A TRIP ABROAD.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 40, 12 February 1912, Page 2

A TRIP ABROAD.

(By a Traveller.) Manchester —“that city of cotton, twist, and twill”—lias a populatioiT of 714,000. if one looks at an ordihary atlas, Manchester, Salford, and Oldham are worked in three separate circles. It is very different “on the' ground,” for although the authorities know the boundaries between these places, to a visitor it is one vast city. As might be expected, the Jrwell is a very sluggish, nuiddy-looking stream. Visits were made to the beau-

tiful Alexandra Park, the Shudehill flower and fruit market, Salford Canal, a very busy shipping centre, Oldham, oh' the road to. which there is an old

inn with the queer title of the “Carrion Crow,” and Belle Yue Gardens, which latter visitors to the city should not miss seeing. There is ; an oldddack and white, inn in the market, the Wellington, in which .we here told the first meeting to institute Sunday schools was held. , Another old famous black and white.inn.is the Seven Stars. The oldest licensed house in Great Britain, and perhaps in the

world. It has been licensed for over 540 years! The proprietress, finding we were visitors from the Antipodes, very kindly showed us through. There is the Catesby room, the Guy Fawkes room 1 / etc., and she pointed out the place where the latter gentleman of effigy, bonfire, and fireworks fame made his escape when the place got too hot for him. Buxton, said to be the highest town in the’United Kingdom, Is a 'great health resort and is noted for its spa. ’ ’lt is in the centre of what is knOwn 1 as the “Peak” in Derbyshire', ! find is a very ancient watering place, trades of Roman baths having 'been found. The thermal springs are of a uniform temperature of 82 degrees Fahrenheit, and are the property of 1 the town. Centuries ago the Springs 1 were dedicated to St. Anne, and a little chapel built. At the Reformation the chapel was destroyed and the uses of the water prohibited by Cromwell’s agent. The prohibition did not hold good for long, as the baths soon became popular. In a hand-book published in 1572 the town is called “Buckstones.” Queen Mary of Scotland visited this place four times on account of having contracted rheumatism. On one of the windows of her room she is said to have scratched a Latin couplet which has been translated : I ! '

“Buxton, whose fame t|iy milk-warm waters tell, , ~ , Whom I perhaps no more slxpll see, farewell.”

Tile 1 Crescent is a splendid building erected in 1.784 :byi the ILft'h Duke of Devonshire, and the Pump Room (St. Anne’s Well) was eroefad' in 1894 by Die Duke of.De.vonsjiire'nnd presented IP tlie, inw i,i.. ' The i loom -is l beauti- . I'ililv ' apnoinud and • K/m .several sil- . I I : '; j ■ , 1 , ‘ ror-jl tonnpiins .ibnoogll twhich thd water Hows. Jt tasted like ordin--ary warm water and quite different from, that at the Leamington spa. TIkC Devonshire' Hospital,' an imposing building, the, dome of Which is said to be the largest in the world, is situated on a rising ground which is laid out in gardens and shrubberies. Over 3600 afflicted persons are treated annually at this-;‘fine establishment.- The Opera House cost £25,000, is beautifully decorated, and will seat 1250 people. There is also a very fine pavilion attached.,,to which' j are beautiful gardens of about 23 acres. Behind the Pump lloonf is a terrace milled St. Anne’s Cliff, .well supplied with scats from where .thorei is an excellent view of the town and neighbourhood. The town hand plays there,in the evenings when the weather permits. I heard them play Verdi’s “Nabbuco,” a very fine performance indeed. The resident population of Buxton is 12,200, supplemented by ,a largo number of visitors from all parts of the world. Yet they do not publish a daily paper! ~ During our visit the town was very lively on account of so many territorials being on leave. r J>bey seemed a smart lot .of young men and were well behaved. Eight thousand were in camp near'here at Hindlon, and I found out from the London Daily Mail that the Commanding Officer had been up to review them! On breaking camp the troops marched in, the procession being two miles long and it took them thirtysix minutes to pass a given point. There are many interesting places in Hie vicinity of Buxton worth seeing. Poole’s Cavern about half a mile from the baths extend over a quarter of a mile into the limestone rocks. It was used as a retreat by the ancient Britons from the Romans. The stalactite formation is very curious and in places has a wierd romantic appearance when lit up by incandescent light. There is one curious pillar which is called after Mary Queen of Scots. Outside and close by is a museum containing a collection of interesting articles many of which were found in the cave. Iddington Village 4V miles a beautiful drive passing a “lover’s leap” in Asbwond Dale; a kind of chasm in the limestone rocks that no lovers ever leapt over, but then there is always a kind of romance and draw about a “lover’s leap.”,,; The Goyt Valley is another charming drive passing, the old village of Burbridge, where there is a picturesque ancient stone bridge, a favourite subject for artists and photographers. “ One part of Hie valley—very much resembles Swiss scenery. The Ferny Lee Powder Manufactory is situated in this beautiful valley. The “Cat and Fiddle.” Tin’s old inn Is o miles from Buxton and is rcacb••■l li\- eliar-a-banc. chiefly. The tour-i-1 tmif!t>- to it is very great in the i■-.!»:>. ;\i which Inuc the proprietor reaps lan harvest as Ji<- is no doubt “Snowed in” during the winter. The inn is tiie highest licensed 'house in England, standing about 1700 feet ..

