A Pictorial History of the Thames (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1889 Excerpt: ...phases would far exceed the space at our disposal. It was in turn the residence of the Queen ot Richard II., the home of Thomas Chaucer, and the prison of Owen Tudor. The glories of the place were maintained until the year 1632, when the office of constable, last held by WALLINGFORD. 93 the Earl of Berkshire, finally ceased. In 1652 the castle was ordered to be demolished and the works destroyed. The castle of to-day presents but little of the old fabric to the eye of the spectator. The dykes, formerly part of a series of earthworks, creditable pieces of engineering in their time, still remain, together with a portion of the old wall, and the inner keep, on an artificial mound. The house, a Tudor mansion, is modern, and is now occupied by Mr. Hedges, the author of an excellent history of Wallingford, by whose courtesy we are enabled to give the accompanying sketches. We would recommend any reader desirous of further information respecting the ancient town and its stronghold to refer to this work, and also to the equally scholarly book of Mr. J. H. Crofts.t Wallingford possesses many features of interest besides its bridge and castle: of the churches remaining, St. Mary's, in the Market Place, with its handsome tower, and St. Peter's, near the river, with its monumental spire. In the churchyard of the latter is buried Mr. Justice Blackstone. The church was built in 1769, and the spire in 1777. The handsomest of the Wallingford churches is unquestionably St. Leonard's, in Thames Street, a modern edifice, erected in 1849, and replete with architectural detail, in the Norman style. Another feature of interest is the Kinecroft, a field near the railway-station, in which are well-defined traces of Roman earthworks, presumably a continuation of the dykes so plenti...