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Loop 8. OXFORD TO COVENTRY.

There are two main roads running to Woodstock from Oxford, lying parallel to each other; the western one should be selected. It passes through a well-wooded country, part of the valleys of the Thames and Evenlode rivers. Upon reaching Woodstock, Blenheim Palace claims attention, with the entrance to the park lying upon the left. The house was built at the public expense in 1715 as a national recognition of the services of the Duke of Marlborough. It was designed by Vanbrugh, and is of a heavy Renaissance character. The interior decorations and the treasures preserved in it are of an exceedingly interesting nature. (It is open to the public every day, except Saturdays and Sundays, between 11 and 1, and the gardens from 11 to 2. Tickets 1s. each.) The park contains the site of the old Manor-house of Woodstock, which is supposed to have stood upon the foundations of a Roman villa; it was a royal residence of the Saxon kings. Here Alfred the Great translated Boethius, and King Ethelred published his code of laws. Woodstock was the scene of the courtship of Henry II. and Rosamund Clifford, whose birthplace was Clifford Castle (see [p. 175]). Queen Elizabeth was a prisoner for a time in the old manor-house, and it endured a siege from the Parliamentarians, finally disappearing in 1723.

WOODSTOCK

This little town sprang into existence solely in consequence of the proximity of the royal seat. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene is of Norman date, but much restoration has taken place. The south aisle is Early English, and contains part of a Norman doorway. The chancel and north aisle are Decorated, while the west porch and west tower are Perpendicular. There are many monuments of interest in the church.

Soon after leaving Woodstock the Column of Victory is prominent on the left, where the ancient course of the Akeman Street, coming from Cirencester, is crossed, and shortly afterwards Grim's Dyke occurs, one of the many Grim's Dykes that are found in England.

Near Enstone is a cromlech, called the 'Hoarstone,' and soon afterwards a turning to the left leads to

CHIPPING NORTON

This is a quiet little town, devoted to the manufacture of woollen goods, and especially horse-cloths. The 'Chipping' is derived from the same root as 'Chepe,' a market. In the church the chief objects of interest are some fourteenth-century brasses, which, however, suffered very much in a restoration some forty years since, when they were wrenched from their matrices and thrown into the parvise. Of the castle which once stood here nothing remains.

Between Chipping Norton and Long Compton, at Great Rollright, are the well-known Rollright Stones, consisting of a prehistoric circle of standing stones and a cromlech. They are sixty in number, and lie about 500 yards to the left of the main road. After passing the stiff descent into Long Compton, a good surface is found to Shipstone-on-Stour, although the road is second class; but beyond that town a first-class road lies up the valley of the Stour to Stratford-on-Avon. At Alderminster tram-lines commence, which reach to Stratford, and a short distance beyond, Atherstone-on-Stour is passed, where formerly stood a monastery of mendicant friars. The scenery, meanwhile, has been gradually assuming the characteristics which distinguish the beautiful county of Warwick—luxurious hedgerows, gently-flowing streams, red loam in the fields contrasting with the varying shades of green. The half-timbered houses and cottages introduce another pleasant feature into the landscape.