BERKSHIRE. I57 



Thame, which was the seat of a bishopric from the seventh to the eleventh 

 century, but is noAV a place of no importance. Keeping the Chiltern Hills on our 

 left, we pass from the upper into the lower basin of the Thames, and reach Henley, 

 delightfully situated on a gentle declivity, amid hills covered with beech woods. 

 A handsome stone bridge here spans the river. Henley is the head-quarters of 

 aquatic sports on the Upper Thames. 



Berkshire lies to the south of the Thames, which separates it from Oxfordshire 

 and Buckinghamshire. Its surface is beautifully diversified. The rivers Ock and 

 Kennet intersect the county from west to east. The vale of the Ock, known also 

 as that of the White Horse, from a gigantic figure of a horse rudely carved on an 

 overhanging escarpment of chalk, is the most fruitful district of the county. A 

 range of chalk downs separates this valley from that of the " Kennet swift, for 

 silver eels renowned." Here the soil is less productive, being for the most part 

 gravelly, and a good deal of peat is found. The eastern part of the county, 

 beyond the river Loddon, contains "Windsor Forest and Bagshot Heath, and is 

 characterized by its woods and forests. Berks enjoys a considerable reputation as 

 a dairying and grazing county, the former being most successfully practised in the 

 western part of the vale of the White Horse. Most of the cheese made is of the 

 description called double Gloucester. 



Faringdon, an old residence of the Saxon kings, occupies a sheltered position near 

 the head of the river Ock, the hill above it commanding a fine view of the valley 

 of the Thames and of the Berkshire Downs, White Horse Hill, with its gigantic 

 steed, forming a conspicuous object. WantcKje, on a branch of the Ock, and at the 

 foot of the downs, is celebrated as the birthplace of Alfred the Great. Ashdown, 

 to the south, where the Saxon king defeated the Bancs, is covered with numerous 

 earthworks. Though situated within a purely agricultural district, Wantage 

 enjoys some reputation on account of its grammar school. It also boasts a fine 

 church of the fourteenth century, and feels some pride, too, in having given birth 

 to Bishop Butler, the author of the " Analogy." Abingdon, at the imion of 

 the Ock with the Thames, here joined by the Berks and Wilts Canal, which 

 brings the town into communication with Bath and Bristol, carries on a brisk 

 trade in corn and malt. Of the old abbey, founded m the seventh century, there 

 now exist only insignificant remains. The churches and public buildings are 

 deserving of attention. The pretty village of Sunninguell lies within a couple 

 of miles of the town. From the tower of its old church Eoger Bacon is said 

 to have made his astronomical observations. Culham College, for the training of 

 schoolmasters, lies on the other side of the Thames, in Oxfordshire. 



Lamhourn and Ilsley are the principal market-towns in the Berkshire Downs, 

 which at the ancient municipal borough of Wallingford approach close to the 

 Thames. 



The Kennet, on first entering the county from Wiltshire, waters the old town 

 of Hungerford, a favourite resort of the angler, the river being famous for its 

 trout, and the fisheries yielding a handsome revenue to the corporation. The 

 Kennet and Avon Canal passes the town. It affords the most direct line of 



