a great part of the traffic to 
 Abingdon and other towns contiguous. 
 
 The
 
 ( 151 ) 
 The manor of Wallingford was, with 
 other manors, granted for the fupport of the 
 Dukedom of Cornwall, a title firft confer- 
 red on the Black Prince, fon of Edward III. 
 in 1355, and which appertained to that 
 Dukedom till the reign of Henry VIII. when 
 Cardinal Wolfey having formed the noble 
 defigii of ereaing Chrift Church College, 
 at Oxford, the monarch granted him this 
 manor and caftle in aid of the undertaking ; 
 but on the Cardinal's difgrace, they reverted 
 to the King. The caftle remains to this day 
 in the poffeffion of the college -, but the ma- 
 nor was annexed by the Sovereign to that 
 of Ewelm, or New Elm, near Eenfon. 
 
 Within the weft gate of the town for- 
 merly ftood a priory of black monks, which 
 belonged to the Abbey of St. Alban's, and 
 which was fupprefled by order of Wolfey. 
 This fuppreflion, it is conjeftured, might 
 have given a colour of fan6lion to the King 
 
 for
 
 ( 152 ) 
 
 for proceeding farther in a general feizure of 
 all ecclefiaftical revenues; but it does not 
 appear by his general condu6l, that he flood 
 in need of any example of rapacity. 
 
 Near Brightwell, adjoining to Walling- 
 ford, formerly ftood a caftle, of which no 
 traces are now remaining. It was taken by 
 florm previous to the conclufion of the peace 
 between King Henry and Stephen. 
 
 A LITTLE below the town of Walling- 
 ford, at Mongewell, on the Oxford fli ire 
 fide of the river, the late Birtiop of Salif- 
 bury, and now of Durham, Dr. Barrington, 
 poflefTes a delightful retreat, richly embo- 
 fomed, amidft a thicket of trees. Full in 
 view of the houfe a beautiful verdant lawn 
 fkirts the borders of the Thames, which, 
 gliding at a pleafmg diftance from it, gra- 
 dually makes its courfe with a confiderable 
 increafe of water towards the village of 
 
 Moulsfordj
 
 ( '53 ) 
 
 Moulsford, while the diilant Oxford fliire 
 hills prefent a beautiful termination of the 
 fccne. 
 
 Cleve mill and lock, a little lower down 
 the ftream, meet the eye before we reach the 
 pidurefque combination of obje6ls at the 
 village of Goring, whofe romantic and fe- 
 queflered fituation it is not pofiible for the 
 eye of obfervation to pafs unnoticed. The 
 Berkihire hills form a richly variegated back- 
 ground, and the eafy afcent of the lawns in 
 the front happily interfe6l the principal ob- 
 jects, and give a charming relief to the whole. 
 In the annexed view this fcene is faintly re- 
 prefented ; yet faint as it is, it cannot fail to 
 ilrike the admirer of fimple nature in land- 
 fcape, as a combination of objefts worthy to 
 be imprefTed on the mind. 
 
 The village of Streetly on the oppofite 
 
 fide the river, has equal claim to notice ; it 
 
 Vol. I. U is
 
 ( 154 ) 
 
 is fituated on a Roman highway near Icken- 
 ild-ftreet, which here enters Berkfhire, and 
 runs acrofs the neighbouring downs, paffing 
 Baflelden -, near which place, on an eafy 
 afcent from the borders of the river, flands 
 the grotto-houfe, lately the refidence of Mr. 
 Sykes. It is happily fcreened by the Berk- 
 fhire hills, and was originally occupied by 
 Lady Fane, whofe fhells and corals may per- 
 haps be thought to have been too highly 
 complimented, in fome lines preferved in 
 Dodfley's Mifcellanies. 
 
 The village of Gathanton is a pleafing 
 object on the Oxford fliire fide the river, 
 from whence we enter a beautiful enclofure, 
 formed by the furrounding woods. The 
 happy ferenity of the approaching evening 
 gives an air of folemnity to the fcene, while 
 the moon, faintly rifing, gleams through the 
 beautifully variegated trees. The profound 
 flillnefs of the air was not unpleafantly dif- 
 
 turbed
 
 ( 155 ) 
 
 turbed by the largeft flight of ravens, daws, 
 &c. that I remember to have feen j it con- 
 fifled of fome thoufands, who nightly crofs 
 the river to take up their abode among the 
 neighbouring woods. 
 
 At a fmall diftance from the river, on the 
 Berkfliire fide. Sir Francis Sykes has ereded 
 a fpacious manfion, which is fecluded from 
 the view by the intercepting hills. The 
 houfe, though fuperbly furnifhed, is ftill 
 wanting in the more elegant decorations of 
 the fine arts, which have not yet gained ad- 
 mifiion. 
 
 At Pangbourn the river widens confider- 
 ably, and the fall of water is fo great on the 
 opening of the lock, as to caufe much delay 
 in the progrefs of the navigation. This 
 place is much frequented by the angler, who, 
 in his favourite purfuit, may occalionally 
 find equal caufe for an exertion of his pati- 
 U 2 ence
 
 ( ,56 ) 
 
 ence as his fkill in the art. Among the va- 
 rious forts of fifh produced in this part of 
 the river, the pike in particular is found of 
 a remarkable large fize. 
 
 "v. 
 
 The village of Whitchurch, on the oppo- 
 fitefide, prefents nounpleafmg obje<5lin land- 
 fcape. The road from Pangbourn towards 
 Reading runs, for a confiderable diftance, 
 nearly parallel with the river, and affords 
 in many places a rich and variegated fce- 
 nery. 
 
 Pur ley-Hall, about a mile dillance, is 
 the refidence of Warren Haftings, Efq. Its 
 appearance feems by no means fuited in point 
 of elegance to the fplendor of an Eaftern Go- 
 vernor. It is fomewhat fmgular, that the 
 greater part of this houfe was ere6led by the 
 famous Mr. Hawes, the great South- Sea de- 
 faulter. 
 
 Lower
 
 ( ^S7 ) 
 
 Lower down, on the Oxfordfhire fide of 
 the river, at Hardwick, is the refidence of 
 Mr. Gardener, formerly in the pofTefiion of 
 Mr. Powis. It is happily fheltered by the 
 neighbouring hills, and at an agreeable dif- 
 tance from the river. This houfe w^as pro- 
 bably in former times a monaftery i and its 
 fituation is chofen v^ith that degree of atten- 
 tion to the conveniencies, and even luxuries, 
 of this tranfitory flate, for v^hich the found- 
 ers of mofl of our religious houfes have been 
 famed. 
 
