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In addition to its being so closely allied to Shakespeare, there is probably no other county so full of historic interest in proportion to its size ; whilst containing, as it does, the "Metropolis of the Midlands" it is at the same time one of the centres of modern science and manufacture. So many books have been written, describing the various places and events of interest since Sir William Dugdale collaborated his great History in the seventeenth century, that it is almost impossible in compiling such a work to bring to light any new facts ; the difficulty has rather been to condense the voluminous mass of information respecting the county within the space of a Handbook. The proof-sheets of the present work have had the advantage of being read by the Eev. Canon Evans, formerly rector of Solihull, and by Mr. Jethro A. Cossins, to whose accuracy and knowledge of the county the Editor is much indebted. The latter has added valuable notes on the architectural features. The Editor has also received much valuable assistance from Mr. S. S. Stanley, Vice-President of the Warwick- vi Preface, shire Natural History and Archaeological Society, and from Mr. W. Salt Brassington, F.S-.A., Librarian to the Shake- speare Memorial, Stratford-on-Avon. Dr. B. C. A. Windle, F.S.A., and Mr. W. G. Fretton, F.S.A., have revised the portion relating to the city of Coventry ; Mr. Kobert K. Dent, the author of ' Old and New Birmingham,' has also kindly done the same for Birmingham ; and Mr. E. Preston Hytch has given material help. To all these gentlemen the Editor gratefully acknowledges the aid they have so kindly rendered. The best thanks of the Editor are also due to many of the clergymen who have contributed valuable information respecting their various parishes, and to the owners of the principal country seats who have courteously supplied notes of their respective mansions. Attention is drawn to the maps and plans, especially to the excellent map of the county engraved by Messrs. Bartholomew & Co. (on the scale of J-inch to the mile). Every effort has been made to render the Handbook accurate ; nevertheless, as mistakes and omissions will occur in a work of this description, it is requested that readers who may detect them will notify the same to Mr. John Murray, 50a, Albemarle Street, London. H. M. C. December, 1898. LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS. PAGE Plan of Coventry to face 20 ,, Birmingliam (Central) . , . . . . 30 (South District) „ (North District) ...... 40 ,, Ken )1 worth Castle , . . . . . . f»4 ,, Leamington 60 Warwick Castle 74 Stratford-on-Avon . , . . . * to face 108 Map of Northern portion of Warwickshire • , . in front pocket „ Southern ,, ,, . . . in end pocket. CONTENTS Introduction Page [13 ROUTES. %* The names of places are printed in black in tliose Routes \vhere the places are described . ROUTE PAGE 1 . Rugby to Nuneaton and Tam- worth (L. & N. ^Y. Ely.) 1 2. Rugby to Coventry and Bir- mingham (L. & N. W. Rly.) 17 3. Birmingham to Sutton Cold- field and Lichfield (L. & N. W. Rly.) .... 30 Birmingham to Tamwortli, Hampton-in-Arden, and Nuneaton, via Whitacre Junction (Midland Rly.) 44 Nuneaton to Coventry, Ke- nilworth, Warwick, and Leamington (L. & N. W. Rly.) 52 4. ROUTE PAGE 6. Rugby to Leamington, and Leamington to Daventry (L. & N. ^y. Rly.) . . 6a 7. Banbury to Leamington, Warwick, and Birming- ham (G. W. Rly.) . . 68 8. Blisworth to Fenny Comp- ton, Stratford - on - Avon, and Broom Junction (E. & W. J. Rly.) . . 95- 9. Leamington to Alcester and Stratford - on - Avon (G. W. Rly.) .... 122 10. Evesham to Redditch and Birmingljam (Midland Rly.) 126^ Index and Directory 131 PEEIODS OF AECHITECTUEAL STYLES. Saxon — before 1 066. Prior to the Conquest. Norman— 1066 to 1189. AVilliam I. to Henry II. Gothic : — Early English or Lancet— 1189 to 1807. Kichard I. to Edward I. Decorated-.1307 to 1377. Edward II. and Edward III. Perpendicular — 1377 to 1547. Kichard II. to Henry VIII. Transition = the transition from one style to another which occurred during the reigns of Richard I,, Edward I., and Edward III. respectively. Renaissance, including Elizabethan, Jacobean, Queen Anne, and Georgian — from 1547. Elizabeth to Victoria. [ 1 ] INTEODUCTION. PAGE T. General Character and Statistics [1] a. Size, Boundaries, and Population. — Warwickshire is one of the Midland counties, and somewhat irregular in shape, taperinor at the north and south. It is bounded on the south-east by Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire; on the north-east by Leicestershire ; on the north- west by Staffordshire ; on the west by Worcestershire ; and on the south-west by Gloucestershire. The area is 621,833 acres, and its greatest length is fifty- five miles from N. to S., and greatest breadth thirty-five miles E. to W. The population at the last census in 1891 was 838,000, with 172,336 inhabited houses. The surface of the country is gently undulating with a few hills, the principal being spurs of the Cotswold and Edge Hills in the south. At Meriden, which is considered to be the centre of England, the water fiows from a pond on high table-land in opposite directions, finding its way on one side into the Severn and so into the Bristol Channel, and on the other side into the Trent and North Sea. The county is divided into four Hundreds : Barlichway, Hemling- ford, Kineton, and Knightlow. The municipal boroughs are Bir- mingham (pop. 478,113), Coventry (pop. 52,724), Leamington (pop. 26,930), Warwick (pop. 11,903), Strat ford-on- A von (pop. 8,318), and Sutton Coldfield (pop. 8,685). Other important towns are Nuneaton and Eugby, each with more than 11,000 inhabitants. Warwick is the county town and the seat of the County Council, and Birmingham and Coventry are county boroughs. Birmingham returns seven members, Coventry one member, and Warwick and Leamington one member, to Parliament, whilst the IL Geology and Botany III. History IV. Antiquities .. [4] [7] [9] T. General Character and Statistics. [2] Introduction, — General Character and Statistics, county divided into four divisions returns a member for each. Most of the county is in the diocese of Worcester, but a few parishes are within the dioceses of Gloucester and Bristol, Oxford, Lichfield, and Peterborough. h. Communications. — The county is well served with railways ; the main line of the London and North- Western Railway enters the county just before reaching Rugby, and passes along the N.E. border, past Nuneaton and Atherstone, to Tamworth, having branches from Weedon to Leamington ; Rngby to Leamington ; Rugby to Coventry and Birmingham ; Nuneaton to Coventry, Kenil worth, Warwick, and Leamington. The Great Western Railway from Oxford enters the county at Fenny Compton, passing Leamington, Warwick, Hatton, with a branch line to Strat ford-on- A von and Alcester, Kings wood with branch to Henley-in-Arden, to Birmingham. The Midland Railway runs from Birmingham to Nuneaton and Leicester, passing Whitacre Junction, with branches to Hampton-in- Arden and Tamworth. Another branch of the Midland Railway runs from Evesham to Redditch and Birmingham, passing through the W. side of the county. The East and West Junction Railway runs from Blisworth across the southern portion of the county, passing Fenny Compton, St rat- ford-on- Avon to Broom Junction. It forms a direct communication between the systems of the London and North- Western and the Great Central Railways and the Midland Railway. It thus affords facilities to the tourist for visiting Shakespeare's native town and surrounding places associated with the poet. The Great Central Railway passes through Rugby and along the eastern border of the county. It has a connection with the East and West Junction Railway near Culworth, in Northamptonshire. The main roads in Warwickshire are broad and frequently lined with avenues of trees ; they are well kept and well suited for cycling. The highways radiating from Birmingham through the county are the London and Holyhead road, passing through Coventry and Dun- church to Daventry ; to Solihull, Warwick, and Banbury ; to Henley- in-Arden and Stratford-on-Avon ; to Alcester and Evesham. Those from Warwick lead to Kenil worth, Coventry, and Nuneaton; to Leamington and Rugby ; and to Southara and Daventry. c. Rivers and Canals. — Warwickshire is watered by numerous streams, which, with exception of the Avon, are small ; they, however, impart a richness to the pasture and add to the picturesqueness of the county. The far-famed Avon rises close to Naseby in Northamptonshire, and passing under the Roman road Watling Street at Tripontiitm, now called Dow bridge, enters Warwickshire on the E. side near Rugby, and after flowing past Warwick and Stratford, quits the county at the S.W. corner and joins the Severn at Tewkesbury. It practically divides Introduction, — General Character and Statistics, [3] the North or Arden district from the South or Feldon. The principal tributaries of the Avon are : — the Swift, which rises in Leicestershire and joins it near Rugby ; the Sowe, with its tributary the Sherborne, flows near Coventry, and enters the Avon at Stoneleigh ; the Learn, with its affluent the Itchen, flows past Leamington, and shortly after- wards unites with the Avon. Below Warwick the Avon receives the Dene at Charlecote, the Stour beyond Stratford, and the Arrow and the Alne just before quitting the county. The Tame rises in Stafford- shire, passes near Birmin^^ham, where it receives the Rea, and after- wards the Cole and the Blythe at Water Orton ; then turning in a northerly direction, leaves the county at Tam worth, where it is joined by the Anker, and shortly afterwards flows into the Trent. With the exception of the lower portion of the Avon none of the rivers are navigable, but to compensate for this Warwickshire is well supplied with canals, which connect Birmingham with the rivers Trent, Mersey, Thames, and Severn. The principal canals, which were mostly constructed towards the end of the last century, are : — the Birmingham and Fazeley ; the Coventry and Oxford, to which are connected the Ashby-de-la-Zouch and the Warwick and Napton canals ; the Birmingham and Warwick, and the Stratford-on-Avon canal to Birmingham. d. Industries and Manufactures. — Although including the important cities of Birmingham and Coventry, and the towns of Nuneaton, Ather- stone, and Tam worth (Stafls.) in its northern portion, the county is essentially agricultural, and being well watered the pastures are p;ood. There are also numerous market gardens and orchards. Coal-mining is carried on in the north-east side of the county between Coventry, Nuneaton, Atherstoue, and Tamworth. From the latest statistics there are thirty-three collieries producing about 2,500,000 tons per annum. The principal districts, where coal is worked, are Bedworth, Exhall, Baxterley, Griff, Chilvers Co ton, Nuneaton, Stockingford, Hartshill, Polesworth, Fazeley, and Wilnecote. Coventry was formerly noted for the manufacture of ribbons and also of watches ; these industries althou<2;h still carried on have given place to a considerable extent to bicycles and sewing machines. At Atherstone hats are largely produced, and at Nuneaton are factories for worsted, ribbons, hats, &c. Elastic-webbing is also manufactured in these towns. Birmingham is the great centre of the hardware indus- tries, and a resume of the various trades is given under the description of the city. e. General Features. — The general aspect of the county is fairly diversified, and is undulating and picturesque with its numerous streams. In some parts it retains remnants of the old forest of Arden ; almost everywhere it is well wooded ; and from its luxurious hedge- rows and well grown trees it has acquired the name of " Leafy War- wickshire." The northern portion, however, with the huge factories surrounding Birmingham, and the coal mines in the neighbourhood of [4] Introduction, — Geology and Botany, Nuneaton, is gradually losing its rural character. The greatest eleva- tions are mostly on the borders of the county ; the highest ground, being the Edge Hills in the south ; Ilmington Downs in the south-west ; Corley and Oldbury in the north-east ; and Four Oaks in the north- west. There are numerous fine parks in Warwickshire, and many of them are rich in forest trees of great age and size. The principal are Charle- cote, Stoneleigh, Coombe Abbey, Eagley, Shuckburgh, Maxstoke, Packington, Arbury, and Merevale, besides many others. The county is also rich in noble country seats, a list of the more important being mediseval castles, and fortified mansions will be found under Antiquities, see page [9.] Amongst the more modern or modernised houses are Kagley Hall, Compton Verney, Coombe Abbey, Newnham Paddox, Arbury Hall, Guy's Cliff, Wroxall Abbey, Bilton Hall, Grove Park, and Clopton House. The town of Kugby is noted for its School, and Leamington for its springs of mineral waters. 11. Geology and Botany. a. Geology. — The best account of the Geology of the county is to be found in the ^ Handbook of Birmingham,' prepared for memi}ers of the British Association, 1886, and from which many facts in the following description have been gathered. The greater part of the area of Warwickshire is covered by the red rocks of the Triassic formation. Before these were laid down, the Coal Measures and older Palaoozoic rocks had been bent into troughs, folds, and ridges. On the worn and eroded edges of these the Trias was deposited. It forms several long low anticlinals over the Midland Counties, the longer axes of which range approximately north and south. The summits of the anticlinals have also been denuded in several localities such as the Wrekin, the Malvern Hills, the South Staffordshire Coal-field, and around Nuneaton, exposing the underlying Palaeozoic rocks. In the south and south-east of the county the Khjetic and Liassic formations attain a great development. The formations found in Warwickshire are as follows, commencing with the lowest : — Archd&an. — Archsean rocks are found at Caldecote Hill, in the neighbourhood of Nuneaton. Below the Hartshill quartzite, which has been proved to be Upper Cambrian by Professor Lapworth, there is a thin group of volcanic ashes and quartz-fel sites, which are probably equivalent to the igneous series of Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, which are regarded as of Archaean age. Cambrian, — In the Nuneaton district Cambrian rocks occur, which have been divided into two main divisions, viz. — 2. Stockingford Shales. 1. Hartshill Quartzite. The quartzite is about 1000 feet thick. At its base is a coarse breccia made up of fragments of the older igneous rocks below. It Introduction.- — Geology and Botany, passes up gradually into the Stockingford Shales. These are about 2000 feet thick, and consist of two main divisions. The lower is a series of purple and green shales characterised by the small Brachiopods OhoJeUa and Lingulella, This division can be well studied at Purley Park Lane, near Atherstone. The upper division consists of grey and black shales containing the trilobite Agnostus pisiformis. It is well exposed in the cutting of the Midland Railway near Stockingford. These Cambrian rocks are pierced by numerous intrusive dykes of volcanic rock. They are overlaid unconformably by Carboniferous rocks in the west and Triassic rocks in the east. A small patch of Cambrian rocks is also met with at Dost Hill, near Tarn worth. The Ordovician (Lower Silurian of the Survey), Silurian, and Devonian formations are not represented in Warwickshire. Carhoniferous. — The East Warwickshire Coal-field extends about 15 miles from Tam worth in the north to Bed worth in the south. From Bed worth it strikes in a north-easterly direction, maintaining an average width of about 2 miles to Baddesley Ensor, where it widens to about 4 miles from west to east, and continues the same width as far as Shuttington. The lower members of the Carboniferous formation do not occur, the Coal Measures resting unconformably upon the Cambrian below. They have been divided into three series — a lower, consisting mainly of shales, unproductive of coal, and pierced by volcanic dykes; a middle series of sandstones and shales with five workable coal seams, which coalesce towards the south into one compound seam, 26 feet thick ; and an upper series of sandstones and shales, 50 feet thick. At the base of the latter is a band of " Spirorbis limestone," a thin band of limestone, containing the serpula Spirorbis carhonarius, which is persistent over a very wide area. The sequence of the beds in the Warwickshire coal-field is practically identical with that of South Staffordshire, and, unless removed by erosion before the deposition of the Triassic rocks, it is probable that the latter extends in one continuous sheet under the red rocks of N. Warwickshire. Permian, — This formation covers a large area in this county, from Baddesley Ensor in the north to within a few miles of Leamington and Warwick on the south, from Coventry on the east, to Berks well on the west. It consists of red, brown, and purple sandstones, with red marls and occasional beds of calcareous breccia or conglomerate, the whole reaching a thickness of nearly 2000 feet. They are generally con- formable to the Coal Measures below. The breccias and conglomerates contain pebbles of various kinds from older rocks, especially Silurian and Carboniferous limestones, containing their characteristic fossils, and also volcanic materials. Professor Ramsay has suggested that this Permian breccia is of glacial origin, its materials having been brought down by ice from the neighbourhood of the Longmynd in Shropshire. Fossils are rare. Lepidodendron and Calamites have been found near Exhall, whence also has been obtained casts of a brachiopod shell allied to Strophalosia. Near Kenilworth remains of Labyrinthodonts have been found. [5] [6] Introduction, — Geology and