Part 2

The ~Two Battles of St. Albans~ were fought in 1455 and 1461, the first chiefly in St. Peter's Street and its byways, and the second upon Bernard's Heath, lying to the north of St. Peter's Church, in whose churchyard many thousands of the slain were interred.

The ~Clock Tower~ in the High Street dates from 1410, and contains a medieval bell of beautiful workmanship, _c._ 1403, the curfew bell.

Other objects of interest in St. Albans are Sopwell Ruins, St. Stephen's Church, and Gorhambury, two miles distant, the house of the Bacons.

* * * * *

Shortly after leaving St. Albans by the Redbourn road, the River Ver is crossed at Bow Bridge, and here the Watling Street from London, which has passed through the centre of Verulam, joins the road, and from this point until Chester is reached the way lies almost entirely upon this great Roman artery. It is intact from London to St. Stephen's Church, St. Albans, and, with a few gaps, from near Bow Bridge to Chester.

At ~Redbourn~ a few quaint old houses still linger in the long, narrow street. To reach the church, which is Norman and Early English, a turn to the left is taken at the entrance to the village. It contains a very fine chancel screen.

Flamstead lies half a mile off the main road, at the summit of a steep hill. The church has recently been restored--a restoration in the true sense of the word.

A long, steady rise through beautiful country eventually leads to

DUNSTABLE

The modern town is successor to the ancient station of _Durocobrivæ_ and a great Roman market, the _Forum Dianæ_.

[Map: TOWN PLAN NO. 2--DUNSTABLE.]

The district is remarkably rich in British and Roman remains: Maiden Bower, a circular British earthwork, and Totternhoe, a combined British and Roman fort, lie at short distances from the town (see Map). The Watling Street is crossed here in the centre of the town by the Icknield Way, and a piece of the Roman road was exposed near this spot, which was 9 inches thick and intensely hard, of cemented flints and sandstone.

Turning to the right, along Church Street (part of the Icknield Way), the priory church, with its beautiful west front, is seen upon the right.

~Dunstable Priory Church.~--Founded 1131, the church is but a fragment of that which formerly stood here. Tower, transepts, chancel, and Lady Chapel have disappeared, and even the nave, which remains, has been curtailed. The body of Queen Eleanor rested here in 1290 upon its progress to London; and in 1533 Archbishop Cranmer held his court in the church, and formally divorced Queen Catherine of Aragon from the King. The priory was dissolved in 1534. The greater part of the building is Transition Norman, the chevron and billet ornamentation being of excellent workmanship. The north aisle is Perpendicular. In the chancel are ten balusters of Flemish design and execution. Undoubtedly the great feature of the building is the exquisite west front, which, though suffering in parts from recent restoration, still delights the ecclesiologist. It contains four orders of architecture, which effectually harmonize with one another.

Mr. Worthington G. Smith, the eminent local antiquary, has written a most admirable handbook to the town, which will supplement these brief particulars.

SECTION II

(TRUNK ROUTE)

DUNSTABLE TO ATHERSTONE, 72½ MILES

DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE

Miles. =Dunstable= to Hockliffe 4½ =Hockliffe= to Fenny Stratford 7¼ =Fenny Stratford= to Stony Stratford 7 =Stony Stratford= to Towcester 8 =Towcester= to Daventry 12¼ =Daventry= to Kilsby 5½ =Kilsby= to Lutterworth 9¾ =Lutterworth= to Cross-in-Hand 2½ =Cross-in-Hand= to High Cross 3¾ =High Cross= to Atherstone 12

NOTES FOR DRIVERS

=Dunstable to Daventry.=--Undulating in places, but with good surface to Daventry.

=Daventry to Lutterworth.=--Poor road to Kilsby; 4 miles from Kilsby an ascent of 1 in 14, followed by a descent of 1 in 12; then a gradually improving road to Lutterworth.

=Kilsby to Atherstone.=--Undulating road, with good surface.

PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE

=Fenny Stratford.=--A small town with a Georgian church.

=Stony Stratford.=--A small town with no great interest.

=Towcester.=--Easton Neston House and Park.