 A SMALL diftance from hence is the vil- 
 lage of Maple-Durham, contiguous to which 
 is a fine old manfion, occupied by Mr. Blount; 
 which, by the ftyleof its archite6lure, feems 
 to have been built about the period of Eliza- 
 beth or James. It ftands at the extremity of 
 the village, and its grand front commands a 
 rich and beautiful park j but the oppofite 
 fide towards the river is fo walled in, and en- 
 cumbered
 
 ( 158 ) 
 
 cumbered with out-buildings, as to banilh 
 the river fcenery, which can alone give a 
 complete finifh to a pidlurefque view. 
 
 From hence the ftream bends its courfe 
 towards Caverfham, adiftance of about three 
 miles, which affords but little variety of 
 fcenery. The warren in the neighbourhood 
 of Caverfham is very extenfive, and com- 
 mands a beautiful view acrofs the river. 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 159 ) 
 
 SECTION XVI. 
 
 1 H E fcenery towards Caverfham, as we 
 approach the bridge, is much confined, no- 
 thing prefenting itfelf but a faint view of the 
 old Abbey gate, at Reading : I have therefore 
 felefled the eaftern view of the bridge, as beft 
 adapted to illuftrate the prefent purfuit, 
 where the tower of the old church and part 
 of the village appearing in the fore-ground, 
 with the range of hills in the diftance, give 
 a tolerable idea of the country. 
 
 Caversham had formerly a fmall pri- 
 ory, which was a cell to the monaftery at 
 Nottely, in Buckinghamfhire. In the Phi- 
 lofophical Tranfa6lions, No. 261, is the fol- 
 lowing lingular circumftance in Natural Hif- 
 tory; " There was difcovered in the neigh- 
 
 " hour-
 
 ( i6o ) 
 
 " bourhood a large llratum of oyfler-fliells, 
 " lying on a bed of green fand, andextend- 
 " ing to five or fix acres of ground, with 
 " a bed of blueidi clay immediately above 
 " it. Among thefe many wqvq found with 
 " both the valves or fhells lying together, 
 " and though in moving them, one of the 
 " valves hath frequently broke off from 
 *' its fellow, it is plain by comparing and 
 " joining them, that they originally belong- 
 " ed to each other." 
 
 The town of Reading, with its churches 
 and the remains of the abbey and caftle, 
 forms a noble and extended view acrofs the 
 Forebury, as it is vulgarly called, or rather 
 the Fauxbourg or fuburbs. 
 
 Reading, the moft confiderable town In 
 the county, is fituated on the Thames and 
 Kennett, which latter rifes near Merdon in 
 
 Wiltfliire,
 
 ( i6i ) 
 
 Wiltfhlre, and is navigable for vefTels of an 
 hundred tons burthen, from Newbury to 
 this town, through which it takes its courfe 
 in feveralconfiderableftreams, and abounds 
 with gudgeons, pike, eels, dace, and trout, 
 the latter of which grow to an amazing fize. 
 
 Of Reading Caftle, which Leland con- 
 jeftures flood at the Weft end of Caftle- 
 ftreet, no remains are now difcoverable ; it 
 is therefore more probable, that on the ruins 
 we find near the precin6ts of the abbey, 
 the caftle ftood, which was the retreat of 
 the Danes in 871, where they fortified them- 
 felves after their defeat by King Alfred. 
 In the next year it was abandoned to the 
 Saxons, who deftroyed the town ; and in the 
 reign of Henry II. this caftle was totally 
 demoliftied, as being a place of refuge for 
 the adherents of King Stephen. 
 
 The abbey was founded by Henry I. on 
 Vol. I. X the
 
 ( i62 ) 
 
 the fite of a fmall nunnery, ere6led by the 
 mother of Edward the Martyr, to expiate his 
 death, which was perpetrated by one of her 
 domeftics. It was endowed with great re- 
 venues for two hundred Benedi(Stine monks, 
 and dedicated to the Virgin and a numerous 
 lift of Saints. In riches and magnificence 
 it certainly vied with any abbey in the king- 
 dom, and its abbots being mitred fat in the 
 Houfe of Peers, and affumed a high autho- 
 rity, which Henry VIII. in no fmall degree 
 humbled, by hanging up Farrington, the 
 laft abbot of this place, with two of his 
 monks, for refufing to furrender, on the de- 
 mand of the vifitors, foon after the Reforma- 
 tion. It is remarkable, that on the fame 
 day the abbot of Glaftonbury fuffered the 
 like punift:iraent for the fame offence. 
 
 This abbey has been the burial-place of 
 many royal and noble perfons, among whom 
 the remains of a part of Henry I. the foun- 
 der
 
 ( i63 ) 
 
 der, were depolited — I fay a part, for Dr. 
 Ducarelobferves, that his heart, eyes, tongue, 
 brains and bowels, were conveyed to the priory 
 church of Notre Dame du Pres, at Rouen, 
 in Normandy. His fecond Queen, Adeliza, 
 and his daughter, the Emprefs Maud, were 
 likewife interred here. This royal dame was 
 daughter of a King — wife to a King (Hen- 
 ry IV. Emperor of Germany) — and mother 
 to King Henry II. The following dillich 
 was infcribed on her tomb ; 
 
 ** Magna ortu, majorque viro, fed maxima partu, 
 ♦* Hie jacet Henrici filia, fponfa, parens." 
 
 Little remains of this extenfive abbey, 
 except part of Our Lady's chapel, and the 
 refe6lory, which is upwards of eighty feet 
 long, and forty broad — an ample fpace for 
 the luxuriant tables of the pampered abbots, 
 where 
 
 " Triumphant plenty, with a cheerful grace» 
 
 " Bafk'd in their eyes, and fparkled in their face : 
 
 X 2 "No
 
 ( i64 ) 
 
 " No learn'd debates annoy'd their downy trance, 
 
 *' Or difcompos'd their pompous ignorance. 
 