Botany, Trias, — This, the lowest representative of Mesozoic time, rests unconformably to everything below. It is classified as folio ws : — 2 Keu er i marls. " ( Lower Keuper sandstone. {Upper mottled sandstone. Pebble beds or Bunter conglomerate. Lower mottled sandstone (wanting in Warwickshire).] In this county the Bunter division consists of about 250 feet of Pebble Beds and Upper Mottled Sandstone. Below the Pebble beds on the west side of the South Staffordshire Coal-field, there is a bright red and yellow sandstone known as the Lower Mottled Sandstone, but this is absent in Warwickshire. The Pebble beds contain no contemporaneous fossils, but many derived from older rocks — Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous. The Upper Mottled Sandstone is a bright red sandstone mottled with yellow and white about 300 feet thick. The Lower Keuper Sandstone is a white or pink sandstone, often yielding good building stone. At its base occurs a breccia of grit and quartzite pebbles. In the neighbourhood of Warwick, footprints and bones of Labyrinthodonts have been found in it. The Keuper Ked Marls attain a thickness of 600 feet. They contain beds of gypsum. Towards the top is a thin band of sandstone (Upper Keuper Sandstone), well exposed at the entrance to the canal tunnel at Shrewley Common and at Kowington, which has yielded Lamellibranch mollusca. Bh^etic. — Ehsetic beds succeed conformably the Trias. Below are black shales with shelly limestones and sandy bands, containing typical Rhaetic fossils such as Cardium rhseticum, Avicuta contorta, Pecten valoniensis, Schizodus cloacinus, &c. These beds are to be studied on the railway cutting at Harbury, at the small outlier of Brown's Wood, and at Storper's Wood, near Wootten Wawen. These are succeeded by hard fine grained limestones, which from their colour are known as the White Lias. They are used for building stone and burnt for lime. It is doubtful whether the White Lias is to be regarded as Rhsetic, or as passage bed between Kheetic and Lias, or as Lower Lias. Complete sections from Keuper Marls below to the Lower Lias occur at Brown's Wood and at Copt Heath, near Knowle. Lias, — This is divided into Lower, Middle, and Upper. The Lower Lias consists mainly of blue clay and shale, interstratified with beds of blue rubbly and argillaceous limestone, much quarried for hydraulic lime. The Lower Lias beds yield many fossils. Besides characteristic Lamellibranchs and Cephalopods (Ammonites), there are Crustacea (Astacus and Eryon), Reptiles (Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurns) and Fish. Of special interest are the numerous fossil insects which have been found at Wilmcote and Binton. The insect bed is almost the lowest bed of the Lower Lias. Coleoptera and Meuroptera chiefly Introduction, — History. [7] occur, but there are also remains of Ortboptera, Homoptera, Libellulid^, and Diptera. Plant remains also occur with the insects. The Middle Lias, or Marlstone, form the range of hills, of which Edge Hill is the highest. The lower beds are mainly clays and marls, which are succeeded by ferruginous limestone. The lower clays and marls are to be seen at Fenny Compton, where they are exceedingly fossiliferous. The Upper Lias is chiefly represented by a thin bed of clay on the hills of Fenny Compton. Near Kineton and on Burton Dassett Hill there are small patches of Inferior'^Oolite resting on the Upper Lias clay. Glacial and Post -Tertiary. — Deposits are widely distributed over the district. They may be arranged in the following general order : — 4. Post-glacial clays, sands, and gravels. 3. Upper boulder clays. 2. Lower glacial clays, sands, and gravels. 1. Lower boulder clays. Numerous erratic blocks are scattered over the county. A bed of black peat in the post-glacial beds at Hhustoke, near Birmingham, has yielded remains of the mammoth, rhinoceros, and other extinct animals. h. Botany. — It is stated in Bagnall's * Flora of Warwickshire,' that in accordance with Mr. H. C. Watson's classification of British Plants into types of distribution, Warwickshire contains 501 out of 532 British types, 285 out of 409 English types, 18 out of 81 Scottish types, 31 out of 127 Germanic types, and but 1 out of 120 Highland types ; out of 1425 plants in Great Britain 852 are found in Warwick- shire. Among the rarer and more interesting flowering-plants found in this county are : — Traveller's Joy, Meadow Kue, Green and Foetid Hellebores, Columbine, Flixweed, Wall-llocket, Bitter Cress, Shepherd's Cress, Waterwort, Wild Liquorice, Dropwort, Golden Saxifrage, Grass of Parnassus, Ivy-Leaved Bell-Flower, Winter- Green, Yellow Bird's- nest. Water Violet, Periwinkle, Yellow Centaury, Centaury, Autumnal Gentian, Hound's Tongue, Dodder, Black and Deadly JSightshades, Henbane, Broom-rape, Bladderwort, Butterwort, Pennyroyal, English Chary, Catmint, Mezereon, Spurge Laurel, Bird's-nest Orchid, Common Ladies' Tresses, Sword-leaved and Narrow-leaved Helleborines, Pyramidal Orchid, Bee, Frog, and Butterfly Orchids, Foetid Iris, Lily- of-the- Valley, Fritillary, Meadow Saffron, Herb Paris, Bulrush, Arrowhead, and Flowering Eush. III. History. Warwickshire, not only from its occupying such a central position as to constitute as it were the very heart of England, but also from having been the scene of many conflicts and memorable political events, is one of the most important counties in the kingdom. [ WartoickshireJ] b [8] Introduction. — History, Its earliest known inhabitauts appear to have been Britons of the tribes of Dobuni and the Coritani or Goritavi. They were probably herds- men following their peaceful occupation, chiefly in the southern portion of the county called the " Feldon," a word perhaps allied to " Weald," a frequent cognomen of low lying land in other parts of the kingdom. The northern half of the county, or rather that part of it north of the river Avon, was known as the " Woodland,'' from the fact of its being almost entirely covered with forests, and formed the original Arden," a common Celtic name for forest. This forest is said by Drayton to have been the largest of all the British forests, covering not only the greater part of Warwickshire, but extending as far north as the Trent, and to the Severn on the west. When England was divided into counties the part remaining in War- wickshire alone retained the name of Arden. The Koman occupation of this part of the Midlands appears to have been only partial, and chiefly limited to the camps along their roads, as the native tribes were enabled by the natural characteristics of the thickly wooded district, which afforded a secure ambush, to offer con- siderable resistance to the invaders. During the Anglo-Saxon heptarchy Warwickshire formed part of the great kingdom of Mercia, and some of the monarchs made their resi- dence at Tam worth, until it was destroyed by the Danes. There were also royal seats at Kingsbury-on-the-Tame and at Warwick. Warwickshire is fully described in Domesday Book, and at the time of its compilation Warwick Castle was in the hands of a thane, named Turchil, whose large possessions were afterwards taken from him by William the Conqueror and bestowed upon one of his favourites, Henry de Newburgh. In the reign of Henry III. Warwickshire was the scene of several of the engagements of the Wars of the Barons. They were led by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, who at that time held Kenilworth Castle, against the adherents of the King, from whose supremacy the Barons had revolted. During the Wars of the Koses the county was divided in its allegiance between the two parties, the people of Coventry supported the House of Lancaster, whilst those of Warwick were on the side of the House of York, until " the King Maker " joined the forces of Queen Margaret. Kobert Catesby, one of the chief leaders in the Gunpowder Plot, was a landowner in Warwickshire, and secret meetings were held in several of the Komanist houses in the county. Several of the conspirators were assembled at Dunchurch waiting the result of Guy Fawkes' attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament, and were ready in the event of success to carry off the Princess Elizabeth from Coombe Abbey. It was also in Warwickshire that the first important battle between the Royalists and Parliamentarians took place 1642 near Kineton, a village lying just below Edge Hill, the name it bears in history. In Introduction, — Antiquities, [9] the following year, in consequence of Birmingham having supported the Parliamentary cause by supplying the Roundheads with arms, the town, although unfortified, was attacked by Prince Rupert, whose troops, by a vigorous and unmerciful assault, caused considerable damage to the town by fire, and slaughtered many of its unprotected inhabitants. Clarendon, however, gives a different version to the story, and says that Prince Rupert found there was a troop of horse belonging to the garrison of Lichfield in the town, " which was grown to that strength, that it infested those parts exceedingly; and would in a short time have extended itself to a powerful jurisdiction." He, thinking they would not offer any serious resistance, informed them, " that if they behaved themselves peaceabl}^, they should not suffer for what was past " ; but they refused to allow him quarters in the town ; and " from their little works, with mettle equal to their malice, they discharged their shot upon him ; but they were quickly overpowered, and some parts of the town being fired, they w^ere not able to contend with both enemies ; and, distracted between both, suffered the assailant to enter without much loss ; who took not that vengeance upon them they deserved, but made them expiate their transgressions with paying a less mulct that might have been expected from their wealth, if their wickedness had been less." Since the destruction of the walls of Coventry at the Restoration, but few historical events have occurred in the county, with the ex- ception of the Sacheverel riots, in 1715, in Birmingham, and the later riots of "Church and King" of 1791, when the house of Dr. Priestley and others were destroyed by the mob. Two towns only in the county appear to have had the privilege of making coins during the Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods, namely Tamworth and Warwick, whilst both gold and silver coins were struck at Coventry during the reign of Edward IV. lY. Antiquities. a. Pre-Roman. — Of prehistoric or British remains there are but few still existing, although the Roman roads and some of the camps may have originally been British ways and earthworks. The weird Rollrich Stones near Long Compton, however, are doubtless prehistoric, and according to the late Mr. M. H. Bloxam, F.S.A., the British strongholds of the Dobuni in South Warwickshire consisted of Nadbury Camp, on Edge Hill ; a terraced hill named Gredenton Hill, near Burton Dassett ; a small defensive work called Castle Hill at Brailes; Danes Bank, pro- bably the ancient Alauna civitas Dohunorum, two miles north of Alcester ; and a long line of ancient entrenchments near Loxley. To the north of the river Avon the Coritani had a series of frontier fortresses at Brownsover, Brinklow, and Warwick. Pre-Roman mounds also occur at Tamworth, Castle Bromwich, and Seckington, and earthworks at Barmoor, Beausale Common, Solihull, and Oldbury. [10] Introduction. — Antiquities. Mr. Bloxam also says : " Along the ancient British trackways, the Watling Street and the Fosse, subsequently Roman roads, I have traced lines of tumuli on or near the road. One was at High Cross ; another, now destroyed, at Cloudesley Bush (this latter served as a beacon station so late as the civil war in the seventeenth century) ; a tumulus near the turnpike road between Pail ton and Withybrook ; the tumulus at Brinklow, on some high ground ; at Wolston, near the Fosse ; and at Knightlow Cross. Although I have not been able to carry on the connection in an unbroken line further southward, I find tumuli lower down near to Tachbrook, and near Compton Vemey and Kineton." h. Roman Remains. — Three Roman roads pass through the county. Watling Street, the great road which ran across England from the Kentish coast to Chester, enters Warwickshire south-east of Rugby, and runs along the east border, forming the boundary line with Leicestershire as far as Atherstone, and continuing in a north-westerly direction quits the county at Wilnecote to the south of Tamworth, and proceeds to Wall (Mocetum) in Staffordshire, where it meets Icknield or Kyknield Street. Along this line of road are a few remains of Roman stations or occu- pations. The first, Tripontium, fixed by Mr. Bloxam at Cave's Inn near Rugby, where numerous Roman remains have been found ; the next, Benonis or Venonis, at High Cross, where Watling Street and the Fosse Way intersect each other on very high ground ; and close by at Cloudesley Bush is what is supposed to be a Roman burial-place. Shortly before reaching Atherstone, at the village of Mancetter, was the station of Manduessedum ; and Atherstone itself was doubtless a town occupied by the Romans, as paving-stones showing the grooves for chariot wheels have been discovered there. At Oldbury, to the south-west, are traces of a quadrilateral camp. The second road is Icknield or Ryknield Street. This road must not be confused with Icknield Way, which extended from the Norfolk coast to Cornwall ; it enters Warwickshire at the south-west near Bidford and runs due north, forming the western boundary of the county after passing through Alcester, which was Alauna of the Romans, runs past Ipsley, where there was an encampment, tli rough Birmingham and Sutton Park, where it leaves the county and joins Watling Street at Wall (Mocetum). It was doubtless an old British road of the Iceni before it was improved by the Romans. The third road, The Fosse Way, enters the county at Stretton- under-Foss, and runs in a straight north-easterly direction across Warwickshire to High Cross, where it meets Watling Street. There are traces of camps at Chesterton near Harbury, and at Brinklow. A few other traces of Roman remains exist in the county, but none of any extent ; at Corley Rocks are some earthworks, which may have been both Brili>1i and Roman and at Lillington a burial-place has been discovered. Introduction. — Antiquities, c. Anglo-Saxon. — Anglo-Saxon burial-places have been discovered in various parts of the country — one on Watliug Street, near Bensford Bridge ; a tumulus was cut through at Marton during the construc- tion of the Rugby and Leamington Railway ; and other burial-places have been traced at Brinklow, Bidford, and Alcester. The relics found in them comprise urns, drinking cups, fibular, beads, swords and spear heads, some of which have been deposited in the museum at Warwick. A few specimens of metal-work have also been found near Warwick itself, and some jewellery was discovered many years ago in an Anglo-Saxon grave at Walton. With regard to buildings, an inte- resting fragment of " herring-bone " work, probably Saxon, still exists in Tamworth Castle, and the lower part of the tower of Wootton Wawen Church, and the early remains in Loxley Church, are also probably Saxon work. d. Mediaeval. — Warwickshire is rich in fortified mediaeval buildings, and contains a large number of moated houses. Coventry was a walled city, and although dismantled by Cliarles II. some of the massive walls remain. Warwick was also a walled town, and the Castle is one of the most perfect 14th century fortifications in the county ; Kenilworth Castle, although in ruins, is still a stately pile with its Norman tower, and 14th century banquetting hall ; and Tamworth Castle, with its ivy-clad tower, is a striking feature ; whilst Maxstoke Castle is a noble Edwardian structure in an excellent state of preservation surrounded by a moat. Traces of other old castles may be seen at the following places : — Ansley (Norm.). Baginton (Norm.), traces only. Beaudesert (Norm.), earthwork only. Fillongley (13th cent.). Hartshill (Norm.). Rugby (Norm.). There were also castles at Bickenhill, Brandon, Brinklow, Castle Bromwich, Caludon, Coleshill, Fulbroke, and Studley, but no remains of them exist. Of the manor-houses Astley is an example of a fortified house of the 13th century, embattled and crenellated by royal licence, and surrounded by a moat. Baddesley Clinton Hall is a charmingly picturesque building of the 15th century, and other existing manor-houses, which were garrisoned and attacked during the Civil War, are Aston Hall, Compton Wyn- yates, Coughton Hall, and Shuckburgh Hall. Charlecote House is a fine example of an Elizabethan mansion. Pooley, Kingsbury, and Wormleighton Halls were formerly for ti Bed mansions, but they are now farm-houses, and only portions of the ancient buildings exist. St. Mary's Hall and Ford's Hospital, at Coventry ; Leycester Hospital, [11] [12] Introduction, — Antiquities, Warwick ; Packvvood House ; and Grimshaw Hall at Knowle, are also interesting specimens of mediasval architecture. Of ecclesiastical buildings, St. Michael's Church, Coventry, with its fine nave and handsome spire; the Beauchamp Chapel, with its monuments, attached to St. Mary's Church, Warwick ; and the churches at Stratford-on-Avon and Brailes, are the most noteworthy in the county. Amongst the sepulchral monuments the tombs of AVilliam, 4th Earl of Ferrars, at Merevale, of a Deacon at Avon Das- sett, are of the 13th century. Amongst other early monuments, the following are of the 14th century : an effigy of an abbess at Poles- worth; a knight, a lady, and a priest, at Hillmorton ; a priest at Newton Regis ; and a layman at Cherington. Tlie monument of Bishop Yeysey (16th cent.) at Sutton Coldfield is interesting for being the only effigy of a bishop in the county. Of monumental brasses to be found in Warwickshire churches the most remarkable are a magnificent example of an early 15th century brass to Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, who died in 1401, and to his Countess in St. Mary's Church, Warwick ; another of the same period to Thomas de Crewe (d. 1419) and Juliana his wife, in Wixford Church, it measures 9 ft. by 4 ft. A brass of the latter half of the 16th century to Clement Throckmorton, wife and children, at Haseley, is a notable one illustrating the armour of the period. An accurate description of these brasses will be found in ' The Monumental Brasses of Warwickshire,' by the Kev. E. W. Badger, M.A. There are also a large number of other edifices, monuments, and brasses in Warwickshire of considerable interest, and the following is a list of the principal of them ; — Ansley Norm, arch and doorway. Arley Early Dec. 15th cent, effigy of a priest. Arrow Norm, doorway. Astley Dec. Aston 16th cent, brasses. Austrey E. E. and Dec. Avon Dassett 13th cent, effigy of a deacon. Baginton E. E. 15th cent, brass. Barcheston E. E. 14th cent, priests' room and 16th cent. brasses. Barton-on-Heath . . . . Norm, arch and doorway. Beaudesert Norm, walls, doorways, and chancel with magnificent arch. Berkswell Norm, chancel and crypt. Bickenhill Norm, remains. Bidford E. E. chancel. Bilton Dec. Birmingham, St. Martin's 14th cent, effigies. Brailes " Cathedral of the Feldon." Burton Dassett .. .. Norm, doorways. Trans.