VANISHED INNS 187 



about eight o'clock, the up coach at twelve, mid- 

 night. All these coaches stopped, and were horsed, 

 at the ' White Hart.' In 1797 there were five 

 coaches to and from London, daily, and three on 

 alternate days ; and three waggons, two every day, 

 the other on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. 



In those times, when highwaymen were numerous 

 and daring and travellers appropriately anxious, 

 stage-coach proprietors in Salisluny advertised the 

 fact of their conveyances being provided with an 

 armed guard, and that any one making an attempt at 

 robbery would be handed over to justice. But, not- 

 withstandino- such bold announcements, all the friends 

 and relatives of citizens daring the journey to 

 London used to assemble on the London road and 

 tearfully watch the coaches as they toiled up Bishop 

 Down and over the crest of Three Mile Hill, into 

 the Unknown. The spot is still called ' Weeping 

 Cross.' 



Of the old Salisbury coaching inns, a goodly 

 number have been either pulled down or converted to 

 other purposes. The ' King's Head,' the ' Maiden- 

 head,' the ' Sun,' the ' Vine,' the ' Three Tuns,' and 

 others have entirely disappeared ; and the ' Spread 

 Eagle,' the ' Lamb,' ' Three Cups,' ' Antelope,' and 

 the ' George ' — where Pepys stayed and was over- 

 charged — have become shops or private residences ; 

 while the beautiful old ' Three Swans ' was converted 

 into a Temperance Hotel five years ago. 



There is a passage in Sir William Knighton's Diary 

 under date of 1832, which, although written without 

 any special emphasis, is highly picturesque and informa- 