 ** Deep funk in down, they, by Sloth's gentle care, 
 
 " Shunn'd the inclemencies of morning air, 
 
 ** And left to tatter'd crape — the dru%ery of pray'r." 
 
 The anecdote of King Harry and one 
 of the Abbots of Reading, though well 
 known, has fo much humour that I can- 
 not avoid repeating it verbatim from Ful- 
 ler's Church Hiftory He calls it " A 
 
 " pleafant and true flory : — King Henry 
 " VIII. as he was hunting in Windfor Fo- 
 " reft, either cafually loft, or (more proba- 
 " bly) wilfully lofmg himfelf, ftruck down 
 " about dinner-time to the Abbey of Read- 
 " ing, when difguifmg himfelf, much for 
 " delight, (more for difcovery to fee unfeen) 
 " he was invited to the Abbot's table, and 
 " pafifed for one of the King's guards, a 
 " place to which the proportion of his per- 
 " fon might properly entitle him. A fir- 
 " loin of beef was fet before him, (fo knight- 
 
 " ed,
 
 ( i65 ) 
 
 " ed, faith tradition, by this King Henry ;) 
 " on which the King laid on luftily, not dif- 
 " gracing one of that place, for whom he 
 " was miftaken. Well fare thy he art, 
 " (quoth the Abbot) and here in a cup 
 *' of fack I remember the health of his 
 " Grace your Mailer ; I would give an hun- 
 " dred pounds on the condition I could feed 
 " fo heartily on beef as you doe. Alas ! my 
 " weak and fqueafie flomach will hardly di- 
 " geft the wing of a fmall rabbet or chicken. 
 " The King pleafantly pledged him, and 
 " heartily thanked him for his good chear ; 
 " after dinner departed, as undifcovered as 
 " he came thither. Some weeks after, the 
 " Abbot was fent for by a Purfuivant, 
 " brought up to London, clapt in the 
 " tower, kept clofe prifoner, fed for a (hort 
 " time on bread and water; yet not fo empty 
 " his body of food, as his mind was filled 
 " with fears, creating many fufpitions to 
 [[ himfelf, when, and how he had incurred 
 
 " the
 
 ( i66 ) 
 
 * the King's difpleafure. At laft a fir-loin 
 ' of beef was fet before him, on which the 
 ' Abbot fed as the farmer of his grange, 
 
 * and verified the proverb, that two hungry 
 
 * meals make the third a glutton. In 
 '■ fprings King Henry, out of a private lob- 
 ' bie, where he had placed himfelf the invifi- 
 ' ble fpectator of the Abbot's behaviour; 
 ' My Lord, (quoth the King) prefently de- 
 ' pofit your hundred pounds in gold, or elfe 
 
 * no going hence all the daies of your life. 
 ' I have been your phyfician, to cure you of 
 
 * your fqueafie ftomach j and here, as I de- 
 ' ferve, I demand my fee for the fame. The 
 ' Abbot down with his duft, and glad he had 
 ' efcaped fo, returning to Reading, as fome- 
 
 * what lighter in purfe, fo much more mer- 
 ' rier in heart than when he came thence.'* 
 
 A GREAT part of the remains of this 
 venerable abbey, were removed a few years 
 fmce by General Conway, for the purpofe of 
 
 building
 
 ( '6; ) 
 
 building a bridge contiguous to Park-place, 
 on the road between Henley and Wargrave. 
 The great gate of the abbey, of which I have 
 prefixed a {ketch at the end of this fe6lion, 
 though it has undergone many material al- 
 terations, is in very good repair. It had 
 formerly embattlements, the lofs of which 
 has confiderably diminiflied its venerable ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 Ne a r l y oppofite to Reading, is the noble 
 manfion built by the Earl of Cadogan j it 
 is fituated on an eminence, and commands 
 a very extenfive and diverfified view of Berk- 
 fhire, and the adjacent countries. The ho- 
 nours of this family were derived from Wil- 
 liam Cadogan, who fignalized himfelf under 
 the great Duke of Marlborough. He was 
 firft created Baron Reading, and afterwards, 
 Vifcount Caverfham. The houfe is now 
 occupied by Major Marfac. 
 
 A LITTLE
 
 ( 168 ) 
 
 A LITTLE below Reading, the river Ken- 
 nett, gently winding through the adjacent 
 meadows, unites itfelf with the Thames, 
 which is here confiderably expanded in its 
 courfe towards Sunning Bridge, — a diftance 
 of about three miles. 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( i69 ) 
 
 SECTION XVIL 
 
 Sunning Bridge is a plain modern 
 ftru6lure of brick, well adapted for conve- 
 nience and durability. The annexed view 
 was taken from below the bridge, as the ob- 
 je6ls there combined moft happily to afford 
 a pidurefque landfcape. The houfe, which 
 appears over the bridge, is the refidence of 
 Lady Rich, whofe family has long occupied 
 this fpot. 
 
 The village of Sunning is agreeably fitu- 
 ated on an eafy afcent on the banks of the 
 Thames, and is of great antiquity j it was 
 formerly the fee of a Bifhop, whofe diocefe 
 included the counties of Berks and Wilts. 
 The fee was afterwards removed to Sher- 
 bourn, and thence tranflated to Saliibury, 
 
 Vol. I. Y ^h^f^
 
 ( 170 ) 
 
 whofe Bifhop is now Lord of the Manor 
 of Sunning, and formerly had a palace 
 there. 
 
 The antiquity of this place is ftrongly 
 marked by the fepulchral monuments and 
 ancient infcriptions within the church, one 
 of which containing fome lines on two in- 
 fants of the family of Rich above mentioned, 
 I am induced from their flyle to infert : 
 
 " The father's air, the mother's look, 
 ** The fportive fmlle, and pretty joke, 
 ** The rofy lips, fweet babbling grace, 
 *' The beauties of the mind and face, 
 " And all the charms of infant fouls, 
 ** This tomb within its bofom holds." 
 
 The river Kennet wafhes this place, into 
 which a fmall rivulet, called the Loddon, 
 empties itfelf, previous to its junction with 
 the Thames, which is here of confiderable 
 width, and ample depth of water, but af- 
 fords
 
 ( m ) 
 
 fords no great variety of fcenery, for near 
 three miles, till we reach Cotterell's Mill and 
 Lock, which obje6ls, though humble in 
 themfelves, yet conilitute a very piduref^ue 
 fcene, highly deferying obfervation. 
 
 T-^-E village of Wargrave, appearing at a 
 fmall diftance, has acquired much celebrity 
 by the refidence of Lord Barrymore. The 
 dwelling, which is fituated on a lawn, clofe 
 to the river fide, though but an infignificant 
 cottage, tas, from its innumerable vilitors, 
 given rife to no inconfiderable expence. 
 
 TwE theatre, of which fo much has been 
 faid, is jufl rebuilt, at an expence of about 
 fix thoufand pounds, and is, in point of fize, 
 I think, larger than that of the Haymarket* 
 It has every accommodation of a royal the- 
 atre, with the addition of one elegant apart- 
 ment, which is ufed as a fupper-room. 
 
 Y2 The
 
 ( 172 ) 
 
 The prefent rage for theatrical exhibi- 
 tions, and imaginary fcenes of human woe, 
 it is much to be feared has produced many 
 a real fcene of diftrefs, towards the laft a6l, 
 that has been incompatible with the ftri6l- 
 nefs of dramatic law, having neither po- 
 etical nor moral juftnefs in the denouement 
 of the plot. 
 