-Norm. arch. Butlers Marston .. .. Norm, pillars. Introduction, — Antiquities, [13] Chadshunt Norm. arch. jl7th cent, brass. Charlecote Lucy Chapel. 17th cent, monuments. Cherington . . . . . 14th cent, altar tomb. Chesterton Perp. Coleshill Dec. nave. Perp. chancel. 14th cent, effigies of knights. 16th cent, brasses. Norm, font Compton Verney .. .. 16th and 17th cent, brasses. Corley Norm. nave. Coughton .. .. 16th cent, brasses. Throckmorton monuments. Church remarkable for being all of one date, the 16th cent. Coventry, St. Michael's . . Fine Perp. building, tower, and spire. Coventry, Holy Trinity . . Spire. Early 17th cent, brass. Fine stone pulpit. Cubbington Norm, base of tower, and arcading. Curdworth Norm. arch. Dunchurch Dec. Exhall, near Alcester .. 16th cent, brass. Hampton-in-Arden .. Norm, remains. 16th cent, brass. Harbury 16th cent, brass. Haseley 16th cent, brass. Henley-in-Arden .. .. Perp. Hillmorton 14th cent, effigies of a knight and lady. Idlicote Norm, arches. Ilmington Most interesting church with much Norm. work. Kenilworth Norm, doorway. Kineton 14th cent, effigy of a priest. Knowle Perp. Lapworth Perp. Relic chamber. , Long Itchington . . . . E. E. aisle. Lower Ettington . . . . Shirley monuments. (In ruins.) Merevale Fine work of 14th cent. 13th cent, effigy of a knight and 15th cent, brass. Monks Kirby Dec. Newbold Pacey .. .. Norm, doorway. Newton Regis .. .. 14th cent, effigy of a priest. Offchurch Norm, chancel. Oxhill Norm, doorways and windows. Polesworth Norm, arches. 14th cent, effigy of an abbess. Preston Bagot . . . . Norm, doorways and windows. 17th cent. brass. Priors Hardwick .. E. E. and Dec. Radway 17th cent, effigy of a knight. Rugby .. , Dec. tower. Ry ton-on-Dunsmore . . Norm, doorways and windows. Seckington 17th cent, monument. Solihull Dec. and Perp. 16th cent, brasses. Stoneleigh Norm, tower, doorway, and font. 14th cent. effigy of a priest. Stratford-on-Avon .. Shakespeare bust, and grand church of 13th and 17th centuries. Sutton Coldfield .. .. 16th cent, effigy of a bishop. Sutton-under-Brailes . . Norm, doorway. [14] Introduction, — Antiquities, Tamworth Norm, remains. Tanworth 17th cent, brass. Temple Balsall .. .. Finest example of 13th cent, in the Midlands. Tysoe Norm. arch. 15th and 16th cent, brasses. 17th cent, effigy. , Ufton .. 16th cent, brass. Warmington Trans. -Norm, and a domus inclusi. Warwick, St. Mary's Beauchamp Chapel and monuments. 15th and 16th cent, brasses. Warwick, St. Nicholas.. 15th cent, brass. Wellesbourne Hastings,, 15th cent, brass. Whatcote Norm. arch. 16th cent, brass. Whichford E. E. nave. 16th cent, brass. Whitnash 16th cent, brasses. Wixford Norm, doorways. 15th and 16th cent, brasses. Wolston Norm, tower. 14th cent< effigy. Wolverton E. E. Wootton Wawen ,. .. Saxon work in the tower. 16th cent, brass. Wormleighton . . . . E. E. nave and tower. There were Dumerous monastic institutioDs prior to the Dissolution, but only a few traces of them now remain. The principal are the ruins of the Cistercian Abbey of Merevale ; the gate-house of the Priory of St. Augustine at Maxstoke; the remains of the Cistercian Abbey at Stoneleigh ; portions of the Cistercian cloisters at Coomhe Abbey, and the chapter-house and refectory of the Benedictine Nunnery at Wroxall, In Coventry there are remains of the Benedictine Priory, the Carthusian Monastery of St. Anne, and of the monastery of the Grey or Franciscan Friars, and the house of the White or Carmelite Friars. In Warwick, besides the Priory of St, Sepulchre and the Hospital of the Knights Templars, there were numerous other religious houses, but they have all long since disappeared. Remains of the following buildings, however, still exist ; a small Benedictine Priory at Alvecote ; a Preceptory of Knights Templars at Balsall; the Priory afterwards an Abbey for Black Canons at Kenilwortli ; a chantry at Knowle ; a Benedictine Nunnery at Pinley ; the remains of a Refec- tory of a Benedictine Nunnery at Folesworth ; of an Augustinian Priory at Studley ; and of the Church of the Benedictine Monastery at Nuneaton. There were also religious houses at the following places, but no traces of them now exist : — Alcester Monastery. Arbury Priory. Atherstone Chantry of Austin Friars. Monks Kirby Alien Priory of the Benedictine Monastery at Angers. Stratford-on-Avon College. Thelesfold Priory of Trinitarian Friars. Warmington Alien Priory of Benedictine Abbey at Prcaux, Nor- mandy. Wootton Wawcn Priory. HANDBOOK FOR WAEWICKSHIEE. ROUTES. %* The names of places are printed in black in tliose Routes where they are described. Those of which further information with regard to hotels, kc, is given in the Index and Directory, are distinguished by an asterisk ( 3^ ). 110 LTE PAGE 1 . Rugby to Nuneaton and Tam- worth (L. & N. W. Rly.) 1 2. Rugby to Coventry and Bir- Kiiiigliam (L. & N. \V. Rly.) 17 3. Birmingham to Sutton Cold- field and Lichfield (L. & N. W. Rly.) .... 30 4. Birmingham to Tarn worth, Hampton - in - Arden, and Nuneaton, vici Whitacro Junction (Midland Rly.) . 41 5. Nuneaton to Coventry, Ke- nilworth, AVarwick, and Leamington (L. & N. W. Rly.) 52 ROUTE PAGE G. Rugby to Leamington, and Leamington to Daventry (L. & N. W. Rly.) . . 7. Banbury to Leamington, Warwick, and Birming- ham (G. W. Rly.) . . . 8. Blisworth to Fenny Comp- ton, Stratford - on - Avon, and Broom Junction (E. & W. J. Rly.) .... 0. Leamington to Alcester and Stracford-on-Avon (G. \V. Rly.) ...... Evesham to Redditcli and Birmingham (Midland Ely.) 10. G3 GS 05 122 126 ROUTE 1. RUGBY TO NUNEATON AND TAMWORTH. (LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN Rail. Stations. RUGBY. 5i m. Brinklow. 9 m. Shilton. 11 m. Bulkington. 14i m. NUNEATON. 19^ m. ATHERSTONE. 24 m. Polesworth. 2H m. Tamworth. Leaving Euston Stat., a quick train will convey the tourist to [ Warwickshire.'^ RAILWAY (TRENT VALLEY). 27J m.) Rugby (82 J m.)in 1 hr. 45 min. After leaving Weedon and its red-brick barracks, the train soon enters Kilsby tunnel, If m. in length. 1 m. be- yond the tunnel the line crosses the county boundary into Warwickshire, entering the parish of Hillmorton (see post), and the church tower and the octagonal turret of Rugby School chapel can be seen on the left. B 2 JRoutc 1. — Biighy. ^ RUGBY. The Ely. Stat, here is one of the most important junc- tions on the London and North- western system ; through it passes all the traffic between London and the North of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It has been much altered since Charles Dickens immortalised it in his Christmas story, ' Mugby Junction,' and is now a first-class Stat., with good refreshment-rooms. A branch line of the Midland Ely. runs from this Stat, to Leicester. The Great Central Ely. passes through the extreme east of War- wickshire, and has an important Stat, at Eugby on the Hillmorton road. The town stands on rising ground 1 m. to the S. Of late years it has considerably increased in size, owing to the Ely., the School, and its being a convenient hunting centre (Tat- tersalls have a branch establishment in Eugby). It is said to have been the most southerly point of the Norse settle- ments in Mid-England, and the name proves its Danish origin (Rug, Jutish — Bog, Danish = Eye ; hy, a usual Norse termination = a dwelling). The neighbouring heath, Dunsmore, Danesmoore, points to Danish settle- ment in the district. In Domesday Book the name is written "Eoche- berie,'* and in Tudor times, " Eoke- by," or " Eokebie," and by Leland, '^Tugby." At a period before the Eomans came, the Avon formed the boundary between two British tribes, the Dobuni and Cortani (or Coritavi). The two tumuli — one, " the island,*' memorable as the scene of some of the exploits depicted in 'Tom Brown's School Days,' the other in a field near the Lawford road — perhaps mark the burial-places of some old British warriors and the signalling stations of the Dobuni. The pleasant meadow scenery of the Avon valley, with its well-grown trees and luxurious licdgerows, be- comes at times monolonous; Dr. Arnold complained of " the unsur- passable dulness of the scenery . . . nothing but one endless monotony of enclosed fields and hetlge-row trees." This not witli standing, the undulating meadow-land of War- wickshire possesses a peculiar charm for those who appreciate pastoral scenery. The parish Church of St. Andrew in the 12th cent, was a chapel under Clifton-on-Dunsmoie, and belonged to the Abbey of Leicester. In 1221, Henry de Eokeby obtained the advowson of the chapel, and built the chancel, which remained till 1814. In the mj"ddle of the 14th cent, a tower, nave, and aisles were built. Of this building the tower and a small portion of the N. aisle alone remain. The square plain tower, 63 ft. high, was apparently constructed for defence, as it can be entered only from within the church ; the lower windows resemble loop- holes, and the belfry windows of 2 lights are square-headed. There is a fireplace within the tower, with a flue in the thickness of the wall. In 1879 the building was restored by Mr. W. Butterfield. The com- munion plate, a silver-gilt chalice and paten, dated 1633, is inscribed with donor's name, Thomas Shingler, a London haberdasher, and also with that of James Nalton, the Puritan rector of Eugby. The N. aisle is called, in memory of a late rector, " the Moultrie aisle." With- in the church are monuments to T. Crossfield (d. 1774), a head-master of the Eugby School, and to Jos. Cave, father of Ed. Cave, the founder of ' The Gentleman's Magazine.' The site of a small Castle, built in Stephen's reign and demolished by Henry II., may still be identified to N. of the church in the grounds of a house in Church Street. St. Matthew's Church, built 1841 in E. E. style, contains a monument to Mrs. liloxam, sister of Sir T. Boute 1, — Bughy : School, 3 Lawrence, P.R.A., and to M. H. Bloxam, the antiquary. Holy Trinity Church, built 1852 (Sir Gilbert G. Soott, R.A., archt.), is a cruciform structure with a central tower, and a chapel deco- rated by G. F. Bodley, A.K.A. St. Oswald's Churcl), at New Bilton, a suburb of Rugby, was erected by the late J. E. Street, K.A. It is a brick edifice in Gothic style. St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church and MonastL^ry, on the Dun- church road, are handsome modern buihlings, designed by A. W. Pugin ill 184G, and enlarged by Welby Pugin, 1864. The lofty tower and spire (200 ft.) were completed in 1872 (13. AVhelan, archt.). RUGBY SCHOOL. Its founder, Laurence Sheriff, appears to liave been born in the town, although Brownsover has also been as!?igned as his birthplace. He went to London and became a prosperous grocer in Newgate Street, and a royal tradesman in the time of Edward VI. He befriended Princess, afterwards Queen, Eliza- beth, wlio made him a grant of arms, and he also became a Vice- Warden of the Grocers' Company. At his death he was buried in Christ Church, Newgate, and by his will, dated July 22, 15G7, he left lands in Warwickshire and in London to found a free grammar school and almshouses in his native village. The School was first established in an old house where Sheriff is said to have been born. It was removed about 1750 to the site of the Grange of the monks of Pipewell, and the present buildings were erected in 1809-13, from designs by S. Wyatt and H. Hake will, at a cost of 32,000Z. Dr. Arnold became head- master in 1828, and at once laid down his golden rule, which meta- morphosed the whole system of public-school teaching. *' What we must look fur here is — firstly, religious and moral principle ; secondly, gentlemanly conduct ; thirdly, intellectual ability." Under Arnold the School attained gi*eat celebrity, and the head- master's house, with its picturesque entrance tower, became a focus of intellectual and moral activity. In 1842 Dr., afterwards Archbishop, Tait succeeded Arnold, who died suddenly in that year. Dr. Tait was the first of three successive Archbishops of Canterbury, once masters of Rugby School, Dr. Ben- son, assistant master 1852-58, and Dr. Temple, head-master 1858-G9. Dr. James is the present head-master. In Arnold's time, 1830, a room for the Sixth Form was built over the gateway, and in 1842 a library was added.' Between 1858 and 1870 a new quadrangle was built, and other additions have since been made. The head-master's house is upon the E. side of the Old Q'ladrangle, which is entered from the street by the gateway underneath the oriel. To the S. is the Dining llall^ a some- what gloomy room ; above are the Dormitories^, 3 stories high, also the Common Boom of the Sixth Form. In the passage by the Hall are the tops of some old desks, carved with the names of hundreds of ''old boys," among the number that of Thomas Hughes, author of " Tom Brown's School Days." The New Quadrangle to the W. contains science schools, &c. Passing through the Old Quad- rangle to the W., the visitor arrives at the Chapel, built in 1820 and en- larged 1851. It was entirely recon- structed by Butterfield in 1871-2, in red brick with stone dressings. It is now a handsome building, with nave, transepts, apsidal chancel, and it is surmounted by a tower with octagonal lantern. The W. end was enlarged in 1898 as a memorial to tlie Rev. P. Bowdcn Smith, an assistant master for 40 years. In B 2 4 Boute 1. — Bilton. the N. transept are a recumbent effigy of Dean Stanley (1815-81), by the lale Sir J. E. Boehm, Bart, R.A., and a monument to Dr. Arnold (1795-1842). Near the entrance of the chancel is the grave of Dr. Arnold, marked by a cross and the name " Thomas Arnold " engraved on a plain marble slab. In the nave are also monuments to Dr. James, head-master (1778-94), by Chantrey, and to Dr. Wooll, head-master (1807-1828), by West- macott, jnr., also a bas-relief portrait tablet, by A. Bruce Joy, to the memory of Archbishop Benson. The stained glass in the E. window of the chancel was a gift in 1834 of some of the masters, who obtained it from Oer- schot, near Louvain. The subject is the adoration of the Magi, treated" in the Renaissance style, and pro- bably the work of one of the fol- lowers of Albert Diirer. Of the mo- dern windows many are memorials to old Rugbeians, some of whom fell in the Crimean War and Indian Mu- tiny ; also to Dean Goulburn, a for- mer head-master, and to the Rev. H. J. Buckoll, an assistant master. The chair and table in the ante- chapel were used by Dr. Arnold in the old Sixth Form School. To the S. of the School buildings is the Close," comprising 17 acres, with cricket and football grounds, fine old elms, and the famous island," where sixty years ago the Rugby boys had flower-gardens, and in pre-Reformation days the monies of Pipewell a fish stew. On the W. runs the Dunchurch road, and to- wards the S. stand the Roman Catholic Convent and Church of St. Mary (see ante). On the E. is Barby road, with masters' houses, the Temple Reading Room and Art Museum, a memorial to the head- master of that name, built in 1879. The Library contains some rare books. In the Museum are pictures by Masdccio, Ferdinand Bol, a pupil of Rembrandt, Pieter Wouwerman, Velazquez, "A Daughter of the Duke of Feria " ; J. M. W. Turner, R.A., *'A Study on Lake Como" and '* Off'Ramsgate " ; /. >S'. Cotman, " A Norfolk Broad " ; C. Sta'ifield, R.A., " Coast Scene " ; P. Calderon, R.A. Also two frames of designs by Micliael Angelo, formerly in t!:e collection of Sir T. Lawrence, and given by Mr. M. H. Bloxam, who also presented a collection of old armour and some local antiquities. Facing the Museum is a fine marble statue of Thomas Hughes by T. Brock, R.A. On the S. of the School Close is the Sicimming Bath, erected in 1876 by Dr. Jex-Blake, " Rugbeiensibus Rugbeiensis." On the Clifton road is a second- grade School, also endowed by Lam\nce Sheritf. Bilton, a village about 2 m. S.W. of Rugby on the main road to Lea- mington. The Church of St. Mark is a Dec. building (restored), with a modern N. a'sle, having a tower at the \V. end with an octagonal tpire. In the N. wall of the cliancel is a fine example of a recess for an Easter sepul-chre. The organ front was for- merly in St. John's College, Cam- bridge, and the altar rails were brought here from the Church of Great St. Mary in that town. There are also some fine brass chandeliers from a church at Bois-le-Duc, in Brabant. Near the altar rails is a brass to the memory of Charlotte, the only child of Joseph Addison and Charlotte, Countess of AVarwick (d. 1797). Bilton Hall (Walter Barnett, Esq.) is noted as having been the residence of Joseph Addison, the poet. The oldest part of the house was built in 1023, accord- ing to the date over the porch, and belonged to the Boughton