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14. Races, Sports, and Games.

Horse - Racing. The principal race-meetings taking place within easy distance of London are the following:

1. The Epsom Summer Meeting, at which the Derby and Oaks are run. The former invariably takes place on a Wednesday, and the latter on a Friday, the date being generally within a fortnight before or after Whitsuntide.

The Derby was instituted by the Earl of Derby in 1780, and the value of the stakes now sometimes exceeds 6000l. The length of the course is 11/2 M., and it was gone over by Kettledrum in 1861 in 2 min. 43 sec., the shortest time on record. Both horses and mares are allowed to compete for the Derby (mares carrying 316. less weight), while the Oaks is confined to mares. In both cases the age of the horses running must be three years. To view these races London empties itself annually by road and rail, even Parliament suspending its sitting on Derby Day, in spite of the ever recurring opposition. The London and Brighton Railway Company (London Bridge and Victoria stations) have a station at Epsom close to the course, and this is the most convenient route. It may also be reached by the London and South Western Railway from Waterloo. The increased facilities of reaching Epsom by train have somewhat diminished the popularity of the road; but the traveller who would see the Derby Day and its characteristic sights thoroughly will not regret his choice if he select the latter. A decently appointed open carriage and pair, holding four persons, will cost 8-10l., everything included. A hansom cab can be had for rather less than half that amount, but an arrangement should be made with the driver on the previous day. The appearance of Epsom Downs on Derby Day, crowded with myriads of human beings, is one of the most striking and animated sights ever witnessed in the neighbourhood of London, and will interest the ordinary visitor more than the great race itself.

2. The Ascot Week is about a fortnight after the Derby. The Gold Cup Day is on Thursday, when some members of the Royal Family usually drive up the course in state, attended by the master and huntsmen of the Royal Buckhounds. The course is reached by train from Waterloo; or the visitor may travel by the Great Western Railway (Paddington Station) to Windsor and drive thence to Ascot.

3. At Sandown, near Esher, and at Kempton Park, Sunbury,

races and steeplechases are held several times during the year.

4. The Epsom Spring Meeting, lasting for three days, on one of which the City and Suburban Handicap is decided.

Besides the above there are numerous smaller race-meetings near London, but with the exception of that at Croydon they will hardly repay the trouble of a visit, as they are largely patronised by the 'rough' element. The stranger should, if possible, attend races and other public gatherings in company with a friend who is well acquainted with the best method of seeing the sport. Much trouble and disappointment will be thereby avoided.

Newmarket, the headquarters of racing, is situated on the Great Eastern Railway, at some distance from London. As the accommodation of the town is limited, beds and living rise to famine prices during race times, and even then are not always obtainable. A better plan is to stay at Cambridge and to drive over, but this involves no little expense. All the races at Newmarket are run on the Heath, but not, as in other places, over the same ground. The spectator has to move about from place to place, and this, on foot, is tiring work. In short, racing at Newmarket is a business, and does not offer the same attractions to a visitor as at

Epsom or Ascot (comp. Baedeker's Great Britain).
Baedeker's Great Britain.

Goodwood Races, see

Hunting. This sport is carried on throughout England from autumn to spring. Cub-hunting generally begins in September and continues until 31st Oct. Regular fox-hunting then takes its place and lasts till about the middle of April. Hare-hunting lasts from 28th Oct. to 27th Feb., and buck-hunting begins on 14th Sept. Should the traveller be staying in the country he will probably have but little difficulty in seeing a meet of a pack of fox-hounds. The Surrey fox-hounds are the nearest to London. There is a pack of harriers at Brighton. The Royal Buckhounds often meet in the vicinity of Windsor, and when this is the case the journey can be easily made from London. The quarry is a stag, which is allowed to escape from a cart. The huntsmen and whippers-in wear a scarlet and gold uniform. The followers of the hounds wear scarlet, black, and indeed any colour, and this diversity, coupled with the large attendance in carriages, on foot, and on horseback, makes the scene a very lively one. For meets of hounds, see the Field or Bell's Life.

Fishing (roach, perch, gudgeon, pike, barbel, and trout) can be indulged in at all places on the Thames between Richmond and Wallingford. No permission is required, except in private waters. The services of a fisherman, who will furnish a punt and all tackle, can be secured at a charge of about 10s. per day, the hirer providing him with dinner and beer. The Lea (p. 317), Darent, Brent, Colne, etc., also afford good opportunities to the London angler. See the Angler's Diary (Field Office, 346 Strand; 18. 6d.) or Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames (1s.), and compare pp. 317, 318.