 From Wargrave a beautiful range of hills 
 extends to General Conway's, at Park Place, 
 near which a large houfe has been recently 
 built, by Mr. Hill, commanding a very ex- 
 tenfive view of Oxfordfhire, Buckingham- 
 fhire, &c. The river winding beneath this 
 noble eminence, affords new beauties of the 
 foft and elegant in pifturefque landfcape. 
 Thfe houfe of Lady Taylor, on the Oxford- 
 fhire fide of the river, is enviably fituated, 
 and comprifes a full view of General Con- 
 way's grounds, to which you enter beneath 
 a fpacious arch of ruftic itone work, happily 
 
 fuited
 
 ( 173 ) 
 
 fulted to the noble fcenery which prefents it- 
 felf within, where the verdant fwelling lawn 
 meeting the eye, forms an immenfe amphi- 
 theatre, furrounded with rich fhrubbery, 
 from whence, by an eafy afcent, we are led 
 to a grand colonnade, reprefenting a Roman 
 aqueduft, falling into decay, and majeftic 
 even in ruins. Its decorations of bulls and 
 ornaments are judicioufly adapted to their 
 fituation. A winding fubterraneous paflage 
 leads on to the menagerie, which contains a 
 beautiful fele6lion of the feathered race^ 
 among which the Eaft India cyrus, confider- 
 ably larger than the crane, the filver pen- 
 cilled pheafant, from China, with black 
 breaft and red legs, and the elegant plumage 
 of the gold pheafant, appeared to be moft 
 worthy of admiration. 
 
 The various and extenfive views from the 
 different points, in traverfmg this park, are 
 
 fo
 
 ( J74 ) 
 
 {o happUy and richly divcrilfied, as to furpafs 
 defcription. On a well chofen eminence, 
 the right honourable pofTefTor of this beau- 
 tiful fpot, has, at a great expence, ere6led 
 an ancient Druids temple, which was pre-t 
 fented to him by the inhabitants of the 
 ifland of Jerfey, in 1785, as a teftimony of 
 the refpeft and veneration due to his vigi- 
 lance as a governor, and his amiable quali- 
 ties as a man. The following lines, which 
 were tranfmitted with this venerable pile 
 of antiquity, will beft fpeak the fentiments 
 of the inhabitants on the occafion— ^ 
 
 '** Cet ancien Temple des Druides, 
 " Decouvert le 12 Aout 1785, 
 " Sur la Montagne de St. Helier 
 ** Dans I'ile de Jerfey, 
 " A ete prefente par les habitans, 
 *' A fon Excellence le General Conway, 
 leur Gouverneur. 
 " Pour des Siecles cache, aux regard des mortels, 
 " Cet ancien monument,, ces pierres, ces autels, 
 
 " Ou
 
 ( '75 ) 
 
 " Ou le fang des humains oiFert en facrifice, 
 
 *• RuifTela, pour des Dieux qu'en fantoit le caprice ; 
 
 " Ce monument fans prix par fon antiquite, 
 
 " Temolgnera pour nous a la pofterite ; 
 
 " Que dans tous les dangers Cefarce tut un pefft 
 
 *' Et redira, Conway, aux fiecles Svenif 
 
 •' Quen vertu du refpedt dii a ce fouvenir 
 
 ** EUe te fit ce don, acquis a ta vaillance 
 
 " Comme un jufte tribtit de fa reconnoifance." 
 
 The ftoties which compofe this temple, 
 are forty-five in number, and were all fo 
 earefully marked when taken down, as to 
 be with eafe reftored to their original form, 
 when brought to this fpot. The circum- 
 ference of the temple is fixty-fix feet ; its 
 height upwards of feven. Within this build- 
 ing, in its original fituation in the ifle of 
 Jerfey, were found two medals, one of the 
 Emperor Claudius, the other fo obliterated 
 by time, as to be unintelligible. For a more 
 minute account of this antiquity, I refer the 
 curious to the 8th vol, of the Archseologia ; 
 
 and
 
 ( "76 ) 
 
 and for a fketch of it, as it now itands, to 
 the end of this feclion. 
 
 Ha V I n g traverfed thefe charming grounds 
 in which the hand of nature has been fo 
 peculiarly luxuriant, we were highly grati- 
 fied within the dwelling-houfe, by a view of 
 the no lefs excellent produftions of art, by 
 the noble Countefs of Aylefbury, whofe 
 imitations of Cuyp, Rofa de Tivoli, Van- 
 dyck, Gainfborough, &c. in needle-work, are 
 little inferior in effe6l to their originals. 
 They are worked in worfleds, with fo much 
 tafte, and fo happily managed in the various 
 tints, as to deceive at a fmall diilance ; one 
 in particular, a portrait from Vandyck, in 
 which the colours are fo artfully blended, as 
 to appear acrofs the room a fketch of that 
 great mafler. 
 
 QUITTING the enchanting fcenery of 
 Park-place, by an eafy defcent towards the 
 
 river-
 
 ( ^11 ) 
 
 river-fide, the bridge and town of Henley, 
 at the diftance of about a mile and a half, 
 prefent a fcene, which, though more con- 
 fined, is yet happily contrafled with the 
 extenfive one we have juft quitted. 
 
 VoL.L 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 179 ) 
 
 SECTION XVIII. 
 
 1 HE elegant bridge of Henley confifts 
 of five elliptical arches, with a handfome 
 balluftrade of ftone-vvork, and is, in point 
 of fimplicity and beauty of defign, equal to 
 any ftru6lure of the kind on this noble ri- 
 ver. It is built from a plan of the late 
 ingenious Mr. Hayward, of Shropfliire, who 
 did not live to fee the work begun. 
 
 On the key-ftone of the center arch, 
 above the bridge, is fculptured a head of 
 Isis; and on the other fide, a venerable 
 head of Thames ; both from the chifel of 
 the accompliflied Mrs. Darner, the excel- 
 lence of whofe works is too well known to 
 need any comment. 
 
 22 This
 
 { i8o ) 
 
 This beautiful bridge was finifhed in the 
 year 1787, at an expence of near ten thou- 
 fand pounds. The former one was of 
 wood, but the one prior to that was of ftone, 
 and of a very ancient date. Some traces of 
 its piers are yet vifible when the water is 
 low. Camden feems doubful, whether this 
 was the bridge over which, according to 
 Dio, the Romans purfued the Britons, whoj 
 he aflerts, crofTed the river in this neigh- 
 bourhood. 
 
 The town of Henley is of great anti- 
 quity, and by fome writers faid to be the 
 oldefl town in the county 5 it anciently be- 
 longed to the family of the Molins, from 
 whence it came to the Hungerfords, by 
 whofe means, in the reign of Henry VI. a 
 licence was obtained for two annual fairs ; 
 at prefent it has four. Little remains in 
 this town, worthy the attention of the 
 curious. Its delightful fituation on the 
 
 Thames,
 
 ( i8i ) 
 
 Thames, and the richnefs of the adjacent 
 country, muft ever render it an obje6l to be 
 admired. 
 