family at that time. In 1711 it was purchased by Addison, and altera- tions were made in it by him, probably in contemplation of his Boute 1. — SUhnorion, 6 marriage with the Dowager Countess of Warwick, which took place in 171G. He altered the external ap- pearance of the mansion by inserting, in the garden front, sash-windows in the French style, then prevalent, in lieu of the original Jacobean mullioned windows. He built the S. wing of the house, and laid out the garden. It is said that Addison first conceived an attachment to the Countess whilst he was tutor to her son. His extreme diffidence made his advances very timorous, and tliat she, having discovered his passion, amused herself with it before he assumed courage enough to declare himself her admirer. As his repu- tation and importance in the State became great, he ventured to solicit her witli more confidence, and at last prevailed. Addison only lived a short time after his marriage, which does not appear to have added to his comfort. After his death, in 1719, the Dowager Countess con- tinued to live at Bilton, and at her decease, in 1731, tlie property de- scended to Miss Addison, their only child. She bequeathed it, at lier death in 1797, to the Hon. John Bridgeman Simpson, whose repre- sentatives disposed of it in 1898 to the present owner. The house formerly contained some interesting objects which be- longed to Addison, and a good collection of portraits, comprising Prince Eupert, by Vaii Dyclc ; Prince Maurice, by Van Dyck ; James I., by Marc Geeraerts ; Lucy, Countess of Carlisle, and Dorothy, Countess of Leicester, by Sir Feter Lely ; Addison, by Sir G. Kneller, and others. These were all sold in 1898. At the back of the house is a pair of iron gates with the initials, J. A. and C. W. (Joseph Addison and Charlotte Warwick). These gates were originally at the main entrance. The Spanish oaks in the grounds are said to have been the first planted in this country; the acorns were given to Addison by his friend Craggs, who brought them from Spain. The Manor House (R. H. Shuck- burgh, Esq., J. P.) contains some good family portraits, and a " Madonna and Child,'* attributed to Perugino. Hillmorton, 2J m. S.E. of Kugby, fringes a broad liighway. It is a pic- turesque village, with an unr^stored Church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist ; it was built by the Astleys in the 12th cent., and rebuilt in the 14th cent. ; it was much added to and repaired in 1774. In a recess in the wall of the N. aisle is the effigy of a priest, vested for mass, conjectured to represent William de Walton, first vicar, who died 1348. Between the nave and S. aisle is a mutilated figure of an armed warrior, probably representing Thomas de Astley (c. 133G). In tlie S. aisle is a recumbent effigy of a lady, under a pedimental canopy, upon a low plain tomb; she is attired in a wimple and veil, gown with ample skirts, and a mantle. It probably represents Margerie, widow of Thomas de Astley, living in 1353. — Bloxam. Under the floor- ing of the Lady Chapel there is a very fine monumental brass, with no name, supposed to be Lady Kathe- rine Astley (c. 1391). The Com- munion plate, dated 1571, is very interesting. On the village green stands a remarkable shaft and base. The geological formation of this district is lias, and there are exten- sive blue brickworks at Hillmorton. It is worth notice that the custom of building walls and even cottages with mud is still practised in the neighbourhood. The main road continues to Crick, 2 m., where it crosses Watling Street and enters Northampton- shire. 6 Boute 1. — Coombe Abbey. IJ m. to the N. of Hillmorton is Clifton (Stat, on the Eugby and MarketHarbro branch line), situated on high ground. The Church of St. Mary is a 13th cent, building with a W. tower. In the chancel is a very large and costly marble mural monument to Sir Orlando Bridge- man (d. 1721). Watling Street runs along the E. side of the parish separating it from the county of Leicester, and to the N. are the remains of the Roman Station Tri- ^ontium. Bunsmore is the seat of P. A. Muntz, Esq., M.P. On the opposite side of the Rly. are the hamlets of Newton and Brownsover. The Chapel of St. Michael, at Biownsover, a small E. E. edifice, was rebuilt by the late Sir Gilbert G. Scott, R.A. Brovmsover Hall is the residence of H. A. Ward-Boughton-Leigh, Esq. Further to the N., 4J m. from Rugby, is Chnrchover. The Church of Holy Trinity is an E. E. building with a W. tower and spire, and has some interesting mural monuments. Colon House (J. A. James, Esq., J.P.) is the property of the Ark- wright family. Leaving Rugby Stat, by the main line, the Rly. passes over the Av( n close to the village of Newbold- on-Avon. The Churcli of St. Botolpli has a good late nave, and the arcades are good examples of late Perp. work with shafted piers. The S. i:)orch is groined. There is a remaikable series of monuments to tl;c Boughton family, some of un- usual character. Holhrook Grange (Col. C. T. Caldecott) is on the site of an old mansion, which belonged to the Boughton family until the end of the last cent., when Sir Thecdosius Boughton was poisoned by his brother-in-law, Captain Doncllan. (Sec Little Law ford, Rte. 2.) On high ground to the E. is Harboro Magna, a small village with a restored Church (All Saints), with an embattled W. tower. Small portions of the early building remain, which show that the churcli must have been very interesting and of great beauty in detail. Si m. Brinklow (Stat.). The Church of St. John the Baptist is an E. E. building with a western embattled 14th cent, tower. An Abbot of Kenil worth is said to have blessed the people from the rood- loft; the stairs to which still re- main. The floors of both the nave and chancel are on an incline rising from W. to E., .and the chancel is approached by four steps. The Fosse Way passes through the village, and close to the church- yard are the remtdns of a Roman camp, occupying twenty-five acres. Near by was formeily an old castle belonging to the Mowbrays. Ad- joining the Fosse Way, to the N., is a high cliff, known as Brinklow Plill, supposed to have been a British encampment and afterwards occu- pied by the Romans. To the W., 3 m. on the Coventry road and 2 m. N. of Brandon Stat, (see Rte. 2), is Coombc Abbey (Earl of Craven). The houije stands in a large park, beside a fine lake of 90 acres. It is on the site of the second Cistercian monastery in the county. It was built in the reign of Stephen (1150) by Richard de Camyill. After the dissolution it was granted by Edward YI. to John, Earl of Warwick. In the reign of Elizabeth it paseed by marriage into the hands of John, the 1st Lord Harrington. He was entrusted with the guardian- ship of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I. and afterwards Queen of Bohemia. She occasionally re- sided here, and at the time of the Gunpowder Plot she was removed from here to Coventry for safety, as Boute 1. — Monks Kirhj, 7 the conspirators proposed to seize her and carry her to London to re- present the Roman Catholics. In 1611 the estate came into the possession of Sir William Craven, Lord Mayor of London, and ancestor of the present owner. The eldest son of Sir William Craven, wlio was created Lord Craven for his gal- lantry under the Prince of Orange, and subsequently Viscount Craven, devoted his services to the Queen of Bohemia, and in return she be- queathed him all her pictures and books. Of the old monastery, portions of three sides of the cloisters re- main. The E. side with an en- trance to a chapter house is of the 12 th cent., the N. and W. sides are Perp. Above these Lord Har- rington erected the half-timbered upper story, with the outer ends of the wings and gables of stone. Considerable additions were made in tlie 17th cent., but in 186-1 these were taken down and rebuilt by the late Sir William Craven. In tlie state bedroom, hung witli tapestries, are portraits of the Queen of Bohemia and her family. In the dining-room and drawing-rooms are portraits by Velazquez, Van Dyck, and llonthorst, besides numerous paintings by Canaletto, lliihens, Van Sorner, and others. To the N.E. of the Ely. (i m.) is the pleasant village of Stretton- under-Foss, situated near the Fosse Way, the Norm, church of which was standing less than a hundred years ago. Neivbold Hevel, a fine mansion of red brick with stone dressings, situated in an extensive park, is the property of A. H. E. Wood, Esq. IJ m. further is Monks Kirhy. An alien cell was founded here by the monks of the monastery of St. Nicholas, at Angers, in the time of William the Conqueror. At the Dissolution the lands were given by Henry VIII. to Trinity College, Cambridge, to which they still belong. The Church of St. Edith is a red sandstone edifice of the 14th cent., of grand dimensions and fine proportions. It consists of a chancel, nave with five bays, aisles, and two chapels. At the W. end of the S. aisle is a massive em- battled tower, which was formerly surmounted by a very fine spire, which served as a landmark to the country round, but it was partially taken down in 1630 in order to save the expense of repairs. The re- mainder was blown down in a gale with other portions of the church on Christmas Day, 1701. An inscrip- tion on the roof records this de- struction. The S. porch with a room over it is finely groined in stone. There are several ancient monuments to the Feilding family, Earls of Denbigh (see Newnham Paddox, po8^), one to William Feilding bearing the date 1547, and Elizabeth his wife, 1539. There are also some good stained glass inserted by the Wood family of Newbold Kevel, and a curiously contrived ambry with two doors on opposite sides of the wall. A rude stone effigy was discovered in pull- ing down an old wall about a cen- tury ago. It is supposed to repre- sent Geoffry de Wirce, the founder of the church, who came over with the Conqueror. The church was tlioroughly restored in 1869. In the parish is Newnham Paddox, the seat of the Earl of Denbigh. It became the property of the Feilding family in Henry VI.'s reign by marriage of William Feilding with the grand-daughter of Eobert de Newnham. The house, situated in a well-wooded park and approached by an avenue of trees, was restored during 1876-1880 in a somewhat French classic style by Wyatt. It contains a valuable col- 8 Boute 1. — Great Copston. lection of paintings, including Ger- bier's portrait of the Infanta Maria of Spain, which was brought from Madrid by George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, to show to James I., and many family portraits by Van Dyeh, Gainsborough and others. There is also a good library, in which is a valuable collection of original editions of Thomas Pen- nant's works on travel, natural history and archaeology ; several of them being in MS. and including a very fine edition of his " Pennant's London," interspersed with many drawings and engravings, collected by himself. These, with the Pen- nant property in Flintshire,- came into the family by the late Earl's first marriage with Louisa Pennant, heiress and great grand-daughter of Thomas Pennant. Adjoining the house is a Koman Catholic chapel in Gothic style, which contains a finely carved reredos and an altar composed of Caen stone and coloured marbles. In the village is a convent, dedicated to our Lady of the Sacred Heart, with a school and orphanage attached. To the N.W. is the small village of Withybrook. The Church of All Saints is a building of the 14th cent., with many later additions, contain- ing a monument to the Wright family (1609), also a small brass to a civilian (c. 1500), and a rare ex- ample of an Easter sepulchre carved and painted. To the S. of Monks' Kirby is the village of Pailton, and IJ m. N., at Cloudesley Bush, is a Eoman re- main supposed to be the burial-place of the military commander, Claudius (see High Cross). To the N.E. (1 m.) is Wibtoft, situated on the site of the Roman city of Cleychester, and adjoining, in the parish of Great Copston, is a pillar, situated at the crossing of two great Eoman roads, Watling Street and the Fosse Way, in the corner of a garden, known as High Cross, marking the site of the Roman station, Benonis or Venonis. It was erected in 1711, and bears an inscription in Latin, of which the following is a translation : " The noblemen and gentry, ornaments of the neighbouring counties of Warwickshire and Leicestershire, at the instance of the Right Honour- able Basil, Earl of Denbigh, have caused this pillar be erected in grateful as well as perpetual re- membrance of peace, at last restored by Her Majesty Queen Anne. If, traveller, you search for the foot- steps of the ancient Romans, you may here behold them. For here their most celebrated ways, crossing one another, extend (o the utmost boundaries of Britain; here the Vennones kept their quarters ; and, at the distance of one mile from here, Claudius, a certain commander of a cohort, seems to have had a camp towards the street : and to- wards the fosse, a tomb." It stands on very high ground, commanding an extensive view on all sides. It was struck by lightning in 1791, and little more than the base now remains. Formerly one of the beacons of Warwickshire was placed on the hill. There was at Copston a very picturesque chapel, now destroyed, of which a drawing is preserved in the Birmingham Reference Library. To the E. of the Park of Newn- ham Paddox is the small village of Willey, situated on Watling Street and the borders of Leicestershire. The Church of St. Leonard is a small building of stone, almost entirely rebuilt in 1884. There is a curious sepulchral monument, a cofiin lid with parts of an clBgy showing through three quatre-foil cusped apertures. The Midland Rly. from Rugby to Leicester passes through Houte I.-^ — BiiUdngton. 9 the village. The nearest Stat, is Ullesthorpe, in Leicestershire. 9 m. SMlton (Stat.). The Church of St. Andrew was a stone edifice of the 14th cent., but has been nearly rebuilt. Theie is a curious i^iscina near the E. end, and a western tower. Shilton was the birthplace of Chris- topher St. Germain, a lawyer of some note in the 16th cent., and author of a work entitled "Doctor and Student," published 1523, and which iDrevious to the publication of Blackstone's " Commentaries " was considered a standard work. . J m. S.W. from Shilton Stat, on the road to Coventry is the village of Ansty. The Church of St. James is a modern edifice. The tower and spire were erected in 1856 in memory of General H. W. Adams, who was mortally wounded in the battle of Inkermau, 1 851. The Hall is the seat of Lieut.-Col. Edward Woollcombe-Adams, J. P. 3 m. N.E. of Shilton is Wolvey, on the road from Coventry to Hinck- ley, in Leicestershire, with the river Anker flowing through it. It is historically interesting, as on Wol- vey Heath Edward IV. was sur- prised by Earl of Warwick, "the King maker," in 1470, and taken to Middleham Castle, in Yorkshire. According to Dugdale a hermitage existed on the Heath. Near to this hermitage Lady Dorothy Smyth was burnt at the stake in 1555 for murdering her husband at Shireford Manor, 1 m. N. of Wolvey. The present Church of St. John the Baptist is a building of sandstone, chiefly in the Dec. style, with im- portant remains of the 12tli cent. It consists of chancel, nave, aisles, south porch over a fine Norm, doorway, and a lofty embattled western tower of the late 15th cent., containing a clock and three bells, given by the Astleys and others at the restoration of Charles II. In the S. aisle are remains of a chantry, founded in 1344 by Alice, Lady Astley; and in the N. aisle is a monument to Thomas de Wolvey and his wife (about 1300), and one in alabaster with effigies to Sir Thomas Astley and his wife (1603). In the E. wall of the S. aisle several steps were discovered in 1897 which doubtless led to the rood-loft. The hinges on wliich the door was hung and the socket into which the bolt was shot still remains. Tiie chancel was rebuilt in 1858. In the Temple farm-house an old stone chimney still marks the place of a Knight Templar's house. In 1896 a secret hiding-plane was discovered in it. Wolvey Hall, the seat of H. F. J. Coape-Arnold, Esq., was probably rebuilt towards the end of the 17th cent., on the site of an older build- ing. It contains a collection of paintings, including some water- colour drawings by David Cox and others ; attached to the house is a Roman Catholic chapel. Leicester Grange is the residence of John Till, Esq. The house was destroyed by fire in 1803, and sub- sequently rebuilt. 11 m. Bulkington (Stat.). The Church of St. James, anciently appro- priated to the Abbey of Leicester, is an edifice of stone of the 14th and 15th centuries. It consists of a chancel, nave, aiiiles, and a western tower with embattled parapet and pinnacles. Some of the later win- dows have hood mouldings of a bold character, with large crockets ter- minating with finials. There are two incised sepulchral slabs, one with effigies of John Zuche and his wife. The pedestal of the font is a beautiful piece of Numidian marble, supposed to have been a portion of a column from a temple at Rome. It bears the following 10 Boute 1.- insciipiion : " This fragment of ancient Niimidian marble was im- ported from Kome by Eicbard Hay- ward, and was given to the cburch in 1789." lUcbard Hayward, wlio lived at Weston Hall in the neigb- bourliood, was an amateur sculptor, and the cbiircl! contains many inter- esting pieces of sculpture by bis bands, including tlie panels in the font, the communion table, and a monument to bis parents. Weston-in-Arden, a Jacobean man- sion, is the residence of F. A. New- digate, Esq., M.P. 3 m. N.E. is Burton Hastings. Tiie name of Hastings was added on account of that family owning tlie lordsbip for many generations. The estates were contiscated when Baron Hastings, the Lord Chamberlain to King Edward lY., was bebeaded in 14:83 by Richard, Duke of Glouces- ter, then Lord Protector, but tbey w^ere su1)sequently restored to his son, and afterwards passed by marriage to the Cotton family of Connington (see II.Blc. for Huntingdonshire). The Church of St. Botolpb originally belonged to the Monastery of Nuneaton (see post). It is a 14th cent, editlce with a low western tower, and has a good arcaded font. Adjoining is tbe parisb of Sfcretton Baskerville, anciently belonging to the family of Baskerville, but the manor-house and church have dis- appeared. 