VICINITY OF LONDON. ACCOUNT OF THE MOST REMARKABLE VILLAGES TOWNS, PALACES, AND SEATS NEAR LONDON, WHICH ARE MOST DESERVING OF NOTICE, FOLLOWED BY A BRIEF ALPHABETICAL ENUMERATION OF VILLAGES. (See the annexed Map of the Environs.) Face of the Country THE amphitheatre which the metropolis forms on the north side of the Thames, as it rises above the banks of that river, is greatly enhanced in beauty by a chain of hills on the same side, forming a second amphitheatre, entire ly enclosing the first, of which Hampstead, Highgate, and Muswell Hill, are the most prominent features. On the east and west are extensive plains, stretching twenty miles each way, along the banks of the Thames, and forming one of the most fertile and interesting vallies on the surface of the earth. On the south the landscape is beautifully varied, from west to east, by the high grounds of Richmond, Wimble don, Epsom, Norwood, and Blackheath, terminating in the horizon by Leith Hill, Box Hill, the Reigate Hills, the Wrotham Hills, and Shooter's Hill. The lands immediately surrounding London form a rich and interesting prospect. They consist chiefly of grounds cultivated by the gardeners who furnish the public markets with vegetables and fruit, and extensive nurseries of trees of various kinds, occupy a large portion in almost every outlet. A few green fields, chiefly for hay and pasture for cows, are scattered here and there. Country-houses of the wealthy; successive rows of villas and boxes of the citizens; and seats of the nobility, are to be seen in every direction. An immense number of villages, some of which imitate the manufactures, commerce, and bustle of the parent city; and others, the tranquil residence of merchants and traders, where they occasionally fly from the cares of business, are spread all around, and fill up the picture. Beyond, to the extent of twenty miles in every direction, the scene is composed of greater features. Considerable towns, palaces, and parks; lands richly cultivated, and even heaths and commons, many of them very extensive, and adding grandeur to the scene, with a noble river flowing through the centre of the landscape, constitute an assemblage indescribably beautiful. Several Mineral Springs rise in the vicinity of the me◄ tropolis; and several of them were formerly in much repute, though they are now but little used. The Spa Fields were so called from the different chalybeate springs that rise within them, and of which that at Islington Spa, called also New Tunbridge Wells, from the similarity of the waters to those of Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, is the principal. At Bagnigge Wells are springs both chalybeate and cathartic. At Hampstead are many chalybeate springs, of which those in the Well-walk are strongly impregnated, and were once in high request; here also, at the south-east extremity of the Heath, near Pond Street, are neutral saline springs, said to bear affinity to the waters at Cheltenham. St. Chad's Wells, near the bottom of Gray's Inn Lane Road, are impregnated with calcareous nitre, and are both diuretic and purgative: similar springs are met with near St. Pancras Church. Kilbourn Wells were once famous for their saline and purgative waters: and Acton Wells, which are of the same description, were much celebrated for their medicinal virtues about the middle of the last century; saline and chalybeate springs also rise at Chadwell. The River Thames. This source of all the greatness and wealth of the metropolis, and one of its chief ornaments, deserves the especial notice of strangers. Pope, in a more rich and luxuriant vein of poetry, describes this majestic stream by the following finelyimagined personification: From his oozy bed Old Father Thames advanc'd his reverend head; A more safe or delightful amusement cannot be afforded, than by a day's excursion in fine weather up this river to Kew Gardens, Richmond, Twickenham, or Hampton Court.* It is impossible to conceive the beauty and variety of the numerous objects which on every side delight the eye of the passengers. The whole voyage exhi bits a continued series of villages, magnificent seats, splendid villas, beautiful pleasure-grounds, and highly cultivated gardens. From the magnificent bridges erected across this river at London, the most complete views are afforded of the town; and the immense number of boats, barges, and smaller vessels, which are always in motion, afford a spectacle of active industry, which can no where be equalled. The view from the river, at a little distance above Blackfriars Bridge is extremely grand; the lofty spire of St. Bride on the left, the Bridge itself in