excerpt from the book..For combined beauty and interest--varied beauty and historicalinterest--there is no place "within easy reach of London", certainlyno place within the suburban radius, that can compare with the statelyTudor palace which stands on the left bank of the Thames, little morethan a dozen miles from the metropolis and, though hidden in trees,within eye-reach of Richmond. It is not only one of the "show places",which every traveller from afar is supposed to visit as something of aduty, but it is a place that conveys impressions of beauty andrestfulness in a way that few others can. It remains ancient withouthaving lapsed into a state of desuetude that leaves everything to theimagination; it is a living whole far from any of the garishness thatbelongs to contemporaneity. Whether seen from the outside on the west,where the warm red brick, the varied roofs, the clustered decorativechimneys suggestive of the Tudor time make a rich and harmoniouswhole; or from the south east, where the many-windowed long straightlines of the Orange additions show the red brick diversified withwhite stone, it is a noble and impressive pile. Within, too, arepriceless treasures, themselves alone the objective of countlesspilgrimages. And recognizing the attractions of the buildings andtheir contents is to take no account of the lovely grounds, and of thecrowding associations of a place that, since its establishment fourhundred years ago, has again and again been the centre at whichhistory was made.