Bedford is built on both sides of the Ouse. The principal street is about a mile in length, and it contains but little antiquity. The Ouse was crossed by an extremely picturesque bridge taken down in the present century; a gate-house at one end was
the jail where Bunyan was imprisoned.[7] This jail was the first to excite the interest and compassion of Howard. Near Bedford is the picturesque village of Elstow, where Bunyan was born; the house is pointed out, though it has been refronted. Bunyan took the side of Cromwell in the civil wars, and his escape from death at the siege of Leicester is well known; we are indebted to his incarceration for what Macaulay declares to be incomparably the finest allegory in our language. There are several drawings of the jail preserved, and nothing could be more picturesque: there are projecting roofs and overhanging storeys, and apparently a quaintly-tiled roof of different levels. A flat archway spanned the bridge, and there was a sundial over it. Such gatehouses were not at all uncommon, and they were often used afterwards for prisons.
The bridge over the Dee, leading from the Wrexham road to Chester at Handbridge, had two similar gatehouses, but, from drawings that have been preserved of them, they must have been immeasurably more picturesque: one of them was gabled, and covered with tiles similar to those that are common in Holland, and the other had a portcullis and bastions, and a fine tower four storeys high, in which was a large clock. Unfortunately, these were all demolished in 1782, and a new gate called Bridgegate, a rather unsightly structure, given to us instead.
In a drawing by Randal Holme, made about the middle of the seventeenth century, in which these gates are shown, are some curious water-mills. It is difficult to form any very definite idea of the way in which they are worked, or what their general appearance may have been, but the wheels seem to have stood out from the sides not dissimilarly to the paddles of a steamer, and probably could be lowered or heightened according to the level of the water.
Ruskin has said that picturesque beauty cannot exist with any manufacturing district where coal is the propelling power. The requirements of such a condition effectually prevent it; but what would be the saving, not only to the picturesque character of the landscape, but the purses of millowners, if water power was more commonly taken advantage of! It has long been a crying reproach to the country that all round our coasts, and in our inland streams, water-power exists that would drive all the machines in the world without exhausting a tithe of its force, or even beginning to do so. This power also is ever at hand, a ready servant, wanting no fee, depending on no forced prices from colliers, and leaving the atmosphere it works in healthy and bright. In one mill alone I know of, a saving of £5000 per annum could be effected by using water-power, and yet this power is flowing by the doors of the establishment; but coal was used sixty years ago, and things have prospered, so why try to mend what is well? Not only would water be a great economiser in works where force is necessary, but it might be a great social reformer, and this is quite in concert with the opinions of scientific men who have given the subject their study. The acrid nature of an atmosphere among chimneys is depressing and exhausting, and is often—too often—counteracted by a remedy which might be less imperative if water-power were used,—a remedy too, indeed, in which water does not play a very important part. The science of economy in water-power is increasing continually; indeed, it can by turbine wheels be used and re-used so often that a small stream might become a mighty engine, and the saving in coal be placed to the credit of the housekeeper. Every one knows this well, but there seems to be a general dislike to put the knowledge they possess into practice; and though it may be hardly in the scope of the present work to make the remark, there can be no doubt that the sudden and high rise in the price of coals has taught the value of economy in that article, much to the advantage of the exteriors and interiors of our streets and homesteads.
At the time of the Norman conquest Lincoln was one of the wealthiest and most populous cities in England. It has passed through many rulers, and its commanding situation has always marked it out for a place of importance. It was a city of the ancient Britons before the Roman period, and the Romans built a wall round it with posterns. One of these, Newport Gate, yet remains, and is a model of massive masonry. The stones are cut to a radius to form the arch, and are extremely massive and strong. The arch appears to have been built without mortar, and was the portal of the celebrated Ermine Street, which is described in page 248. It is a very pleasant entrance to the city from the north. There are some good trees about it, and the Cathedral towers rise high above it, while several antique gables of neighbouring houses give it a very picturesque effect. Lindum was the name the Romans gave it, and some derive its present name (Lindum-colonia) from this. The Roman wall, of which there are many traces, was quadrangular.
In few cities in England can ancient street architecture be better studied than in Lincoln. There are not only traces of Roman work, with baths and many other remains, but the Normans have left their mark here also, as have many of the Kings of more recent date.
Nothing can exceed the beauty of Lincoln as it is approached from the south, and nearly every step unfolds some grand picture that differs from the last. There is a sort of harbour on the Witham, at the south end of the city, which is generally pretty well filled with picturesque barges, and the sails of these, red and white, reflected in the water, are at all times extremely pleasant to see. A small island covered with willows is in this harbour, and the city rises grandly above it, crowned at the top by the full length of the cathedral. The only cathedral that can compare with Lincoln for situation is Durham. As we enter the city from this point we soon come to the Stone Bow, a very stately gateway crossing the street, and finely carved towards the south side. There seems to be some little uncertainty about the date and origin of this structure; some accounts assert that it was built in 1592. This is, however, obviously incorrect, and Britton attributes it to the reign of Henry VIII. With all respect, however, for such an authority, it would seem to be rather older than this. A French style of ornament often appeared in England in the reign of Henry VI., and something very similar to this may be noticed on the arch.
The view here given is after the archway has been passed some little distance, and the scene alters. The house on the left is the celebrated Jews’ house that has so often figured in song and fable. This is a fine specimen of a Norman town residence, the most perfect specimen in fact that we have left. It is built of stone, and not wood as many of the houses of that period were, and until lately there were numbers of immense beams in the recesses of Lincoln streets hidden away in cellars and back premises that dated to the Norman period. Indeed some few parts of wooden fronts also that have been swept away by improvement.