What to See in England Part 44

Midland Railway.

The castle at Chillingham, the seat of the Earl of Tankerville, is a remarkably picturesque building, erected in the reign of Elizabeth, on the site of an older fortress. The castle, which is now in the occupation of Sir Andrew n.o.ble, to whom it has been let by Lord Tankerville, contains many valuable portraits.

An ancestor of the Earl of Tankerville, Charles Lord Ossulston, came into the property in 1695 by marriage with the daughter and heiress of Lord Grey, Earl of Tankerville, a descendant of the Greys of Chillingham and Wark, who had much property in Glendale.

The herds of cattle at Chillingham are believed to be survivors of _Bos primigenius_, the wild ox of Europe, which is the supposed progenitor of our domestic cattle. This fact is of great scientific interest and is a.n.a.logous to the preservation of the few remaining buffaloes in America, only in this case these wild cattle have been preserved through much changed conditions for a vastly longer period.

The King, when Prince of Wales, shot one of these animals, but in doing so had a rather narrow escape. The chief external appearances distinguis.h.i.+ng the cattle from all others are as follows--"their colour is invariably white; muzzles black, the whole of the inside of the ear and about one-third of the outside, from the lips downwards, red; horns white with black tips, very fine and bent upwards; some of the bulls have a thin upright mane about an inch and a half or two inches long."

It should be pointed out that there is some danger in encountering any of the herd in the absence of the park-keepers. The calves have been noticed to have the wild characteristic of dropping when suddenly surprised.

A reproduction is given opposite of Landseer's picture of the wild cattle.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Collection A. Rischgitz._

THE WILD CATTLE AT CHILLINGHAM.

From the painting by Landseer. The herd are survivors of the wild ox or _Bos primigenius_.]

ST. IVES, CORNWALL

=How to get there.=--Train from Paddington. Great Western Rly.

=Nearest Station.=--St. Ives.

=Distance from London.=--325 miles.

=Average Time.=--About 9 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 50s. 3d. 31s. 6d. 25s. 1-1/2d.

Return 88s. 0d. 55s. 0d. 50s. 3d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=--"Tregenna Castle," "Porthminster,"

"Western," "Queen's," etc.

=Alternative Route.=--None.

St. Ives is a quiet, old-world fis.h.i.+ng town on the northern coast of Cornwall. The town occupies the western limb of the wide bay of St.

Ives. On the narrow neck of land joining the promontory known as The Island to the mainland, most of the houses of the fis.h.i.+ng town are packed away in picturesque confusion, while the streets are tortuous in the extreme. On either side of this isthmus the land rises; behind it thunder the waves on Porthmeor beach; in front are the deep green waters of the harbour, protected by two piers. The beach is of firm, hard sand, upon which the boats are hauled up in safety. The fifteenth-century church, standing on the site of the former Norman chapel, is a large building near the harbour. It is said that the Norman structure was dedicated to St. Ivo, a Persian bishop, who is supposed to have Christianised the Britons in Cornwall in the ninth century, and to have erected six chapels. Others think that St. Ia was the daughter of an Irish chieftain, and was murdered at Hayle. The beautiful font is thought to be a relic from the former chapel. A fifteenth-century cross has been dug up in the churchyard and re-erected. On the island is a little building which is thought to be the remains of one of St. Ivo's chapels. There is also a fort of Cornu-British origin, and a gra.s.s-covered battery on the hill, whose green slopes are covered with fis.h.i.+ng-nets. Half-way across the bay the river Hayle enters the sea, and at the furthest extremity is G.o.drevy Point with its lighthouse.

St. Ives became an important town in the time of Edward III., and its present church was erected in Henry VI.'s reign. Perkin Warbeck from Ireland and the Duke of Monmouth from Holland each landed at St. Ives on their ill-fated ventures.

During recent years St. Ives and the neighbouring fis.h.i.+ng villages have attracted numerous artists of considerably varying merit, and an exhibition of the Royal Academy is now almost certain to contain at least one picturesque glimpse of the place.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

ST. IVES.

A quaint little Cornish fis.h.i.+ng village.]

BAMBOROUGH CASTLE, NORTHUMBERLAND

=How to get there.=--Train from King's Cross. Great Northern Rly.

=Nearest Station.=--Belford (4-1/2 miles from Bamborough).

=Distance from London.=--393 miles.

=Average Time.=--About 9 hours.

1st 2nd 3rd =Fares.=--Single 43s. 11d. ... 26s. 11d.

Return 87s. 10d. ... 33s. 10d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=-- =Alternative Route.=--Train from St. Pancras to Belford (Midland Railway) _via_ Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Standing on an almost perpendicular ma.s.s of basaltic rock, overlooking the sea at a height of 150 feet, is Bamborough Castle. The stately keep belongs to the original stronghold, which was built on the site of what was probably one of a chain of fortresses raised by the Romans for the protection of the coast. For many centuries the castle was possessed of great strength, and was frequently used as a place of refuge by the Kings and Earls of Northumberland. It was founded by Ida, king of the Angles, about A.D. 547, and suffered considerably at the hands of the Danes in 933. Earlier than this, however, in the seventh century, Bamborough was besieged by Penda, the pagan king of Mercia, who, although having recently gained several victories, made great efforts to burn down the castle. Having set his men to work to acc.u.mulate a great ma.s.s of brushwood, Penda had huge piles heaped up beneath the walls. As soon as the wind was in the right quarter he set alight the brushwood.

Shortly afterwards, however, the wind veered round until it blew in the opposite direction, to the discomfiture of his own people, who were thus obliged to abandon their camp.

Afterwards the castle was repaired again, and was besieged by William II. when Robert Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, took refuge there.

During the Wars of the Roses Bamborough was frequently captured and recaptured, and in the various sieges suffered very severely.

In 1720 Nathaniel, Lord Crewe, Bishop of Durham, having purchased the castle, bequeathed it in his will for charitable purposes. The Bishop's trustees carried out a considerable amount of repairs, and at the present time the residential portion is frequently let by the trustees to tenants for varying periods.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Photochrom Co., Ltd._

BAMBOROUGH CASTLE.]