“ The Red Rose ” 
proprietary that he decided to call his own 
place Stoke Pogis also. 
Another striking similarity between these 
two seats bearing the same name is the fact 
that the American Stoke Pogis is situated 
near the historic Merion Meeting-house, 
where Penn preached, and in the old Stoke 
Pogis of England, Penn’s place adjoined the 
famous churchyard where Thomas Grey 
wrote his immortal Elegy. Through this 
locality run a number of the great highways 
of Pennsylvania, and all along these are 
situated charming old Colonial inns, beautiful 
in aspect and picturesque in name. “ The 
Red Lion,” “The Green Tree,” “The 
Bird-in-Hand,” “ The General Wayne” 
and “ The King of Prussia” inns are land¬ 
marks of the region and recall the older 
countries by whose sons the countryside 
was settled. The proximity of these hos- 
telries suggested to Mr. Phillips the idea 
of changing the rambling old farmhouse he 
found on his estate into a pronounced type 
of Colonial inn, and to name it “ The Red 
Rose.” He remembered that a red rose— 
the most beautiful and fragrant that could be 
found—was annually presented to William 
Penn or his representative by certain of his 
public lease-hold tenants in lieu of quit- 
rents, and so he established the custom of 
the presentation of a red rose to all patrons 
when they wrote their names in the visitors’ 
book. Little wonder that gardens were 
needed to supply the roses, for in the short 
period during which the place was open to 
the public a stream of visitors from near and 
far kept the good folk of the inn busy at 
providing. 
t 16 
