England, Picturesque and Descriptive: A Reminiscence of Foreign TravelCook, Joel
History
England, Picturesque and Descriptive: A Reminiscence of Foreign Travel
Cook, Joel
England -- Description and travel
North of the valley of the Aire is the valley of the Wharfe River, and,
following that pleasant stream a short distance up, we come to Rumbald's
Moor and the water-cure establishments of the town of Ilkley, which is
an array of villas and terraces spreading up the hillside from the
southern bank of the river. The neighborhood is full of attractive
rock-and river-scenery. In the suburbs is the palace of Ben Rhydding,
built in the Scottish baronial style, with the Cow and Calf Rocks
overhanging the adjacent park. The Panorama Rock also commands a wide
prospect, while Rumbald's Moor itself is elevated over thirteen hundred
feet. A few miles from Ilkley are the celebrated ruins of Bolton Abbey,
standing on a patch of open ground, around which the Wharfe curves, but
with much woods clustering near the ruins and on the river-bank. Bolton
stands in a deep valley, and on the opposite side of the river rises the
steep rock of Simon's Seat, sixteen hundred feet high. The architecture
of the abbey is of various styles, the west front coming down to us from
the reign of Henry VIII., while its gateway is much older. There is no
south aisle to the abbey, and at present the nave and north aisle are
roofed in and serve as the parish church. The east end of this aisle is
divided from the rest by an ancient wooden screen so as to form a
chapel, and beneath this is the vault where the former owners of
Bolton--the Claphams and Mauleverers--were buried. Some years ago, when
the floor was being repaired, their coffins were found standing upright,
whereof the poet tells us:
"Through the chinks in the fractured floor
Look down and see a grisly sight--
A vault where the bodies are buried upright
There, face by face and hand by hand.
The Claphams and Mauleverers stand."
The ruins of the north transept are in fair preservation, and the choir
has a beautiful arcade, while through the openings beneath there is a
charming view of the green-bordered river and of the hills beyond.
Bolton Hall, which was the ancient gateway of the abbey, is opposite its
western front, and is one of the favorite homes in the shooting season
of the Duke of Devonshire, its owner.
[Illustration: THE STRID.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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