 A L I T T L E below Henley Bridge is Faw- 
 ley Court, the feat of Mr. Freeman. It is 
 a fquare brick houfe, built by Inigo Jones, 
 on which he has beftowed very few of thofe 
 Italian ornaments that fo frequently over- 
 load many of his defigns. The flru61:ure 
 is very plain, and convenience has judici- 
 oufly taken place of every other confideration . 
 It is altogether a work not unworthy of its 
 great archite6l. The fituation is happily 
 chofen in point of diflance from the river, 
 as well as from the town of Henley. 
 
 The maufoleum belonging to the family 
 is at the pleafant village of Fawley, about a 
 mile and a half diftant from the houfe, and 
 is a fpot that a man would rather chufe to 
 live in than be buried at. 
 
 About
 
 ( l82 ) 
 
 About two miles from Fawley Court, 
 is the pleafant village of Hambleton, the 
 church of which contains a beautiful monu- 
 ment in alabafter, eretled by the D'Oyley 
 family. It confifls of twelve figures, as 
 large as life, executed in fo fuperior a llyle 
 of fculpture, and fo well preferved, as highly 
 to deferve attention. The poetry of the 
 epitaphs has much merit, and, as it records 
 the virtues of a family in this county, of 
 great celebrity, juftly claims a place in this 
 work. 
 
 " To the memory of that" noble Knight, 
 " Sir Cope D'Oyley, late Deputy of the 
 " county of Oxon, &c. hey re of the an- 
 " cient family of the D'Oyley's, in Oxford- 
 " (hire -, founder of Ofeney and MifTenden^ 
 " and the caftle of Oxford : who put on 
 " immortality, the 4th of Auguft, 1633. — 
 " Likewife Martha his wife, with five fons 
 " and five daughters." 
 
 Under
 
 ( i83 ) 
 
 Under the Knight's figure are the fol- 
 lowing lines : 
 
 *' Afk not of me, who's buried here ? 
 •** Goe alk the Commons, afk the Shelre. 
 «' Goe afk the Church, they'll tell thee who, 
 *' As well as blubber'd eyes can do. 
 " Goe afk the Heraulds, afk the poore, 
 ** Thine ears fhall hear enough to afk no more. 
 *' Then, if thine eyes bedew this facred ume, 
 " Each drop a pearl will tume 
 *' T' adorn his tombe, or if thou can*fl not vent, 
 " Thou bring*fl more marble to his monument." 
 
 Under the Lady*s figure follows this ex- 
 emplary chara6ler, which, as the world 
 goes, may be thought a little exaggerated t 
 
 ** Wouldfl thou, reader, draw to life, 
 
 •' The perfect copy of a wife, 
 
 *' Read on, and then redeem from fhame 
 
 " That lofl, that honourable name ; 
 
 *' This dufl was once in fpirit a Jael, 
 
 *' Rebecca in grace, in heart an Abigail ; 
 
 ** In works a Dorcas, to the church a Hanna, 
 
 " And to her fpoufc Sufanna. 
 
 " Pjudently fimple, providently wary, 
 
 *' To the world a Martha, and to heav'n a Maiy." 
 
 On
 
 ( i84 ) 
 
 In a fine fituation, on the banks of the 
 river, between Henley and Great Marlow, 
 fland the remains of the fmall abbey of 
 Medenham, rendered famous by a modern 
 convention of monks, whofe Abbot was a 
 noble Peer. If we may judge by the old 
 French motto, " Fay ce que voudras," which 
 is ftill remaining over their door, the princi- 
 ples of thefe lay brothers, it may be pre- 
 fumed, were not quite fo rigid as thofe of 
 the monks of La Trappe. 
 
 Of the myfteriesof this fraternity various 
 accounts have been handed about, probably 
 none of them with authority. The only 
 printed one I have met with is in Chryfal, or 
 the Adventures of a Guinea i where the au- 
 thor's account of this inflitution far exceeds 
 that of the Alcoran des Cordeliers, or any 
 other author who has written on the fub- 
 je6l of monkifh inftitutions. He defcribes 
 their tenets in fo ofFenfive and difgufting a 
 
 point
 
 ( '85 ) 
 
 point of view, as to have rendered the reci- 
 tal of them unworthy a place, even in 
 Romance i and, for the honour of human 
 nature, gives us every reafon to hope that 
 his defcription is not founded on truth. 
 
 Little remains of the furniture of this 
 pious feminary, but an enormous large cra- 
 dle of fufficient dimenfions to receive the 
 fuUeft fized friar of that or any other order. 
 The abbey is now occupied by a poor fa- 
 mily, who fhew this valuable relick. 
 
 This abbey was founded as early as King 
 John, and was a cell to the Ciftertian monks 
 of Woob urn in Bedfordfhire. In the reign of 
 Henry VIII. it was made part of the endow- 
 ment of Bufllefham or Bifliam Abbey, in 
 Berkfhire. From the return made by the 
 commiffioners, attheDiflblution, it appears 
 from its poverty to have been of fmall im- 
 port, having only two monks, " who both 
 " defyren to go to houfes of religion — fer- 
 
 VoL. L A a " vants
 
 ( i86 ) 
 
 " vants none, woods none, debts none — 
 " bells, &c. worth 2I. is. 8d. — the houfe 
 " wholly in ruins, and the value of the 
 " moveable goods only il. 3s. 8d." 
 
 The ll<:etch at the end of this feftion is 
 a faithful view of the prefent flate of this 
 building. 
 
 The fafcinating fcenery of this neigh- 
 bourhood has peculiarly attra(51:ed the notice 
 of the clergy of former periods, who, in 
 fpite of the thorny and crooked ways, which 
 they have afTerted to be the fureft road to 
 heaven, have been careful to fele6l fome 
 flowery paths for their own private journey- 
 ing thither; among which ranks Hurley 
 Place, on the oppofite fide of the river, now 
 in the pofTeflicn of Mr. Wilcox. It was for- 
 merly a monaflery under the appellation of 
 Lady Place, and a cell of Benedictine monks 
 to Weflminfler Abbey, founded by Geoffry 
 dc Mandeville, in the reign of William the 
 
 Con-
 
 ( i87 ) 
 
 Conqueror, the only remains of which are 
 the Abbey Yard, and fome part of a chapel, 
 or perhaps refedlory (now ftables) of which 
 the arches of the windows, though made of 
 chalk in the Conqueror's reign, are ftill frefh 
 as if lately built. Some farther flight re- 
 mains of the convent may likewife be traced. 
 Under the great hall is a vault, in which 
 fome bodies, in monkifli habits, were dif- 
 covered not many years ago. 
 