front, with the towering fabric of St. Paul rising above it, and the glimpse caught through the arches of London Bridge, and the aspir ing shaft of the Monument, and the numerous steeples of the city churches, with the various craft moving in quick succession along the stream, altogether combine to form a very imposing and animated scene. * Parties often during the summer carry provisions with them, dine on some favourite spot, and enjoy them selves till the turn of the tide. Port of London. The forest of masts which are presented by the ship ping from London Bridge, fills every beholder with astonishment; but how much is this feeling encreased, when in an excursion down the river, it is discovered that this forest covers the Thames for several miles, and also that all the docks are full of shipping. The Port of London, as actually occupied by shipping, extends from London Bridge to Deptford, being a distance of nearly four miles, and from four to five hundred yards in average breadth. It may be described as consisting of four divisions, called the Upper, Middle, and Lower Pools, and the space between Limehouse and Deptford: Upper Pool extends from London Bridge to Union Hole, about 1600 yards; the Middle Pool, from thence to Wapping New Stair, 700 yards; the Lower Pool from the latter place to Horse Ferry Tier, near Limehouse, 1800 yards; and the space below to Deptford about 2700 yards. The Thames rises two miles south-west of Cirencester, in Gloucestershire: at Lechdale, 138 miles above London, becomes navigable for barges of 80 or 90 tons: it is navigated by ships of 700 or 800 tons up to London Bridge, and by the largest ships to Deptford and Greenwich. The tide flows eight miles in four hours, as high as Richmond, but the water is not salt higher than Gravesend, which is thirty miles below London Bridge. At London, it is about a quarter of a mile broad, and at Gravesend, about a mile. Its whole course is about 200 miles. Its fall from Oxford to Maidenhead, is 25 feet every 10 miles, and thence to Brentford, 20 feet every 10 miles, but the fall from Brentford where the tide ends, to the Nore, a distance of 60 river miles, it is but seven feet. The southern banks of the Thames, contiguous to the bridges, for a considerable extent, are lined with manufac➡ tories and warehouses; such as iron-founders, dyers, soap and oil-makers, glass-makers, shot makers, boat-builders, &c. &c. To explore these will repay curiosity; in a variety of them, that powerful agent steam, performs the work, and steam engines are daily erecting in others. These may be viewed by applying a day or two previous, to the resident proprietors, and a small fee will satisfy the man who shews the works. The mercantile importance of this noble stream is greater than that of any other river in the world. Its merchantmen visit the most distant parts of the globe; and the productions of every soil, and of every clime, are wafted home upon its bosom, to answer the demands of British commerce. The frozen shores of the Baltic and North America, the sultry regions of both the Indies, and the arid coasts of Africa, have alike resounded with its name: and there is not a single country, perhaps, in any quarter of the earth, bordering on the sea, but what has been visited by its sails. It deserves to be remarked in conclusion, that notwithstanding the very existence of London depends on the navigation of the Thames, insomuch that if this river were rendered unnavigable, London would soon become a heap of ruins, like Nineveh and Babylon, yet some of the passages of this important river, below the Nore, are suffered to become half choaked, and almost impassable, from the increase and shifting of sand-banks. the The new rates of waterman are inserted among tables at the end of this work. When a boat is taken by the day or half-day, it is proper to make a previous agreement. In case of misbehaviour on the part of the waterman, his name, and the number of his boat, should be taken, and upon a summons before the lord-mayor, they are always punished, with scrupulous regard to the public convenience. The New River. This beautiful canal was cut by Sir Hugh Middleton, and completed in 1613, for the purpose of supplying the metropolis with water. It commences near Ware, at a distance of twenty miles from London, and is brought on one level by Amwell, Hoddesdon, Cheshunt, Enfield, Hornsey, and Stoke Newington, to Islington; where it runs into a fine basin, called the New River Head. It is with all its windings 39 miles long, and from its running through so populous a country, is provided in its course with 215 bridges. It supplies about 50,000 houses, by |