About a mile beyond the village, at the cross-roads, there formerly stood a little hostelry called the Golden Ball. It acquired a bad reputation through the murder of a guest by his servant. The landlord, having been found with a knife in his hand in the dead man's bedroom, was condemned to death and hanged, but later on the servant confessed that he had committed the murder which the landlord had intended.

DORCHESTER

is a dreamy old village, beautifully placed upon the River Thames. It contains many quaint timbered houses, some with thatched roofs, and nearly all with some attractive features which make it hard to tear oneself away from the place. The chief object of interest, apart from the cottage architecture, is the huge church, so strangely out of place in such a hamlet. Dorchester, however, has a history stretching right back to the British period. During the Roman occupation the camp here was supposed to be called Dourcastrum, altered into Dorchester in the Saxon period, but this Roman name is uncertain. When Dorchester was the seat of the Saxon bishopric of Wessex, the see included about twenty English counties, but Remigius, the first Norman Bishop, transferred it to Lincoln in 1085. The Saxon church, built in 1036, was occupied as a monastic church in 1140, when a monastery of the Augustinians was founded. In 1200, and also in 1350, extensive additions were made. In the church the Jesse window on the north side is unique, for the figures are carved in stone. The east window is a remarkable example of Decorated work; there is a massive buttress in the centre, and the whole of the spaces are occupied by reticulated tracery. The recumbent effigies, dating from 1200 to 1410, are very interesting, while a brass of the Henry V. period lies in the floor. The furnishing of the interior savours so much of the Roman church that one might easily imagine oneself on the other side of the Channel. One notices a bell conspicuous on the altar steps, and 'sacred' pictures, with candles and half-withered floral offerings in front of them, are placed on the pillars and elsewhere! Is the Bishop of Oxford aware of these strange reversions to the practices condemned by the Protestant Church of England for the last four centuries? The leaden font is of Norman workmanship, and is a comparatively rare object. In the churchyard stands a cross with a restored head.

The ascent of the Chilterns is very gradual, becoming steeper, however, in places, and delightful views are obtained over the surrounding country. The quaint little village of Nettlebed stands upon the summit (1,650 feet above sea-level), and thence the descent to Henley commences. Near Nettlebed many cultivated downs are to be seen, their rounded summits crowned as a rule with plantations—a contrast in this respect with the bare South Downs. These rounded knolls are all that denudation has left of the tertiary sand deposits on the chalk. In many parts beeches flourish, and occasionally brick and timber cottages of quaint aspect are passed.

HENLEY-ON-THAMES

is a charming old town, apart altogether from the prominent position it holds in the boating world, owing to the magnificent reach of the Thames which occurs here. There are many picturesque old houses in the wide, sunny street, and, as at Dorchester, the artist and architect will find much to attract their attention. The Church, standing out boldly near the bridge, possesses an Early English chancel, and the oldest part of the nave is of the same date. Nearly everything else, including the flint tower, is Tudor. A monument to Lady Elizabeth Periam, a sister of Lord Bacon and the mistress of Greenlands (died 1621), is under the tower. There are two hagioscopes and a priest's entrance to the vanished rood-loft. The bridge, with open stone parapets, was built in 1786, after the old one had been carried away by a flood. It is, therefore, much older than the regatta, which was first held in 1839.

The road between Henley-on-Thames and Maidenhead crosses the ground lying in a loop of the Thames, gradually rising from Henley and falling towards Maidenhead. The numerous turnings should be taken with care. About two miles before reaching Maidenhead the Bath road is joined.

MAIDENHEAD

is more a centre for river excursions and boating-parties than a place of any attractiveness in itself. It might easily be mistaken for one of the better suburbs of London, and contains practically nothing of interest. The great railway-bridge, with spans of 128 feet, was designed by Brunel.

ETON