 On the diflblution of the monaflery, Hur- 
 ley became the pofTeffion of a family, whofe 
 name was Chamberlain, from whence it de- 
 
 fcended to Lovelace, Efq 5 whofe fon 
 
 went on an expedition with Sir Francis 
 Drake, and with the Spanifli gold obtained 
 in that enterprize, built the prefent houfe, 
 on the ruins of the ancient convent. The 
 family of Lovelace was ennobled by Charles 
 I. The houfe is fpacious, and built much in 
 the flyle of King James's Gothic. The hall, 
 A a 2 as
 
 ( i88 ) 
 
 as was the fafhion of that day, occupies half 
 the fpace of the houfe. The grand faloon 
 is decorated in a fingular ftyle j in the pan- 
 nels are painted upright landfcapes, the leaf- 
 ings of which are executed with a kind of 
 filver lacker. The views appear to be Ita- 
 lian, they are in a bold ftyle, and reputed 
 to be the works of Salvator Rofa, exprefsly 
 painted for this apartment. His receipt for 
 them is faid to be in the hands of Mr. Wil- 
 cox ; but as that gentleman was from home 
 when I viewed the houfe, I cannot vouch for 
 the truth of the aflertion. 
 
 During the reign of James II. private 
 meetings of the principal nobility were held 
 in a fubterraneous vault beneath this houfe, 
 for calling in the Prince of Orange. Mr. 
 Wilcox has, at the end of this vault, caufed 
 to be written an infcription, which I fliall 
 tranfcribe in his own words : 
 
 " Dust
 
 ( i89 ) 
 
 " Dust and afhes ! Mortality and vicifTi- 
 " tude to all ! Be it remembered, that the 
 " monaftery of Lady Place (of which this 
 " vault was the burial cavern) was founded 
 ** at the time of the great Norman revolu* 
 " tion, by which revolution the whole ftatc 
 " of England was changed. 
 
 ** HI motus animorum, atque hsc certamina tanta, 
 *' Pulverls exiqui jadlu comprefla quiefcunt. 
 
 " Be it alfo remembered, that in this 
 " place, 600 years afterwards, the revolution 
 " of 1688 was begun. This houfe was 
 " then in the poffeflion of Lord Lovelace, 
 " by whom private meetings of the nobility 
 " were aflembled in this vault, and, as it is 
 " faid that feveral confultations for calling 
 " in the Prince of Orange, were likevvife 
 " held in this recefs, on which account this 
 " vault was vifited by that powerful Prince 
 " after he had afcended the throne. It v/as 
 '* vifited by General Paoli in 1780, and by 
 
 " King
 
 ( 190 ) 
 
 *' King George III. and his Queen, 14th 
 " November, 1785." 
 
 On the decline of the Lovelace family, the 
 eftate came into the pofleflion of the Duke of 
 Marlborough, of whom the manfion-houfe 
 and woodlands were purchafed, by Mrs. Wil- 
 liams,* fifler to Dr. Wilcox, late Bifliop of 
 Rochefler ; from whom it devolved to her 
 nephew, the Bifhop's fon, its prefent worthy 
 pofTeflbr, whofe exemplary goodnefs of heart 
 is an honour to humanity. The fituation 
 of this houfe, were it unincumbered from 
 fome of its Gothic walls and out-buildings, 
 would be delightful. It commands a rich 
 profpe6t of the Buckinghamfhire hills and 
 Marlow woods; amidft which, at Harle- 
 ford, Mr. Clayton, the late member, built 
 
 * This lady held in one lottery, two fortunate tickets, 
 one of 500I. the other of 20,oool. which enabled her to 
 make this purchafe. 
 
 the
 
 ( 191 ) 
 the prefent charming villa, on an eafy (lope, 
 rifing from the margin of the river, which 
 comprifes a fine view in each dire£lion, par- 
 ticularly towards Bifham Abbey, now occu- 
 pied by Mr. Vanfittart, but formerly by 
 Sir John Hoby Mill. 
 
 The fite of this abbey was originally 
 granted by Edward VI. to the Hoby family. 
 It is fmgular, that in its firil charter, it was 
 dedicated to our Lord Jefus Chrift and the 
 Bleffed Virgin, his mother j in the fecond, 
 to the Bleffed Virgin Mary only ; and in 
 the time of Richard II. it is ftyled the Con- 
 ventual Church of the Holy Trinity. It is 
 rather difficult to account for the propriety 
 of thefe various dedications) however, after 
 being thus banded about, it at length fell 
 into the hands of Henry VIII. who claim- 
 ing a right paramount to the blefled faints, 
 feized on it with all its privileges, to his 
 own ufe and benefit. That Prince often 
 
 vifited
 
 ( 192 ) 
 
 viflted this abbey ; and in the polTeflion of 
 the late Sir Jofeph Ayloffe was a Mafque, 
 printed by Caxton, which was prefented to 
 him, on his approach to the abbey, with 
 the Dramatis Perfonae of the family there 
 refident. Queen Elizabeth refided fome 
 time in this houfej and one large flate 
 apartment yet retains the name of the 
 Queen's council-chamber. 
 
 In the church of Bifham is a fumptuous 
 monument ere6led to the family of the 
 Hobys, worth the attention of the curious. 
 An old woman's ftory is told of a fmall 
 fculptured monument in this church, con- 
 taining two children, which children. Ca- 
 lumny has reported to have been the off- 
 fpring of Elizabeth j but we have reafon to 
 believe, from her Majefty's general fyftem of 
 politics, in public concerns, that fhe would 
 have been too good a politician in love, to 
 have ereded a monument, avowing herfelf 
 
 not
 
 ( 193 ) 
 not to have been the charafter which fhe 
 was fo ambitious to preferve— the virgin 
 Queen. The bones of the founder of this 
 abbey, John Montacute, Earl of Salilbury, 
 are faid to have been removed hither, by 
 Maud, his widow, from the abbey of Ciren- 
 cefter, by a licenfe from Henry V. for that 
 purpofe. 
 
 Vol. L 
 
 Bb 
 
 SEC-
 
 ( 195 ) 
 
 SECTION XX. 
 
 Fr OM Bifham Abbey, the town of Mar- 
 low, confidered as a pifturefque obje6l, re- 
 ceives much addition from the New Bridge, 
 which is of wood, and has been recently 
 finifhed at an expence of about eighteen 
 hundred pounds. It has a remarkable af- 
 cent, and forms the beft objeft as a wooden 
 bridge, that I remember to have feen. The 
 balluftrades are painted white, in imitation 
 of ftone-work ; and the whole fcenery con- 
 tiguous is pleafmgly variegated by the rich 
 verdure of the adjacent woods. 
 
