But there was no question of merriment when poor old Sir Edward Coke brought his wife to Stoke Pogis. They were married in 1598, but the Lady stipulated that the wedding should be in private, and that she should retain her title of Lady Hatton, for her first husband had been created a peer. She was a daughter of Lord Burleigh, and for this irregular marriage, performed without banns or licence, the two great lawyers, the husband and the father, together with the bride and the officiating minister, were cited into the ecclesiastical court.

There was one daughter born to the illmatched pair, and it is not to be wondered at that this young lady turned out very badly. She was married to Sir John Villiers, who was created Viscount Purbeck and Baron Villiers of Stoke Pogis, but she left him for Sir Robert Howard. It must be mentioned, however, to the credit of the lady, that she came to her old father when he "felt himself alone on the earth, was suspected by his King, deserted by his friends, and detested by his wife." The wife also set off for Stoke Pogis when she heard that her husband was on his death-bed, not to take leave of him, however, but to take possession of the house. When she had reached Colnbrook a messenger met her, and

told her that Sir Edward was alive and mending. Thereupon she turned back to London in disgust.

The suspicions of the King resulted in a search of the house by Sir Francis Windebank, Secretary of State, when Coke's papers, including his will, were carried off, and not returned to the family until 1641. This search was made only three days before the death of the poor old man, which event occurred on the 3rd of September, 1634. He had reached the age of eighty-four. Charles I. was himself brought here as a prisoner in 1647, when in the custody of the army.

There was another celebrity connected with Stoke House. This was Sir John Gayer, Lord Mayor of London, who was knighted by Charles I. in 1646. He, for a short time, owned and occupied the mansion, but he is better known as the Indian merchant who, in his travels, had the adventure with the lion, which led to his founding, in memory of his escape, the annual Lion Sermon at the church of St. Katharine Cree in the City. The Gayer family were strong supporters of the Stuarts, and Sir John's successor, Robert Gayer, refused to allow William III., when he called at Stoke, to enter the mansion.

We shall find in the village some alms

houses, which were founded by Lord Hastings in 1557, and rebuilt by the Penns in 1765. The Penns also erected the lofty monument to the memory of Sir Edward Coke, which we see near the House.

There is another old house at Stoke which is worth notice, Baylies, which was built by Dr. Godolphin, Provost of Eton in 1695, and the residence afterwards of Dr. Gregory Hascard, Dean of Windsor, to whom there is a monument in the church, and of Lord Chesterfield of the letters.

East of Stoke Pogis is the tiny village of Wexham, with a little low-built church, as plain in its architectural features as that at Upton, though of later date. Beyond this is Langley Park, which is some distance from the village of that name. The house was built about 1750 by the second Duke of Marlborough, who also planted the Black Park, a large fir-wood farther to the north, in the centre of which is a gloomy lake. The church at Langley has a Norman nave, and an Early Decorated chancel, in which is the monument of Sir John Kedermister, with his wife and their five children. Sir John obtained a grant from the Dean and Chapter of Windsor, in the year 1613, to erect a building adjoining the church on the south side, and forming a very

conspicuous feature, both without and within. First, we enter a sort of transept, raised high above a vault, and furnished at the end with a long, comfortable, family pew, in front of which is a wooden screen, carved and painted in the style of the early part of the seventeenth century. We note that the screen is provided with little casements, which can be closed at pleasure, one in front of each seat, so that every occupant of the pew can, if he wishes so to do, retire from the congregation, and from public worship. Out of this pew we pass through a door into another building, occupying the place usually taken by a north aisle, and which we find to be a small room, surrounded by bookshelves, also ornamented with paintings, and containing a large collection chiefly of theological books, handsomely printed and bound in the best style of the time. This is the Kedermister Library, founded by Sir John for the use of the rector of the parish and of other neighbouring parsons. Nor did the worthy Sir John confine himself to providing for men's minds alone, for we see on each side of the churchyard the picturesque blocks of almshouses which he built for the benefit of the old people of the parish.

To the north-east of Stoke is Fulmer, which was formerly a chapelry of Datchet. The

church is a specimen of Jacobean Gothic, erected in 1610 by Sir Marmaduke Darell, whose effigy, together with that of Dame Alice, his wife, we see in the chancel. Sir Marmaduke, as the inscription informs us, was a servant to Queen Elizabeth in her wars by

Fulmer Church.

sea and land, and cofferer to James I. and Charles I.

At Fernacres Cottage in Fulmer lived Sir William White Cooper, the distinguished oculist. Here he was visited by his friend, Professor Richard Owen, whose great-grandfather had built Fulmer Place, which stands in the village, and which descended to the Pro

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