The Environs of London 1897

By R. W. Chetwynd and C. W. Brown and W. S. Holding and J. W. Gilbart-Smith189726 chapters86 images

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Contents

• Editorial Note (opens in a new tab)

  The unnamed editor thanks the people behind the Handbook, singling out route-writers C. W. Brown and W. S. Holding, the Burbidge family and accountant Mr. Naughton of Harrod's Stores for backing the venture, printers Tillotson & Son for advice on the maps, and aristocratic patrons including the Duchess of Albany and the Archbishop of Canterbury who lent photographs of their estates for illustration.
• The Cycle (opens in a new tab)

  A prefatory essay, signed J. W. Gilbart-Smith, in praise of cycling's moral and social benefits, democratising travel for rich and poor, teaching self-reliance, and opening the English countryside to city-dwellers, closing with an original sonnet on spring and hope.
• London to Canterbury, via Gravesend and Chatham (opens in a new tab)

  The Handbook's opening route follows the old pilgrims' road via Deptford, Blackheath, Dartford, Rochester and Chatham to Canterbury, taking in the history of Lambeth Palace, the ruined nunnery at Dartford, Rochester Castle and Cathedral, and Becket's shrine at Canterbury Cathedral.
• London to Walmer, via Canterbury (opens in a new tab)

  Extends the Canterbury route on to the Kent coast via Littlebourne, Wingham, Sandwich, Sholden and Deal, describing Walmer Castle (built by Henry VIII as coastal defence), the room where Pitt and Nelson met, and the room in which Wellington died.
• London to Maidstone (opens in a new tab)

  Describes the direct road to Maidstone via Farningham, Wrotham, Riverhead, Seal and Ightham, starting from London Bridge and the Old Kent Road, with notes on New Cross Gate and Maidstone's Perpendicular-style parish church of All Saints.
• London to Tunbridge Wells, via Bromley and Sevenoaks (opens in a new tab)

  Traces the old road toward Rye via Lewisham, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, a hilly route with a digression on the dissolution-era pensions paid to Kentish abbots and priors along the way.
• London to Lewes, via Godstone and East Grinstead (opens in a new tab)

  A wry account of the road through Godstone and East Grinstead to Lewes, followed by the town's Norman castle, the ruins of St. Pancras Priory, and the 1264 Battle of Lewes between Simon de Montfort and Henry III.
• London to Reigate, via Sutton (opens in a new tab)

  Covers one of the old coaching roads toward Brighton as far as Reigate via Sutton, describing it as the prettiest of the routes converging on the Sussex coast.
• London to Crawley, via Croydon and Redhill (opens in a new tab)

  Follows the Brighton Road from Westminster Bridge through Kennington, Brixton, Streatham and Croydon toward Crawley, with an aside on Beerbohm Tree's new Her Majesty's Theatre at the Haymarket.
• London to Horsham, via Epsom and Dorking (opens in a new tab)

  Runs via Clapham, Tooting, Merton and Epsom (with a digression debunking the supposed origin of Epsom salts) toward Dorking and Horsham, noted for its poultry breeding and fossil-bearing stone quarries.
• London to Kingston and Guildford, via Esher and the Ripley Road (opens in a new tab)

  Describes the popular Ripley Road via Esher to Kingston and on to Guildford on the River Wey, noting the town's royal and Onslow-family history.
• London to Hampton Court, via Twickenham (opens in a new tab)

  Takes in Hammersmith and Kew on the way to Hampton Court, dwelling on Cardinal Wolsey's palace and its collection of paintings.
• London to Bagshot, via Staines and Virginia Water; also via Kingston, Thames Ditton, East Molesey, Walton-on-Thames, Oatlands Park, Addlestone, and Weybridge (opens in a new tab)

  Gives alternative roads to Bagshot via Weybridge, Addlestone, Ottershaw, Chobham and Windlesham, with notes on Bagshot's former royal residence and the geological Bagshot Beds.
• London to Oxford, via Slough, Maidenhead, Henley, and Dorchester (opens in a new tab)

  The Great Western road out of Hyde Park Corner via Slough, Maidenhead, Henley-on-Thames and Dorchester to the university city of Oxford.
• London to High Wycombe, via Beaconsfield and Hughenden (opens in a new tab)

  Follows the Wendover road as far as Tattling End before branching via Beaconsfield (Edmund Burke's burial place) and Hughenden (where the Earl of Beaconsfield, Disraeli, is buried) to High Wycombe.
• London to Amersham, via Denham, Chalfont St. Giles, and Wendover (opens in a new tab)

  Starts from Marble Arch through Notting Hill and Shepherd's Bush toward Denham and Chalfont St. Giles, continuing on to Amersham and Wendover in the Chilterns.
• London to Tring, via Watford and Berkhampstead (opens in a new tab)

  Runs from Piccadilly and the Edgware Road through Watford and Berkhamsted to Tring, passing Great Missenden and Wendover, with a local legend about the founding of Wendover's church.
• London to St. Albans and Dunstable (opens in a new tab)

  Describes two roads to St. Albans, via Barnet or via Edgware and Elstree, continuing on to Dunstable, with notes on Edgware's Canons Park estate.
• London to Hatfield and Hitchin, via Barnet (opens in a new tab)

  Covers the old northern high road from Smithfield through Highgate and Barnet toward Hatfield and on to Hitchin, recounting the tradition of the Highgate 'swearing on the horns'.
• London to Hertford, via Ware (opens in a new tab)

  Follows the road through Tottenham, Edmonton and Waltham Cross (with a detour to Waltham Abbey and Harold's Bridge) to the county town of Hertford, noting Alfred the Great's castle there.
• London to Waltham Abbey (opens in a new tab)

  A short thirteen-mile suburban route via Whitechapel, Clapton, Leytonstone and Chingford to Waltham Abbey, traditional burial place of King Harold after Hastings.
• London to Epping (opens in a new tab)

  The alternative, more scenic route to Chelmsford via Leytonstone, Woodford and Epping Forest, taking in Copt Hall and Greenstead's chestnut-walled church before Chipping Ongar, birthplace of Jane Taylor.
• London to Chelmsford and Colchester, via Witham (opens in a new tab)

  Continues from Writtle into Essex via Chelmsford, Witham and Kelvedon to Colchester, discussed as England's most ancient recorded town.
• The Ladies' Page (opens in a new tab)

  An essay by Rosamunde von Oelrichs, author of 'A Woman on Wheels', on cycling for women, covering suitable dress, corsets and skirts, choice of a reliable machine (recommending Rudge-Whitworth and the Nelson), and a table of gear ratios.
• Cycle Accessories (opens in a new tab)

  A buyer's-guide chapter running alphabetically through cycle fittings, bells, brakes, lamps, luggage carriers, mudguards, saddles (praising the Brooks), tyre levers, cyclometers and cycling clothing, naming specific makes and prices.
• Routes in a Nutshell (opens in a new tab)

  A condensed mileage-and-landmark digest recapping the book's routes (Canterbury, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Cambridge, Lewes, Reigate, Horsham, Kingston and Guildford, Hampton Court, Bagshot, Oxford, High Wycombe, Amersham, St. Albans and Dunstable, Hatfield and Hitchin, Hertford, and Chelmsford and Colchester) in tabular form, giving cumulative mileage, inns and points of interest stage by stage.