such rich offerings, that Eton | cel, supposed to have been for the College alone, which shared in the priest watching at the shrine. profits, lost 500l. per annum at the In 1478 Richard Beauchamp, destruction of this shrine. The Dean of Windsor, obtained licence place became populous in conse- from Pope Sixtus V. to remove the quence of pilgrimages to a well shrine to Windsor, where he placed which was blessed by him. Browne it in the Lincoln Chapel, whose Willis mentions people who remem- windows long portrayed the history bered a sign which pointed the way of the saint and of his squeezing "to Sir John Shorne's shrine." the Devil into the boot. He is reBp. Latimer, in one of his sermons, presented on the roodscreens of says, "I have to tell you of the Cawston and Gateley, Norfolk, Christian man's pilgrimage, but ye crowned with a nimbus. The vilshall not think that I will speak of lage of Schorne near Rochester is the Popish pilgrimage, in running probably called after him. There hither and thither, to Mr. John was also an image of him at CanterShorne, or to our Lady of Walsing-bury, alluded to in an old poem of ham." Foxe, in speaking of the punishments of Protestants in Bucks, says that "some were compelled to make pilgrimages to Sir John Shorne; also, that some forced by the oath to detest the Vicar of Wycombe, because, when he met "certain coming from Sir J. Shorne, he said they were fools, and called it idolatrous." were the 16th centy., by John Heywood. "I am a palmer, as you see, Which of my life I much have spent. At Saint Davies, and at Saint Denice, At Maister John Shorne in Canterbury." At the bottom of the village is “Sir John Shorne's Well," which never fails all the year round; and is said to have been supplied by the sainted rector, who struck his staff into the ground on that spot, in answer to the prayers of his congregation in a time of drought. 46 m. rt. Creslow Pastures, from the time of Elizabeth to Charles II. royal feeding - grounds for cattle destined for the royal tables. They are still of extraordinary fertility; and one of them, "the great pasture," contains 327 acres. The original name was Christ Low or Christ's Meadow; one of the largest pastures is still called Heaven's Low. 66 The Manor-house is a very picturesque and remarkable building; the original parts, Edward III., including the crypt and tower; alterations 15th centy., of which period a pointed doorway remains : great alterations temp. Charles I., of which plaster ceilings and square An upper chamber still remains attached to the ch. with a fireplace, and aperture into the chan-windows remain." In 1120 the manor was given to the Knights Templars, from whom it passed to the Knights of St. John, who had the privilege of giving rites of sepulture when the rest of the kingdom was under interdict, so that many illustrious persons were probably buried in the chapel. After their dissolution it remained among the crown demesnes till 1673. In 1635 it was granted to Cornelius Holland the regicide, called by Browne Willis "a miscreant upstart," and said by him to have been born in a neighbouring cottage. At the restoration, when he was attainted for high treason, it reverted to the Crown, and in 1662 was granted to Sir T. Clifford, to whose successor, Lord Clifford, it was conveyed in 1673. At the W. corner of the house is an octagonal turret with walls 6 ft. thick. Beneath is a crypt with a beautifully groined ceiling cut in the solid rock. Near it is another cellar called "the Dungeon," without windows, and with a massive stone roof. It is still filled with skulls and other human bones, some of which are said to be those of prisoners immured here. Above is the dining room! From these cellars a subterranean passage leads to the great pasture. Several of the rooms have beautiful Gothic details. In the hall are stucco ornaments (including the Tudor rose and fleur-de-lis), said to have been placed there by order of Elizabeth when the house was preparing for one of her progresses. One of the rooms has its ghost, in a silk dress, supposed to be that of Rosamond Clifford. Close to the house are the picturesque remains of the chapel desecrated by Cornelius Holland. The N. wall retains its beautiful doorway of transition from Norm. to E. E. [rt. 4 m. is Wing, which was one of the manors said to have been forfeited by the Hampdens, in consequence of a blow received by the Black Prince when on a visit with Edward III. at Great Hampden : "Tring, Wing, and Ivinghoe, And glad he did escape so." The Ch. is remarkable; the arcades between the nave and aisles are E. Norm., and the chancel is a polygonal apse with a crypt beneath. The monuments of the Dormers, once lords of the manor, are fine: Sir Robert Dormer, 1552; Sir William Dormer (in gilt armour, 1575; and Robert 1st Lord Dormer, 1617. A brass, 1648, has a very curious inscription to "Old Thomas Cotes, sometime porter at Ascott Hall."] 47 m. 1 m. 1. is Hogston, whose ch. has a mutilated effigy, supposed to be William de Bermingham, 1342, who founded a chantry here. [1.3 m. is Stewkley, whose ch. is the most interesting in the county from its great antiquity. "It has been generally called Saxon, but has nothing to distinguish it from many well-known Norm. churches." Rickman. It has a short square tower between the nave and chancel, the upper part of which is surrounded by rows of small pillars and interlaced circular arches. The roof of the chancel is groined with zigzag mouldings. The W. front is very rich; the great door, which is circular with zigzag mouldings, has figures of dragons within the arch. The inhabitants of all the villages in this neighbourhood are employed as straw-platters. Near this is the supposed source of the Thame.] 