Cricket. Lord's at St. John's Wood (p. 233), the headquarters of the Marylebone Club, is the chief cricket ground in London. Here are played, in June and July, the Eton and Harrow, and the Oxford and Cambridge matches, besides many others. The Kennington Oval (p. 292) the headquarters of the Surrey County Club, is also an important cricket-centre. RACKET and TENNIS Courts are attached to both these grounds.

Athletics. The chief scene of athletic sports of all kinds is Stamford Bridge, on the Fulham Road, where the London Athletic Club has its headquarters. The Amateur Championships of the United Kingdom are decided here when these sports are held in London (every third year). The University Sports, between Oxford and Cambridge, take place at Queen's Ground, Kensington, in the Boat Race week (p. 48). The card comprises nine 'events', and the university whose representatives secure the majority is the winner. The German Gymnastic Society, 26 Pancras Road, King's Cross, takes the lead among all gymnastic clubs; about half of its 7-800 members are English. The Amateur Athletic Association consists of representatives of the leading athletic clubs.

Boxing. Among the chief boxing clubs in London are the West London Boxing Club and the Cestus Boxing Club, and there are also boxing clubs in connection with the German Gymnastic Society, the London Athletic Club, etc. Most of these are affiliated to the Amateur Boxing Association. A competition for amateur boxers is held yearly, the prizes being handsome challenge cups presented by the Marquis of Queensberry.

Lawn Tennis. The governing and controlling body for this pastime is the Lawn Tennis Association (sec., Mr. H. Chipp), established in 1888. The Lawn Tennis Championship of the World is competed for early in July on the ground of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, and other important competitions take place at Stamford Bridge, Hyde Park (Covered Court Championship), etc. Courts open to strangers are found at the Crystal Palace, Battersea Park, and other public gardens, drill-halls, etc., but as a rule this game cannot be enjoyed to perfection except in club or private grounds.

Cycling. There are now a great many bicycling and tricycling clubs in London, the oldest of which was founded in 1870. The chief bicycle race-meetings are held at the Alexandra Park, Stamford Bridge, Surbition, and the Crystal Palace. The annual muster of the clubs sometimes attracts thousands of cyclists.

The headquarters of the National Cyclists' Union are at 57 Basinghall Street, E. C. (sec., Mr. Finlay Macrae), and those of the Cyclists' Touring Club are at 139 Fleet Street (sec., Mr. E. R. Shipton). The chief consul for the foreign district of the latter club is Mr. S. A. Stead, 19 Tabley Road, Holloway. An exhibition of bicycles, tricycles, and their accessories, called the Stanley Show, is held in London annually. Compare the Cycling Times (Whitefriars Street) or the Monthly Gazette of the Cyclists' Touring Club.

Aquatics. The chief event in the year is the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, rowed on the second Saturday before Easter. The course is on the Thames, from Putney to Mortlake; the distance is just over 41/4 M., and the time occupied in rowing it varies from just under 20 min. to 23 min., according to the state of the wind and tide. The Londoners pour out to see the boat-race in almost as great crowds as to the Derby, sympathetically exhibiting in some portion of their attire either the dark blue colours of Oxford or the light blue of the sister university. There are also several regattas held upon the Thames. The best are those at Henley (at the end of June or the beginning of July), Marlow, Staines, and Walton. To Henley crews are usually sent from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, by Eton College, and by the London Rowing Club, the Leander, the Thames Club, and other clubs of more or less note. Crews from American universities sometimes take part in the proceedings. On Aug. 1st a boat-race takes place among young Thames watermen for Doggett's Coat and Badge, a prize founded by Doggett, the comedian, in 1715. Yacht races are held at the mouth of the Thames during summer. See the Rowing Almanack

(18.; Field Office, 346 Strand) or Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames (18.).

Swimming. Of the numerous swimming clubs in London, most of which belong to the Swimming Association of Great Britain (sec., Mr. Barron, Goswell Hall, Goswell Road, E.C.), the most important are the Ilex, Otter, and Serpentine. The races for the amateur championship of Great Britain take place at the Welsh Harp, Hendon (p. 332), and those for the professional championship in the Thames at Putney. The races are swum in 'university costume', and may be witnessed by ladies.

15. Embassies and Consulates. Bankers.
Embassies.

America, United States of. Legation, 123 Victoria Street, S.W.
(office-hours 11-3); minister, Hon. Robert T. Lincoln.
Consulate (office), 12 St. Helen's Place, Bishopsgate, E.C.
Austria. Embassy, 18 Belgrave Square. Consulate, 11 Queen
Victoria Street, E.C.

Belgium. Legation, 36 Grosvenor Gardens, S.W. Consulate, 118

Bishopsgate Street Within, E.C.

