markable for its fweetnefs: but the plough has for many years made fuch confiderable encroachments upon it, that the pafture and flocks are greatly diminished. Dyer, defcribing the fituation moft proper for sheep, fays : Such are the downs of Banftead, edg'd with woods And towery villas. In these downs there is a four-mile course for horseraces, which is much frequented. See The Oaks. BARKING, a market town in Effex, 7 M. F. L. on the river Roding, and a creek on the Thames, was formerly celebrated for a magnificent nunnery, fituated on the north fide of the church-yard, but of which a gate-way and part of the wall are now only left.In this parish is Bifrons, the feat of Bamber Gascoyne, Efq. and beyond the town, in the road to Dagenham, is Eaftbury Houfe, an ancient ftructure, fuppofed to have been built by Sir William. Denham, to whom Edward VI. granted the eftate. An unfounded tradition prevails in this neighbourhood, that the discovery of the gunpowder-plot was owing to a miftake, in delivering a letter which was defigned for Lord Monteagle, to an inhabitant of this houfe named Montagu. In the parish of Barking, stands the celebrated Fairlop Oak (See Hainault Foreft) as alfo Claybury Hill, the feat of James Hatch. Efq. and Aubury Hall near Barking fide, belonging to William Raikes, Efq. BARNES, a village in Surry, on the Thames, 7 M. F. L. On Barnes Terrace, Lady Archer had a villa, noted for its fine green-houfes: it is now the refidence of William Lufhington, Efq. Here is a very ancient church, and on the outside of the fouth wall is a small tablet enclosed with pales, to the memory of Edward Rose, citizen of London, who died in the year 1653. Near the tablet are a few rofe trees, planted at the requeft of the deceafed, who bequeathed zol. to the poor of the parish, on condition that the paling fhould be kept in repair and the rofe-trees preferved. About a quarter of a mile from the church, is BARN ELMS, fo called from its majestic trees, the theme of many a paftoral poet, confifting of two houfes only. The first is an ancient manfion, called" Queen Eli "zabeth's "zabeth's Dairy." In this houfe lived and died Jacob Tonfon, the bookfeller, who built a gallery near it, for the purpose of occafionally accommodating a meeting of the nobility, gentry, and moft celebrated wits of the time, known by the appellation of the Kit Kat Club; fo denominated from Chriftopher Kat, the landlord, at whofe house the meetings were generally held. › Garth wrote the verfes for the toafting-glaffes of the club, which,, as they are preferved in his works, have immortalized four of the principal beauties at the commencement of this century; Lady Carlisle, Lady Effex, Lady Hyde, and Lady Wharton. In this gallery, Tonfen placed the por traits of all the members of the club. These have been all removed; but the gallery remains; and the house is now the refidence of Mr. Ackland. The other house which is fituated in a fmall paddock at a little diftance from the Thames, was granted by Queen Elizabeth to Sir Francis Walfingham, where, in 1589, that nobleman fplendidly entertained his royal miftrefs and her whole court.* In 1771, it became the refidence of the late Sin Richard Hoare, Bart. who beautified, enlarged, and mo. dernized the houfe, enriching it with fome valuable pic tures, by G. Pouffin and others. The houfe is at prefent Occupied by Lady Hoare, relict of Sir Richard, and the pleafure grounds are much admired. *Mr. Heydegger, Mafter of the Revels to George II. was, for fome time, the tenant of this house, of whom the following story is told: His Majefty gave him notice, that he would fup with him one evening, andsthat he should come from Richmond by water. It was Heydegger's profeffion to invent novel amufements, and he was refolved to furprife his Majefty with a fpecimen of his art. The King's attendants who were in the fecret, contrived that he fhould not arrive at Barn Elms before night, and it was with fome difficulty that he found his way up the avenue which led to the house. When he came to the door, all was dark; and he began to be very angry, that Heydegger, to whom he had given notice of his intended vifit, fhould be fo ill-prepared for his reception. Heydegger fuffered his Majesty to vent his anger, and affected to make fome aukward apologies, when, in an inftant, the house; and the avenues were in a blaze of light, a great number of lamps having been fo difpofed, as to communicate with each other, and to be lit at the fame inftant. The king laughed heartily at the device, and went away. much pleased with his entertainment.. Lyfox's Environs of London, Vol I. Page 4. BARNET BARNET, a market town in Herts, 11 M. F. L. on the top of a hill, whence it is called High Barnet, and alfo Chipping Barnet, from Henry the Second's granting the monks of St. Alban's the privilege of holding a market here; the word Cheap being an ancient word for a market. The church was a chapel of eafe to the village of East Barnet This place is remarkable for the decifive battle fought between the houses of York and Lancaster, in 1471, in which the great Earl of Warwick was flain. The place fuppofed to be the field of battle is a green fpot, a little before the meeting of the St. Alban's and Hatfield roads: and here, in 1740, a ftone column was erected, to commemorate that great event. BARNET, EAST, a village in Herts, near Whetstone, formerly much frequented on account of its medicinal fpring, discovered in a neighbouring common, above 