14J m. yf/c NUNEATON (Junct. Stat, witb branch lines to Coventry, Leicester, Loughborough, Ashby- de-la-Zouch, and Burton. Also Stat, on the Midland brancb line from Birmingham to Leicester), a market town witb wool, worsted plush, ribbon, bat, and other fac- tories, situated in a hollow on a branch of tbe river Anker. Coal- ■Niineato7u mining, brick and tile works, stone- quarrying, and other industries are also rapidly developing. In Domes- day tbe name was " Etone.'' Etone or Eatone derives its name from the rivulets on which it stands. Ea, Anglo-Saxon = water, and tbe pre- fix is owing to a nunnery estab- lished here in the 12tb cent. The Church of St. Nicholas was founded by Robert, Earl of Leicester, and in the time of Henry I. given by bim to tlie Monastery of Lira in Normandy. It subsequently belonged to tbe Priory of Sheen in Surrey by Charter from Henry V. It is a large and handsome structure of stone, of various periods, consisting of a cbancel, chantry or Lady Chapel, nave with aisles, north and south porches, and embattled western tower and turret containing a clock and a fine ring of eight bells. Tliere are monuments in the church to the families of Stratford and Trotman (1708), ancestors of 'the Dugdale family ; to John Ryder, LL.D., Dean of Lismore, eldest son of Dr. John Ryder, who was vicar of Nuneaton, 1721 to 1742, after- wards Bishop of Killaloe, and subse- quently Archbishop of Tuam ; and an altar tomb of white marble, with a recumbent effigy of Sir Marmaduke Constable (1560) in armour. There are also small remains of wall paintings of an interesting character. The modern Church of St. Mary is an unfinished structure, erected in 1877; within its precincts may be seen the remains of four piers of the ancient Priory Church of St. Mary the Virgin, founded by Robert, Earl of Leicester, in the reign of Henry II. The monastery was of the Benedictine Order, and compre- hended both nuns and monks undost). Caldecote Hall (Capt. H. L. Townshend, J.P.), a handsome red brick mansion, entirely rebuilt in 1880, is noted for the spirited de- fence against the Royalists in 1642. Prince Rupert arrived suddenly with the intention of capturing Colonel Purefoy, an important leader of the Roundheads, but he was absent. The garrison consisted of George Abbot, a son-in-law, 8 men, Mrs. Purefoy and maids. So stubborn was the defence that it is said even the pewter dishes were melted down for bullet?, and it was not until after the house had been set on fire that the gallant little band surrendered. 2 m. beyond, close to the Ely. on the rt., is Mancetter, which occupies a portion of Manduessedum, a Roman station on Watling Street, where traces of domestic buildings and coins have been found. The Church of St. Peter, situated on an eminence, supposed to be the site of a Roman camp, is a stone building of the E. E. and Dec. period. It was erected by Wakeline de Mancestre in the reign of Henry II., and it was appropriated in the reign of Henry VI. by the Abbey of Mere- vale (see post). The stained glass in the windows in the chancel is sup- posed to have been brought from the Abbey. There are several chained books in the S. aisle, and a good piscina in the chancel. The sweet- toned bells in the tower at the W. end, which does not coinmuni- cate with the nave, came from Merevale Abbey after the Dissolu- tion. A gild-house was erected here in the reign of Henry VI. ; remains of it still exist in a dwelling- house close to the church. The Manor House was formerly the property of the Glover family, one of whom — George, a connection of Bishop Latimer by marriage — was a Protestant martyr during the Marian persecutions, and was put to death at Coventry in 1555. Another inhabitant of Mancetter, Mrs. Joyce Lewis, was a victim of the persecutions. She was burnt at Lichfield in 1557. A monument to the memory of these martyrs was erected in the church in 187G in the S. aisle. 1 m. S. is HartsMU, situated on high ground overlooking an exten- sive tract of country with woods on the W. side. It is supposed to have been a Roman station, and a kiln 12 Boiite 1. — Meremle Ahoei/i with some Roman i^ottery has recently been discovered. The remains of a Norman castle, built circa. 1125, still exist, the chapel of which, however, has lately been nearly destroyed. The poet, Michael Drayton, was born here in 1563, and a house supposed to be his birthplace is still shown. He was descended from a Leicestershire family. His most noted work was Poly Olbioii/* a description of all the tracts, rivers, mountains, forests, &c., in Great Britain. He died in 1G31 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. The Church of Holy Trinity is a modern building in Norm, style. Hartshill is a rapidly increasing place, owing to the immense seams of untouched coal in its immediate vicinity. There are also extensive quarries in the quartz rocks, and man- ganese has been found. To the W., 1 m., are remains of a Roman camp at Oldbury. Within its area is Oldbury Hall, a Georgian mansion. From Hillmorton to Maiicetter Watling Street forms the boundary with Leicestershire. It then passes through the county to Wilnecote, where it enters Staffordshire and proceeds towards Liclifield. 19J m. >{c Atherstone (Stat.), an old market town situated on Wat- ling Street, chietly employed in hat manufacture. Roman paving stones with grooves for chariot wheels were discovered here in 1868, when the drainage of the town was being carried out. Some of these stones, with the groove distinctly marked, are in the vicarage garden. The town forms the E. limit of the Fcn-est of Arden, which extended S.W. to Atherstone (Arden's Stone) on the Stour. The Church of St. Mary, formerly a chantry of the Austin Friars, was, with the exception of the cenlral octagonal tower and chancel, en- tirely rebuilt in 1849 in Perp. style. The chancel was used by the Grammar School, founded by Sir W. Devereux in 1573, until 1888, when it was restored to parochial use and embellished with a fine stained glass window by Mr. C. E. Ktmpe in 1896. Henry, Earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII., received the sacrament here the day before the Battle of Bos worth in 1485. Against the principal inn, ' The Old Red Lion,' is a milestone, on which the distances to Loudon, Liverpool, and Lincoln are marked 100 m. each. About 1 m. W. of the town, finely situated on high ground, are the ruins of Merevale Abbey, founded for Cistercian monks in 1149 by Robert, Earl Ferrers, grandson of Henry de Ferrers, one of the followers of William the Conqueror. In its original state the church was of cruciform plan, with a short choir, to the S. of which was a cloister court, surrounded by the apartments and offices of the monks. On the S. side of the cloister stood the refectory, a noble room of the 14th cent., consider- able parts of which, including the pulpit steps, still remain, together with the monks' lavatory near the entrance. There is a subterranean passage, or a large water-course, under the abbey ruins. The gatehouse, which was W. of the Abbey, has disappeared, but the chapel of the gatehouse is now the parish Church dedicated to St. INIary the Virgin, probably of the time of the reign of Henry IH. It formerly consisted of a nave with aisles, and a chancel. The chancel has dis- appeared, leaving only the original nave, which now forms a kind of ante-chapel to the present church, which is of 14th cent, date, and has extremely beautiful windows and other details. There is a turret Boute 1. — Foleswortlt. 13 coutaining two bellrf. The E. win- dow is a peculiarly interesting example of the 14th cent., and is filled with an ancient " Jesse " win- dow, removed from the adjoining abbey, whilst the glass in the N. aisle is of the 15th cent. There are remains of a second "Jesse" window. The church contains a curious wooden loft or gallery, of the 15th cent., and interesting monuments removed from the Abbey Church, including the remains of an effigy in chain armour, attributed to the 13th cent., and supposed to be that of William Ferrers, Earl of Derby, who died in 1254, and a large early 15th cent, brass (5 ft. 2 in.) of a knight and his lady, pro- bably Bobert, Lord Ferrers. The high tomb with effigies in alabaster are supposed to be of John Handcr- well and wife, of the 15th cent. Ill the church are nlso the remains of some stone coffins of consider- able interest. At the Dissolution, the Abbey was granted to Sir Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers of Chartley. In the 17th cent, it was sold to the Stratford family, through whom it came to the Dug- dales, the present owners. Merevcde Hall (W. F. S. Dugdale, Esq., J.P.) stands on high ground in the midst of an extensive park, a chief feature of which is the great height of the oaks — 120 ft. being not unknown. They are one of the few surviving relics of Shakespeare's forest. The Hall was built in the Elizabethan style by Glutton and Blore about 1810. The tower com- mands a fine view, extending on a clear day over live counties. Here is preserved the library of the celebrated antiquary. Sir Willi>im Dugdale, the author of the ' Antiquities of Warwickshire ' (see Blyth, post). It contains the complete series of his diaries from 162U to 1681, which give many curious side-lights on the Civil War and country life in England at that time. There are also many auto- graphs of Charles L, Clarendon, Jeremy Taylor, and other contem- porary personages. In the house is a small but good collection of pictures, certain fine heraldic tabards belonging to Sir William and to his son Sir John Dngdale. To the S. is the wooded district of Bentley. About 2 m. W. of Merevale is the village of Baxterley, where there are extensive collieries, the property of the present Dugdale family. In the Stratford pit tiiere occurred (2nd May, 188'2) a disastrous ex- plosion, by which the owner, Mr. W. S. Dugdale, and upwards of thirty officials and workmen lo&t their lives whilst heroically attempt- ing to rescue nine colliers, who were cut off Irom safety by a fire. The Cliurcli has small Norm, remains in the chancel. The W. end was re- built early in the 17th cent, by Hugh Glover. The aisle is modern, and there is a quaint western tower with pinnacles. To the N. about 1 m.is Baddesley- Ensor, situated close to Watling Street. The Church of St. Michael is a modern edifice, which super- seded a small Norm, chapel. Continuing by rail from Ather- stone, at 3 m. on the E. side, is Gren- don Farli, watered by the Anker, the property of Sir George Chetwynd, Bart. The house, a spacious build- ing, was almost entirely rebuilt in 1825. The Church of All Saints, at Grendon, is a large and in many respects a fine edifice. There are remains of the 13th cent., but it is mainly of the 14th cent. Dugdale believes it was nearly rebuilt by Sir William Chetwynd in the reign of Edward III. The nave arcades and the S. doorw^ay are very fine, and 14 Boute 1. — Newton Begis. there is a western 'embattled tower. The church was badly "restored" in 1825. It contains imemorialrf to the Chetwynd family. 24 m. Polesworth (Stat), a small town to which Henry III. granted a charter for holding a weekly market, but it has long been abandoned. The river Anker flows through it. The Church of St. Edith, formerly the conventual church of a Benedic- tine Nunnery, was founded by King Egbert, then Bretwalda, or supreme chieftain of the Saxons, whose daughter, St. Edith, is supposed to have been the first abbess. It is stated by Dugdale to have been the first religious house establislied in the county. The church (restd. in 1869) is a Norm, building with later additions, consisting of a chancel, nave, and N. aisle with a large embattled tower at the N.E. angle of the nave. The pillars and arches of the nave and the clerestory within the rcof of the aisle are Norm. It contains a curious stone eftigy of an abbess of the 14th cent., wearing a coif and wimple, and a long gown with hanging sleeves. Her feet rest on the back of a hart. In one hand is a pastoral stafi^, and in the other a book. There is also a piece of Flemish tapestry. On the S. side are slight remains of the cloisters and a N^jrm. doorway which opened from them into the church. The W. doorway of the 14th cent, retains its original door with remarkably intei-esting ironwork. The vicarage stands on the site of the Nunnery, and the refectory with an open timbered roof is incor- porated in the building. There are many quaint old houses, the most interesting being Tooley Hall, now a farmhouse. It be- longed, in the time of Stephen, to the Marmions of Tamworth Castle. The present house was built by Sir Thomas Cokain in 1509, and is an embattled structure of red brick with stone dressings, a survival of the old castellated mansions. There is a lead cistern bearing the date 1692, and various heraldic devices. To the S. is a small chapel also of early 16th cent, work, separated from the house ; it has a low pitched roof with an em- battled parapet, and the remains of an octagonal bell-turret still exist. There are extensive collieries in tho neighbourhood. 4 m. N.E. of Polesworth, on the borders of Leicestershire, is Austrey, anciently " Aldestrie." The Church of St. Nicholas was given to the monks of Burton by Osbert do Clinton in 1240. The present hand- some building, dating from about 1242, is, with the exception of the chancel and porch, which are modern, a pure example of late E. E. and partly Dec. period. It consists of a chancel, nave with aisles, and an E. E. tower sur- mounted by a lofty and well- proportioned broach spire. The fine ring of six bells dates from time of James I. There are piscinae in the chancel and S. aisle, and carved oak reredos and altar rails. In the N. aisle are a stone coffin and an Elizabethan oak chest with iron bands and locks in good con- dition. The church was restored in 1843 (Ewan Christian, architect), when the chancel was rebuilt. Near the village is an ancient market cross with five steps ; it was carefully restored in 1898. 1 m. N.W., at the extreme N.W. corner of the county, is the village of Newton Regis. The Church of St. Mary is a large and picturesque Dec. building, without aisles, having a w^estern tower with a tall and well proportioned sj)ire. The S. porch of the 15tli cent, has a stone roof carried by five pointed arch ribs. There is a 14tli cent, monument, with a curious semi-cfligy of a Boute 1. — Tamivorih, 15 priest ill tlic N. wall of the chancel, and there was a low-sided window, now closed up. The sedile and piscina are of very unusual form. Adjoining is No Man's Heath, for- merly an open common, but now an ecclesiastical parish, with a Church dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin. 1 m. further W. is Seckington, close on the border of Staffordshire. Here is an ancient British tumulus, which was afterwards occupied by the Romans, and according to Camden was the site of Secan- dunum. The Church of xVll Saints is a stone building, situated on a gentle eminence. It consists of a chancel, nave, S. porch, and a western tower surmounted by a tall spire. The latter were entirely rebuilt in 1883, at a cost of 2600Z. There are several interesting monuments in the chan- cel, which has a leper window with modern stained glass, the mo.-t pro- minent being that in the N. wall of the chancel to Robert Burdett (1603), Counsellor to Queen Eliza- beth, considered to be one of the most perfect of its kind in England. There is a traditional report that George Washington spent the early days of his boyhood in the village. Continuing by rail from Poles- worth at 2 J m. on the N. side is the hamlet of Alvecote, on the river Anker, the site of the Tamworth colliery. Alvecote Priory, now a farmhouse, is an ancient building, forming part of a small Benedictine priory founded by William Burdett in 1159. The remains of the chapel still exist. To the N. is the village of Shut- tington. The Church of St. Mat- thew, formerly a chapel belonging to Alvecote Priory, is a small build- ing with a good Trans.