Uxbridge

“ This border borough, thriving on corn-mills and other industries, has more the look of an independent market town than any in Middlesex. Till lately a certain awkwardness of communications kept Uxbridge rather out of the way, served only by a branch from the Great Western Railway at West Drayton, as it once was by slow canal-boats; but now it has a Metropolitan line from Harrow, besides the electric tram that runs through it to the top of the descent by which the road falls to cross the Colne. ”

“ The “Crown and Treaty House” inn at Uxbridge, long known to would-be beery rustics by the affectionately wistful name of the “Crown and Treat Ye,” is a genuinely historic house. It stands away beyond the tramway terminus, facing [Pg 162] the road at the very extremity of Uxbridge town, as you cross canal and river and so leave Middlesex for Buckinghamshire ”

“ The way through Uxbridge and High Wycombe to Oxford is largely illustrated elsewhere in these pages, in the biographies of "Old Mob," and of Withers, in which Uxbridge and the neighbourhood of Hillingdon figure largely. Having once passed Hillingdon, travellers were comparatively unmolested until they came to Shotover Hill, near Oxford.
Shotover Hill was the scene of the barber's encounter with a knight of the road. ”

“ The City advances £80,000, 4 March, 1645.
The failure of the negotiations at Uxbridge hastened the passing of an ordinance for re-modelling the army and placing it on such a footing that the men should be in receipt of constant pay and the officers selected for military efficiency alone. Ever since November the "New Model" ordinance—as it was called—had been under consideration. In January it passed the Commons, but the Lords hesitated until the difference of opinion that had manifested itself at Uxbridge induced them to give their assent (15 Feb.) . ”

“ The least frequented of the great highroads running out of London is assuredly that which passes through Uxbridge, and so right into the heart of the shire of Buckingham—the home or clearing or settlement of the Beeches. Few bicycles attempt this road; the ordinary cyclist knows or cares nothing for the attractions. Yet there is much to see. In one place you can visit the cottage where Milton finished “Paradise Lost.” ”

“ Uxbridge House was erected in 1790-2 by Vardy and Bonami, and stood on the site of Queensbury House, where Gay’s patron and patroness, who set up that great monument to the poet, in Westminster Abbey, once lived.
Another titled lady, whose connection with a poet has alone caused her name to survive, resided in Burlington Street, in the person of Lady Warwick, the widow of the great Addison; and among other past inhabitants mention may be made of Lord Hervey (Pope’s “Sporus” and “Lord Fanny”) ”

“ After waiting for a considerable period (two hours, as we have been informed) , her Grace was informed by the Earl of Uxbridge, that she could not be admitted to an audience, as none but Peers and Peeresses in their own right could demand that privilege. Her Grace then insisted upon Lord Uxbridge taking down in writing what she had to say, and promising her that the communication should immediately be laid before Her Majesty. ”

“ His only son, Thomas Catesby Paget, the author of an Essay on Human Life (1734) and other writings, died in January 1742 before his father, leaving a son Henry (1719–1769) , who became 2nd earl of Uxbridge. At the latter’s death the earldom of Uxbridge and barony of Burton became extinct, the older barony of Paget of Beaudesert passing to his cousin Henry Bayly (1744–1812) , heir general of the first baron, who in 1784 was created earl of Uxbridge. His second son. ”

“ The ridge itself, which a road mounts by the shrunken bounds of Uxbridge Common, has several points both of beauty and interest. Over it for nearly half a dozen miles extends the name of Harefield, associated with that of the Newdigate family, which has such a good chance of fame through their annual vates sacer at Oxford. One of them chose an “Adam Bede” for land agent, whose daughter would widely renown, under an alias, their Warwickshire seat, at which George Eliot had glimpses of squirely life. ”

“ Hilliard’s court, Old Gravel lane.†
Hillington, or Hillingdon, the name of two villages in Middlesex, situated near each other, at a small distance from Uxbridge, and distinguished by the epithets Great and Little. The church of Great Hillington is a vicarage, to which the town of Uxbridge is a hamlet, and here Meinhardt, late Duke of Schomberg had a seat; and Mr. Chetwynd has one at Little Hillington.
Hill’s Almshouse, in Rochester row, Tothill fields, was erected in the year 1708, pursuant to the will of Emery Hill, Esq; for the use of six poor men and their wives, 192and six poor widows. ”