=Daventry.=--Small town; historic inn.

=Lutterworth.=--Quiet country town; associations with Wycliffe, especially in the Perpendicular church, where the great Protestant's pulpit is still to be seen.

=Cross-in-Hand.=--Roman centre for roads.

=Nuneaton.=--Two miles off the main road to the south-west; the George Eliot country.

=Hartshill.=--Two miles off route; remains of Norman castle.

=Mancetter.=--Church, Roman camp, and manor-house.

=Atherstone.=--A small manufacturing town on the Watling Street, without any interesting features.

[Map: (TRUNK) No. 2. DUNSTABLE TO ATHERSTONE.]

Shortly after leaving Dunstable a long, easy descent of the northern slope of the Dunstable Downs occurs, these hills being part of the Chilterns. A fine view over a large part of Bucks and Beds is seen in front, and an interesting sweep of the Downs behind. A number of sleepy little villages occur, each presenting rural features of its own in harmony with the surroundings. At Hockliffe a side-road leads to the beautiful Woburn Park and Abbey. At ~Fenny Stratford~, a small town chiefly consisting of one street, the Roman station of _Magiovintum_ was situated, and coins and other remains are frequently found; the only modern association appears to be connected with Browne Willis, the antiquary, who is buried here. The church is early Georgian, dating from 1724. Seven miles farther on, ~Stony Stratford~, a small uninteresting town, is reached, known chiefly in history through having had an Eleanor Cross, which disappeared in Puritan days, and also from the capture of Edward V. by his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester. ~Bradwell Abbey~, founded in 1155, now a farmhouse, lies about three miles away to the right.

From Stony Stratford to Towcester the route runs as straight as an arrow, and one can imagine the metalled track of the road the legions tramped lying but a few feet beneath the surface. ~Towcester~ is the ancient _Lactodorum_, and the later Tove Castra, or Camp on the River Tove, which flows through the town. Few, if any, Roman remains are now visible, and Easton Neston House with its picturesque park is the only feature of interest in the neighbourhood.

The road to Weedon is somewhat undulating, and rises in places to 500 feet above sea-level, an altitude which has not been reached since leaving Dunstable. At Weedon it is necessary to make a detour to the left, as the Watling Street for some considerable distance has been allowed to fall into disrepair; in fact, it is merely in some cases a trackway through grassy fields, with farmers' gates across the vanished road. The restoration of this part of the Roman way has been proposed at times, but never carried out, the considerable cost and the paucity of towns and villages probably accounting for it. This gap in continuity is to be deplored for sentimental reasons, but not for practical utility, as the track is at times more than undulating.

DAVENTRY

~Daventry~ is a small town possessing but few attractions beyond its historic hotel, the Wheat Sheaf, built in 1610, and known in the annals of Warwickshire as the resting-place of Charles I. (after the taking of Leicester) for six consecutive days in 1645, the Royal troops, both horse and foot, in considerable numbers occupying the surrounding fields. The regal bedchamber may be seen and even occupied, while the courtyard, famous in duelling days, is visible from its window. In one encounter in 1696 a young ensign, named Gardner, gasped out his life after a duel to the death with his lieutenant. Near Daventry lies Althorp Park, the seat of Earl Spencer. In this medieval house, not greatly altered since, James I. and William III. were entertained.

On leaving Daventry the road turns sharply to the right to ~Kilsby~, with a poor surface most of the way. It passes through a well-wooded country, and a short distance beyond Kilsby joins the Watling Street at an acute angle. Upon looking backwards, the line of the ancient highway may be distinctly traced through the fields. From this point until Atherstone is reached, a distance of nearly twenty-three miles, Leicestershire lies upon the right-hand side of the road and Warwickshire upon the left.

~Dunsmore Heath~ is then crossed, and shortly afterwards two lines of railway are passed, the source of the Warwickshire Avon being near the first at Dove Bridge. At Churchover is the birthplace of Cave, of _Gentleman's Magazine_ fame. The main road from Rugby to Lutterworth branches off to the right. Near this point, on the brow of the hill, just north-west of Cave's Inn and on both sides of the Watling Street, is the site of the great Roman station _Tripontium_. The remains have almost disappeared, but pieces of pottery are plentiful, and coins are now and then unearthed.

