three miles N.E. from Reading, on the banks of the Thames, over which there is here a bridge. It has been said that this place was a bishop's see, during the separation of Wiltshire, and, as some suppose, Berkshire, from the see of Sherbourn; but Bishop Tanner's editor, on the authority of William of Malmesbury, who expressly says that Wiltshire only was separated from Sherbourn, is of opinion that the bishops of the new see had no other seat than Ramsbury, until Bishop Herman removed to Old Sarum. It is certain that the bishops of Salisbury held the manor of Sonning at the time of the conquest, and that the manor house was, for some centuries afterwards, their occasional residence. Isabel, queen of Richard II., lived at Sonning during the interval between the deposition and death of that unfortunate king. Leland describes the mansion, in his time, as a “fair old house of stone," and that there was "thereby a fair parke." There are various monu ments in the parish church, and between the body of the chancel and its north aisle, a beautiful pointed arch, elaborately enriched with figures of saints, &c. The parish is extensive, containing no less than 7000 acres, exclusive of that portion of it which is within the adjoining insulated district of Wiltshire. Woodley Lodge, once the property and residence of Lord Sidmouth, is in this parish; also Early Court, which stands near the London and Bath Road. Holme Park stands near the bridge of Sonning, upon an eminence overlooking the Thames and the beautiful valley through which the river winds for some distance, and is lost among the remote hills. Holme Park is a handsome modern-looking edifice, square, and built of white brick. The principal front has a bold circular portico. Pursuing the main road, we reach Reading in the course of five miles. MAIDENHEAD TO READING, BY HENLEY. THIS is a route which is only likely to be adopted by the traveller who is making a pleasure-tour, for though it presents some of the most beautiful scenery of which England can boast, yet a considerable detour from the direct road must be made in order to enjoy it. The following directions will be found useful to the tourist, who we may assume is a pedestrian, or travelling on horseback, or in his own vehicle: Immediately on entering Berkshire, by the bridge at Maidenhead, there is a road near the banks of the Thames leading to Cookham, past Taplow Mills, Ray Mills, and over Milbrook Common, which affords views of the most beautiful scenery of the hanging woods, above which stand Cliefden and Hedsor, Taplow House, Taplow, Taplow Lodge, on the Buckinghamshire side of the river. The scenery of the Thames, from Maidenhead to Wargrave, is of the highest order of beauty; but a description of it more properly belongs to Buckinghamshire. COOKHAM, which gives its name to a hundred, is about three miles north of Maidenhead. It had formerly a market, and has still a fair, and a statute for hiring servants. Maidenhead is partly in this parish. The church contains several monuments of the families of the old gentry who have been settled here at various periods. Near the chancel is a brass plate to the memory of a former vicar of the parish, who is styled, "Pylgrim of Jerusalem, and canon professed of the house of our lady at Gisborough, in Yorkshire." A bridge has been erected this year over the Thames by which a communication is effected between Maidenhead, and High Wycombe. Passing over Cookham Common we reach BISHAM, four miles and a half north-west of Maidenhead, and about one mile from Great Marlow, in Buckinghamshire. A monastery was founded here in 1357, and endowed with 3007. per annum by William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury. Many noble personages were interred in the conventual church,-among whom were William, Earl of Salisbury, the son of the founder, who distinguished himself at Poictiers; Thomas, Earl of Salisbury, who died at the siege of Orleans in 1428; Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury and Warwick, beheaded at York in 1460 for his attachment to the Lancasterian cause; Richard Neville, the great Earl of Warwick and Salisbury, and his brother John, Marquess of Mountague, both of whom fell at the battle of Barnet in 1470; and Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, son of the Duke of Clarence, beheaded in 1499 for attempting to escape from confinement. Such were the stormy lives and eventful histories of the aristocracy of England at this period! The splendid monuments to the memory of these men, which Bisham once contained were destroyed after the dissolution of the abbey. The prior of Bisham at its surrender was made a bishop, and afterwards married and had five daughters, each of whom married a bishop. A pointed door-way, which forms the entrance to the mansion of Bisham Abbey, is the only existing remains of the old conventual building. In an aisle or chapel adjoining the parish church is a richly ornamented window, and a monument with effigies in armour of two of the Hoby family. This chapel was built by one of the learned daughters of Sir Anthony Coke, wife of Sir Thomas Hoby, and the epitaph in Latin verse on her husband's monument was written by her. HURLEY, about five miles from Maidenhead, and about four from Henley on Thames, not far from the Oxford road, is pleasantly situated in a valley, sheltered on both sides of the river by gently-descending and well-wooded hills. It has an ancient and retired look, the houses are old and built partly of timber, with deep porches and seats, covered with mosses and vines, con trasting somewhat singularly with the smart inn and new toll-house at the entrance of the village. The church, which stands near the manor house is old and plain. The view from the