26o Afterword. 



yard—" one of the gems of Bath." This venerable Church is 

 indeed a most picturesque object; its ivy-clad tower rising in 

 happy juxtaposition to the stately mansion, Widcombe House, 

 which is second only to Prior Park in architectural dignity and 

 beauty of natural situation. Said to have been built by Inigo 

 Jones, (though this is more than doubtful,) in nobility of design, 

 in choice of site, and admirable "setting,'' it is every way 

 worthy of his genius. We can scarcely wonder that the culti- 

 vated taste of Walter Savage Landor should have delighted in 

 the scenery of this secluded and romantic spot, or that he should 

 have selected its quiet churchyard for his final resting-place. 

 Here too did Fielding, after the death of his wife, when "he 

 came out to dissipate " his grief, find a congenial retreat.* Old 

 memories cluster thick around the God's Acre of the Parish- 

 church of Widcombe. 



Of the objects in a strange city which are secure of observa- 

 tion, bridges are perhaps among the most prominent, but there 

 are two bridges in Bath which often escape recognition or notice. 

 One of these is the Palladian Bridge in the pleasure grounds of 

 Prior Park, a classical structure admirably fulfilling its purpose — 

 to supply a central feature in an exquisite landscape ; the other, 

 the Pulteney Bridge, which admits us to the parish of Bath- 

 wick, but which from being built upon on either side disguises 

 its pontine character so eifectually that the stranger is uncon- 

 scious of the river which flows beneath his feet. In this respect 

 it recalls the memories of Old London Bridge, and suggests 

 another resemblance between the cities of the Avon and the 

 Arno. 



Crossing this bridge and passing down Great Pulteney Street 

 the Sydney Gardens are worthy of a visit and — a note. Once the 

 Vauxhall of Bath, these gardens are still a delightful resort, and 

 though the sylvan seclusion is marred by the intersection of the 

 G. W. Railway, even this inevitable concession to the necessities 

 of the age has been turned to account, and the terraces which 



* See " Historic Houses," Int. p. 



