Edward Walford

“ Hampstead's the place to ruralize.
Standing, for the most part, on ground that rises to about the level of the cross of St. Paul's, on the edge of a gravelly and sandy heath which has been dug at various times into the most eccentric shapes, the whole parish presents an appearance of picturesqueness which the demon of brick and mortar will find it difficult altogether to destroy for many a long year to come. ”

“ Albanus refused, and the Roman judge ordered him first to be scourged and afterwards to be beheaded on a hill just outside the town. The legend runs that so eager was Alban for the honour of martyrdom that, the little bridge being too narrow to admit the crowds which flocked to the place of his execution, the waters of the Ver were parted at his entreaty, just as the waters of the Red Sea had been parted by the rod of Moses, and that the executioner, converted by the miracle, threw away his sword, and fell at Alban's feet, praying to he allowed to become a Christian and to die with him. ”

“ It is singular that it is not with an easterly gale that the greatest damage is done on the Yarmouth coast, though it lies so open to the east, the waves being broken and spent upon the sands in the offing. The severest storms are those which come up under a north-westerly wind, which forces up the waters out of the Northern Sea in vast excess of the average. Such was the case only so lately as the month of May, 1860, when the whole Norfolk coast was swept by a terrific gale, which strewed its sands with wrecks, and caused a sad loss of life. ”

“ Partly through the gradual receding of the sea, consequent on the alluvial deposits brought down by the Adur, and partly through the growth of a bank of pebbles thrown up across the river's mouth by the action of the tide, the once flourishing port and town has sunk into a tiny rural village, the chief ornament of which is its exquisite Norman church, which, small as it is, is known to all Ecclesiologists and Church architects as one of the best specimens of its time. ”

“ But for the student of ecclesiastical art it has an additional charm in the fact that in it is to be found exemplified every era and style of architecture, from the earliest Norman down to the decadence which marks the age of the Tudors. In this respect it has been a complete school of art for the numerous restorations of pointed architecture which the spirit of the age has effected. ”

“ There could have been no Roman station at Yarmouth, for the very good reason that while the Roman eagles waved over Britain, the spot on which Yarmouth stands was not land, but sea. Like many other places situated at the mouth of rivers, Yarmouth has sprung up on soil partly alluvial and partly deposited by the tides and currents of the German ocean. ”

“ Alban's Abbey, should study the interesting volume of Messrs. Buckler on that subject. They show good reasons for believing that the west end of the nave was adorned with two towers, and that the central tower, which now stands, was surmounted by a lofty octagonal lantern.
One cannot but own that the vast dimensions of the fabric in point of length, [1] combined with the simplicity of its plan, render St. Alban's Abbey one of the most striking edifices in the kingdom, even to an eye which is utterly inexperienced in the details of Gothic architecture. ”

“ Alban's is not only an old town, but an old-fashioned one; and it will be doing it no injustice to confess that, as towns now go, it does strike the visitor as somewhat behind the age. The straw plaiting, it is true, keeps the hands of its young women and its children busy ”

“ During the mackerel season, the beach at Yarmouth, near the jetty, affords a most amusing scene; great quantities of fish are continually brought ashore in large flat boats, called ferry-boats, and sold upon the beach. The fish are then washed, packed up in hampers, or “peds,” and sent off to the railway. The mackerel fishery realises many thousands annually, and employs a large number of vessels, with ten hands in each. The herring fishery, [4] however, is even a greater source of profit to the town, nearly double the number of both boats and hands being engaged in it. ”

“ The abbey is very rich in other monuments of a singular description. The most remarkable are those which commemorate Abbots Wheathamsted and Ramryge, both of which are enriched with heraldic devices, which, if they were not so ancient, would be set down as punning on their venerable names in a very vulgar way—being profuse in ears of corn and heads of rams, intermixed with dragon's heads, the abbey arms, and a representation of the martyrdom of Amphibalus. ”

“ The beach itself, and indeed the entire coast of Norfolk, is most dangerous to coasters; as the tombstones in the churchyard can tell the visitor. When a storm visits this coast, it seldom leaves its work half done. Thus in 1789 no less than thirty-five vessels were driven ashore on the last day of October between Happisburg and Corton; and the records of the town relate that in the year 1692 above 200 sail of ships and at least 1000 souls belonging to the ports of Norfolk, including Yarmouth, were lost in one night between Lowestoft and Lynn. ”

“ The diocese of London has already grown far beyond the powers of a single individual to manage carefully: then why should not the rural districts of Middlesex be withdrawn from the jurisdiction of London, and joined to Hertfordshire, and made into a separate diocese with St. Alban’s for its see? ”

“ Above all this goodly array of architecture arose, as its crowning feature, the stupendous abbey church in its full proportions, with its three noble towers, the central one augmented in height and in beauty of appearance by its lofty octagonal lantern tower and tapering pinnacles.”
In 1856, a public meeting of the nobility and gentry of the county was held at St. Alban’s, to take into consideration the best means of obtaining a bishop of St. Alban’s. Mr. G. Gilbert Scott made a careful survey of the abbey, and furnished a thorough report as to the state of the building. ”

“ We have already hinted that the borough of Yarmouth, in its corporate capacity, has on various occasions shown a high and independent spirit, as if its inhabitants were resolved to “hold their own” against all rivals. ”