51 m. Winslow (Inn: Bell), a market town of 1333 Inhab., with a Perp. ch. Here there is a stat. on the Bletchley and Oxford Railway (Rte. 14). The ch. of St. Lawrence is Perp. The white poppy is cultivated here for making opium. 55 m. Padbury, the scene of a skirmish in 1643 between Sir C. Lucas and Col. Middleton. 573 m. BUCKINGHAM. Inn: White Hart -very bad. Rlys. to Bletchley and Wolverton, to Oxford and Banbury. The direct road hence to Banbury avoids Brackley and saves about 6 m. This town, which stands on the 1. bank of the Ouse, though a county town, is inferior in pop. and extent to Aylesbury, having only 4020 Inhab., and has the reputation of being the most uninteresting town in England. The hideous ch. (1784) is on the mount of the ancient castle. In the former old ch. was discovered the coffin of St. Rumbald, who had once a shrine here. The story of this saint is that he lived only 3 days, during which time he discoursed largely, says Fuller, "of all the commonplaces of popery;" was baptised and bequeathed his body to King's Sutton, his birthplace, for 1 year; to Brackley for 2 years; and then to Buckingham for ever. He was much reverenced in Kent, his chief shrine being at Boxley, where there was an image of St. Rumbald, which was pretended to be "a touchstone of chastity," only to be lifted by those who had never sinned in thought or deed. A pleasant terrace walk surrounds the present ch., which contains an altarpiece-a copy of Raffaelle's Transfiguration. The spire has a good effect at a distance, overtopping the other buildings. In the marketplace is the Gaol, mimicking a Gothic castle. The Grammar School is enclosed by ancient walls, with a Norm. doorway, and was the chapel of a guild of the Holy Trinity, founded by St. Thomas à Becket. A house called Lambards is curious The original mansion was once the residence of Queen Catherine of Arragon. The present house, built 1611, was occupied by Prince Rupert in 1642, who was near being taken prisoner when going to ch. from thence on Sunday morning. Charles I. took up his quarters here for one night, June 22, 1645. It is called the Capital House, and the " King's Chamber" is still shown. The ancient residence of the Prebendary of Bucks, with a crooked chimney (1611), is curious. In an older house on this spot Queen Elizabeth dined in August 1568, on her way to Bicester. 1 m. W. is Tingewick, where there is on the chancel wall a very curious brass of Erasmus Williams, rector in 1608. He is surrounded by his musical, astronomical, and geometrical instruments, with a facetious epitaph. 3 and 4 m. S. of this are several interesting churches: Preston Bissett, uniform good Dec.; Chetwode, an ancient conventual ch. belonging to a priory of Augustine monks, founded here 1244-chancel very fine E. E., with some old stained glass, the E. window having 5 lancets; and Hillesdon, entirely Perp. and fine, especially the S. porch, and vestry turret with a lantern top. From the study of this ch. Scott the architect first obtained his knowledge of Gothic architecture. Further S. is Twyford, with a monument of a crusader, supposed to be Sir John Giffard, and curious brasses of the Giffards and John Guerdon, rector, 1413. At Thornborough, 5 m. E. of Buckingham, is a large barrow, opened in 1839, when some curious bronze and gold relics of Roman origin were discovered. It is attributed to Aulus Plautius, who is said to have lost 2 generals here. 2 m. E. Maidsmorton Ch. is a very beautiful specimen of Perp., founded, according to tablet in the interior, by "sisters and maids, daughters to Lord Pruet," 1450. The tower windows are enriched with arrowheaded cusps; the N. porch has a fan-tracery vault; the W. door is very curious, "a projecting panelled bat tlement supported by rich fan-tracery man acquired his early love of springing from the jamb mould- liberty; here Capability Brown ings." (P.) The font, the Gothic filled the office of kitchen-gardener, screen, the roof of chancel with re- and caught that taste for landscapemains of colour, and 3 sedilia with gardening of which he has left so a painting of the Last Supper de- many memorable examples; here serve notice. Congreve and Vanbrugh were frequent visitors; here Pope delighted to think down hours to moments; and here Horace Walpole occasionally stayed on state occasions." Close to Buckingham are the gates of Stowe, the nominal seat of the Duke of Buckingham, once the most magnificent mansion in the county, but the treasures are now dispersed and the interior dismantled. An avenue 2 m. long leads from the town over 2 swelling hills to the park, which is entered by a simple and stately Corinthian arch, 60 ft. high, designed by M. Pitt, Lord Camelford. From this point the house is well seen, consisting of a centre faced with a portico, flanked by 2 wings, the total length of the façade being 916 ft. Neither the house nor