100 years ago. Here is Mount Pleafant, the feat of William Wroughton, Efq. and the villas of Jofeph Kingfton, Efq. and Mr. Tempeft; the latter the property of a Mrs. Willes. BATTERSEA, is a village in Surry, on the Thames, four M. F. L. remarkable for having been the birth place of Henry St. John, Viscount Bolingbroke, who, after many political viciffitudes, here terminated, as he had often wifhed, his earthly career, on the 15th of Nov. 1751, in the 79th year of his age. The family feat was a venerable structure, in the form of an H, and contained forty rooms on a floor. The greateft part of it was demolished, a few years ago, when the manor was fold to Earl Spencer. On the fite of the demolished part of the house is erected the fine horizontal air-mill, and capital malt dif 'tillery (called Bolingbroke Houfe Diftillery) of Meffrs. Hodgdon, Weller, and Allaway. The fmall part of the old manfion that was left ftanding, forms a convenient dwelling-houfe for Mr. Hodgfon, one of whofe parlours fronting the Thames, is entirely lined with cedar, beautifully inlaid, and was the favourite study of Pope, the scene of many a literary converfation between him and his friend, the all accomplished St. John.-The horizontal air-mill now ufed for grinding malt for the diftillery, was built, about four years ago, by Mr. Fowler, then a co lour lour-man in Piccadilly, for the purpose of grinding linfeed. The defign of this mill was taken from that of another, on a fmaller fcale, conftructed a few years ago, at Margate, by Capt. Hooper. Its height, from the foun dation, is 140 feet; the diameter of the conical part 54 at the bafe, and 45 at the top. The outer part confifts of 96 fhutters, 80 feet high and 9 inches broad, which, by the pulling of a rope, open and shut in the manner of Venetian window blinds. In the infide, the main shaft of the mill is the centre of a large circle formed by the fails, which confift of 96 double planks, placed, perpendicularly, and of the fame height as the planks that form the fhutters. The wind rufhing through the openings of thefe fhutters, acts with great power upon the fails, and, when it blows fresh, turns the mill with prodigious rapidity; but this may be moderated, in an inftant, by leffening the apertures between the fhutters; which is effected, like the entire ftopping of the mill, as before obferved, by the pulling of a rope. In this mill are fix pair of ftones, to which two pair more may be added. On the fite of the garden and terrace, Meffrs. Hodgfon and Co. have erected extensive bullock houfes, which, when finifhed, will be capable of holding 650 bullocks, fed with the grains from the diftillery, mixed with meal. The church is a beautiful structure, but degraded by a mean copper fpire, in the form of an extinguisher. At the eaft end, is a painted window, in which are three portraits; the firft, that of Margaret Beauchamp, maternal ancefter (by her firft husband, Sir Oliver St. John) of the St. Johns, and (by her fecond hufband, John Beaufort Duke of Somerfet) grandmother of Henry VII; the fecond, the portrait of that monarch; and the third, the portrait of Queen Elizabeth, which is placed here, becaufe her grandfather, Thomas Boleyn, Earl of Wiltfhire (father of Queen Anne Boleyn) was great grandfather of Anne, the daughter of Sir Thomas Leighton, and wife of Sir John St. John, the firft baronet of the family. In this church, is a mural monument, by Roubilliac, to the memory of the celebrated Viscount Bolingbroke and his fecond wife, a niece of Madame de Maintenon. A panegyrical epitaph mentions his "zeal to maintain .the the liberty, and restore the antient profperity of Great Britain." The best comment on this are the words of his great admirer, the late earl of Chesterfield: "The relative political and commercial interefts of every country in Europe, and particularly of his own, are better known to Lord Bolingbroke, than to any man in it; but bow fiendily be has purfued the latter, in his public conduct, his enemies of all parties and denominations, tell with joy."-Here is another mural monument, to the memory of Sir Edward Winter, an Eaft India Captain in the reign of Charles II; of whom it is related, that, being attacked in the woods by a tyger, he placed himself by the fide of a pond, and, when the tyger flew at him, he caught him in his arms, fell back with him into the water, got upon him, and kept him down till he had drowned him. This adventure, as well as another wonderful exploit, is vouched for by the following lines inscribed on the monument. Alone, unarm'd, a tyger he oppreft, And crush'd to death the monster of a beast. Battersea has been long famous for the finest afparagus. Here Sir Walter St. John founded a free school for twenty boys; and here is a wooden bridge over the Thames to Chelfea, the original coft of which was 12,800l. which fum was raised by fixteen perfons in shares of Sool. each. BEACONSFIELD, a market town in Bucks, in the road to Oxford, 23 M. F. L. has several fine feats in its vicinity. See Bulftrode, Butler's Court, Hall Barn, and Wilton Park. BECKENHAM, a village near Bromley, in Kent. Here is Langley, the feat of Sir Peter Burrell, Bart. and Beckenham Pl ce, belonging to John Cator, Efq. At Beckenham alfo is the refidence of Lord Auckland, who is building a new house here. BEDDINGTON, a pleasant village in Surry, near the town of Croydon. Here is the feat of the ancient family of the Carews, now the property of Richard Gee, F Efq. |