-Norm. door- way at the W. end. 27i m. :^ TAMWORTH (Stat,, also Stat, adjoining for Midland Rly., see Rte. 4) is a well-to-do midland town, standing on both banks of the Tame, over which and its tributaries there are several bridges. The part of the town on the S. side of the river was for- merly included in Warwickshire, but it is now wholly in the county of Stafford. There are two large stretches of common land, called the Warwick and the Stafford moors, upon which the inhabitants have rights of pasture. A thousand years ago the natural advantages of this place induced the Saxon kings of Mercia to select it as a residence. Deeds and charters exist dated from the Royal Palace of Tamworth in the 8th and 9tli centuries. " No one who looks on the district — no one who sees the extent of its w^ood- lands, the delightful rivers that water it. enriching the spacious meadows that border them, who sees also the extensive ch ampaign country, afford- ing the opportunity of arable culti- vation for pleasure and profit, can be surprised to find that, in the earliest times, it was the chosen seat of those who were the con- querors of the country;' — Sir R. Feel. In the fields W. of the town, says the legend, the combat took place between Sir Lancelot of the Hall and Sir Tarquin, knights of the Round Table ; and a castle was built near the junction of the Tame and the Anker by Ethelfleda, the daughter of Alfred. The town was given by William I. to Robert Mar- miou, of Fontenay, in Normandy, wdio thus became Lord of " Tam- worth tower and town." From the Marmions it descended to the Frevilles and the Ferrers, and from them, with the barony, to the Marquis Townshend. The Castle, recently acquired by the Corporation for the benefit of the inhabitants of the town, occu- 16 Route 1. — Amington. pics the site of Ethelfleda's fort, on the rt. bank of the Tame, but is mainly a massive Jacobean build- ing, placed on a lofty artificial mound, though the wall of the keep, a multiangular building, is virtually Norm., vrith probably some Saxon work, much repaired at different times. The hall has an open roof of wood, springing nearly from the floor, and is curious, but very gloomy. Two chambers are panelled and decorated with armo- rial bearings. From the roof of the tower is a very fine view of the Vale of Trent, Drayton Manor, and Lichfield spires. During the Civil War the Castle was taken by the Parliamentarians, and held by Governor Waldyke Willington. The Church, dedicated to St. Editha, the daughter of King Edgar, who is buried here, is a very fine building (restored by Butterfield) of Dec. and Perp. dates, with a massive tower, intended to carry a spire, of which the base only exists. The first Marmion, according to the legend, seized all the property of the church, but on receiving a nocturnal visit from the saint, he not only restored the spoil but gave many additional manors, and made the church collegiate, which it re- mained until the Dissolution. The Norm, church was burnt in 1345, but some fine arches and other fragments remain. There is a crypt, formerly filled with liuman bones, which were buried in 1S69 in the N.E. corner of the churchyard, and, in the tower, a curious double stair- case, communicating, the one with the inside, the other with the out- side, both distinct though inter- twining. In the chancel are several monuments of early date, presum- ably of the Marmions and the Fre- villes, but the great monument of the last of the Ferrers, a ponderous Renaissance structure, has been placed under the tower. To the E. of the church are remains of 14th cent, walls of the old college, and in Church St. is a picturesque timber house, figured in Parker's ' Domestic Architecture.' Thomas Guy, the bookseller and founder of the noble London hospital that bears his name, represented Tamwortli for 7 Parliaments ; he founded some almshouses, and re- built the Town-hall (to which the first Sir Robert Peel, Bt., made additions), which stands on the arches of an older building. In front of it is a bronze statue of Sir Robert Peel, Bart., the Minister, who took much interest in the to\vn, and was mainly instrumental in founding its present flourishing Natural History and Antiquarian Society. 2 m. E. of Tam worth is the pretty village of Amington. The modern Church of St. Editha was erected under the direction of the late G. E. Street, R.A. Route 2. — King's Newnham* 17 EOUTE 2. RUGBY TO COVENTRY AND BIRMINGHAM. (LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN RAILWAY. 30 J m.) Rugby. 6i m. Brandon and "Wolston, Hi m. CpVENTRY. Rail Station. Adjoining is Long Lawford, with 15 m. Tile Hill. Soon after quitting Rugby Stat, the line to Coventry and Binning- To tlie N. on the river Avon is ham skirts to the N. of Rugby, and King^ s'Newnhsim, or New nham Re(p's. branches off from the main line An ivy-clad tower is all that At 3 m. is Little Lawford, According to Dugdale, the interior situated on the Avon. Here for- was decorated with frescoes. In merly stood Lawford Hall, then the 1852, during some excavations made property of the Boughton family, under the direction of the late Lord It obtained great notoriety at the John Scott, some coffins were dis- end of last century, owing to Sir covered containing the remains of Theodosius Boughton, Bart., being Francis, Earl of Chichester (d. poisoned with laurel - water in 1653), the Countess (d. 1G52), their August, 1780, by bis brother-in-law, daughter Lady Audrc y Leigh (d. Capt. John Donellan, who was 1G4U), and Sir John Anderson, sou arrested in the following month and of the Countess by her first lius- executed at Warwick. The family band. afterwards sold the estate to John To the E. of the village is a chaly- Caldecott, Esq., who pulled down beate spring, over which a bath has the house and erected the present been erected ; it is said to cure mansion, Holbrooh Grange (Col. C. rheumatism and dyspepsia. T. Caldecott). In connection with Bones of the rhinoceros and Lawford Hall there is a legend of a elephant have been found here in ghost, called one-handed Boughton, the valley of the Avon, wlio used to ride about in a coach- At King's Newnham, and in the and-six, and whose spirit was con- parish of Lawford, numerous Ro- jured into a phial by a numerous man remains have been di&covered body of clergy, and was " laid " in from time to time, a marl pit. Bloxam attributes the origin of the legend of Lawford Continuing by ra;l at IJ m., the Hall to the bloody hand of Ulster line crosses the Roman Fosse Way, borne on the arms of the family. and soon afterwards passes on a via- \_WarwicksMre.'] c neprly due west. remains of the church, which was (Icmolislied about a century ago. 18 Boute 2. — Wolstan. duct over the river Avon just before reaching 6 J m. Brandon and Wolston (Stat.). Near to the Stat, some grassy- mounds mark the spot where for- merly stood Brandon Castle, sup- posed to have been built by Geotfrey de Clinton scon after the Conquest. It was destroyed by the Barons in consequence of its owner, John de Verdon, raising troops for Henry III. It was probably rebuilt, but in Dugdale*s time (1656) it was in ruins again. Brandon Hall is the seat of K. J. Beech, Esq., J.P. Silk-weaving is carried on at Brandon Mills. It is a pleasant walk from the Stat, to Coombe Abbey, which lies 2 m. N. (see ante). J m. S.E. of the Stat, is Wolston, a pleasant village on the S. baid^s oi' the Avon. The Church of St. Mar- garet is a large cruciform building of tone with a central tower, the lower part of which is early Norm, work ; in the E. and W. walls are plain semicircular arches. The doorway is also Norm. The other por- tions of the church are of various dates. The font with an octa- gonal bowl is of the 14th cent, and there is a fine canopied tomb of the same period in the S. tran- sept. A cell of a Norm, abbey was established here in the reign of "William the Conqueror; remains of it exist in a farmhouse called the Priory. A family of the name of Clarke lived hers during the 16th and 17th centuries, several of whom were incumbents, and the well- known annotator was a descendant from this family. The Odd-fellow Hall is a spacious building, capable of holding 500 persons. The Manor Home is the seat of C. W. Wilcox. Esq., J.P., and Wol- ston Grange is the residence of W. M. Kose, Esq., J.P. 2 m. S.W. on the river Avon is Ryton-on-Dunsmore. The Church of St. Leonard is an E. E. building, with S. and N. Norm, doorways, the latter is now walled up. At the W. end is an embattled tower with pinnacles. There is a hrass to a former incumbent, one Moses Macham (d. 1712), a man of great piety and influence. The extensive tract of land called Dunsmore Heath stretches out in a S.E. direction towards Duncliurch, and is skirted by the old high road from Birmingham to London, which has here large elms and firs on either side, forming a fine avenue for several miles. Here it is said the puissant Guy " did quell that, wondrous cow The passengers that used from Dunsmore to affright." On the summit of a hill, knowni as Knightlow Hill, is a British tumulus, and on it is the base of an old wayside cross, with a fir- tree at each corner of the tumu- lus, traditionally representing four knights said to have been killed and buried there. In connection with this cross, a curious old custom is still observed every year l)efore sunrise on INIartinmas niorn, 11th No- vember, of paying '* wroth-money " to the Duke of Buccleuch. TJic agent of the Duke, standing by the stone, first reads the " charter of assembly," next the names of the various parishes liable to the fee, and the amount due to each is read out, when the representative of each parish puts the sum required in a hollow on the top of a stone. The whole sum collected is less than ten shillings — the separate amounts varying from one penny to two shillings and three pence-halfpenny. The fine for non-payment, which is no longer inflicted, was twenty Houte 2. — Coventry, 19 shillings for every penny, or a Vihite bull with a red nose and ears. The origin of this ceremony is not known, but it is supposed to be an acknow- ledgment to the lord of the manor of his right of way over certain roads. The name "wroth-money," however, would seem to imply a money commutation for labour. Proceeding by rail, after passing Willenhall on the left, and crossing the river Sowe, is reached At Hi m. :^ COVENTRY (Junct. Stat.), a city of considerable anti- quity and of tlie greatest interest to the archaiologist. It is situated on the river Sherbourne, and was styled " Couentre," and in the Domesday Book " Couentrev," pos- sibly from a convent established here in the Saxon period, with the Britisli affix " tre," denoting a town; or it may more probably be derived from Cune = the Celtic name for the present Sherbourne (scire-burn = clear stream). St. Osburg was Abbess here when it was destroyed in 1016 during the invasion of Canute, whose forces were under the command of Edric the traitor. In the time of Edward the Confessor, Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and his Countess Godiva, founded a Benedictine monastery on the site, which they richly en- dowed. Leofric died in 1057, and was buried in the church belonging to the monastery (see Cathedral, post). The countess survived him for some years, and at her death was buried in the same building. The popular legend of Lady Go- diva's ride through the city will ever be connected with Coventry. It is said that Leofric having laid some heavy taxes and arbi- trary servitude on the inhabitants, they solicited the good offices of Lady Godiva, who appealed to her husband to remove the burdens. This he agreed to do on condition that she should ride naked through the city. Much to his surprise, Godiva, for the sake of her towns- people, consented to do so. Arrange- ments were made for carrying out the bargain, and all the inhabitants were ordered, under the penalty of death, to keep within their houses. "Then she rode forth, clothed on with chastity." It is further re- corded that the people obeyed the command with the exception of an inquisitive tailor, who bored a hole through his shutter to peep at her as she passed by, and immediately his eyes dropped out of his head. Unfortunately, for the truth of this story, the chroniclers who lived at the time make no mention of the exploit. The first to record it was Matthew of Westminster, who flourished in the early part of the 14th centy. He represents Leofric as requiring Godiva to ride through the town "populo congregate," instead of being hid indoors, and no mention of "Peeping Tom" occurs till the time of Charles IL, when the processions in the honour of Godiva were originated, and it was probably thought desirable to add to the attractions of the pageant. The figure of" Peeping Tom," which looks out of an upper window of the ' King's Head * hotel, represents a man in armour of a much later date. Lady Godiva lias been further im- mortalised by Lord Tennyson in his poem in which he " shaped the city's ancient legend," whilst *' I waited for the train at Coventry, 1 bung with grooms and porters on the bridge, To watch the three tall spires ; . . , " After the Conquest, the lordship of Coventry passed by marriage to the Earls of Chester, under whom it prospered greatly. The Earls of Chester were succeeded by the Montalts and the Arundels, and through failure of heirs it devolved on the Crown. When Edward III. 0 2 20 Boute 2. — Covent7*y. made his son, Edward the Black Prince, Duke of Cornwall, the king annexed the manor, under the name of Cheylesmore, to the dukedom for ever. In 1344 the town received from the same king a charter of in- corporation ; the great annual fair, however, is of still earlier date, having been granted by Henry III. so far back as 1218. In 1398 the city was the scene of the famous hostile meeting between Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford (afterwards Henry IV.)? and Thomas de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, a meeting which has been immortal- ised by Shakespeare in his " King Kichard II." King Eichard and a great array of his nobles were present on the occasion. When the champions were about to engage, the king suddenly interfered, and banished them both from England, Norfolk for life, and Hereford for ten years. This meeting took place at ijosford Green, an open spot about J m. from the city wall. In 1404, King Henry IV. held in the great Chamber of the Priory here a Parliament, afterwards known as Parliamentum Indoc- torum, on account of the exclu- sion of all lawyers from its lists. A second Parliament was held at the Priory in 1459, and this was called Parliamentum Diaholicum, from the number of attainders passed by it against Richard, Duke of York, and other persons. For the support given by its citi- zens to Henry VI. in the struggle which ended in his dethronement and death, they were severely fined by Edward IV. On the defeat of Richard III. at Boswortb, in 1485, Henry VI f. was received with great joy at Coventry, the townsmen Voting him a cup and a subsidy of lOOZ. Queen Elizabeth visited the city in 15G5, when she was splen- didly entertained by the mayor in the Guildhall. In 15G9, Mory, Queen of Scots, was kept a prisoner here for some time in a house which was afterwards known as the ' Bull Inn.' In 1616 her son, James I., paid a visit to Coventry, where he was entertained at a grand feast. " One great feature of Coventry in the Middle Ages was,'* says Mr. W. G. Fretton, F.S.A., " the wealth and influence of its numerous guilds, t both religious and secular. To the former, in conjunction with the reli- gious orders, we owe much of the celebrity of Coventry for its mysteries or sacred plays. These dramatic mysteries were acted upon movable stages drawn through the principal streets and open places, the subjects represented being selected from the events narrated in the Scriptures. The festival of Corpus Christi was the popular day for these exhibitions here. Besides these there was the play of Hock Tuesday, founded on the massacre of the Danes, together with pageants introduced on special occasions, such as on the visits of Royal personages, &c.'* During the Civil War the city was a Puritan stronghold, and re- mained garrisoned by the Parlia- mentary troops until the Restora- tion. King Charles I., two days after raising his standard at Not- tingham, claimed admission, which was refused. He thereupon en- deavoured to take the city, but without success. Many of the Royalist prisoners were sent here, and the severe discipline to which they were subjected gave rise to the proverbial expression of *' Being sent to Coventry.'* Coventry was a walled city, and fragments of the massive fortifica- tions still remain in places. *' These walls," says Mr. Fretton, "were formerly about 3 miles in circuit, and averaged 9 ft. in tliickness. Their course was very irregular, unlike the rectangular plan observed t See 'Craft Guilds of Coventry,' by- Miss Dormer Harris, in the Proceedings of the !Soc. of Autiq., 2nd ser. vol. xvi. [To fcuie page 20. Boute 2. — Coventry. 