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Show Real Estate Promotion Hits Famed Stoke Poges A , s U fc, 4 ajj? Quiet of Gray's Churchyard ivt- Is Threatened. 01;;. Washington. The cloistered quiet of 5l the country churchyard at Stoke "I- Poges, where Thomas Gray wrote his famous "Elegy," Is threatened by a Si. promoter's scheme for real estate development de-velopment nearby. ?sa;- "Located In the southern part of as Buckinghamshire, the little village is only twenty miles from London," ac-b ac-b cording to a bulletin from the National t at: -Geographic society. "It has, however, re-shin; re-shin; malned almost unchanged through the it s'j two centuries which have passed since where, in 1771, Gray was buried beside his mother. "Of particular interest to the American Amer-ican tourist in Stoke Poges is the old Elizabethan manor house, which was owned by Thomas Penn, son of the founder of Pennsylvania. In one of the rooms may be seen a part of the trunk of the elm tree under, which William Penn signed the treaty with the Indians. His grave lies a few miles distant in the Quaker burial ground by Jordan's meeting house. "Even before the rise of the Quakers Quak-ers in the Seventeenth century South Buckinghamshire had long been a ! Of . Gray came down from Cambridge for the long summer vacations. "The near-by town of Slough, how-len how-len eyeri nng become a thriving manufac-0D manufac-0D turing center, spreading blocks of red ira brick housing units across the 'leas,' ie- and under the 'rugged elms' of the mr poet's beloved country side. Fortu-the Fortu-the nately a large field to the east of the er church has already been purchased by r'J the Penn-Gray society, and it is hoped that funds may be fouDd to complete a len protecting circle of green. m' Tree Shaded Poet. "The church itself is a low, Ivy-cov-ihe ered structure with square, Norman l tower. Opposite its porch stands a :'? massive, gnarled yew, said to have shaded the poet while he wrote. Near he the tree is the simple brick tomb storm center of religion. The Lollards were persecuted there during the Fourteenth Four-teenth and Fifteenth centuries, and lilcewise the Protestant martyrs of the Sixteenth century. "Two miles beyond Jordan's is Chal-font Chal-font St. Giles, where Milton stayed during the great London plague. His small stone cottage Is carefully preserved, pre-served, while his love for that part of England lives forever in 'L'Allegro' and 'II Penseroso.' "Buckinghamshire, one of England's smallest counties, lies inland just west and north of London. The winding Thames forms its southern boundary, and the equally winding Ouse circles it In the north. Across the county from southwest to northeast stretch the low, wooded slopes of the Chil-tern Chil-tern hills. "Because it is cut off from all sea trade, and because it has no mineral resources of value, the county has always al-ways remained primarily agricultural, despite its geographical nearness to London. More than half its entire area is in permanent grass, and cattle-raising cattle-raising forms the chief industry. The Vale of Aylesbury in particular is famous fa-mous for its dairy farms. Wheat and fruit are also important crops. Lace and Furniture Making. "Certain local industries, principally lace making and the manufacture of furniture, are still carried on. High Wycombe, largest town in the county, Is well known for Its fine chairs. It is also famous as the home of that great British statesman, Benjamin Disraeli, who is buried in the churchyard church-yard at Hughenden Manor. "In Buckinghamshire, too, Is Eton college, largest of England's 'public schools,' those famous and ancient institutions, in-stitutions, corresponding to American private preparatory schools for boys. Eton, which was founded by Henry VI in 1440, lies in the southern part of the county, just across the Thames from Windsor castle. "In his 'OSe to the Distant Prospect Pros-pect of Eton college,' Gray, a loyal Etonian, describes 'Ye distant Spires, ye antique Towers,' rising beyond the shining curve of the Thames. From Windsor Bridge Eton's High street leads through a straggling village to the mellow brick buildings and shaded walks of the school. Beyond, on a branch of the Thames, Is the Eton Playing field, where endless practice takes place before the great annual event at Lords the Eton-Harrow cricket match." |