. Vanishing England . rn palaces ; a few City churches, very few, thatescaped the Great Fire, and every now and again we hearthreatenings against the masterpieces of Wren, andanother City church has followed in the wake of all theother London buildings on which the destroyer has laidhis hand. The site is so valuable ; the modern world ofbusiness presses out the life of these fine old have to make way for new-fangled erections built inthe modern French style with sprawling gigantic figureswith bare limbs hanging on the porticoes which seem towonder how they ever got there, and how
. Vanishing England . rn palaces ; a few City churches, very few, thatescaped the Great Fire, and every now and again we hearthreatenings against the masterpieces of Wren, andanother City church has followed in the wake of all theother London buildings on which the destroyer has laidhis hand. The site is so valuable ; the modern world ofbusiness presses out the life of these fine old have to make way for new-fangled erections built inthe modern French style with sprawling gigantic figureswith bare limbs hanging on the porticoes which seem towonder how they ever got there, and however they wereto keep themselves from falling. London is hopeless !We can but delve its soil when opportunities occur in 12 VANISHING ENGLAND order to find traces of Roman or medieval life. Churches,inns, halls, mansions, palaces, exchanges have vanished,or are quickly vanishing, and we cast off the dust ofLondon streets from our feet and seek more hopefulplaces. But even in the sleepy hollows of old England the pulse. Old Shop, formerly standing in CliffeHigh Street, Lewes beats faster than of yore, and we shall only just be in timeto rescue from oblivion and the house-breaker some of ourheritage. Old city walls that have defied the attacks oftime and of Cromwells Ironsides are often in danger fromthe wiseacres who preside on borough halls picturesque and beautiful in their old age haveto make way for the creations of the local architect. Oldshops have to be pulled down in order to provide a site INTRODUCTION 13 for a universal emporium or a motor garage. Nor arebuildings the only things that are passing away. Theextensive use of motor-cars and highway vandalism are de-stroying the peculiar beauty of the English roadside. Theswift-speeding cars create clouds of white dust which settlesupon the hedges and trees, covering them with it and ob-scuring the wayside flowers and hiding all their attractive-ness. Corn and grass are injured and destroyed by thedust clo
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