“ Uxbridge married, first, Mary (d. February 1735–6) , eldest daughter and coheiress of Thomas Catesby of Whiston, Yorkshire, who brought him a son; and, secondly, on 7 June 1739, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Bagot of Blithefield, Staffordshire, by whom he had no issue.
In the British Museum are letters from Uxbridge to John Ellis, 1698 (Addit. MS. 28882, f. 159) ; Secretary Vernon, 1700 (Addit. MS. 28885, f. 324) ; Lord-treasurer Harley, 1714 (Addit. MS. 8880, f. 161) ; and Lord Strafford, 1719 (Addit. MS. 31141, f. 246; cf. Tanner MS. cccv. art. 31, in the Bodleian Library) . ”

“ All the military assistance I could get at Oxford as a guard for the night was a sergeant of your friend and landlord, and two recruits, but I had no apprehension of their escape as their remain (sic) with us was the only thing that ensured their safety. At Uxbridge the rage of the mob was chiefly directed against Tate, who was supposed to be Wall, and he trembled almost to convulsions, by a little arrangement I contrived to bring them quiet through the parks, and lodged them in the Duke of Portland’s before any crowd was assembled. ”

“ Lord Uxbridge, returning from his brilliant charge, now joins the Duke, while the whole Corps Diplomatique et Militaire express in the strongest terms their admiration of the grand military spectacle of which they have been spectators. Among them are representatives of nearly all [Pg 432] the continental nations, so that this glorious triumph of your valiant countrymen may be said to have been achieved in the face of congregated Europe. Honour, imperishable honour, to every British soldier engaged in that never to be forgotten fight! ”

“ Tis most clear, no ill betide us, Near the Georgium sidus This planet likes to dwell. Lovely as light, when morning breaks{51} Above the hills in golden streaks, Observe yon blushing rose, Uxbridge, the theme of ev'ry tongue, The sylph that charms the ag'd and young, Where grace and virtue glows. Gay Lady H-e her lounge may take,{52} Reclining near the Indian lake., And think she's quite secure; 51 The beautiful little countess, the charming goddess of the golden locks, was a Miss Campbell, a near relation of the Duke of Argyll. She is a most amiable and interesting elegante. ”

“ The Duke and Duchess of Sutherland seem also much pleased with Evelyn's58 marriage. She is a beautiful girl, and a very nice person in every respect, and everybody must wish her happy. Lord Melbourne has been at Panshanger for two or three days with Uxbridge and Lady Uxbridge, Ella, and Constance. Uxbridge is having continual cricket matches as he used to have, which is a very good thing, making the country gay, and pleasing the people. ”

“ There was a woman living last winter, in Uxbridge, state of Massachusetts, of the name of Aldrich, and likely to live many years, who has 12 children, all living, and has lived till 25 of the fifth generation are born, the eldest of which is more than eleven years of age. ”

“ They have each 150l. per annum. There is also an assistant gentleman usher whose salary is 66l. 13s. 4d. a year.
The gentlemen ushers quarterly-waiters in ordinary, are eight in number. These [236] also wait in the presence chamber, and give directions in the absence of the gentlemen ushers daily-waiters, to whom they are subordinate. Their salary is only 50l. a year. Chamberlain’s present state.
Usher’s court, Seething lane, Tower street.†
Uxbridge, a town in Middlesex, in the road from London to Oxford, from the first of which it is distant eighteen miles and a half. ”

“ The material beauty of Oxford is great—the situation, in a rich valley bounded by softly flowing rivers, fine—the domes, and spires, and old grey towers rising in clusters, prepare the mind of the approaching traveller for the city where the old colleges and churches, planting out and almost composing it, afford at every bend of the long streets, at every turn of the narrow thoroughfares, some grand picture, or charming architectural effect; even our Quakers are proud of Oxford in England when they travel in America. ”