RUGBY

lies a few miles to the west of the main route, and is famous for its great school, founded in 1567, being one of the four great public schools in England. The buildings are chiefly in the Tudor style, and date from 1808, with many subsequent additions. Besides the school, there are practically no objects of interest in the town. The road to Lutterworth is slightly undulating, with a good surface.

LUTTERWORTH

is a quiet little country town of about 2,000 inhabitants, lying in a pastoral district fissured occasionally with wooded valleys. It is a typical foxhunting centre. The main street descends a hill somewhat abruptly, and crosses a small bridge over the River Swift, from which point the ashes of Wycliffe were scattered. The church is endeared to the champions of Protestantism by its associations with Wycliffe, and by the tangible relics which are preserved in it of his residence here from 1375 to 1384. The architecture of the church is chiefly of the fourteenth century. The nave is early Perpendicular, but a Decorated window occupies the end of the south aisle, where there was formerly a Lady Chapel. The chancel also is Perpendicular, with an Early English window and door. It is thus somewhat difficult to point out work which belongs to that period when Wycliffe ministered in the building. The greater part of the nave, however, may be thus assigned, and also the fresco over the north doorway, showing a queen between two kings. Over the chancel arch is another fresco. The nave roof is Perpendicular, but the pulpit, from which the reformer preached, is the great object of interest, dating as it does from a period anterior to Wycliffe's incumbency, and is thus over 500 years old. A fragment of a cope or chasuble is interesting as an undoubted relic, but the chair, table, and wooden candlesticks must be regarded with suspicion--the chair more than the others. The 'Morning Star of the Reformation' was buried in the chancel, where his remains rested for thirty years; they were then dug up, burnt, and cast into the river.

The road from Lutterworth, rejoining the Watling Street, emerges at the ~Cross-in-Hand~, where care must be taken in the selection of the right road. From Cross-in-Hand to High Cross there is nothing of particular moment, but at the latter place, where five roads meet, was one of the most important junctions of Roman highways for the Watling Street. It is crossed here by the Foss Way coming from Gloucester, and leading through Leicester to Lincoln. The great station of _Venonæ_ or _Benones_ was situated here, but has entirely disappeared. Taking the road marked 'To Holyhead,' the road leads over Smockington Hill, and a few miles farther on a turning on the left to Nuneaton (two miles off the main road) is reached.

~Nuneaton~ lies in the centre of the 'George Eliot' country, and is the Milverton of the novelist, while Chilvers Coton near it figures in 'Scenes of Clerical Life,' and 'Oldinport' may be traced in 'Newdegate,' the family name of the residents at Arbury Hall, a delightfully situated country-seat a few miles to the south-west of the town. Beyond this Nuneaton possesses no special features, except a church built in the Decorated period, and another--St. Mary's--a modern replica of the Abbey Church which formerly occupied the site.

The spire of ~Hinckley Church~ is now seen upon the right, six miles to the north of which lies the ~Battlefield of Bosworth~. The North Warwickshire Coalfield has now been reached, and in the high ground upon the left there is an interesting geological district. The stone quarries worked there were formerly supposed to produce Millstone Grit of the Carboniferous formation, but which has recently been proved to be pre-Cambrian, and necessarily the most ancient of rocks. ~Hartshill~ is in this district; it is the birthplace of Michael Drayton, and contains a few ruins of a Norman castle dating from 1125. To the right of the Watling Street lies Fenny Drayton, where George Fox, the founder of the sect of Quakers, was born. Before entering Atherstone the small village of ~Witherley~ is passed upon the right, and the River Anker here divides the site of the great Roman station of _Manduessedum_ into two parts. The name has been anglicized into ~Mancetter~. The oblong earthwork yet remains, about 630 feet long and 440 feet broad. The church stands on the ruins of the western side of the camp. Many coins have been found here, and great masses of Roman masonry lie beneath the soil. The summer camps lie upon the adjacent hills. The first turning on the left, after passing the bridge, leads in a few minutes to Mancetter Manor House, originally built in 1135, and presenting a quaint Edwardian appearance at the present day. In 1432 the Glovers occupied it, one of whom suffered martyrdom in the Marian persecution.