Brazil. Legation, 32 Grosvenor Gardens, S.W. Consulate, 6 Great

Winchester Street, E.C.

China. Legation, 49 Portland Place, W.
Denmark. Legation, 19 Grosvenor Square. Consulate, 5 Muscovy

Court, Tower Hill, E. C.

France. Embassy, Albert Gate House, Hyde Park. General Con

sulate, 38 Finsbury Circus.

Germany. Embassy, 9 Carlton House Terrace. General Consulate,

5 Blomfield Street, London Wall, E. C.

Greece. Legation, 5 St. James Street, S.W.

Winchester Street, E.C.

Italy. Embassy, 20 Grosvenor Square, W.

31 Old Jewry.

Consulate, 19 Great

General Consulate,

Japan. Legation, 9 Cavendish Square, W. Consulate, 84 Bishops

Netherlands. Legation, 40 Grosvenor Gardens. Consulate, 40 Fins

gate Street Within, E. C.

bury Circus, Е. С.

Persia. Legation, 80 Holland Park, W. Consulate, 1 Drapers'

Gardens, Throgmorton Avenue, E. C.

Portugal. Embassy, 12 Gloucester Place, Portman Square, W.

Consulate, 3 Throgmorton Avenue, E. C.

Russia. Embassy, Chesham House, Belgrave Square. Consulate,

17 Great Winchester Street, City.

Spain. Embassy, 46 Portland Place, W. Consulate, 21 Billiter

Street, E. C.

Sweden and Norway. Legation, 47 Charles Street, Berkeley Square, W. Consulate, 24 Great Winchester Street, Е. С.

BAEDEKER, London. 6th Edit.

4

Switzerland. Consulate, 25 Old Broad Street.
Turkey. Embassy, 1 Bryanston Square. Consulate, Union Court,

Old Broad Street, E. C.

Bankers.

PRIVATE BANKS: Messrs. Barclay, Bevan, & Co., 54 Lombard Street; Lloyd, Barnett, & Bosanquet, 72 Lombard Street; Child, 1 Fleet Street; Coutts, 56-59 Strand; Drummond, 49 Charing Cross; Herries, Farquhar, & Co., 16 St. James's Street; Hoare & Co., 37 Fleet Street; Praeds & Co., 189 Fleet Street; Ransom, Bouverie, & Co., 1 Pall Mall East; Robarts, Lubbock, & Co., 15 Lombard Street; Smith, Payne, & Smiths, 1 Lombard Street; Williams, Deacon, & Co., 20 Birchin Lane, etc.

JOINT STOCK BANKS: - London and County, 21 Lombard Street ; London Joint Stock, 5 Prince's Street, Bank; London and Provincial, 7 Bank Buildings; London and South Western, 168 Fenchurch Street; London and Westminster, 41 Lothbury; Union Bank of London, 2 Prince's Street, Mansion House, E. C.; Glyn, Mills, & Co., 67 Lombard Street, etc.

AMERICAN BANKS: - Brown, Shipley, & Co., Founders' Court, Lothbury, E. C.; Baring Brothers, 7-9 Bishopsgate Street Within, E.C.; J. S. Morgan & Co. (Drexel & Co.), 22 Old Broad Street, E. C.; Knauth, Nachod, & Kühne, at the Alliance Bank, Bartholomew Lane, E. C.

All the banking companies have branch-offices in different parts of London, some as many as fifteen or twenty.

MONEY-CHANGERS. Osborne & Gall, 264 Strand; Reinhardt & Co., 14 Coventry Street; Whiteley, 31-61 Westbourne Grove; Smart, 19 Westbourne Grove; Cook's Tourist Offices, Ludgate Circus, 445 Strand, 35 Piccadilly, 82 Oxford Street, Euston Road (in front of St. Pancras Station), and at the corner of Gracechurch Street and Leadenhall Street; Gaze's Tourist Office, 142 Strand; United States Exchange (p. 17); Lady Guide Association (p. 55).

16. Divine Service.

To enable visitors belonging to different religious denominations to attend their respective places of worship, a list is here given of the principal churches in London. The denominations are arranged in alphabetical order. The chief edifices of the Church of England are noticed throughout the Handbook, but it may not be invidious here to specify Canon Farrar of Westminster Abbey, Canon Liddon of St. Paul's Cathedral, and Dean Vaughan of the Temple, as among the most eminent preachers in London.

There are about 800 churches of the Church of England in London or its immediate vicinity, of which 100 are parish churches in the City, 50 parish churches in the Metropolitan district beyond, and 250 ecclesiastical parish or district churches or chapels, some connected with asy. lums, missions, etc. Of the Nonconformist churches, which amount to

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