124 THE BATH ROAD 



XXI 



A FINE broad gravel stretch of highway is that 

 which, ou leaving Salt Hill, takes us geutly clown in 

 the direction of the Thames, which the Bath Road 

 crosses, over Maidenhead Brido-e. The distance is 

 four miles, witli no villnges, and but few scattered 

 houses, on the wav. Two miles and one mile 

 respectively before the Bridge is reached are the 

 wayside inns, called "Two Mile Brook" and "One 

 Mile House." Near this last is the beautiful grouping 

 of roadside elms, sketched in the accompanying- 

 illustration, " An English Road." Half a mile 

 onward, the Great Western Railway crosses the 

 road by a skew-bridge, and runs into Taplow 

 station. Taplow village lies quite away from the 

 road, but has an outpost, as it were, in the old, 

 with the curious sign of the " Dumb Bell." Beyond 

 this, the intervening stretch of road as far as 

 Maidenhead Bridsfe is lined with villas standinor in 

 extensive grounds. Here the traveller renews his 

 acquaintance with the Thames, and passes over a fine 

 stone bridge, built in 1772, from Bucks to Berks. 

 This bridge succeeded a crazy timber structure, which 

 itself had several predecessors. It is one of these 

 early bridges that is mentioned in the declaration of 

 a hermit who obtained a licence to settle here and 

 collect alms. Such roadside hermits were common in 

 the Middle Ages. They were licensed by the Bishop 

 of their diocese, and were often useful in keeping 

 bridges and highways in good order ; the alms they 