hills above the village of Hurley is very fine. Hurley House, associated with our recollections of a great event in English history-the Revolution of 1688-was pulled down a few years ago. It was situated in one of the most picturesque windings of the Thames, the grounds extending to the banks of the river. The site of Hurley House was a Benedictine monastery, founded in the reign of William the Conqueror, and dedicated to the Virgin; hence the house, which was built about the beginning of the seventeenth century, was termed Lady Place. The manor came into the possession of the Lovelace family in the sixteenth century; and the house was built by Sir Richard Lovelace, who was "knighted in the wars," as his epitaph declared, and who was reputed to have acquired a large sum of money on a sea expedition with Sir Francis Drake. His son was made Baron Lovelace of Hurley. The house was a most perplexing labyrinth of dark rooms running one into the other, and of "passages that lead to nothing." The hall, which was of large size and lofty dimensions, had two entrances, one from the garden, and one from the grounds leading to the Thames. The ceiling was covered with plaster mouldings of elegant flowing scroll-work, intermixed with fruit and flowers; and the walls were also ornamented with groups of musical instruments, books, &c., inclosed in borders, all of plaster. On one side of this spacious apartment was a staircase leading to a balcony running round it, from which were doors to rooms on the second story. The rooms were panelled, as was also the hall or saloon; the panels being painted with landscapes, or else carved in arches and lozenges. The landscapes were about fifty in number, painted in a broad and free manner: they have been attributed to Salvator Rosa, but we believe they were the work of Antonio Tempesta. The lower rooms, with their large bay windows and painted and carved panellings, must have been, especially when filled with the massive antique furniture of the period, extremely rich, light, and imposing. But the upper rooms, which were not intended for show, presented a great contrast; they exhibited little either of elegance or comfort. The gutters from the roof ran through them, by which the external air was freely admitted at all seasons, as well as a copious share of the rain. In the reign of James II., John, Lord Lovelace, "kept house" at Lady Place with a profuse hospitality that afterwards ate like a canker into his fortune. But it was under cover of this hospitality that the meetings of the noblemen of England were held, which resulted in the Revolution of 1688. The vault under the hall of the house was the burial vault of the monastery which formerly occupied the site: an inscription on the floor records that "Three bodies in Benedictine habits were found under this pavement." The ceiling of the vault is about six feet and a half high. The following inscription records the chief facts connected with the history of the vault : "DUST AND ASHES, "Mortality and Vicissitude to all. "Be it remember'd that the Monastery of Lady Place (of which this Vault was the Burial Cavern) was founded at the time of the great Norman Revolution; by which Revolution the whole state of England was changed. Hi motus animorum; atque hæc certamina tanta "Be it also remembered, that in this place six hundred years afterwards the Revolution of 1688 was begun. This House was then in the Possession of the Family of Lord Lovelace; by whom private meetings of the Nobility were Assembled in the Vault; and it is said that several consultations for calling in the Prince of Orange were held in this Recess. On which account this Vault was Visited by that powerful Prince after he had ascended the Throne." [The inscription also farther recorded the visits of General Paoli in 1780 and of George III. and his queen in 1785.] Lord Lovelace was rewarded by King William with the post of Captain of the Band of Gentlemen Pensioners. He fitted up Lady Place with great splendour, and lived in a style which involved him so much in debt, that the greater portion of his estate was sold under a decree of the Court of Chancery. The house then passed through various hands. In 1837 its dilapidation condemned it to be pulled down. Leaving Hurley we proceed to Prospect Hill and Rose Hill, from which the road passes direct to Henley, but the 'tourist who wishes to follow more closely the course of the Thames will proceed by Culham Court, Aston, and Remenham. There is also a road from Henley to Reading which partly follows the windings of the Thames on the Buckinghamshire side of the river. REMENHAM is about a mile and a half from Henley. Park Place, once the seat of Marshal Conway, is in the parish, a short distance south of the road leading to Henley. The mansion is situated at an elevation of about three hundred feet above the Thames on a range of hills which bounds the river for several miles. The grounds command a view of the town of Henley, an extensive and varied prospect of the high lands in Oxfordshire; and the Thames is one of the chief features of the landscape. In the park is a Druidical temple brought from Jersey, and presented to Marshal Conway, governor of the island, by whom it was removed to its present situation. There is a subterranean passage, nearly one hundred and seventy yards long leading to a valley planted with cypress, at the end of which is a ruin representing a Roman amphitheatre. Across the road leading from Wargrave to Henley is a large arch constructed partly of blocks of material taken entire from the ruins of Reading Abbey. WARGRAVE, on the banks of the Thames, about three and a half miles from Henley, and about midway between Maidenhead and Reading, gives its name to the hundred. It had formerly |