“ Albanus was a Roman by extraction, but a native and an eminent and wealthy citizen of Verulam, who, struck with horror at the cruelties which were perpetrated on the Christians, gave shelter to Amphibalus, a Christian preacher, who had fled to his house for refuge. Edified by the faith and piety of Amphibalus, he became a Christian, and when the heathen soldiers came to his house in search after their prey he changed clothes with Amphibalus, and, allowing him time to effect his escape, presented himself to the soldiers as the object of their inquiry. ”

“ The tenure of land at Hampstead is also for the most part copyhold, a fact which presents a firm stand against all modern "improvements" in street building, so that in all probability the twentieth century will look upon some at least of the old red-brick mansions and high-pitched roofs which delight our eyes at the present day with a pleasing variety, and are not easily to be found elsewhere within four miles of Oxford Street. ”

“ On that occasion even the life-boat crew felt that it was impossible for human hands to make way with their gallant vessel against the joint force of wind and tide, and were obliged, therefore, to leave several sufferers to their fate. ”

“ A half-hour's journey westward by railway will carry the visitor who happens to be staying at Brighton into a retired and secluded country, which will offer him a very pleasant contrast to the eternal bustle and scorching sun of the Marine Parade. ”

“ Built as the city was on the old Watling Street which led from London to the north, it is not to be wondered at that, even in the desolation of their present ruined state, they bear on their fronts abundant testimony that they were erected at a date as early as the commencement of the Christian era, though any inquiry as to their locality addressed to the country people, is generally met by a vacant stare of wonder and ignorance, which shows that our English rural population is far less poetical than practical. ”

“ The constant and easy intercourse by sea between Yarmouth and Holland, where the reformed religion had assumed a freer action, had so powerful an effect upon the inhabitants of Yarmouth that we find the ecclesiastical authorities at Norwich had to put the laws into motion for the suppression of “Sectaries,” and Queen Elizabeth supported her ministers by commanding the “Anabaptists and such like heretics, who had flocked to the coast towns of England, to depart the realm within twenty days.” ”

“ Sometimes, when the quantity of fish is very small, they will continue on the fishing-ground a week or ten days; but in general they bring them in every two or three days, and sometimes oftener, especially when the quantity amounts to six or seven lasts, [5] which often happens, and instances not unfrequently occur of a single boat bringing into the roads at one time fourteen to sixteen lasts. As soon as the herrings are brought on shore, they are carried to the fish-offices, where they are salted and laid in heaps on the floors, about two feet deep ”

“ We learn from the Harrow "School Lists" that
The public exhibitions of archery were annual, and can be traced back for more than a century. The 4th of August (for which was afterwards substituted the first Thursday in July) was the anniversary; on which day originally six, and in later times twelve boys contended for a silver arrow. The competitors were attired in fancy dresses of spangled satin—the usual colours being white and green, sometimes (but rarely) red; green silk sashes and silk caps completed their whimsical costume. ”

“ The fashionable season is the latter part of the summer and the beginning of autumn.
Yarmouth roads afford excellent anchorage, and they are seldom empty of a large fleet of merchantmen and colliers, though the numbers vary much, according to the state of the weather. We have counted as many as 1300 sail in the roads.
The anchorage is protected by the Scroby and Corton sands, which run parallel with the beach at the distance of something more than a mile from the shore. At very low tides portions of these sands are dry ”

“ Most probably, the real artisans were members of some guild or religious association whose special duty it was to perform the last of the “corporal acts of mercy,”—viz., to bury the dead. After the alarm of the Spanish Armada had passed away, the burgesses of Yarmouth raised a large mound of earth outside the southern gate, to command the river and the South Denes, and crowned it with large pieces of ordnance, at a cost of £125 ”

“ Can scarce be false of E. F. G.
“Trust me, your Emma means but this,—
Should some fond lover steal a kiss,
Standing upon her left or right,
She’ll not let slip the lucky wight,
But do her best to hold him tight.” ”

“ In different parts of the church some fine specimens of mural painting have been discovered, or rather uncovered, from time to time, on removing coats of plaster from the walls. A narrow staircase leads up to the large central tower, from the top of which an extensive view is obtained, but the ascent is neither agreeable, nor advantageous to ladies' dresses. ”

“ Alban's. The great gateway is surmounted by an early pointed arch, and its roof is groined and otherwise ornamented. The large extent of the courtyard belonging to the abbey may be traced from the scattered fragments of walls which once stood round the inclosure. Just before the abbey gateway is a triangular plot of ground now used as a cemetery, which is traditionally called Romeland, on account of having been, in August, 1555, the scene of the martyrdom of George Tankerfield at the stake, by order of Mary's ministers, for reading the scriptures and publicly expounding them. ”

“ There is in the church a curious and valuable library, and a desk of singular construction, so arranged as to turn round and present the books on any of the shelves to the reader’s hand without displacing others. ”

“ Moreover, the western side is open, the Romans considering that it was sufficiently protected by their ships. At Caistor, or Caistre, were probably the ‘æstiva’ or summer quarters of the Roman legions. The castle there was erected about 1420-40, by the family of Fastolf, and it was for some centuries the residence of the Pastons, Earls of Yarmouth. Sir John Fastolf was esquire to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and distinguished himself at Agincourt, and at the battle of the Herrings, so called from the salt fish which he was convoying. ”

“ He is said to have spent no less than thirty-four years in his tours abroad, and to have visited not only Africa, but also the eastern and northern parts of Asia; a vast exploit, it must be remembered, for a man who died in 1371, nearly five hundred years ago, and whose results, therefore, it would be scarcely fair to compare with those of the Belzonis, the Spekes, the Livingstones, the Barths, and the Burtons of more recent ages. ”