 Below the bridge, the obje6ls combine 
 moft happily for the pencil, where the river 
 branches out into two channels, one of which 
 (the water being penned up by the Marlow 
 Lock) caufes a perpetual fall into the other 
 B b 2 flream.
 
 ( 196 ) 
 
 ftrearn, juft below the bridge, which makes 
 a pleafing, though (hallow, cafcade. 
 
 Between this lock and Batterfea, which 
 is a diflance of about fifty miles, in all the 
 deep waters, the lampreys are caught in great 
 plenty in the fpring of the year, and are fold 
 to the Dutch as bait for their turbot and 
 other fiflieries. In one feafon, it is faid, 
 there have been fold not lefs than five hun- 
 dred thoufand. The price of the lampreys 
 was forty fhillings per thoufand ; but the 
 Dutch having lately contra6Ved for an in- 
 creafed quantity, at (ixty fhillings, it has 
 rendered them fo fcarce, as to raife the price 
 for our own ufe to nearly fix pounds. The 
 Thames has fometimes furnifhed upwards 
 of a million of this fifli annually. 
 
 Marlow is remarkable for its manufac- 
 tory of bone-lace, and the great quantities 
 of malt .and meal, which are brought hither 
 
 from
 
 ( 197 ) 
 
 from the neighbouring towns, and conveyed 
 to London by water. 
 
 It may not be improper to remark, that 
 in the reign of Elizabeth, about the year 
 1584, the locks between this and Oxford, 
 from negleft, created much complaint and 
 altercation. At Marlow Lock many lives 
 were loft from the fudden and immenfe fall 
 of water, and negle<5l of the millers ; in con- 
 fequence of which, complaint was made to 
 the Lord Treafurer, in October, 1585, and 
 anfwered the next day by the perfons con- 
 cerned in locks, weirs, and mills, when it 
 was determined, that all diforders arifmg 
 from neglect, Sec. were to be reformed by 
 the ordinary proceedings of the Queen's Ma- 
 jefty's laws, and not otherwife. 
 
 At that period there were feventy locks, 
 twenty-two of which were ere6led within 
 the laft fix years ; fixteen flood-gates, and 
 feven weirs : there were then not more than 
 
 ten
 
 ( 198 ) 
 
 ten or twelve barges went fo high as Marlow 
 or Bifham, and in ihe reign of Edward IV. 
 it appears there were only four. This flream 
 was let at that period for three hundred 
 pounds per annum. 
 
 The fcenery of this neighbourhood Is 
 truly beautiful: the Quarry Woods ex- 
 tend a confiderable diftance, and form a 
 noble fcreen on the Berkfhire fide of the 
 river. The village of Little Marlow lies 
 about a mile diftant ; it had formerly a mo- 
 naflery of Benedictine monks, founded ear- 
 lier than the reign of King John, of which 
 no traces are now remaining. 
 
 A LITTLE below this village is Hedfor 
 Wharf} and let me not be cenfured in the 
 digreiTion, when I lead the reader thence 
 to the fmall village of St. Giles, Chalfont, 
 in Bucks, a diftance of about five miles, in 
 order to mention the name and refidence of 
 
 the
 
 ( 199 ) 
 
 the immortal Milton. Here, when the plague 
 in 1665 raged in London, this much revered 
 poet took refuge. The houfe in which he 
 refided, and of which I have preferved the 
 annexed fketch, is now ftanding, and, in all 
 probability, from its appearance, remains 
 nearly in its original ftate. 
 
 As the biography of great and learned 
 men has been deemed worthy the pens of 
 writers of the firil talents, any piftorial il- 
 luftration of that biography, it is prefumed, 
 will not be thought unworthy the attention 
 
 of
 
 ( 200 ) 
 
 of the curious. This houfe was taken for 
 him by Elwood the Quaker, who was re- 
 commended as a proper perfon to read Latin 
 to him, and be his folacer in retirement. 
 Here his companion firft faw a complete 
 copy of the divine poem, Paradife Loil, 
 which was finifhed on this fpot : and here, 
 in all probability, the greater part of the 
 Paradife Regained was written j as it is well 
 known that his friend Elwood fuggefled this 
 idea to him (after reading the firfl poem) in 
 thefe words : " Thou hafl faid a great deal 
 " on the fubje6l of Paradife Lofl, but what 
 " hafl thou to fay on Paradife Found ?" 
 To which he made no anfwer, but fat fome 
 time mufing, then broke off the difcourfe, 
 and fell upon an other fubje6l. Some time 
 after, when in London, Milton fliewed him 
 the Paradife Regained j and in a pleafant 
 tone of voice faid to him, " This is owing 
 " to you, for you put it into my head, by 
 
 " the
 
 ( 201 ) 
 
 " the queftion you put to me at Chalfont, 
 " which before I had not thought of." 
 
 In the neighbourhood of this village, it 
 may not be improper to mention Beaconsfield, 
 the refidence of another poet of diftinguifhed 
 eminence — the courtly Waller — to whom 
 Fortune had dealt with much more libera- 
 lity j and to whom, though Nature had given 
 brilliant talents, yet fhe had certainly been 
 more fparing than with the immortal Milton. 
 Asa lyric poet Waller flands unrivalled, and 
 in tendernefs of ftyle is juftly faid to have 
 moved all hearts but hers he meant to move. 
 
 " Yet, what he fung, in his immortal ftrain, 
 ** Tho' unfuccefsful, was not fung in vain : 
 " All, but the nymph that fhould redrefs his wrong, 
 " Attend his paflion, and approve his fong." 
 
 He died at Beaconsfield, in 1687, at the 
 advanced age of eighty-two, after having 
 confulted Sir Charles Scarborough, on a vi- 
 
 VoL, I. C c olent
 
 ( 202 ) 
 
 olent tumour in his legs, which foon ended 
 in his diflblution. One day, afking what 
 that fwelling meant; his phyfician replied, 
 " Sir, your blood will run no longer :'* — 
 on which, according to his biographer, he 
 repeated fome lines of Virgil, and went home 
 to die. A handfome monument is ere6led 
 to his memory, by his fon's executors, on 
 the eaft fide of the church-yard, near the 
 family vault, where an old walnut-tree is yet 
 remaining, at the weft end of the monu- 
 ment, carefully enclofed within the iron rails 
 around the tomb -, part of the branches 
 hanging over the fpiral pillar that rifes from 
 the monument, has a pleafmg effeft, and 
 happily illuftrates the rebus alluded to in 
 the family arms, which is a walnut-leaf. 
 The Latin infcription on the monument is 
 by Rymer. 
 
