What to See in England
By Gordon Home

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Public Domain Books

Carnarvon Castle

=How to get there.=–Train from Euston. L. and N.W. Railway. =Nearest Station.=–Carnarvon. =Distance from London.=–246 miles. =Average Time.=–Varies between 7 and 9-1/2 hours.

                     1st        2nd       3rd
=Fares.=–Single  39s. 11d.  22s. 9d.  20s. 7-1/2d.
          Return  72s.  0d.  38s. 6d.  35s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=–"Royal Hotel,” “Royal Sportsman
  Hotel,” “Castle Hotel,” “Queen’s Hotel,” “Prince of Wales
  Hotel,” “Arvonia Hotel,” etc.
=Alternative Route.=–From Paddington via Chester, 282 miles. Fares
  as from Euston.

The town of Carnarvon is situated on the east side of the Menai Straits, close by the side of the Roman station of Segontium, which was connected with Chester by Watling Street. There is said to have been a fortress here shortly after the Conquest, but the real beginning of the importance of Carnarvon was the erection of the magnificent castle there by Edward I., immediately after his conquest of the principality. The work was commenced in 1283, and occupied more than ten years. In 1284, the birth of Edward II., the first Prince of Wales, took place at Carnarvon. During the Civil War the castle changed hands several times; at length, in 1646, it was taken and held by the Parliamentary forces under General Mytton.

Portions of the old Roman wall of the city still exist, and numerous interesting relics have been found. Traces of the old Roman forts or outposts are also to be seen.

The remains of the castle are very extensive, covering nearly three acres. The outer walls, from 8 to 10 feet thick, are nearly perfect, and have thirteen towers, with turrets of five, six, or eight sides. The five-sided Eagle Tower is one of the loftiest, and takes its name from the finely sculptured figure of an eagle which surmounts it. This tower is entered by the Water Gate. The other entrances to the castle are by a gateway on the north side, under a tower bearing a statue of Edward I., and by Queen Eleanor’s Gate, which looks northward and is defended by four portcullises.

The enclosure originally formed two courts, and though the interior buildings are in a very decayed state, the outer walls have been preserved to a great extent by judicious restoration. Thus Carnarvon Castle is a prominent feature in the general aspect of the town, and shares with the magnificent remains at Conway the honour of being one of the two finest castles in the kingdom.

[Illustration: Photochrom Co., Ltd. CARNARVON CASTLE.

The birth of Edward II., the first Prince of Wales, took place here.]

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Preface  •  Ham House and Petersham  •  Walton-On-Thames (scold’s Bridle)  •  Harrow  •  Holwood House, Keston  •  Chigwell, Essex  •  Waltham Abbey and Cross  •  Downe  •  Epsom: Its Races and Its Salts  •  Epping Forest  •  Hampton Court  •  Rye House, Broxbourne  •  Hatfield House, Herts  •  Runnymead, the Signing of Magna Charta  •  The Oldest Brass in England  •  St. Albans  •  Stoke Poges Church, Bucks  •  Windsor  •  Jordans and William Penn  •  Knole House and Sevenoaks  •  Greenstead Church  •  Chalfont St. Giles  •  Westerham  •  Guildford, Surrey  •  Gad’s Hill  •  Ightham Mote, Kent  •  Penshurst  •  St. Michael’s Mount and Marazion  •  Rochester Cathedral  •  Tunbridge Wells  •  The Quintain Post At Offham and Malling Abbey  •  Eversley  •  Farnham, Surrey  •  Hindhead, Surrey  •  Shottermill  •  Penn’s Chapel At Thakeham, Sussex  •  Chawton the Home of Jane Austen  •  Selborne  •  Elstow  •  Lewes, Sussex  •  Bodiam Castle, Sussex  •  Colchester, Essex  •  Layer Marney  •  Battle Abbey  •  Cambridge  •  Arundel Castle  •  Olney, Bucks  •  Wantage and the Country of Alfred the Great  •  Canterbury and Its Cathedral  •  Reculvers  •  Oxford  •  Midhurst  •  Pevensey Castle  •  Savernake Forest  •  Ely Cathedral  •  St. Ives, Huntingdonshire  •  Winchelsea and Rye  •  Blenheim Palace  •  Peterborough Cathedral and Crowland  •  Peterborough  •  Southampton  •  Helmingham Hall  •  Stonehenge, Wiltshire  •  Netley Abbey  •  Salisbury and Its Cathedral  •  Sandwich, Kent  •  New Forest, Hampshire  •  Osborne House  •  Carisbrooke Castle  •  Lutterworth  •  Compton Wynyates  •  Kenilworth Castle  •  Belvoir Castle  •  Bath  •  Boston and the Pilgrim Fathers  •  Warwick  •  Gloucester and Its Cathedral  •  Norfolk Broads  •  Norwich Cathedral  •  Lichfield  •  Sherborne and Its Abbey Church  •  Newark  •  Wells and Its Cathedral  •  Stratford-On-Avon  •  Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk  •  Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire  •  Corfe Castle  •  Lincoln and Its Cathedral  •  Somerset, the Birthplace of Tennyson  •  Glastonbury Abbey  •  Walsingham, Norfolk  •  Cheddar Caves, Cheddar, Somerset  •  Newstead Abbey  •  The Wessex of Thomas Hardy’s Romances  •  Tintern Abbey  •  Chesterfield, Derbyshire  •  Dukeries  •  Haddon Hall, Derbyshire  •  The Isle of Athelney, and Sedgemoor  •  Raglan Castle  •  Dovedale  •  Wellington and the Wrekin, Shropshire  •  Wroxeter and the Roman City of Uriconium, Salop  •  Buildwas Abbey, Shropshire  •  Ludlow and Its Castle  •  Shrewsbury  •  Buxton and the Peak District  •  Tewkesbury  •  Exeter and Its Cathedral  •  Market Drayton, Salop  •  Chester  •  Exmoor  •  Knutsford  •  Torr Steps On the Barle, Somerset  •  Cleeve Abbey, Somerset  •  Hawarden  •  York Minster  •  Coxwold, Yorkshire  •  Llangollen and Valle Crucis Abbey  •  Knaresborough, Dripping Well  •  Fountains Abbey  •  Ripon Cathedral  •  Dartmoor  •  Haworth  •  Rievaulx Abbey  •  Brixham, Devon  •  Conway Castle  •  The Doone Valley, Exmoor  •  Llandovery, South Wales  •  Dartmouth, Devon  •  Richmond, Yorkshire  •  Tintagel  •  Whitby  •  Carnarvon Castle  •  Plymouth  •  Durham and Its Cathedral  •  Raby Castle, Durham  •  Snowdon  •  Harlech Castle  •  Grasmere and Rydal Mount  •  The Lake District  •  St. Davids Cathedral  •  Furness Abbey, Lancashire  •  Monkwearmouth, Near Jarrow  •  The Isle of Man  •  Brantwood  •  Fowey  •  Hexham and Hadrian’s Wall  •  The Lake District  •  Keswick  •  Alnwick Castle  •  Lanercost Priory, Cumberland  •  Lanercost Priory and Stepping-Stones.]  •  St. Ives, Cornwall  •  Bamborough Castle, Northumberland

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What to see in England;: A guide to places of historic interest, natural beauty or literary association,
By Gordon Home
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