ment to the royal cause, Sir Thomas was attacked by a party of the townspeople of Birmingham, assisted by some regular troops. After a brief defence the Hall was surrendered. In this affair a cannon-ball shattered part of the staircase. The effect of the stroke may be seen to this day. Sir Thomas was heavily fined for his loyalty. The Holte family becoming extinct, Aston Hall and Park passed through several hands. It was for some years the residence of James Watt, Esq., son of the inventor of the steam-engine. A large portion of the park had previously to 1857 been disposed of for building purposes. In that year a company was formed for the purpose of acquiring for the people the hall and what remained unfeued of the park. Great eclat was given to the project by her Majesty visiting Birmingham, and inaugurating the park with much ceremony, in 1858. The company having, however, failed in its object, the corporation made good the deficiency (£20,000), thereby securing the park, extending now to about 43 acres, for the people. Some of the apartments of Aston Hall are well worthy of inspection. The Great Hall, at the entrance, has a richly-decorated plaster ceiling, with a broad cornice containing the figures of various animals. The lower portions of the walls are wainscotted, and are painted with landscapes and figures of Roman emperors. The back of the grate bears the royal arms, with the initials C. R. Over the chimney-piece are inscribed the following lines:

"If service be thy meane to thrive,

Thov mvst therein remaine,
Both silent, faithful, jvst, and trve,
Content to take some paine.

If love of vertve may allvre,
Or hope of worldly gaine,
If feare of God may the procvre,
To serve doe not disdaine."

The Great Staircase is enriched with grotesque carvings. Here may be seen the shattered standard and panelling in the condition to which it was reduced by the cannonading previously referred to. The Great Drawing-Room is a fine and interesting apartment. Its ornamental stone frieze, with military figures of various ages and nations, its decorated ceiling, and its splendid chimney-piece, are all well worthy of attention. The Long Gallery, said to be one of the finest in England, is 136 feet long, 18 wide, and 16 high. The walls are panelled with oak, and the ceiling is richly ornamented. The marble chimney-piece, the finest in the house, exhibits curious but graceful sculpture. This gallery formerly contained a series of family portraits; but these are now all dispersed. King Charles' Bedroom possesses some interest from its association with the haughty and unfortunate monarch. Aston Hall contains 103 apartments.

It is a graceful

Aston Church is near the Hall. structure, of different periods. The tower and spire are of the reign of Henry VI. In the interior are some interesting monuments of the Holte family, and of other distinguished personages.

COLESHILL, 14 miles distant by rail, is separately described, p. 42.

EDGBASTON is noticed here more on account of its general picturesqueness than from its possessing any objects of much interest to the tourist. The Church,

dedicated to St. Bartholomew, has undergone many alterations and additions since the Restoration, when it was rebuilt by Sir Richard Gough. Though architecturally of no importance, it is by no means destitute of picturesqueness. The Hall, a plain brick building, on the site of an ancient edifice destroyed at the Revolution, is situated near the church, in a finely-wooded park.

KNOWLE, 10 miles distant, is described in connection with SOLIHULL.

SUTTON COLDFIELD, 7 miles distant by rail, is a market-town of considerable antiquity. It had fallen into great decay in the time of Henry VII., when John Vesey or Harman, Bishop of Exeter, a native of this place, by his numerous benefactions restored it to its original importance, and laid the foundation of its subsequent prosperity. He enlarged and ornamented the church, erected a town-hall and market-house, and founded and endowed a free school. The Church is a handsome building, consisting of nave, chancel, and two side aisles. There are no monuments of any importance. Sutton Park, containing about 3500 acres, was bestowed on the town by Bishop Vesey for the benefit of the poorer inhabitants.*

Sutton Coldfield has in its immediate neighbourhood the Roman road termed Ikenild Street, in many places very distinctly marked. There are also the remains of an extensive encampment, ascribed by some to the Romans, and by others to the early Britons. The works have occupied a square of 4 acres.

CHARLECOTE.

In the VICINITY OF STRATFORD-ON-AVON.

* Fuller gives Vesey small credit for his benefactions to Sutton Colefield. "He robbed his own cathedral to pay a parish church." His bishopric "he destroyed, not only shaving the hairs (with long leases), but cutting away the limbs with sales outright, insomuch that Bishop Hall, his successor in that see, complaineth in print that the following bishops were barons, but bare-ones indeed. Vesey died at the age of 103, and was buried in Sutton Church.

CHESTERTON.

From Southam Road Station, 3 miles.

THIS Small hamlet may be reached by a pleasant walk or drive from either Warwick or Leamington, or by rail to Southam Road, whence it is distant about 3 miles. A conveyance from Southam attends several of the trains, enabling the tourist to visit that town, should he wish it, before proceeding to Chesterton. The road to Chesterton from Southam Road station lies through Harbury (p. 41), and may be shortened by a footpath, which will be pointed out by any of the country people.

Chesterton was the seat of the powerful family of Peyto in the time of Edward III., and through several successive generations. The last and most famous personage of this family was Peter de Peyto, created a cardinal in the reign of Henry VIII., to whose daughter Mary, afterwards Queen of England, he was confessor. In the reign of Mary, being appointed the Pope's legate, in place of the famous Cardinal Pole, who had come under the displeasure of the Pontiff, he was refused permission to enter the country in that capacity, when he retired to France, where he died, April 1558. The manor-house, which was built in the reign of Edward IV., and had important additions made to it about the year 1630, under the directions of the celebrated Inigo Jones, was taken down-it does not appear for what reason-by Lord Willoughby de Broke in 1802.

The CHURCH, dedicated to St. Giles, is pleasantly situated, and is worthy of a visit on account of the ancient monuments it contains. The principal one is on the south side of the chancel, and consists of an altar-tomb, bearing date of 1589, with the recumbent effigies of

Sir Humphrey Peyto, and Anna his wife-the knight being habited in armour, and the lady in the fashion of the time. There are two other monuments, both bearing a couple of busts-one to the memory of Sir Edward Peyto, who died in 1643, and Elizabeth his wife; the other commemorating Sir William Peyto (son of Sir Humphrey and father of Sir Edward), who died in 1609, and his wife Eleanora. All these monuments are in good preservation. The east window is filled with a fine representation of the Last Supper, erected in 1862 by Lord Willoughby de Brooke.

In the reign of Henry V., John Lucy, vicar of this parish, afforded an asylum to Lord Cobham, one of the most noted followers of Wickliffe. For this offence, and for heresy, he was tried and condemned; but through the exertions of his friends he obtained the royal pardon.

On a hill near the village stands a large stone windmill, erected in 1632 by Sir Edward Peyto, after a design by Inigo Jones. It is circular in form, and supported by six arches with pilaster capitals. This windmill forms a convenient landmark to guide the tourist to the Roman Camp, which is in a field a few hundred yards west of the hill on which it stands.

The ROMAN CAMP is square in form, and of considerable extent. Gibson remarks that the Roman origin of this fortification is evident from three circumstances:"First, the name of the place, which plainly comes from the Roman castrum; secondly, its nearness to the Roman Foss, upon which it is certain that, at convenient distances, places of entertainment were built for the reception of the armies on their march; the third token is, that in the compass within which the Roman building is supposed to have stood several old Roman coins have been dug up."