I think that the railway, and the
hotel within the abbey grounds, add to the charm of the place. A
moonlight solitary visit might be very good, too, in its way; but I
believe that one great charm and beauty of antiquity is, that we view it
out of the midst of quite another mode of life; and the more perfectly
this can be done, the better. It can never be done more perfectly than
at Furness Abbey, which is in itself a very sombre scene, and stands,
moreover, in the midst of a melancholy valley, the Saxon name of which
means the Vale of the Deadly Nightshade.
The entrance to the stable-yard of the hotel is beneath a pointed arch of
Saxon architecture, and on one side of this stands an old building,
looking like a chapel, but which may have been a porter's lodge. The
Abbot's residence was in this quarter; and the clerical personage, before
alluded to, spoke of these as the oldest part of the ruins.
About half a mile on the hither side of the abbey stands the village of
Dalton, in which is a castle built on a Roman foundation, and which was
afterwards used by the abbots (in their capacity of feudal lords) as a
prison. The abbey was founded about 1027 by King Stephen, before he came
to the throne; and the faces of himself and of his queen are still to be
seen on one of the walls.
We had a very agreeable drive home (our drive hither had been
uncomfortably sunny and hot), and we stopped at Ulverton to buy a pair of
shoes for J----- and some drawing-books and stationery.
Pages:
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224