ATHERSTONE,

a singularly uninteresting looking town, whose staple manufacture is felt hats, has a long, straggling street, a portion of the Watling Street, and during sewage operations about fifty years ago the remains of the original Roman road came to light, at some depth below the present surface; some of the paving-stones, grooved by chariot wheels, were in places cemented together. Henry of Richmond slept at the Three Tuns Inn, now demolished, the night before Bosworth Battle, and heard Mass in the church, which is not of great archæological interest.

SECTION III

(TRUNK ROUTE)

ATHERSTONE TO SHREWSBURY, 59 MILES

DISTANCES ALONG THE ROUTE

Miles.

=Atherstone= to Fazeley 7 =Fazeley= to Tamworth 1½ =Tamworth= to Lichfield 7 =Lichfield= to Muckley Corner 2¾ =Muckley Corner= to Four Crosses Inn 8¾ =Four Crosses Inn= to Gailey Station 2¾ =Gailey Station= to Shifnal 11¾ =Shifnal= to Oakengates 4¾ =Oakengates= to Shrewsbury 12¾

NOTES FOR DRIVERS

=Atherstone to Lichfield.=--Undulating road with fine surface.

=Lichfield to Shifnal.=--Almost level; surface fairly good, but the direct road (Watling Street) is rough and has some steep hills near Oakengates. The =Shifnal Loop= is, therefore, recommended. (See Route Map 3.)

PLACES OF INTEREST ON THE ROUTE

=Tamworth.=--An ancient town; historic castle; Perpendicular church.

=Lichfield.=--Cathedral; statue of, and associations with, Samuel Johnson.

=Shifnal.=--Pretty town, with quaint timbered houses; church Norman, Early English, and Decorated.

=Wroxeter.=--The Roman _Uriconium_; Roman remains.

[Map: (TRUNK) No. 3. ATHERSTONE TO SHREWSBURY.]

At ~Atherstone~ the railway is passed by a bridge, superseding a former level-crossing. Immediately to the left a road leads to the site of the almost demolished ~Merevale Abbey~, the chapel of which is still used as a parish church, and contains recumbent effigies of the Ferrers family. The road to Fazeley is undulating and uninteresting. To the south of the town lies ~Drayton Manor~, the seat of the great Sir Robert Peel. Here one is forcibly reminded by ocular evidence that this is a mining district. A turning to the right leads to

TAMWORTH,

one of the most ancient towns in Warwickshire and Staffordshire, for it stands in both counties. It was a royal residence in the time of the Heptarchy, and from that remote period to the present time the castle has been of more or less importance--in fact, it is one of the most ancient buildings in Central England. The mound upon which it stands is of British origin; Queen Ethelfleda (died 918) erected the castle which, with many alterations and additions, meets the view at the present day. It has recently been acquired by the Corporation, and is open to visitors. The ancient causeway leading to the entrance presents the finest example of Saxon 'herring-bone' masonry to be found in the kingdom. The circular keep is of picturesque red sandstone, which does much to mitigate the effect of the Perpendicular windows. The venerable building was the home of the Marmions, the Frevilles, and the Ferrers, and in 'Marmion' we find:

'They hailed him lord of Fontenaye, Of Lutterward and Scrivelbaye, Of Tamworth Tower and Town.'

The last of the Marmions died in 1291. The bases of the dungeon walls are four yards thick, and a visit to the castle interior gives the impression of massive solidity.

Tamworth Church, founded in the eighth century, was destroyed by the Danes in 874, and rebuilt by King Edgar. In 1345 it was burnt, but rebuilt. The crypt and two Norman transept arches remain of the early building. The late Perpendicular tower contains a curious double staircase, and is a prominent feature for many miles round.