above sea level. There is a line view from the ‘Cat” of Cheshire, and on clear day the mouth of the Mersey can be seen. In returning the Axe-edge (water divide) is passed, the highest road in England from which excellent views of moorland and cultivated farms are obtained. Blakewell is 12 miles from Buxton and is a very pretty market town The fine old church of All Saints contains the' old church of All Saints contains the tombs of Sir John Manners and Ddr-/ othy (Vernon) with effigies represented kneeling as in prayer. This is •'tin;. Dorothy Vernon whose romantic-Cmhiv-riage is a matter of history. Tliqae effigies are often faithful likenesses of the departed. When the of Sir John Manners was sqen whemjemporarily exumed at the rebhilcthig in 18-11 it was found to corf’esppnd in shape with the Knight’s effigy on the tomb. Dorothy 7 died in 1584 and her husband survived her 27/ylears. He was knighted after her death. There is a fine altar tomb v of ■’'Sir George 1 Vernon, “King of the .Dealt,” and his two wives, which is v enriched with armoured bearings. Tile earliest Vernon monument is dated 1477. The h ont is nearly 600;. y r ears old and thy' “Bakowell Cross” in, the churchyard is over a thousand/ years old■’ This is. antiquity The church contains an octayc.'of fine-toned bells. They were recast in 1896. The old Dolls were cast -a ,hundred years before, and each hell had an inscription upon it. Here'is that on the seventh bell:— it

“Would hntih like us, join and agree, They’d Slivq in tuneful harmony.” Tp tWP churchyard there are many quaint- epitaphs, such as this:— “Beiipntyi a sleeping infant lies, To whose body lent Mbje glorious shall hereafter rise, Through not more innocent. Wlten the Archangel’s trump shall < blow And souls to bodies join, Millions will wish their lives below Had been as short as thine.”

Hadrian Hall on the river Wye is said to be one of the most perfect specimens of mediaeval architecture extent. It isr a grand old pile, now kept as a show place as the family have not occupied it as a residence for many years. William the Con r queror gave Haddon to his natural son William Peveril—Sir Waltei Scott’s ,‘Tcvoril of the Peak.” II to the Vernon family in 1195. On the marriage of Dorothy Vernon to John Manners, younger son of the Karl of Rutland, it became his propci ty and ds .still in possession of •„ descendant.—his (draco the Duke ol Rutland. The Hall is approached In a stone bridge over tJieWye. The yew trees one notices .are cut into shape: representing boar’s heads and pea , cocks, the crests of the Vernon- and Manners families. In some of the rooms articles of antiquity are b; view. In the chapel there is a stoui for holy water 400 years old.' O: soine plaster being chipped off the walls .frescoes were discovered said to have been painted four or five hundred years ago. The fine ball room is over 100 feet long, 18 wide, and 15 high. The sides are wains cotted in oak and ornamented with shields of the Vernon and Manners armoured hearings. In the great kitchen there is a huge fireplace, docks for .salting and chopping, etc. It was so dark that some of the ai tides could scarcely be distinguished. The highest part of the hall h the Peveril Tower, from where' there •R <a splendid view of the terraces and gardens and the valley of the Wyc and surrounding country. After des "ending the spiral stairs the guide conducts the visitor through the State bedroom and anti-room to a - door'that leads down a few steps on to the terrace in the garden. Tradition •:ays it was down these steps that Dorothy Vernon went from the feslive gathering when taking steps tr dope with her lover John Manners, who was disguised .as a forester. They travelled away to Lieeesterghire where they were- married next morning. Another account says that Manners exchanged dresses with a pedlar and attended the .masked hall at the hall. When the moment arrived for eloping the dresses were again exchanged and the pedlar was killed on his leaving the hall by a rival who thought lie was John Manners, whom ho knew was to appear at the half as a pedlar, flic murderer admitted his guilt and was hanged by order of Sir George ernon in .a field afterwards known is Gallows Acre. In Sir Walter icott s “Peveril of the Peak” Peveril Castle in the Peak near Castleton i; the castle mentioned and not Had don. This magnificent old hall if kept in repair by order of his Grace the Duke of Rutland. The next visit was to Chatsworth (originally Chetol’s Wortlie, or the Court o( Chotol). Acting on advice wo left the train at Bakewell and drove tr Haddon, Chatsworth, Rdensor, etc., returning to Bakewell by another route. Chatsworth was at the Doomsday Survey held by William Peveril. It then got into the hands of tin Lceho family, who , sold it to the Agards, from whom it was purchased by Sir William Cavendish, husband of the celebrated “Bess of Hardwick,” and it has remained the property of that illustrious family over since. The “beautiful Duchess of Devonshire” was Lady Georgians Spencer, daughter of Karl Spencer and wife of William .Cavendish, the fifth Duke. The famous picture of her by Sir Joshua Reynolds has been reproduced and is well known. A very fine bridge crosses the river, near Chatsworth, which is said to lie from designs of Michael lA.ngolo, and not far from it is a kind of square redoubt or enclosure hull I on an elevation. It is surrounded by a moat and is called the “Bower of Mary Queen of Scots,” and once eon tained a small garden in which tin

Queen dijed yo pass many hours during her infp/isonment at’Chatsworth. A flight ''of steps leads to the entrance/, dyer which there Is coat of arms with fleur de lys, lions, etc. j Tradition says that Mary aniused /heir&elf by needle-work and planting ii/Small flower garden there, but \v'ritfoi;s as far as I know don’t say 7 Uowyshe got there. On inquiring a 'person told us that she was taken to Hhjs “bower” by an underground passage from the hall. On looking round •dhe enclosure there is what appears like an old well down which are spiral steps, thus giving some colour to our informant’s statement. Amongst the .many beautiful and curious things to be seen in the gardens is an artificial “weeping willow” tree of copper. By 7 turning a tap the tree becomes quite unique. Ensconed in the foliage on the hill is the old Hunting Tower, originally built to accommodate ladies to watch the stag hunting. It is now occupied: and also used as a flag tower when the Duke is at Chatsworth.