21 by the Romans. Twelve gates and thirty-two towers added to the de- fences, rendering the place one of considerable strength and security, at a period in which civil strife was common. These ramparts were raised by virtue of a license given to the citizens in the reign of Edward III. and occupied 40 years in building. After existing for 300 years, they were dismantled by order of Charles II., as a penalty upon the inhabitants for closing their gates against his father. The most important of the isolated fragments which remain are two of the inferior gates on the N. side of the city, and a piece of wall on the S. side with numerous arrow marks, near the park, and close to the spot where a number of martyrs in the Marian and previous per- secutions were burnt at the stake." The Church of St. Michael is one of the finest parochial churches in the United Kingdom. It is noted for the height of its spire and the length and lightness of the build- ing. It was founded in the time of Henry I., but according to Mr. W. G. Fretton, very little of the original structure remains. The existing Perp. building was erected chiefly during the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries, it consists of a chancel, nave, aisles, tower and spire, and a number of chapels, erected by the ditferent guilds in Coventry, formerly di- vided by screens, but now thrown open to the church, thereby largely increasing its area. The tower, 136 ft. high, is of four stories, each of them highly enriched with window openings and sculptured canopies, the niches in the upper stories being filled with statues of saints and otliers. The buttresses terminate in crocketed pinnacles, from each of which spring two fly- ing buttresses supporting an oc- tagonal lantern rising 30 ft, higher ; above which is the graceful spire of 180 ft. The total height being nearly 300 ft. A very fine ring of ten bells was removed from tlie tower and temporarily deposited on the floor at the W. end of the church during tlie process of restoration; they have lately been replaced in the tower. Two brothers, William and Adam Botoner, built the tower between the years 1373 and 1394. The spire was erected by two sisters, Ann and Mary, of the same family about four years later. When completed it must have been extremely beautiful, but owing to the softness of the material (red sandstone) much of the details of the ornamentation has disappeared. It was restored in 1888. The extreme length of the church is 293 ft., and its greatest width 127 ft., and the nave is 50 ft. high. From the exterior the great length, with 19 clerestory windows, surmounted with an em- battled parapet with pinnacles, is very striking, and the interior, with its long range of slender columns in the nave, and the number of large windows and fine timbered roof, has a very light and elegant efiect. The chancel, which has a remark- able deviation to the N., ends in a pentagonal apse, and the side win- dows contain fragments of old stained glass. In the large column N. of the choir is a staircase which led to the rood loft and to the roof. The chapels of the various guilds now form the outer aisles on the N. and S. sides. Commenc- ing at the W. end are the Dyers' Chapel, St. Thomas's or Cappers* Chapel, and the Mercers' Chapel. On the N. side are the Smiths' or St. Andrew's Chapel, the Girdlera Chapel, St. Lawa-ence Chapel ; and at the E. end, enclosed in an open carved screen, is the Drapers' Chapel. Here are thirteen stalls with carved miserere seats and a fine Jacobean table. The S. porch, 22 Houte 2. — Coventri/. the oldest portion of the church is groined, and over it is a priest's chamber, which was subsequently used by the Cappers* guild. There are brasses with effigies of Maria Hinton (d. 1594), and Ann Sewell (d. 1609), and one with an epitaph to Captain Gervase Scope (d. 1705), written by himself, commencing — " Here lyes an Old Tossed Tennis Ball," and numerous monuments. The reredos, pulpit, lectern and organ are modern. The Church of Holy Trinity stands near to St. Michael's and suffers somewhat by the close proximity. In plan it is cruciform ; its greatest internal length is over 180 ft., and its width about 105 ft. The lower rises from the intersec- tion of the chancel and nave with the transepts, the interior of it is open to the church and forms a lan- tern. The graceful spire rises to a height of 237 ft. The spire was blown down in a terrific gale on 24 January, 1665, but was rebuilt in the two following years. The ex- isting building is a fine example of tlie Perp. style. There is evi- dence of a church existing in the 13th cent., when it was appro- priated by the adjacent Priory, and a few fragments of the older buildings still remain. The N. porch is the oldest portion ; it has a vaulted roof, and over it a priest's chamber. Previous to the Keformation there was a large number of chapels and altars. The first of these was the arch- deacon's chapel on the N. side, W. of the porch. On the E. of the porch was St. Thomas's Chapel, beneath which is a crypt. To the E. of the transept was the Marlers', or Mercers' Chapel, now opened to the N. cliancel aisle ; it also has a crypt. According to Dngdalc this window was put up in time of Bichard II., and Leofric held in his hand a charter with the follow- ing words : — I Luriche for the love of thee Do make Coventre Tol-free." The Chapel of Our Lady, which now forms the choir vestry, was a continuation of the S. chancel aisle, whilst the S. aisle was the Butchers' Chapel ; the S. transept was occu- pied by the Jesus Chapel. Here are a piscina and ambry; and in the S. aisle of the nave was the Tanners' or Barkers' Chapel. The piers of the nave are an- gular, and 3J arches separate the nave from the aisles. The cleres- tory is of later date, and divided into eight bays, each with two win- dows with Perp. tracery, and panel work below them. The fine win- dow at the W. end with 7 lights is also Perp. A collection of frag- ments ot ancient glass has been placed in the side windows of the chancel. The roofs throughout (restd. in 1854) are highly decorated in gold and colour, and the font, which is coeval with the building, is alfco coloured. The pulpit, at- tached to the S.E. pier of the tower, is of stone, and dates from the 15th centy., and the brass eagle lectern is a good specimen of mediaeval cast- ing. There is a brass to John Whitehead (c. 1600) and his two wives. At the W. end of the church is an Elizabethan alms-box, the shaft supporting it is covered with scroll work. The reredos, erected in 1873 by Sir G. G. Scott, Pv.A., has subjects representing the Cruci- fixion in the centre, with the Na- tivity and Ascension on either side. The old oak stalls were formerly in the N. aisle. The vestry, which has a panelled oak roof, contains a portrait of Dr. Hook, a former vicar and afterwards Dean of Chichester. The register records the marriage of Sarah Kemble, the celebrated actress, with William Siddons on 25th November, 1773. The ring of Boute 2. — Coventry. 23 8 bells is now hung in a wooden campanile, erected on the site of tlie Cathedral nave (see post). On the S. side of the church and adjoining the S. transept was for- merly a building called Jesus Hall. On its removal the city jail was erected on the site, but this build- ing, after long disuse, has been super- seded by the New Free Library. On the N. side of the church are the remains of the Cathedral, which was the Priory Church of the Bene- dictine Monastery, founded in 1043 by Lady Godiva on the ruins of tlie Saxon nunnery of St. Osburg. The Abbey Church became the Cathedral of the diocese until the Bishopric was removed to Lich- field, when it still retained the honours of a mitred abbey, and its Prior sat witli the barons in Parliament. Tlie remains of this once magnificent building may be traced over a wide jirea, and the disinterred portions, discovered dur- ing the building of the Bluecoat School, are the foundations of the whole of the W. front with the bases of the towers laid bare. The nave seems to have extended eastwards about 150 ft., having a breadth of about 100 ft. including the aisles ; the choir and lady chapel are sup- posed to have continued the line eastwards; the Bishop's Palace ter- minating the series in the same direction. These are in the main suggestive, but strong reasons may be given for their probability. It is traditionally stated that there were three lofty spires similar to those at Lichfield. Another of the old churches in Coventry is St. John the Baptist's, or Bablake Church (formerly col- legiate), founded in 1350 by the brethren of St. John's Guild on a piece of land given by Isabella, wife of King Edward 11. The building ii mainly Perp., and in the form of an irregular parallelogram, with a :nave and chancel, both with aisles, and quasi-transepts. The chancel inclines to the northward. A lantern tower with battlements rises from the centre of the church. There is a stair turret at the N.E. corner, and the arches supporting the tower are very graceful. The clerestory has a long range of win- dows, mostly square -headed. The W. window (restored) is a fine specimen of Perp. Tlie S. aisle is known as Walsheman's Chapel, as it was founded by him in 1357. After the Restoration the church was but little used and fell into decay. In 1731 it became a parish church, and in 1877 it was thoroughly restored by Sir G. G. Scott, R.A., when the floor, which had been previously raised between 4 and 5 ft., was reduced to its proper level. The reredos, carved in alabaster, was added to the memory of a late rector. The font with a tabernacle cover is a copy of the one at St. Edward's, Cambridge. On tlie opposite side to the church in a small square is Bablake Hospital, endowed by Thomas Bond, Mayor in 150G. It is a picturesque half-timbered structure with carved barge boards, comprising a number of small rooms occupied by bachelors and widowers, and a large common hall. The other two sides of the quadrangle were formerly the Bablake Boys' School and Hospital, founded in 1560 by Thomas Wheatley, a Mayor of Coventry. The house on the E. side is an interesting specimen of timber frame-work, consisting of a second floor with a fine staircase leading to the upper floor. In the former is a carved mantelpiece of Jacobean period, removed here from an old house now destroyed. One of the most interesting of old-timbered houses in Coventry is 24 Boute 2. — Coventry. Ford's Hospital for old women in Grey Friars' Lane. It was founded by William Ford in 1529. This beautiful specimen of 16th cent, woodwork is considered one of the richest of the kind in the United Kingdom. On the S. side of St. Michael's Church is St. Mary's Hall, a fine old building erected towards the end of the 14th cent, by the united fra- ternities known as the Trinity Guild. It belongs to the Corpora- tion, and is used for municipal pur- poses. The exterior, owing to the decay of the stonework, has a dilapidated appearance, and being closely surrounded by buildings, no good general view of it can be obtained. The entrance is through a depressed archway, leading into a finely vaulted porch with a carv- ing on the central boss of the groining representing the Corona- tion of the Virgin. On the E. side is a room formerly used as a cliapel by the Mercers' Company. Beyond is the courtyard, on the western side of which is the Great Hall, a fine and well-proportioned room, 76 J ft. long, 30 ft. broad, and 34 ft. high. The oak roof is richly carved with full-length figures of angels playing on musical instru- ments. It is lighted by a series of stained glass windows of Perp. tracery, on both sides, of poor charac- ter. A fine \Yindow (much restored) at the N. end of the hall is filled with old stained glass, of full- length effigies of Kings of Eng- land and others with coats of arms above. It was executed by John Thornton, a native of Coven- try, who also designed the E. win- dow of York Minster. Below it is the celebrated Coventry tapestryt of Flemish design, pro- bably executed about the beginning of the IGth cent. It extends t See detailed description, by (Jeorge Scharf, F.S.A,, in ' The ArcUivologin,' XKxvi. p. 438. across the entire width of the room. The work is divided into six com- partments, and represents a large number of characters, partly his- torical and partly religious. It is supposed to commemorate the visit of Henry YI. and Queen Margaret of Anjou to the city in 1451, both of whom are depicted. The upper central compartment originally con- tained probably a representation of Christ in Glory, but it is said that in order to save it from destruction by the Puritans, a late, and most incongruous, figure of Justice was inserted in its place. A represen- tation of the Assumption of the Virgin, however, remains in the lower compartment. On the walls are full-length portraits of Kings and Queens, including James II. and Charles II. by Leh/, and Gectrge III. and George IV. by Sir Thomas Later ence. On the rt. hand of the dais, approached by a flight of fcteps, is the Mayoress's parlour. It contains an ancient chair of state, originally a double one, and grotesquely carved, and numerous portraits adorn the walls. At the opposite end of the great hall is the minstrel gallery, at the back of which is a large room called tho Armoury, wdth a massive open roof. Beneath the great hall is the Crypt, divided into two chambers, with groined stone roof. In it are the old knave's or whipping-post and stocks. The Kitchen adjoining is supposed to have been the ori- ginal hall of St. Mary's Guild. On the 1. hand of the courtyard is the Muniment Room, which contains a valuable collection of seals, charters, and documents, many of which are exhibited in glass cases. Tiie earliest of the Coventry charters was granted by Ivalph, Earl of Chester, to have a conrt of record and to appoint a bailift'. This charter w^as confirmed by Henry 11. in 1182. The first charter of incorporation was granted by Edward III. in Boute 2. — Coventry, 25 1345. The insignia consists of a 15th cent, sword of state, a cap of maintenance (modern), the head- dress of the sword-bearer, three maces, the largest being nearly 4 ft. long, and a chair of state. The plate belonging to the corporation was sold in 1711. At the S.E. corner of the town within the walls stood the house of the Carmelite or White Friars, founded in 1342. A considerable portion of tho buildings still re- mains incorporated in the present Workhouse, consisting chiefly of the E. wing of the cloisters over which is the ancient dormitory. A little distance from here, seen across the fields from the London road, are the remains of the house of the Carthusians, known as the Charter House, founded in 1381 by William, Lord Zouche, and situated on the banks of the Sherbourne. The steeple of Christ Church is the only portion remaining of tlie Grey or Franciscan Friars' Monas- tery. To this, after standing alone for centuries, a new church was attached in 1832. This is one of the "three tall spires" referred to by Tennyson. Close by are the remains of the Manor House of Cheylesmore, which superseded the castle of the Earl of Chester — the occasional residence of Edward the Black Prince. Only a few fragments of a wall are left incor- porated in a modern residence. In Palace Yard, in Earl St., are the remains of an old house, the residence of the Hopkins family in the 17th cent., now a carpenter's shop. Here Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I., was tem- porarily removed from Coombe Al)bey for safety on the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot. In Cross Cheaping formerly stood the famous Coventry Cross. It was erected in 1541-44, replacing an older one of 14^3, and was in three stories of late Tudor style, 53 ft. high. Nothing now remains of it, excepting a figure of Henry VI., which is in the porch of St. Mary's Hall. The old Grammar School was originally the Hospital of St. John the Baptist, founded by the Benedic- tines in the reign of Henry II., as a place of refuge for the aged and infirm. At the Dissolution it was granted to Jolm Hales, who founded tlie school in the reign of Elizabeth. Dugdale, the antiquary, was a scholar here from 1615-20. In 1885 the school was removed to new buildings erected at Stivichall Hill on the Kenilworth Road (see post). The Barracks occupy the site of the house, afterwards the *Bull Inn,' where Henry VI 1. was entertained after the battle of Bosworth, and where Mary, Queen of Scots, was imprisoned for a time. Coventry in the 15th cent, stood fourth amongst the wealthy towns in England, its principal industries being the buying and selling of wool, and the making of cloth. After holding a very prominent position for more than a hundred years in cloth-making, there was a great depression in the trade early in the 16th cent., which caused it to decay. The making of blue thread, another industry in these times, was driven out by foreign competition. Afterwards the making of woollen caps became a flourishing trade until the time of Elizabeth, when felt hats became the fashion. In later years Coventry became noted for the manufacture of its ribbons; but this industry has almost died out, owing to the French competition. Watch-making was introduced towards the end ot* the last century, and is still carried on to a considerable extent. In recent years sewing-machines have been largely manufactured ; and tho latest industry, which has greatly developed duriug the last few 26 Itoute 2. — Allesleij. years, has been the manufacture of bicycles. 2 m. N.W. of Coventry on the Birmingham road is Allesley. The Church of All Saints was originally a chapel belonging to the Priory of Coventry; it is a stone edifice, situated on rising ground surrounded by trees, consisting of a chancel (rebuilt 1863), a nave with aisles, and an embattled W. tower with a spire. To the S. is Allesley Park (the property of F. A. Newdigate, Esq., M.P.), where there are the remains of a moat wdiich surrounded an ancient castle. At Eastern Green is a modern church with a tall spire. On the E. of Coventry, just outside the municipal boundary but within the Parliamentary borough, is the suburban parish of Stoke. Dugdale says that in his time Stoke was " adorned with many fair summer- l.'ouses*' ; there arc still several good residences, besides a vast number of recently erected villas. The Church, which is dedicated to St. Michael, was founded in the year 1100 by Hugh, Earl of Chester, nephew of William tb e Conqueror. The present stone building, recently badly " re- stored," was erected in the 13th cent., and consists of a chancel, nave, N. and S. aisles, and a western tower. The church-yard contains some remarkable epitaphs, one of which commences with the words : — *' All you who come my grave to see, Avoid damp beds, and think of me." Amongst those born in the parish were Sir William Mollis, Kt., Lord Mayor of London in 1539, and the Pev. Joseph Hawar, D.D. (d. 1722), president for 16 years of Magdalen College, Oxford. The former by liis will left 200L for the building of what was probably the third Coventry Cross, which was so richly ornami nted and beautiful, that it is represeuted by historians as " dazzling when the sun shone upon it." Kichard de Stoke repre- sented Coventry in Parliament in 1353, and was Mayor of the city five tioaes. He laid the first stone of the walls in 1355. Copsewood Grange is the residence of Sir Eichard Moon, Bart. At IJ m. further on the road near to the turning to Wyken is the site of Caiudon Castle, built by John de Segrave in 1305. A ruined wall of the great hall marks the site. Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, was residing here in 1398 when the celebrated meeting between him and Henry Boling- broke (afterwards Henry IV.) took place at Gosford Green. The castle was converted into a mansion in the reign of Elizabeth, and the existing fragment of wall is part of the ban- quetting hall added by Lady Eliza- beth, widow of Sir Thomas Berkeley, in 1598. Caiudon is said to have been destroyed during the Civil War between the Royalists and Parlia- mentarians. The present farm- house was erected with materials from the ruins in 1800. Wyken is a small parish in which is the Craven Colliery. The Church is an ancient stone budding with an embattled tower. It has a Norm, doorway. At 3^ m. N.E. from Coventry on the Hinkley road is Sowe, or Wals- grave-on-Sowe, which takes its name from the stream which passes through the village. The Church of St. Mary is a Perp. building of stone with a W. tower with pin- nacles. The font is Norm. 1 m. S. of Sowe is Binley (3 m. from Coventry on the Lutterworth road), also on the river Sowe. The Church of St. Bartholomew was rebuilt in classic style in 1773, a curious and interesting example of Adams' style throughout. Boute 2. — Berhswell. 