The ancient archiepiscopal town of Croydon lies at your
feet; more remote, Banstead Downs spread a carpet of blooming verdure to
the sight; in the extreme distance Windsor Castle peers its majestic
towers above the mist; while elsewhere the utmost verge of the horizon is
bounded by the bold range of the Surrey and Hampshire hills. Turning to
the left you enjoy a view of Addiscombe Place, the seminary for cadets of
the East India Company; of Shirley, the sporting seat of John Maberly, Esq.
M.P.; of the Addington hills clothed with heaths; and of the park, the
seat of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury; when the prospect,
deepening in extent, stretches as far as Knockholt Beeches, near Seven
Oaks, and, winding round, comprehends the tall spire of Beckenham Church,
piercing through the dense woods which surround it; Shooter's Hill,
Blackheath, and the villages that intervene.
Immediately beneath you are the grounds of the Spa, every portion of which
can be distinctly traced from this spot: the lodge, lawn, refreshment-room,
spring, and orchestra, as we have described them, and the paths winding
among the woods till they disappear as it were in trackless solitude.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25