Ancient Monuments in Southern England

Abstract

THE second of Mr. Ormsby-Gore's guides to the ancient monuments, covering the area south of the Thames, includes the most impressive, as well as some of the most important, relics of the prehistoric period (“Illustrated Regional Guides to Ancient Monuments under the Ownership or Guardianship of His Majesty's Office of Works: Vol. 2, Southern England.” London: H.M. Stationery Office, 1936. Pp. 86. Is. net). Avebury, Stonehenge and Maiden Castle alone would serve to make this a volume of outstanding interest in the series; and in the subsequent periods its material is little less of note in its numerous aspects: to the important Roman fortresses of Richborough and Porchester must be added from the medieval period the castles of Dover and Carisbrook and the special attractions of the beautiful castle of Restormel in Cornwall and romantic Tintagel, while as an example of artistic achievement in a later age, the Queen's House at Greenwich by Inigo Jones is unrivalled in its way. Mr. Ormsby-Gore, following in general line the plan of his earlier volume, has provided for the prehistoric period a sketch of the cultures of the neolithic, bronze and iron ages, as well as of the period of Roman occupation, in which the monuments are called upon to illustrate and support the relation. Here the results of much recent research and discovery are digested and presented with a lucidity which cannot fail to hold and interest the least instructed visitor. The medieval period is treated under the two headings of Anglo-Saxon and Norman, and in this and the later sections history appears only to serve as a background. Mr. Ormsby-Gore has a gift of scholarship without pedantry. His second volume deserves the success which his first has already earned.