In 1340 Edward III. built the Castle, and there in 1349 he founded the Order of the Garter. In the Castle chapel Henry VI., Edward IV., Jane Seymour, Henry VIII., and Charles I. are buried, with almost all the royal family since the time of George III. Reading Abbey was founded by Henry I., who is buried within its walls, with his queen Adeliza, his daughter Matilda, and Prince William, son of Henry II. There in 1359 John of Gaunt was married to Blanche Plantagenet; and there also, in 1464, the marriage of Edward IV. to Elizabeth Woodville was first proclaimed in public. In the town of Reading Archbp. Laud was born, 1578. Faringdon Castle, founded by Robert, natural brother of the Empress Matilda, was totally destroyed by Stephen. Hampstead Marshall is interesting from the long and celebrated line of Earls Marshal who have possessed it. Radcot Bridge was the scene of the defeat of Vere Earl of Oxford (1389) in the reign of Richard II. Bisham contained the graves of Richard Neville, the Kingmaker, and his brother, Lord Montague (1470), and of Edward Plantagenet, son of the Duke of Clarence. Cumnor was celebrated by the tragedy of Amy Robsart. Ruscombe was the birthplace of the famous Penn. Besilsleigh was the home of the Speaker Lenthall. Caversham Bridge was the scene of a skirmish (1643), and Newbury of two great battles (1643-44), during the civil wars, when Donnington Castle became illustrious by its brave defence against the Parliamentarians. Lady Place at Hurley was the spot where the coming of William of Orange was arranged, and the slight skirmishes at Twyford and Reading were the only signs of opposition to his mounting the throne, Antiquities.-Several Roman roads crossed the county; that from Glevum (Gloucester) to Londinium entered Berks near Lambourn, and is still traceable as far as Spinæ (Speenhamland). The Icknield Street crossed the county, but it is doubted whether it is represented by "the Ridge Way," which runs along the edge of the chalk range, over E. and W. Ilsley Downs, Cuckhamsley Hills, &c., or by the road beneath the same hills which is known as the Ickleton Way. Part of the road from Silchester to London was formerly traceable on Bagshot Heath, and was known as "the Devil's Highway." The site of the Roman station of Spinæ is authenticated; the vallum which surrounded Wallingford is still perceptible. Roman Camps are-Uffington Castle, on the summit of the White Horse Hill; Letcombe or Sagsbury Castle, on Letcombe Downs, and Hardwell Camp. Near Little Coxwell, and on Bagshot Heath, are also remains of camps. Cherbury Camp, between Abingdon and Faringdon, and the camp on Sinodun Hill, near Wittenham, are either British or Roman. There are also circular camps near Ashdown Park (called Alfred's Castle), and on Badbury Hill, near Faringdon, of which the origin is doubtful. The bleak chalk downs N. of Lambourne abound in curious ancient Barrows, of which "the Seven Barrows" and "Wayland Smith's Cave" are the most remarkable. At Kingston Lyle is the celebrated Blowing Stone, with its 3 holes at the top, through which, if a person blows, the sound may be heard for 6 miles distant. But the most remarkable object in the county is the White Horse cut in the face of the downs below Uffington Castle. Of ancient Castles there are scarcely any remains except at Windsor. A fragment of a tower and an oriel window is left of Wallingford; at Donnington there is a picturesque gateway; the very sites of Reading, Newbury, Faringdon, and Brightwell are unknown; of Aldworth Castle only the foundations remain. The oldest Manor-house in Berks is that of Appleton near Abingdon. supposed to be temp. Henry II. The manor-house of Cumnor is destroyed. There are remains of old houses at Wytham, Sutton Courtenay near Abingdon, and Little Shefford near Newbury. East Hendred retains its ancient domestic chapel of the 13th centy. The beautiful old timber mansion of the Norreys family at Ockwells, and Ufton Court, the home of Pope's Arabella Fermor, are now only farmhouses. Shaw House, near Newbury, is a fine specimen of the Elizabethan period. The principal Monastic Remains are those of Abingdon, where the gateway and several rooms are still standing; and of Reading, where the gatehouse, the abbey mills, and shapeless fragments of the church and other parts remain. The ancient doorway and tower of Bisham are still to be seen, built into the beautiful but later manor-house. Small traces are left of the Grey Friars at Reading, and of the Benedictine Monastery at Hurley. The Among the Churches of the county, Avington deserves the first place, as an interesting and perfect specimen of very early Norman. little church of Padworth, though much injured, presents some curious Norm. details. Uffington is a remarkable and perfect E. E. church. The beautiful church of Shottesbrooke is a perfect specimen of Dec. St. George's Chapel at Windsor is a fine example of Perp. The mixed churches of Wantage, Faringdon, Bisham, and Sonning are remarkable. Welford and Great Shefford possess ancient round towers, and Tidmarsh is remarkable for its half-hexagonal chancel. To the antiquarian and ecclesiologist the following church details will be interesting: Fonts.