 A SHORT ride from hence to the feat of 
 the Duke of Portland, at Bulftrode, will 
 
 amply
 
 ( 203 ) 
 
 amplyre pay the attention of the connolfTeur, 
 where he will meet with a feleftion of pic- 
 tures by the befl maflers, worthy the man- 
 fion of their liberal and noble pofTefTor. 
 
 Resuming the fubje6l — the river from 
 Hedfor Wharf, winds beautifully beneath the 
 range of Cliefden Hills, commanding a dif- 
 tant view of Lord Bofton's and Cliefden 
 Houfe, which are both fo happily fituated 
 on an eminence, as to comprife, though not 
 one of the moft extenlive, yet one of the mofl 
 richly diverfified fcenes in the kingdom. 
 
 The terrace before Cliefden Houfe is re- 
 ported to be higher than that of Wind- 
 for Caftle. Cliefden Houfe, was begun by 
 George Villiers the fecond Duke of Bucking- 
 ham, in the reign of Charles II. and is evi- 
 dently copied from the plan of Burleigh on 
 the Hill, the refidence of the firft Duke, his 
 father, which plan Mr. Walpole tells us was 
 C c 2 "the
 
 ( 204 ) 
 
 the defign of John Thorpe, a folio volume 
 of whofe works are in the poffellion of Lord 
 Warwick. 
 
 Of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, 
 the following lines of Pope, as they are ap - 
 plicable to the prefent fubje6t, and to the dif- 
 fipated fcene exhibited on this fpot, juflly 
 claim recital. 
 
 " On once a flock bed, but repair'd with flraw, 
 ** With tape-tied curtains, never meant to draw ; 
 " The George and Garter dangling from that bed, 
 " Where tawdry yellow ftrove with dirty red, 
 " Great "Villiers lies— alas ! how chang*d fi^om him, 
 *' That life of pleafure, and that foul of whim ! 
 " Gallant and gay, in Cliefden's proud alcove, 
 " The bow'r, of wanton Shrew{bury and love.'* 
 
 The laft line alludes to an intrigue be- 
 tween the Countefs of Shrewfbury and the 
 Duke of Buckingham, which occafioned a 
 rencontre between the Duke and her hufband, 
 in which the latter was flain. It is faid, that 
 
 the
 
 ( 205 ) 
 
 the Countefs, difguifed as a page, held the 
 Duke's horfe during the combat, and after- 
 wards flept with him in the fhirt ftained 
 with her hufband's blood. 
 
 After the death of the Duke, which 
 happened in 1688, in the 60th year of his 
 age, the Earl of Orkney made confiderable 
 improvements in this houfe, as did Frederic, 
 the late Prince of Wales, who refided many 
 years on this charming fpot. It is now in 
 the poflelTion of the Earl Inchiquin, and 
 is occupied by his daughter the Countefs of 
 Orkney. 
 
 Near the beautiful village of Cookham, 
 on a large ait. Sir Geore Young has 
 lately finifhed a handfome houfe, intended, 
 I am informed, for his conftant refidence : 
 delightful as the fituatjon may prove in the 
 fummer months, the winds and floods, it is 
 
 to
 
 ( 206 ) 
 
 to be feared, will render it uncomfortable 
 in the winter feafon. 
 
 A LITTLE below this houfe, at the foot 
 of Cliefden Wood, rifes Cliefden fpring, 
 which by an eafy defcent forms a fmall, yet 
 beautiful cafcade, that gently murmuring 
 over its gravelly bed, empties itfelf into the 
 river Thames. To this charming retreat, 
 (by permiilion of the Earl of Inchiquin, to 
 whom it belongs) focial parties frequently 
 repair to take their repaft beneath its cooling 
 fhade. In one of thefe convivial meetings 
 the following lines were given by the author 
 of this work as an impromptu on the fpot ; 
 let the occafion plead their appology. 
 
 Secure from fummer's fultry ray. 
 
 Hafte hither fwains, and with you bring 
 Your lafles debonnaire and gay, 
 
 To tafle of Cliefden's cooling fpring. 
 
 '« Here
 
 ( 207 ) 
 
 Here bow'ring fhades to love invite 
 
 And realize the poet's dream ; 
 Here Thames allures the ravifh'd fight. 
 
 While murm'ring glides cool Cliefden's flream. 
 
 Gay Ovid of his nymphs may write 
 
 With quill frefh pluck'd from fancy's wing. 
 
 Yet here from nature I'll indite 
 
 The charms of Chiefden's cooling fpring. 
 
 Let Horace too his neilar boaft. 
 
 And be the juicy grape his theme. 
 Yet here in bev'rage cool I'll toaft 
 
 The nymph of Chiefden's cooling ftreami 
 
 Nor will I fcorn young Bacchus' aid, 
 While {he is here for whom I ling ; 
 
 He fhall beneath this fragrant fhade 
 Infufe his grape in Cliefden's fpring. 
 
 If here the figh of love prevails. 
 
 The dart of envy finds no fling ; 
 Old Thames will fmile, and tell no tales 
 
 Of what is done at Cliefden's fpring, 
 
 Between
 
 ( 208 ) 
 
 Between Cliefden and Taplowis Boul- 
 ter's Lock, which is the laft on the Thames, 
 and the twenty fecond from Gloucefterfliire. 
 Taplow Woods join thofe of Cliefden, and 
 continue near two miles in beautiful grada- 
 tion towards Taplow Houfe, occupied by 
 the Earl of Inchiquin, in whofe park, on a 
 beautiful eminence, ftands a venerable oak, 
 faid to have been planted by Queen Eliza- 
 beth, when in confinement here. But I 
 rather fufpe6l it muft have been at that pe- 
 riod of fufficient growth to have afforded 
 ample fhade to her Majefty, in her noon- 
 tide walks, which could not have been the 
 cafe had fhe planted it herfelf. 
 
 It is the noble remains of a very aged tree, 
 
 ■" Whofe antique root peeps out 
 
 " Upon the brook that brawls along this wood.'* 
 
 The beautiful irregularity of its majeftic 
 limbs and foilages would form a grand fludy 
 
 for
 
 ( 209 ) 
 
 for a painter. The ravages which time has 
 made on this once flurdy oak, have been 
 relieved with extraordinary care, by large 
 fheets of lead, which are nailed over the de- 
 cayed parts. The fpot on which it ftands 
 is happily chofen to folace the " mind dif- 
 " eafed," amidft the miferies of confine-^ 
 ment. 
 
 END OF THE FIRST VOLUME, 
 
 Printed hy C. Clarke, Norlhumbcrb.fui Co:irt, Strand.
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 MAR ^11975 
 
 JUN18 
 
 OCT £9 
 
 1975 
 
 Form L9-32m-8,'57(C8680s4)444 
 
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