now severed from the town by the railway, and becomes the main road
northwards. Near the end of the street, towards the railway stations,
is a building of stone and brick thinly coated with plaster, roofed
with stone tiles, and with a recessed porch and balcony. The railing
of the balcony especially should be noticed, being of unusual design,
and very likely the work of the local blacksmith more than two hundred
years ago. The name, Almswood, reminds us that here was once a wood
belonging to the office of the Almoner to the Abbey. On the same side
of the street, nearer the centre of the town, is another interesting
house. It is a mansion of brick, and in front are some very fine
railings fixed on a low wall of stone. The door, which is in the
middle of the front, is approached by wide steps, and over it is a
heavy canopy supported by wrought-iron brackets of decorated scroll
work. This house belonged to a certain Thomas Cookes, whose family
were large landowners in the neighbourhood of Tardebigg in the
northern part of the county, and was built by him in the time of King
William III. It contains a fine staircase, ornamental fireplaces, and
panelled walls. At the back is a paved yard enclosed by short wings,
and from here a stairway and tunnel lead under a narrow street into
what was once a large and beautiful garden. Though now sadly curtailed
and overlooked, enough is left to show what it must have been like in
former days. Beside the main path is a tall and well-cut sundial of
stone, with a weather-vane at the top pierced with the initials of
Robert Cookes, and the date 1720. At the end of the garden is a break
in the wall, formerly railed across, and flanked on either side by
tapering columns. This was a favourite device for obtaining a long
vista extending beyond the garden, and when it was constructed the
view over the meadows and river to Clark's Hill must have formed a
charming outlook. It is now obstructed and spoiled by a modern street.
In the farther corner of this old-fashioned garden is a tower of wood