27 Walsgrave Hall, built in the 17th cent., is finely situated in a wooded park. 1 m. S. of Coventry is Stivichall, or Styvecliale. The CJiurch of St. James was rebuilt at tJie beginning of the present cent. ; it contains a Norm. font. Styvecliale Hall, stand- ing in a park, is the seat of Major P. Hood Gregory, J.P. At Stivi- chall Hill, a part of the borough of Coventry, is the Coventry Gram- mar School, removed here when the new buildings were erected in 1885. Spencer Park was presented to Coventry as a public recreation ground by Mr. David Spencer in 1883. Adjoining is the small village of Whitley and Whitley Abbey (E. H. Petre, Esq., J.P.), an Elizabethan mansion, enlarged by Sir John Soane in 1812. It stands on high ground in a park. Charles I. stayed here in 1642, when he unsuccessfully called upon Coventry to surrender. Further S. is the village of Baginton on the river Sowe. A castle formerly existed close to the river, of which traces remain, where Henry Boling- broke (afterwards Henry IV.) slept the night before his meeting with Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, at Gosford Green. The Church of St. John the Baptist is an E. E. edi- fice with lancet windows, having an octagonal tower with bell turret on the gable between the chancel and nave. It contains a fine brass to Sir William Bagot (d. 1400) and Mar- garet his wife. Baginton Hall, which was burnt down in 1889, was built in 1714 by William Bromley, Speaker of the House of Commons in 1710, on the site of a former manor-house, also destroyed by fire. Continuing by rail at 1 m. S.E. is Westwood. The Church of St. John the Baptist is a modern stone building in E. E. style, erected chiefly at the expense of Lord Leigh in 1844. Fletchamstead is a straggling hamlet on the other side of the Ely. A chapel formerly stood here; it belonged to the Knights Templars, and after the Reformation it passed into the hands of the Leigh family. 16 m. xlcBerkswell (Junct. Stat, with the line from Leamington). The village is probably named after an old well or spring near the rectory. The Church of St. John the Baptist is an interesting building, the chancel being a good specimen of Norm, architecture. On the outside are some curious corbels. Beneath the chancel and E. end of the nave is a Norm, crypt; the portion under the latter is octagonal, and is supposed to be even of Saxon origin. The nave, which has three different levels, and the aisles, are E. E. and Dec. Carved wooden screens run between the nave and aisles, and two of tlie arches are Norm. The clerestory is 17th cent. ; so also are the tower and S. porch. The latter, which is half timbered, has an upper story. Notice the old oak door. There are monuments to members of the Eardley-Wilmot family, and some chained books — 'Foxe's Book of Martyrs.' The ring of bells has re- cently been increased by the liber- ality of Mr. John Feeney. This church was carefully repaired by J. A. Cossins 27 years ago, and there is an interesting description of the building by him in the Transactions, 1881, of the Archieological Section of the Birmingham and Midland Institute, In the church-yard is the base of an old cross, with a modern shaft. The old stocks still exist on the village green. 16 m. is Tile HUl (Stat.). Berhswell Hall (J. H. Wheatley, 28 Boute 2. — Hampton-in-Arden, Esq., J.P.) is situated in a fine park of more than 250 acres. 2 m. N. is Meriden, a noted village in the coaching days, lying in a valley on the old Holyhead road. The Church of St. Lawrence (restd. in 1883) is a building of various dates, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles (modern), and an embattled western tower, in which are five bells, the fourth, which was lost about a hundred years ago, was replaced in memory of Queen Victoria's Dia- mond Jubilee. Some portions of the edifice are Norm. ; the N. wall of the chancel is said to have formed part of a chapel erected here by Lady Godiva, wife of Earl Leofric, who owned Alspath (by which name the village was known until the reign of Henry VI.) in the time of Edward the Confessor. A chantry was founded in the S. aisle in 1403-4 by John Wyard, an esquire to Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of War- wick. There are tombs with recum- bent efiigies to Sir John Wyard (alabaster) and to Sir John Walsh (red sandstone), of Walsh Hall. On the floor of the chancel is a brass to Elizabeth Rotton (d. 1638), with an anagram, " I to a blest throne." The church stands on an eminence, and from the church-yard there is an extensive view. This parish lies in what may be well termed the very centre of England. From a small pond on the high table-land the water flows in two opposite directions, eventually finding its way into the Bristol Channel on the one side, and into the river Humber on the other. Darlaston Hall in the old coach- ing days was an inn, known as the Bull's Head, and afterwards as the Royal Sussex Hotel. H.M. the Queen, when a child, stopped here on more than one occasion with her mother, tlie Duchess of Kent. In the grounds is a clock tower with a ring of IG bells. On the village green are the remains of an old market cross, removed from the other end of the village many years ago. Meriden Hall (C. W. Digby, Esq., J.P.) is an extensive mansion. Meriden House (Colonel J. H. Monk- ton, J.P.). At Forest Hall the Society of Archers, called the "Woodmen of Arden," hold their meetings annu- ally. The horn said to have be- loDged to Robin Hood is kept here. To the W. of Berkswell on the opposite side of the Rly. is the small village of Barston. The Church of St. Swithin is a plain Palladian brick structure, built early in the 18th cent., and encasing the mediae- val walls of a former building. 20 m. >{c Hampton-in-Arden ( Junct. Stat, with the Midland Rly. — see Rte. 4) is a large and picturesque village situated on high ground on the W. bank of the small pic- turesque river Blythe, which flows into the Tame. To the S., close to the Rly., the Blythe is crossed by an old pack-horse bridge, probably 15th cent. The Church of St. Mary the Virgin and St. Bartholo- mew (restored in 1878), built of red sandstone, crowns the summit of the hill. It formerly belonged to the Abbey of Kenilwortli, and was erected in the time of Henry II. There are Norm, remains in the chancel, and the piers in nave are also Norm. There is a low tower, which formerly had a tall spire, but it was destroyed by lightning ill 1643. On the S. wall of the chancel is an arched recess with a sculptured tablet ; it is supposed to have been a heart shrine," and in the nave is a small brass with a figure in a flowing robe. Immediately W. of the church are the remains of the old Manor House, which formerly belonged to Route 2. — Sheldon. 29 tke Ardens. The present Manor House is the seat of the Kt. Hon. Sir Frederick Peel, P.O., K.G.M.G. It is a stone mansion originally built by Sydney Smirke, but there have been considerable recent additions. 2J m. N. of Hampton Stat, is Great Packiugton. The Hall (Earl of Aylesford), erected in 1693 and enlarged and faced with stone in 1772 by the 3rd Earl of Ayles- ford, stands in a park well stocked with deer, rich in aged oaks, and with three large lakes. Charles I. stayed at an older mansion a few- days before the battle of Edge Hill ; and Charles II., when escaping with Jane Lane, also stopped here. The Church of St. James, standing with- in the park, was built of red brick in 1791 in Italian style, with a cupola turret at each angle. To the W. is Little Packington, in a retired and wooded neighbour- hood. The Church of St. Bartholo- mew is of mixed styles. Frag- ments only of tlic original edifice, however, exist, as it was nearly re- built in 1879. 24J m. Marston Green (Stat.). Here are some Cottage Homes erected by the Birmingham Board of Guardians for Trade Schools, &c., for children drafted from the work- houses. About 2 m. S. is Bickenhill, just off the main road to Birmingham. The Church of St. Peterf is a line building of red sandstone, retaining consider- t See description by J. A. Cossins iu the Transcactions, 1887, of the Archa?ologiciU Section of the Birmingham and Midland Institute. able Norm, portions. The embattled tower at the W. end has a lofty spire ; it was struck by lightning in 1876, and restored ten years later. In 1898 the ancient and fine toned bells were re -hung and the tower arch re-opened, exposing to view the beautiful tracery of the W. window. There are a fine octagonal font and a curious stone screen of 15th cent. 2 m. W. of Bickenhill is Elmdon. The Church of St. Nicholas, a small building standing upon an eminence, was erected in 1780 on the site of an older structure. It contains a me- morial to Archdeacon Spooner (d. 1857), whose youngest daughter was married here in 1843 to the Rev. A. C. Tait, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. Elmdon Hall is the residence of W. C. Alston, Esq., J. P. IJ m. S.W. from Marston Green is Sheldon. The CJiurch of St. Giles (restd. in 18G7) is a building of red sandstone, with a fine Perp. tower. There is an inscription stating the building of the tower was commenced in 1461. The Rly. shortly after leaving Marston Green crosses a small strip of Worcestershire, passing at 27J m. Stechford (Junct. Stat, with a branch line to Walsall) for Yardley, see Rte. 7. Then re-entering Warwickshire reaches at 28i m. Adderley Park (Stat.), for Saltley, see Rte. 4 ; and at 30J m. BIRMINGHAM (New Street Stat.). See Rte. 3. 30 Boute 3. — Birmingham, EOUTE 3. BIRMINGHAM TO SUTTON COLDFIELD AND LICHFIELD. (LONDON AND NOKTH-WESTEKN EAILWAY, 16 m.) Rail. Stations. BIRMINGHAM (New St.). 1^ m. Vauxhall and Duddeston. 3 in. Aston. 4 m. Gravelly HilL 5 m. Erdington. 6 m. Chester Road. 6J m. Wylde Green. 8 ni. SUTTON COLDFIELD. 9 m. Pour Oaks. 11 m. Blake Street. 16 m. Lichfield. >{c BIRMINGHAM, situated in the centre of a higli plateau upon a series of gently rounded hills and intervening valleys, tliougli pre- senting to the traveller, who ap- proaches it by any of the great lines of railway, a dingy and an unin- viting appeal ance, will be found, upon closer inspection, to be a well built, well governed, and thriving city. It is the capital of the Mid- lands, ranking second amongst the great provincial cities of England. There is but little doubt that the origin of the city may be ascribed to a Saxon settlement or ham of the Beormingas, or Bermings, upon the sandstone slope whereon the parish clmrch of St. Martin now stands. Birmingham can scarcely have been a Roman station as some old writers have laboured to prove, although the Icknield Street, a military highway running northward out of Worces- tershire through Edgbaston, jDassed about 2 m. to the W. of the Saxon village, and may yet be clearly traced in Sutton Park (see post). There is also no doubt that an in- trenched camp existed beside this road at Metchley, between Selly Oak and Edgbaston. In the days of Ed- ward the Confessor the town formed part of the possessions of "Ulwine," supposed to have been that "Alwyne," whose son Turchil founded the Warwickshire family of Arden, from whom, Mary Arden, the mother of William Shakespeare, was descended. In the Domesday Survey it is stated that four hides in Bermingeham are held by "Richard" under "Wil- liam " Fitz-Ansculf, the Norman lord of Dudley Castle. This " Richard " was probably the first of the family which afterwards took the name of the place for their sur- name. The de Berminghams held their manor till the time of Henry VIII., when Edward de Berminghara, the last of the race, was unjustly deprived of his estate by the then Lord of Dudley. The tombs of the de Berminghams adorn the parish church to this day. The mediaeval town, though small, appears to have been a -thriv- ing place, with a market for country produce, sheep, oxen, hides, &c., frequented by traders from towns in this and the adjoining counties. There were two guilds, a priory, a parish church, and a free chapel at Deritend. It cannot be too point- edly remarked that Birmingham was not noted for its w^orkers in metal until a comparatively recent period. But in the first instance the development of the town was due to the fact that it was free ; thus afibrding an asylum to })olitical or religious refugees. During the Civil War, the inhabitants being for the most part Puritans, re- ceived a visit from Prince Rui)ert in 1G43, who evinced his dislike to the place by first attacking JRoute S.— Birmingham. 31 it and then setting it on fire. Clarendon, however, gives a dif- ferent version to this skirmish (see Introduction). Several skirmishes also occurred in the neighbour- hood. As the coal and iron fields of Staffordshire were developed, Bir- mingham grew in importance ; swords and guns were largely manu- factured in the 17th cent., and even when Leland visited the town in 1538, he remarked: "There be many smiths that use to make knives and all manner of cuttin(2:e tooles, and many lorimcrs that make bittes, and a great many naylors. Soe that a great part of the Toune is maintained by smiths, who liave their iron and sea-cole out of Staf- fordshire." — Lelan(Vs Itinerary , ed. 1745, vol. iv. 106. Towards the close of the 18th cent, the town began to make rapid pro- gress. Boulton and Watt, at Soho Woi ks, helped to establish its repu- tation as a manufacturing centra. John Baskerville, the printer, andiDr. Joseph Priestley, the Nonconformist minister and philosopher, William Murdock, the inventor of gas light- ing, gave an impetus to advance in art, science, and religion, which even the fierce " Church and King Riots" of 1791 could not subdue, though Priestley was compelled to seek a new home in America, and "William Hutton, the local historian, had his house and fine library de- stroyed. In the Reform agitation of 1832, Birmingham took a leading part, and thus obtained enfranchisement. Attwood and Scholefield were the first Members for the borough, and in 1838; the town was incorporated. Since that year the place has steadily advanced; the borough boundary has been extended, ho- nours have been added, till at last, by Royal Charter (1889), the town has become a city, and its chief magistrate a Lord Mayor (1897). The names of Joseph Chamber- lain, Josiah Mason, George Dawson, John Henry Chamberlain, Philip Henry Muntz, Richard and George Tangye, John Thackray Bunco, and Samuel Timmins will ever be associated with the recent progress and development of the Midland capital. There are two great railway stations in the city — New Street Joint Stat, London and N. W. Rly. and Midland Rlv., and Snow Hill Stat., G. W. Rly., from which numerous lines diverge to the suburbs in every direction. New Street Station, one of the largest in England, contains eight through and five side platforms. Tlie old portion is covered by a won- derful semicircular roof, 1100 ft. long, 212 ft. wide, and 80 ft. high. The whole building covers 11 acres, and, on an average, 800 trains pass through the station daily. Proceeding from this station into Stephenson Place, on the right is The Exchange, a large building, erected in 18G5. On the ground-floor are a great hall and a reading-room ; in the former on Thursday afternoons merchants and manufacturers from the whole Midland iron and hard- ware district cungregate for business purposes. On the upper story is a convenient assembly-room for balls and entertainments. At the top of Stephenson Place, where stands a statue of Birming- ham's first Member, Thomas Atticood, M.P. (d. 1856), by J. Thomas, sculptor, and running at right angles to it is the principal thoroughfaie of the city. New Street, joined here by Corporation St. Turning to the left and passing up New St., on the right will be 32 Boute 3. — Birmingham, noticed the classic portico of the Eoyal Society of Artists, founded in 1814, where exhibitions of paint- ings are held in the spring and autumn. At the corner beyond formerly stood Christ Church, f in the vaults of which John Basker- ville, the famous Birmingham j)rinter, was buried. His remains have now been removed to the Church of England cemetery, AVarstone Lane, Opposite on the left are the Theatre Eoyal, the Masonic Hall, and a little beyond the General Post Office, in the central hall of which is a statue to Sir Eowland Hill. The Town Hall, situated in Para- dise St., at the top of New St., is an imposing classic building of stone, erected from the designs of the architects, Messrs. Hansom and Welch. The foundation stone was laid in 1832. The basement, with an arcade fronting Paradise St., sup- jDorts a series of Corinthian columns about 40 ft. high, surmounted by a cornice, and at either end a lofty pediment. Sir Richard Bulkley pre- sented the Anglesey marble with which the hall is faced, and the building, exclusive of this material, cost upwards of 25,000/. The hall will seat about 2700 persons, and when packed will contain nearly 7000 peoi^le. The walls have been adorned with paintings, illustrating the history of the town, tlie work of members of the local School of Art. The great organ, one of the best instruments of its kind by Hill, of London, has been rebuilt. At the back of the Town Hall is an open space with a fountain in the centre, designed by J. H. t In the place of this church two new ones will shortly be built, one in the parish of All Saints, dedicated to St. Tcler, and the other at Sparkbrook, dedicated to St. Agatha. Chamberlain, and erected to com- memorate the municipal services of the Bt. Son. Joseph Chamberlain. On either side are statues of Sir Josiah Mason, the founder of the Mason University Colle;