THE BATH ROAD
Reading edition
WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
THE BRIGHTON ROAD: Old Times and New on a Classic Highway.
THE PORTSMOUTH ROAD, and its Tributaries, To-day, and in Days of Old.
THE DOVER ROAD: Annals of an Ancient Turnpike.
THE EXETER ROAD: The Story of the West of England Highway. [In the Press.
GEORGE THE THIRD TRAVELLING FROM WINDSOR TO LONDON, 1806. (After R. B. Davis.)
The BATH ROAD
HISTORY, FASHION, & FRIVOLITY ON AN OLD HIGHWAY
By CHARLES G. HARPER Author of “The Brighton Road,” “The Portsmouth Road,” “The Dover Road,” &c. &c.
Illustrated by the Author, and from Old Prints and Pictures
London: CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited 1899 (All Rights Reserved)
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BECCLES.
To E. T. COOK, Esq.
Dear Mr. Cook,
It was by your favour, as Editor of the Daily News, that the very gist of this book first saw the light, in the form of two articles in the columns of that paper. It seems, then, peculiarly appropriate that these pages—representing, in the measurements common to journalists and authors, a growth from four thousand to some sixty thousand words—should be inscribed to yourself.
Sincerely yours, CHARLES G. HARPER.
This, the fourth volume in a series of books having for its object the preservation of so much of the Story of the Roads as may be interesting to the reading public, has been completed after considerable delay. The Dover Road, which preceded the present work, was published so long ago as the close of 1895, and in that book the Bath Road was (prematurely, it should seem, indeed) described as “In the Press.” Attention is drawn to the fact, partly in order to point out how quickly and how surely the old-time aspects of the roads are disappearing; for, since the Bath Road has been in progress, no fewer than four of the old inns pictured in these pages have disappeared, while great stretches of the road, once rural, have become suburban, and suburban streets have been so altered that they are in no wise distinguishable from those of town. It is because they will preserve the appearance and the memory of buildings that have had their day and are now being swept off the face of the earth, that it is hoped these volumes will find a welcome with those who care to cherish something of the records of a day that is done.
CHARLES G. HARPER.
Petersham, Surrey, February, 1899.
SEPARATE PLATES
PAGE
1.George the Third travelling from Windsor to London, 1806. (After R. B. Davis) Frontispiece.
2.Coaching Miseries. (After Rowlandson) 7
3.Passengers refreshed after a Long Day’s Journey. (After Rowlandson) 13
4.The “White Bear,” Piccadilly 23
5.Allen’s Stall at Hyde Park Corner, about 1756 35
6.Hyde Park Corner, 1797 41
7.Kensington High Street, Summer Sunset 47
8.Colnbrook, a Decayed Coaching Town 101
9.An English Road 125
10.Maidenhead Thicket 131
11.The Stage Waggon. (After Rowlandson) 139
12.Theale 143
13.Woolhampton 147
14.Rail and River: The Kennet and the Great Western Railway 151
15.At the 55th Milestone 155
16.Hungerford 169
17.Marlborough 189
18.Fyfield 195
19.Marlborough Downs, near West Overton 199
20.The White Horse, Cherhill 207
21.The Old Market House, Chippenham 211
22.Box Village 225
23.Bathampton Mill 229
24.Prior Park 247
25.Bath Abbey: the West Front 261
26.The Roman Bath, restored 265
ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT
PAGE
Old Village Lock-up, Cranford (Title-page)
Sign of the “White Bear,” now at Fickles Hole 25
The “White Horse” Inn, Fetter Lane. Demolished 1898 30
Courtyard of the “Old Bell,” Holborn. Demolished 1897 32
Hyde Park Corner, 1786 37
Hyde Park Corner, 1792 39
The “Halfway House,” 1848 43
“Oldest Inhabitant” 50
Thackeray’s House, Young Street 54
The “White Horse.” Traditional Retreat of Addison 55
The “Red Cow,” Hammersmith. Demolished 1897 57
Robin Hood and Little John 64
The “Old Windmill” 65
The “Old Pack Horse” 67
Kew Bridge, Low Water 69
Cottages, supposed to have been the Haunts of Dick Turpin 72
A Bath Road Pump 85
The “Berkeley Arms” 86
Cranford House 88
The “Old Magpies” 90
The “Gothic Barn,” Harmondsworth 95
Old Flail, Harmondsworth 96
The County Boundary 98
Almshouses, Langley 104
The Stolen Fountain 105
Windsor Castle, from the Road near Slough 106
The “Bell and Bottle” Sign 133
Palmer’s Statue 135
Thatcham 149
Inscription, Newbury Church 157
Old Cloth Hall, Newbury 160
The last of the Smock-frocks and Beavers 164
Curious old Toll-house 165
Hungerford Tutti-men 171
Littlecote 176
The Haunted Chamber 178
Roadside Inn, Manton 194
Avebury 201
Silbury Hill 202
Cross Keys 218
The Hungerford Almshouse, Corsham Regis 221
Entrance to Box Quarries 224
The Sun God 233
Roman inscribed tablet 235
The Batheaston Vase 242
“Sham Castle” 249
Old Pulteney Bridge 253
Illustrations to Old Advertisements 258, 259