Ancient Streets and Homesteads of EnglandRimmer, Alfred
History
Ancient Streets and Homesteads of England
Rimmer, Alfred
England -- Description and travel; Historic buildings -- England
Under the influence of mixed feelings, made up partly of delight in what
remains of this kind, partly of sorrowful regret for what is lost, I
cannot hesitate to recommend these drawings by Mr. Rimmer, which he has
illustrated by a running commentary. I do not commit myself to all his
conclusions, which embrace a great multiplicity of subjects connected
with very various parts of our country. The plan of the book is, of
necessity, somewhat desultory; but I think there is some advantage, as
certainly there is no fatigue, in rambling with him irregularly from
county to county, through towns and hamlets, and using his eyes as we
travel. We cannot all literally see these places ourselves; and if we
were to see them, we might easily, through the want of some guidance,
fail to observe their true character and expressive meaning. It should
be remembered, too, that large numbers of such historic and picturesque
buildings as Mr. Rimmer here delineates have been destroyed, or are in
danger now of destruction. It is something if drawings preserve for us
in one sense what in another sense (and a very melancholy one) is
irreparably lost. Such views, too, and such pages as these, may help us
to set a higher value on that which survives. On the whole, it seems to
me evident that this book is a very useful contribution to what I have
termed minor monumental history.
I will exemplify what I mean, and what I understand Mr. Rimmer to mean,
by one or two independent illustrations, that suggest themselves to my
memory; and if, in some degree, I appear to differ from him as to the
resources of this kind which are afforded by different parts of the
country, this only shows that, with all his care and diligence, he has
not exhausted his subject.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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