Handbook to the Severn Valley Railway | Page 6

proprietor, like the late earl,
very rarely refuses his permission.
The railway having crossed the Severn by the Victoria Bridge, an iron
structure, 200 feet in span, now continues its course along the right
bank of the stream, disclosing glimpses now and then of gentle sweeps
and undulating lines of wood and field, where quiet tones of light and
shade, with sweet harmonious tints, refresh and please. Wandering at
its own sweet will, the river here goes freely on its way, bubbling and
brawling at the fords, gathering itself up into deep, dark lakes carved
out of the softer rocks over which it flows, or dividing to embrace some
willow-covered island in its course. Between Arley and Bewdley it is
well stocked with grayling, dace, and that king of Severn fish, the
salmon which is often taken hero; also with that "queen of fresh-water
fish" the carp, speaking of which an old distich says:--
"Hops and turkeys, carps and beer, Came into England all in one year."
Like pike, they are long-lived; referring to which, Ben Jonson says:--
"Fat, aged carps, that run into thy net, And pikes, now weary their own
kind to eat."

During the winter months carp are caught in broad, quiet parts of the
river; in summer, in holes and reaches, under hollow banks, and near
beds of weeds or flags. All kinds of bait are recommended, but a
well-scoured worm is often best.
[Crap: 16.jpg]

HIGHLEY,
Or Higley, as it is commonly called, is two and a half miles from Arley.
The village is situated high upon the hill, and consists of scattered
cottages, with a sprinkling of goodly houses, some half timbered, after
the quaint fashion of former times. The church has an ancient chancel
window, and in the graveyard is an old cross, elaborately carved in
freestone, a material found very extensively in the neighbourhood.
Highley was an old Saxon manor, which, with Chetton, belonged to the
widow of Leofric--Godiva, of Coventry celebrity. Kinlet, four miles
distant, occupies a picturesque eminence of a horse-shoe form; the
church is an ancient structure, containing noble altar tombs, one of
which has a rich canopy, with the figure of a knight and lady kneeling.

HAMPTON'S LOADE.
Lode was a Saxon term for ford, and the name here, as elsewhere,
denotes an ancient passage of the Severn. In this case, it was one by
which the inhabitants of Highley, Billingsley, and Chelmarsh formerly
passed to Quatt and Alveley. A ferry has long been substituted, but the
old load still winds along the hillside, past an old stone cross, in the
direction of Alveley, an old Saxon manor. The tall grey tower of the
old church is seen from the line, occupying a high position on the right.
The building is an ancient and interesting structure, with many Norman
features, and is greatly admired by antiquarians. Judging from the
materials used in older portions of the building, the first church would
appear to have been built of travertine. Above Hampton's Loade, the
wooded heights of Dudmaston and of Quatford, with the red towers of

Quatford Castle, come into view; but a deviation of the line, and a deep
cutting through the Knoll Sands, prevent more than a passing glimpse.
Quat is an old British word for wood, and refers to a wide stretch of
woodland once included in the great Morfe Forest; and ford to an
adjoining passage of the river--one, half a mile higher up, being still
called Danes' Ford. On a bluff headland, rising perpendicularly 100
feet above the Severn, close by, the hardy Northerners, who thus left
their name in connection with the Severn, established themselves in
896, when driven by Alfred from the Thames; and on the same
projecting rock, defended on the land side by a trench cut in the solid
sandstone, Roger de Montgomery afterwards built himself a house.
And tradition adds that, in consequence of a vow made by his second
wife, Adeliza, the church close by was built upon the borders of the
forest, then the favourite hunting-ground of the Norman earl. The
church, like other neighbouring structures of ancient date, was built of
tuffa, or travertine, a material found in the beds of brooks in the district,
and portions of the chancel, including its fine Norman arch and pillars,
are still composed of the same. Among old endowments of the church,
is one, from a source unknown, of a piece of land, the proceeds of
which defray the expense of ferrying persons attending church across
the Severn.
The old man at the ferry is a fisherman, who knows well where to get
"a rise" of trout, or to hook a grayling, and where to look for pike, or
perch, or gudgeon.
[Perch and Gudgeon: 18.jpg]
In the parish of