pleasuregrounds of Stowe are ever shown to the public. The Gardens of Stowe were perhaps the finest example of landscape gardening in this country. They were originally laid out by Sir Rich. Temple, Viscount Cobham, the friend of Pope, who thus alludes to them in the Moral Essays: "Still follow sense, of every part the soul; Parts, answering parts, shall slide into a whole; Spontaneous beauties all around advance; Start even from difficulty, strike from chance; These pleasure-grounds have an extent of not less than 700 acres. On entering you are first struck by the broad expanse of a lake— "The vast parterres a thousand hands shall make Lo! Cobham comes, and floats them with a lake!" beyond which appears the house; while amidst the graceful foliage of trees of noble growth, and many varieties of species, peer forth various ornamental buildings and temples. The most remarkable of these are the Temple of Ancient Virtue, surrounded by a circular colonnade, containing statues by Scheemaker of Socrates, Homer, Lycurgus, and Epaminondas, with Latin inscriptions by George Lord Lyttelton. Near it rises a cedar-tree, 22 ft. in girth; the rostral column to Capt. Grenville, who fell in a sea-fight against the French, under Lord Anson, 1747. in the Temple of British Worthies, The monument to Capt. Cook is situated at a point surnamed the Elysian Fields, watered by a dark pool called the River Styx. "The Temple of Venus at Stowe," says Walpole," has simplicity and merit." It is by Kent. The Queen's Temple, in honour of Queen Charlotte, 1789, contains a Roman tesselated pavement, found at Foxcote near Buckingham in 1844. The Gothic temples command a fine view. There are also a column, 115 ft. high, surmounted by a statue of Lord Cobham; a grotto; and one or two puny cascades. The Palladian G Bridge, resembling that at Wilton, is a fine architectural structure, with a roof supported by a colonnade. The Temple of Friendship was erected by Lord Cobham to receive the busts of his political friends (all sold in 1849). Before the temple was finished the party was entirely broken up. H. Walpole says, "The Temple of Friendship, in which, among 20 memorandums of quarrels, is the bust of Mr. Pitt. Mr. James Greville is now in the House, whom his uncle disinherited for attachment to that very Pylades. He broke with Mr. Pope, who is deified in the Elysian Fields, before the inscription for his head was finished. That of Sir John Barnard, which was bespoke by the name of a bust of my Lord Mayor, was, by a mistake of the sculptor, done for Aldermen Perry. I have no patience at building and planting a satire.". (1753.) The Gothic Temple is somewhat of carpenter's Gothic, though bepraised by Horace Walpole. "In the heretical corner of my heart I adore the Gothic building, which by some unusual inspiration Gibbs has made pure, beautiful, and venerable. The style has a propensity to the Venetian or Mosque Gothic, and the great column near makes the whole put one in mind of St. Mark's at Venice! The windows are throughout consecrated with painted glass, most of it from the Priory at Warwick." The Bourbon Tower is surrounded by trees planted by Louis XVIII. and the exiled French princes on a visit to Stowe 1808. In front of the Temple of Concord and Victory (erected to record the glories of the Seven Years' War, by Lord Cobham) young oaks were planted by Queen Victoria, during her visit to Stowe, January 1845, and 2 cedars by Prince Albert. There is a charming flower-garden, thickly surrounded by high trees, firs, cedars, 66 evergreens, and flowering shrubs." Horace Walpole gives an amusing account of the visit of the Princess Amelia to Stowe :-"We all of us, giddy young creatures of near threescore, supped in a grotto in the Elysian Fields, and were refreshed with rivers of dew and gentle showers that dripped from all the trees, and put us in mind of the heroic ages when kings and queens were shepherds and shepherdesses, and lived in caves, and were wet to the skin two or three times a day." Again, "On Wednesday night a small Vauxhall was acted for us in the grotto in the Elysian Fields, which was illuminated, as were the thickets and two little barks on the lake. The idea was pretty; but as my feelings have lost something of their romantic sensibility, I did not quite enjoy such an entertainment al fresco as I should have done 20 yrs. ago. The evening was more than cool, and the destined spot anything but dry. There were not half lamps enough, and no music but an old militia-man who played cruelly on a kind of tabor and pipe. As our procession descended the vast flight of steps into the garden, in which was assembled a crowd of people from Buckingham and the neighbouring villages to see the Princess and the show, the moon shining very bright, I could not help laughing as I surveyed the troop, which, instead of tripping lightly to such an Arcadian entertainment, were hobbling down by the balustrade, wrapped up in greatcoats and cloaks for fear of catching cold."- W. to G. Montague, July 7, 1770. "Every acre brings to one's mind some instances of the parts or pedantry, of the taste or want of taste, of the ambition or love of fame, of greatness or miscarriage, of those who have inhabited, decorated, planned, or visited the place-Pope, Congreve, Vanbrugh, Kent, Gibbs, |