Montreal Pl. Earl Amherst. This seat received its name from the 1st Lord Amherst, in memory of his success in the reduction of Montreal, in Canada. To Westerham, 41 m. Keppington, Col. T. Aus ten. Ash Grove. Belle Vue. 41 SEVENOAKS is a pleasant town, and derives its name from seven oak-trees which formerly occupied the height on which it is built. The church is an elegant building, and, from its commanding situation, is a conspicuous object. The town has a Grammar-School, and a large range of alms-houses, instituted by Sir William de Sevenoke, a foundling, brought up by some charitable persons in the town from which he received his name. Population of parish, 1851, 2187. 24 Knowle Park (Earl Amherst), formerly the seat of the Sackvilles, Dukes of Dorset, whose title is now extinct. This magnificent mansion covers upwards of five acres of ground, and furnishes specimens of the architecture of a variety of ages,-the most ancient being as old as the Mareschels and Bigods, the most modern being the erection of Thomas, first Earl of Dorset, in the reign of James I. It has an invaluable collection of pictures and antique busts. The park contains herds of fine deer, a variety of excellent timber, and covers an extent of five or six miles in circumference. Rumsted. Horn's Lodge. Panthurst. Foxbush. Meopham Leigh Pa. Hall Pl. F.T. Bailey, Esq. Penshurst Pa., Lord de 35 Lisle and Dudley. At a short distance is the famous oak, planted at the birth of Sir P. Sidney, and now 22 feet in circumference. The park is adorned by a noble sheet of water, called Lancup Well. See p. 7. XII. LONDON.-UCKFIELD.-EAST BOURNE, 623 Miles. ON RIGHT FROM LOND. From E. Bourne. From Langley Park, E. Good-523 London Br. to Bromley 10 hart, Esq. (Kent.) (See p. 15.) Keston. 14 Esq. Leaves Green. 15 Holwood Ho., J. Ward, The old mansionhouse of Holwood was for many years the favourite retirement of Mr Pitt. On 214 west side of Holwood Hill are the remains of an extensive encampment, supposed to be of Roman origin. 25 Hill Park. Stoneland Park. Buckstead. 431 East Bourne is a fashionable sea-bathing place, situated in a valley at the extremity of the South Downs. It has a handsome church, in which are some monuments and a singular font. The bathing here is remarkably good; and it has also the advantage of a chalybeate spring. To the west of East Bourne is Beachy-Head, the loftiest cliff on this coast. It is 573 feet in height, and contains several caverns. Six miles east of East Bourne is Pevensey Castle, a fine specimen of ancient architecture. The date of its erection is unknown, but, from the quantity of Roman brick employed in the work, it is supposed to have been constructed out of some Roman fortress. The town and castle of Pevensey were conferred by William the Conqueror on his half-brother, Robert Earl of Montainge and Cornwall. They were afterwards forfeited to the Crown, and Henry III. granted them to his son Prince Edward and his heirs, Kings of England, so that they should never more be separated from the Crown. Notwithstanding of this, however, they were settled on the celebrated John of Gaunt. For many years Pevensey Castle was held by the Pelhams. It then came to Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, and ultimately descended by marriage to the Earl of Burlington. Six miles from Pevensey and 12 from East Bourne are the ruins of Hurstmonceux Castle, formerly a fortress of great magnificence and strength. Till 1777 it was the most perfect and regular castellated mansion in the kingdom; but about that period the roof was taken down, and the interior completely stript by the proprietor, the Rev. Mr Hare, who employed the materials thus obtained in the erection of some additional rooms in the modern mansion-house. The church contains some curious monuments of the family of Fiennes. Hurstmonceux is now the property of H. M. Curteis, Esq., who manifests a praiseworthy zeal in the preservation of its ruins. The nearest road to East Bourne, and that which is most travelled, is through East Grinstead and Uckfield (see page 20). Its distance from London by the route is 61 miles. The population of East Bourne parish in 1851 was 3433. |