hurch porch is of conspicuous beauty, and the ponds that are
numerous in the village help to make picturesque views from many points.
The Hall is a large building possessing a ponderous bulk but little charm,
and it is only by the kindly aid of the plentiful trees and an extensive
growth of ivy that the squire's house does not destroy the rural sweetness
of the village.

Wykeham has a new church with a massive spire, but the tower of the old
building has fortunately been allowed to remain, and now answers the
purpose of a lich-gate. Only a few walls of the abbey now remain in close
proximity to Lord Downe's recently enlarged house.

[Illustration: HUTTON BUSCEL CHURCH.

The lower part of the tower is of Norman work. The head of the churchyard
cross is modern.
]

The church of Hutton Buscel is externally one of the most picturesque in
the district, and the pretty churchyard on steeply falling ground is a
charming feature of the village. The old Hall of the Osbaldestons is only
represented by the massive gates that give access to the schools built on
the site of the house that was burnt down about a century ago.

A curious story is told of Bishop Osbaldeston, whose monument is to be
seen in the church. During his stay at Hutton Buscel he often amused
himself with riding about the neighbourhood and conversing with any one he
happened to meet upon the road. "One morning he saw a chimney-sweeper's
boy laid on the roadside, whom he accosted as follows:--'Well, my lad,
where hast thou been this morning?' 'Sweeping your chimnies,' replied the
lad. 'And how much hast thou earned then?' said his lordship. 'Fifteen
shillings, my lord.' After his lordship had observed that he thought it a
very good business, the lad says, 'Yes, my lord, you see that _we black
coats_ get good livings for very little work.'"

The smaller villages of the Vale are without any particular interest in
themselves, apart from the wide and expansive landscapes that stretch away
in all directions to the enclosing hills that in distant times formed the
boundaries of the lake.

Great Habton has a small chapel of ease of very recent erection.

Ryton is chiefly composed of two or three farms and a dilapidated little
red brick building that scarcely deserves the name of church. The lane to
this hamlet from Great Habton is remarkable for the series of about a
dozen gates across the roadway.

Brawby and Butterwick have no particular features that impress t