“ How different Oxford looks when the road to Cowley Marsh is dumb with dust, when the heat seems almost tropical, and by the drowsy banks of the Cherwell you might almost expect some shy southern water-beast to come crashing through the reeds! And such a day, again, is unlike the bright weather of late September, when all the gold and scarlet of Bagley Wood are concentrated in the leaves that cover the walls of Magdalen with an imperial vesture.
Our memories of Oxford, if we have long made her a Castle of Indolence, vary no less than do the shifting aspects of her scenery. ”

“ Beautiful as youth and venerable as age, she lies in a purple cup of the low hills, and the water-meads of Isis and the gentle slopes beyond are besprent with her grey “steeple towers, and spires whose silent finger points to heaven.” And all around her the country is a harmony in green—the deep, cool greens of the lush grass, the green of famous woods, the soft, juicy landscapes of the Thames Valley.
You may approach Oxford in summer by road, or rail, or river. Most wise and most fortunate perhaps is he who can obtain his first view of Oxford from Headington Hill, her Fiesole. ”

“ And fifty years later, his son, Charles II, triumphed over the Whig Parliament at Oxford, which was trying by factious violence to force the Exclusion Bill on a reluctant king and nation. Few towns beside London have been the scene of so many great historical events; yet any one who looks below the surface will attach less importance to these than to the great changes in thought which have found in Oxford their inspiration, and which make it a city of pilgrimage for those interested in the development of England's real life. ”

“ Oxford stood by itself in its meadows by the rivers, having its relations with all England, but, like its sister at Cambridge, living a life of its own, unlike that of any other spot in England, with its privileged powers, and exemptions from the general law, with its special mode of government and police, its usages and tastes and traditions, and even costume, which the rest of England looked at from the outside, much interested but much puzzled, or knew only by transient visits. ”

“ Seldom in history, and never in the annals of the University, have characters so diverse been grouped together into so brilliant and picturesque a society as that which thronged the good city of Oxford during the Queen’s residence in the autumn and winter of 1643—the last happy interlude of her ill-starred life. ”

“ But there are so many people, to whom the human interest in the fairest city counts for more than all the rest, that it is time to wander among the quadrangles, the halls, the chapels, and the other ancient fabrics that speak of the university life of Oxford. As we pass in through many a massive gateway, tread many a stone-paved path, climb many an old oak stair worn by the feet of many generations, it is strange if no strand of sentiment puts us in touch with some of those who have passed that way before. ”

“ Oxford, that once seemed a pleasant porch and entrance into life, may become a dingy ante-room, where we kick our heels with other weary, waiting people. At last, if men linger there too late, Oxford grows a prison, and it is the final condition of the loiterer to take ‘this for a hermitage.’ It is well to leave the enchantress betimes, and to carry away few but kind recollections. ”

“ The material Oxford of our times is not more unlike the Oxford of low wooden booths and houses, and of wooden spires and towers, than the life led in its streets was unlike the academic life of to-day. The Conquest brought no more quiet times, but the whole city was wrecked, stormed, and devastated, before the second period of its history began, before it was the seat of a Norman stronghold, and one of the links of the chain by which England was bound. ”

“ Yet, strange to say, such dreams fade as we drive home to dinner, and find us quite ready, after a refreshing sleep in the queerest and quaintest of all English inns, to depart for classic Oxford, which lies direct upon our London route. Time was when no more venerable and imposing architectural effect could be found in all Europe than that produced by the groups of buildings along the main street of Oxford, belonging to the twenty colleges that make the University. ”

“ The rivers of Oxford—the Isis and the Cherwell—are so much part of her meadow loveliness, that the one seems almost to include the others. Where the meadows are the fairest, there the rivers gleam and sparkle in the summer sun of memory. The Isis, stately stream, proud of the great oarsmen she has taught, and of historic boats that she has borne; the Cherwell, winding, secretive, alluring, willow-girt, whispering of men and maidens, and of the dream days of ambitious youth. Each river has its bridge. ”

“ The summer sun shines out, a gentle air blows off the mists, and from afar the road to Woodstock is all lively with a gallant company. Mary is dead. The University have sent a deputation to meet Elizabeth the Queen at Godstow. No longer a prisoner at Woodstock, she rides gaily into Oxford. ”