Here the founder retired in sadness and sorrow
after his unfortunate day's hunting in Bramshill Park, where he
accidentally shot a keeper, an incident which gave occasion to his
enemies to blaspheme and deride him. Here the Duke of Monmouth was
confined on his way to London after the battle of Sedgemoor. The
details of the building are worthy of attention, especially the
ornamented doors and doorways, the elaborate latches, beautifully
designed and furnished with a spring, and elegant casement-fasteners.
Guildford must have had a school of great artists of these
window-fasteners. Near the hospital there is a very interesting house,
No. 25 High Street, now a shop, but formerly the town clerk's
residence and the lodgings of the judges of assize; no better series
in England of beautifully designed window-fasteners can be found than
in this house, erected in 1683; it also has a fine staircase like that
at Farnham Castle, and some good plaster ceilings resembling Inigo
Jones's work and probably done by his workmen.
The good town of Abingdon has a very celebrated hospital founded in
1446 by the Guild of the Holy Cross, a fraternity composed of "good
men and true," wealthy merchants and others, which built the bridge,
repaired roads, maintained a bridge priest and a rood priest, and held
a great annual feast at which the brethren consumed as much as 6
calves, 16 lambs, 80 capons, 80 geese, and 800 eggs.
Pages:
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391