Transcriber's Note: Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal signs=. Stede Hill, cross-referenced in the Index, does not have an Index entry. THE OLD ROAD [Illustration: WINCHESTER] THE OLD ROAD BY H. BELLOC ILLUSTRATED BY WILLIAM HYDE LONDON CONSTABLE AND COMPANY LIMITED 1911 TO PHILIP KERSHAW AND HAROLD BAKER MY COMPANIONS ON THIS JOURNEY CONTENTS PAGE ON THE ROAD AND THE FASCINATION OF ANTIQUITY 3 THE THEORY OF THE OLD ROAD THAT SUCH AND SUCH CAUSES DETERMINED THE TRACK OF THE OLD ROAD, AND THAT IT RAN FROM WINCHESTER TO CANTERBURY 15 THE CAUSES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF WINCHESTER AND CANTERBURY, AND OF THEIR POSITION AS TERMINI OF THE OLD ROAD 29 THE CAUSES OF THE PRESERVATION OF THE OLD ROAD; ITS GENERAL CHARACTER, AND OUR APPLICATION OF THIS IN OUR METHOD OF RECOVERING IT 72 THE EXPLORATION OF THE ROAD WINCHESTER TO ALTON 117 ALTON TO SHALFORD 147 SHALFORD TO DORKING PITS 160 BOXHILL TO TITSEY 188 TITSEY TO WROTHAM 214 WROTHAM TO BOXLEY 231 BOXLEY TO CANTERBURY 256 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS WINCHESTER, _Photogravure frontispiece_ _Facing page_ A ROAD MOST TYPICAL OF ALL THAT ROADS HAVE BEEN FOR US, 8 THESE PITS WHICH UNCOVER THE CHALK BARE FOR US, 26 GLIMPSES OF THE ITCHEN AWAY BEHIND US, 60 THE CHURCH OF SHERE, 110 THE HEAD-WATERS WHICH FORM THE ITCHEN, THE ALRE AND OTHER STREAMS, 128 ROUGH, AND MARKED ONLY BY RUTS IN THE WINTER SOIL, AND BY ITS RANK OF SECULAR TREES, 162 THAT CURIOUS PLATFORM WHICH SUPPORTS IN SUCH AN IMMENSE ANTIQUITY OF CONSECRATION THE RUINS OF ST. CATHERINE'S CHAPEL, 163 A PLACE OF CLOSE DARK AND VARIOUS TREES, FULL OF A DAMP AIR, AND GLOOMY WITH STANDING WATER-RUTS, 174