The Rivers of Great Britain, Descriptive, Historical, Pictorial: Rivers of the South and West CoastsVarious
History
The Rivers of Great Britain, Descriptive, Historical, Pictorial: Rivers of the South and West Coasts
Various
Great Britain -- Description and travel; Rivers -- Great Britain
Bath boasts at least one ecclesiastical structure of great interest,
in the "Lantern of England," as the tower of the Abbey Church has been
styled, because of the unusual number and size of its windows. In the
exceptional height of the clerestory and the oblong shape of the tower,
the church is also distinguished from the general.
Out by the Western Gate the Avon runs, with Holloway Hill and Beechen
Cliff conspicuous landmarks on its left. By Twerton--"the town on the
banks of the Avon"--there are large cloth-mills on the riverside,
relics of the monastic industries established by the monks of Bath so
far back as the fourteenth century. Fielding Terrace, in this town, is
the reputed neighbourhood of the residence of the novelist, who is said
to have written a part of "Tom Jones" during his stay.
[Illustration: VIEW FROM NORTH PARADE BRIDGE, BATH.]
[Illustration: VIEW FROM THE OLD CITY BRIDGE, BATH.]
Now the Avon is in its beloved valley, deep and green again. Three
miles, or a little more, from the city, a beautiful circling knoll
seems to shut in the vale. The hill is crowned with a handsome house,
and ornamented with woodland and lawn. Kelston Round Hill, as this
impressive eminence is called, is 730 feet above the sea-level, the
Avon winding at its foot and the ascending groves of Newton Park
reaching to the fine prospect and the highest hill in this part of
Somerset. Ere, at this point, we bid a reluctant adieu to the beauties
of Bath, it should be pointed out that in most of the commanding
and delightful views obtainable from all the vantage points in
and about the city the Avon and its fertile valley conspicuously
figure, heightening the interest of each entrancing scene. It is no
exaggeration to say that the neighbourhood of Bath is rife with scenic
charms. The cliffs, ravines, and deep excavations in the strata lend
endless variety to the landscape, which is finely compact of hill,
vale, rock, wood and water, the striking beauties of the Avon's course
ever and anon lending a crowning grace to the view.
Below Kelston the more expanded vale of the Keynsham Hams succeeds.
Flowing round this rich tract of land, the Avon becomes the dividing
line between Gloucester and Somerset. Just beyond, within the parish of
Keynsham, and midway between the sister cities of Bath and Bristol, the
waters of yet another tributary, the Chow, a stream which has come down
from the north side of the Mendip Hills, are gathered up.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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