The Penn's Grove record., 1882-01-14
Letter from England.


81. Ives, Huntingdon, The Protectors Bap.
tismal Entry. Hinohingbrook, the sn.
cestral seat Of the Cromwslls. ThrapstOn
Drayton Manor, Islip, Northampton.
Queen Eleanor's Cross.
NORTHAMPTON, Dec. LIST 1881.
have left Cambridge temporarily,
for a visit to st. Ives, Huntingdon,
Northampton, Bedford and Rugby.
At st. Ives, / found little of personal
interest, as the house in which Oliver
Cromwell lived there, has been entirely
pulled down.
Huntington, I went to st. Mary's
where / saw the name r. Cromwell,
inscribed on a tablet upon the wall, as
an officer of the church aud to the
church of All Saints, in which Robert
| Cromwell, father of the Lord Protect
or, is said 10 buried. We were shown
the celebrated baptismal entry, which
s in Latin, and, as you know, de-
scribes Oliver a. the we'll born son OF
Robert Cromwell, " Roberts CromWeu
geaeTosi Jpius."
That the epithet well bornn was
testified, by the extent and msgnif-
cence of the paternal domain, [ soon
after found, at Hinchingbrook, the
stately house ofSir Henry Cromwell,
''the Golden Knight" grandfather of
the Protector. The house stands st
the top of a slope, half a mile from the
little town of Huntingdon formerly Of
much greater importancel, and is n
Of the finest among the old seats of the
gentry in the eastern countries. The
buildings form a quadrangle, side
of which is. very ancient, having. once
llpeen a nunnery. The courtyard is en-
tered by an impressive old gate of
stone, covered with tracery. On each
side are two inches, bearing quaint,
antique effigies.
The house is filled with old oak.
The great bow window in the dining
room has very beautiful, old Flemish
folding-shutters OF oak, black as jet,
and carved, in bold relief, with heads,
flowers, leaves and tracery. l bought
a series of photographs, of the house in
various aspects, the gateway, etc.
There is a very quaint, old, plastered
lodge, with gable roof, in the park,
and an ancient avenue of almost
druidical oaks. AS you know, James
/. was repeatedly entertained at
Hinchingbrook, and, I think, Eliza
beth.
Having stopped over two nights, at
Huntingdon, l set out for Thrapston,
whence / was to make an excursion to
two interesting churches and the old
Drayton Manor-house, all in North
amptonshire. The last is three miles
and a half from Thrapston, and the
others intermediate. 1t rained that
day, however, SO I remained over
night, and started on the next
morning.
1 was delighted at the quaint,
almost primitive villages, with their
churches that of Islip, graceful and
true in all its proportions that of Lo-
wick, comparatively rough, but inter-
esting, and possessing curious, old,
stained glass, and nobly wrought,
ffteenth-century eflgies of past lords
of Drayton manor, clad in steel.
I walked through a great estate
with many wide, abandoned, avenues
of druidical oeas, and over q broad
swelling moor, to Drayton House,
which was very impressive in the
twilight, though, of course, the smaller
details were not visible. Ithen walked
through a mile and a half of almost
treeless, rolling moorland, belonging
to the estate, and passed through one
of the numerous park gates, to the
highway, by which I proceeded, three
quarters ef q mile, to Twywell.
Here, after an hours waiting, 1 took
the train for Kettering, where I had
to wait another hour for the North
ampten train. / used this time In
perambulatipg the town, and exsmin-
ing the church, which CHANGED to be
open for choir practice.
At Northampton, Ihave studied two
very interesting Norman churches,
and walked to the Queens Cross"
placed by King Edward 1, in memory
of Queen Eleanor. This stands q mile
and a half from the town, on a coun-
try road, away from any houses, at
the top of a gentle rise. My principal
object, in coming to Northampton,
was to see this, said to be the most
perfect cross in England.
I intend to visit Rugby tomorrow,
stopping to see Earl Spencer's do
mains on the way, leaving Castle
Ashby till afterward. / shall stop at
Bedford on my way back to Cam
bridge, where / shall stay till the
Michaelmas term closes.
Northampton, which the conserva-
tives consider the centre of radicalism
and infdelity, is one of the handson-
est and ~cleanest of the small towns 1
have visited, and has an air of active
prosperity which many of them lack.
Its great offence is its insis ting upon
returning its ablest. Though not most
exemplary citizen, Bradlaugh, to Par
Lament. AS Bradlaugh Is excluded,
Northampton has, yet, M represen-
tative. w. O. G.