Surrey: Painted by Sutton Palmer; Described by A.R. Hope MoncrieffMoncrieff, A. R. Hope (Ascott Robert Hope)
History
Surrey: Painted by Sutton Palmer; Described by A.R. Hope Moncrieff
Moncrieff, A. R. Hope (Ascott Robert Hope)
Surrey (England) -- Description and travel
We have now taken leave of the hop poles that, as we came from Farnham,
showed dwindling patches of gault beside the chalk. The sandy lane by
which we reached Puttenham is an undoubted part of the Way, that passes
half a mile to the north of the next church, being indeed far older than
parishes or churches, which, however, might well be built on such a
frequented thoroughfare. This church of Compton, older than À Becket's
martyrdom, is to archæologists one of the most interesting in the county
through its puzzling peculiarities, notably the two-storied chancel,
with a screen or arcade thought to be the oldest piece of woodwork in
England. The situation is pretty, and the village worth a ramble among
its bits of weather-worn antiquity. Such were the attractions that have
always brought a sprinkling of visitors to Compton, now endowed with a
new group of rare sights that on a fine summer day fill its byroads with
cycles and vehicles. On the pilgrims' track, the late G. F. Watts, R.A.,
made for himself a home named Limnerslease, and beside it set up
Artistic Pottery works, with a hostel for the youths trained here, in no
mere commercial spirit. In the same block of buildings, shortly before
his death, he opened a Gallery containing many of his most important
works, and a remarkable show of portraits, shut Thursday, free on three
days in the week, a small fee being charged on the others: this
exhibition is to be kept up as a monument of the artist who thus
illustrated such a pleasant spot. A little farther down the road is the
new village cemetery, which he enriched with a mortuary chapel,
decorated mainly, it is understood, by the handiwork of Mrs. Watts. This
structure, so prominent on a green knoll, is externally notable for its
terra-cotta mouldings, and inside it glows with colour in relief, the
walls being covered with figures, making a show of symbolic art such as
no other village in England can boast.
The wanderer who here ascends the ridge has the choice of coming down to
Guildford either by
[Illustration: VALE OF ALBURY, FROM ST. MARTHA'S HILL.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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