-Avington, Clewer, Enbourne, Sulhampstead Abbots, Bright Waltham, Woolhampton, Purley, Great Shefford, Sutton Courtenay, Welford, Childrey (lead), Englefield, Shottesbrooke. Stalls. Faringdon, Welford, Uffington, Sparsholt, Warfield. Tombs.-The 8 altar-tombs at Aldworth; the cross-legged effigies at Sparsholt, Childrey, Englefield, Inkpen, and Basilden; tomb of Sir William Trussel (1337) at Shottesbrooke; of John de Blewbury, a priest (1372), at Shillingford; of the abbots of Abingdon, Cumnor; of King Edw. IV., with a Gothic screen of gilt iron, Windsor; of Sir John Golafre (1452), and Lady Gordon (1527), Fyfield; of Sir T. Englefield (1513), Englefield; of Sir G. Forster (1526), Aldermaston; of John Baptist de Castillon (1594), and of his daughter (1603), Speen. Brasses.-John Isbury, Lambourn; Sir Ivo Fitzwarren, Wantage; William Fynderne (1449), Childrey; Anne, Duchess of Exeter, sister of Edward IV., and her second husband, Sir T. St. Leger (1475), Windsor.* The Views from the White Horse Hill, from Faringdon Clump, and from Sinodun Hill near Wittenham, command a wide extent of country. That of Oxford from Bagley Wood is of great beauty. Of Country Seats the most remarkable are Ashdown, high up among the bleak downs; Coleshill, as a good and perfect specimen of the architecture of Inigo Jones; Pusey, from having been given to the family of that name in the time of Canute; Wytham Abbey, with its beautiful woods; and the rival modern houses of Beckett and Aldermaston, the latter of which is also remarkable for its wild park and its fine old timber. The park of Bear Wood is beautiful. The best collections of Pictures, after Windsor, are the galleries of Mr. Walter at Bear Wood, and of Mr. Morrison at Basilden; Coleshill, Buckland, and Beckett also contain a few good pictures. 66 The Angler will find employment on the banks of the Thames and of the Kennet, especially near Hungerford, mentioned even by Evelyn as celebrated for its troutes." The Artist will be chiefly interested in the distant views of Windsor, in the older parts of the Forest, and in the scenery on the banks of the Thames, especially near Bisham. Picturesque bits may also be found at Abingdon, Donnington Castle, Little Shefford, and among the hills near Aldermaston. The stranger will probably be puzzled at first by the peculiarities of the Berkshire dialect, which are more marked than those of almost any other county, especially its constant substitution of z for s, and v for f. Him and her also invariably take the place of he and she, and this and that are pronounced thik and thak. The following words may illustrate some of the other changes of language which a traveller must be prepared for in this county : Natives of Berks are proud of their dialect as well as their county, and have their own poetry, of which the following is a specimen : "Throo aall the waarld owld Gaarge would bwoast, While vools gwoes praating vur and nigh, We stwops at whum, my dog and I." The following skeleton tour would comprise all the chief objects of interest in the county : * In the dearth of topographical works on Berkshire our readers will thank us for mentioning the Address on the Archæology of Berkshire,' by the Earl of Carnarvon, Murray, 1859, an interesting popular essay. 1. Windsor, by the Forest, Binfield, and Bear Wood, to Reading. 2. Reading, Abbey and Churches. By rail to Aldermaston and Ufton Court, thence to Newbury. Shaw House and Donnington Castle. 3. By Avington, Wickham, Welford, and the Sheffords to Lambourn. 4. By the Seven Barrows, Wayland Smith's Cave, the White Horse, Uffington Church, and Sparsholt, to Wantage. By starting very early these two days might be combined in one. 5. Faringdon, Pusey, Fyfield, Besilsleigh, Appleton, Cumnor, to Abingdon. 6. Sutton Courtenay, Wittenham, Wallingford, Cholsey, Aldworth, Basilden, Pangbourne. 7. Rail to Twyford-Sonning, Wargrave, Hurley, Bisham (or by water down the Thames, a most delightful excursion, see Rte. 8) to Maidenhead, whence see Bray, Ockwells, Shottesbrooke. ROUTE ROUTES. The names of places are printed in italics only in those routes where the places are 1 From Windsor [the Castlethe Great Park], through the Forest, by Sunninghill, Bracknel, and Wokingham, to Reading 2 Windsor to Reading, by Winkfield, Warfield, and Binfield. 3 Maidenhead to Shrivenham, by Reading [Wallingford], Didcot [Wantage], and described. PAGE 8 27 the 8 The Thames-from Goring to PAGE Thames, with fine views of the Castle. Omnibuses and carriages await the arrival of trains at both stations. 1 The Hundred Steps are the shortest approach to the Castle from the South-Western Railway for pedestrians, though the hardest climb. WINDSOR. Inns: White Hart; Castle. A borough town of 10,114 Inhab., on the rt. bank of the Thames, 22 m. from London, which owes its celebrity to its Castle and |