244 "A Lane at Knockholt, Kent"
"The Old Bell Inn"
by Henry J. Boddington (1811-65)

It is a hot mid-day in the wood, high in the North Downs. The bright summer sun is casting dark shadows under the old oak, and pools of light are avoided by all except the lone traveller. The day began with all its hopes and expectations. The cock, having finished waking up the occupants of the inn and all the animals of the wood, is now proudly surveying his hens from the vantage point of a large log. An hour before, the traveller was lying snugly in a bed in the inn. Slowly the crowing of the cock woke him up. Now he has got dressed, eaten his breakfast, and mounted hie horse ready to depart along the lane. All that remains for him to do, is to bid farewell to the innkeeper and her children, and to thank her for her hospitality. As he does so, she offers him a last drink of water from her jug. The inn stands in a small clearing in the wood, its warm red roof glowing in the trees and its timber-framed walls catching the sun. It is an ancient inn, encircled by ancient trees, at Knockholt on the North Downs in Kent - just a day's journey from London.

Soon, the traveller will urge his horse into motion and ride off along the lane towards London. The sound of the hooves will grow fainter and fainter, and the innkeeper will disappear inside with her children, closely followed by the dogs.

At the end of the day, many hours hence, this same traveller will arrive wearily in the busy streetes of London and he will be comforted by the memory of his morning departure from the depths of the Kent countryside.

Henry John Boddington was a landscape painter, based in London. He was born Henry J. Williams, the second son of Edward Williams; but after his marriage to Clara Boddington, in 1832, he took her name so as not to be confused with other artist members of the Williams family. he was a member of the Society of British Artists and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1837 to 1869. He painted country scenes around London, views of the Thames and scenes in Wales and Scotland. Ruskin praised his pictures for their honesty and true love of the countryside. Other titles include"Stopping at the Inn", (Also available from the publishers). "The Trout Stream", "The Thames near Henley" and "The Thames at Eton".