LICHFIELD

The road to Lichfield lies by the side of the River Tame for some distance, but it passes through a colliery district; some finely wooded knolls, however, occur on either side of the road. About three miles before reaching the city the barracks are seen upon the right, with an extensive common for training purposes; at the same time the three Cathedral spires, 'The Ladies of the Vale,' form an attractive feature in the landscape. The road leads directly to the ~Cathedral~, which is one of those exquisitely pretty ecclesiastical edifices which one wishes to put under a glass case for preservation from the elements. It has been the seat of a bishopric since the seventh century, and is connected with St. Chad. A Norman church succeeded the Saxon edifice, but has entirely disappeared. The earliest part of the present building, the west choir, dates from _c._ 1200; the south and north transepts followed, and the nave and west front date from about 1275. The eastern parts were finished in 1325. The central spire was destroyed during the Civil War, and rebuilt by Sir Christopher Wren.

_The Cathedral is open to the public from 9.30 to 5 on weekdays._

Upon entering the west front, which is one of the most beautiful in England in the Decorated style, the Early English nave with dog-tooth mouldings, the clustered pillars, and the fine vaulting, impress one by their beauty and gracefulness. In the north transept one finds five lancet windows, with Perpendicular examples on either side. In the south transept the vaulted roof, with its huge bosses, and the large Perpendicular window are special features, and here the rich stained glass and the warm appearance of the red sandstone produce an effect upon which the eye delights to dwell. The choir, with its side aisles, richly vaulted roof, and huge windows springing from the triforium, at once attract the visitor's attention. The early Decorated blank arcading of the aisles is interesting, as is also the peep afforded into a building upon the south side. In the south aisle of the retro-choir a celebrated monument, the 'Sleeping Children,' touches a chord that vibrates in the nature of all who possess the tenderness of human sympathy. The Lady Chapel has rich Decorated arcading upon its walls, from above which spring nine windows with trefoil tracery. In seven of these is the stained glass that once adorned the great Cistercian nunnery of Herckenrode, in the Bishopric of Liège. It dates from 1530, and was brought to England after the suppression of the nunnery in 1802. Although one of the smallest of English cathedrals, Lichfield is singularly impressive by reason of beautiful details and graceful proportions. Although actually situated in a valley, its site is the highest in England, with the exception of St. Albans.

In the Market Square stands the statue of Samuel Johnson, opposite the house in which the great lexicographer first saw the light.

* * * * *

In order to rejoin the Watling Street, the road marked 'To Cannock' should be taken, and about one and a half miles from the city a turning to the right leads to that place. Continue, however, in the same straight line for another one and a half miles, and the Watling Street will be struck, leading off to the right at Muckley Corner. The Roman station of _Eteocetum_ lies about one mile to the south-east at Wall, where the Rycknield Street starts for the North. This is missed by the detour to Tamworth and Lichfield.

Near Brownhills Common a large piece of water--Cannock Chase reservoir--lies to the right, and farther on another reservoir is passed. Two miles beyond Gailey railway-bridge is the site of the Roman station of _Pennocrucium_, near a roadside inn, and immediately afterwards the Shropshire Union Canal crosses the road by an aqueduct. Boscobel House and Park lie about a mile towards the south, with the famous oak in which Charles hid himself after Worcester. A straight run of seven miles passes by Weston Park, renowned for its beauty, and brings one to a turning on the left, the main road to Shifnal. It is advisable to pass through Shifnal and regain the Watling Street farther on, and thus avoid the extremely bad road between Redhill and Oakengates.

~Shifnal~ is an interesting little town, possessing many quaint old timbered houses, with overhanging upper stories, often enriched by carving. A turning to the right in the middle of the town leads to the ~Church~. It possesses many curious remains of Norman architecture, among which are the chancel arch and a portion of the south transept. The main structure is Early English and Decorated, the tower arches being of the former period. The tomb and effigy of the Prior of Wombridge, 1526, and some Elizabethan monuments are in the chancel. Over the south porch is a parvise, which projects in a novel manner into the church, and is supported there upon two pillars.

From Shifnal to Oakengates, the reputed site of _Uxaconium_, is mainly downhill, and through a colliery district, with all the usual concomitants pertaining to it. After a run of about six miles, during which the Wrekin, 1,335 feet high, lies to the left, a turning at an inn is reached leading to

WROXETER