lapidated, though still in daily
use, and is supported on crumbling pillars of red sandstone. Ross is
chiefly built upon the slope of a hill, terminating in a plateau, one
side of which the Wye, flowing through a horseshoe bend, has scarped out
into a river-cliff. Upon this plateau stands the little Ross Church with
its tall spire, a striking building in a singularly fortunate situation.
The churchyard, with an adjoining public garden called the Prospect,
extends to the brow of the cliff. The church is cruciform, and its spire
the landmark for the surrounding country. It was built in the fourteenth
century, but is without architectural features. The "Man of Ross" rests
within its walls, buried near the altar under a blue slab. His memory is
the most cherished remembrance of Ross, and is mellowed as the ages
pass. His fireside chair stands in the chancel, and they also show a
book containing his autograph. A tablet to his memory is inserted in the
wall, erected by a distant relative, Lady Betty Dupplin, for it is said,
as is usually the case, that his good deeds excited more enthusiasm in
strangers than among the people whom he benefited. Within the church, in
front of a window, two trees are growing, another indirect and
posthumous memorial of the "Man of Ross." They appeared about fifty
years ago, and the story is that a rector of the parish had cut down a
tree on the outside of the wall which the "Man of Ross" had originally
planted, whereupon these suckers made their appearance within the
building and asserted the vitality of the parent tree. They shot up
against the seat which is said to have been his favorite one, and though
at first objected to, the church-wardens bowed to the inevitable, and
they are now among the most prized relics within the church. The public
garden (the Prospect) adjoining the churchyard was another benefaction
of the "Man of Ross," and with some private houses and a hotel it crowns
the summit of the plateau. Here the hand of the "Man of Ross" again
appears in a row of noble elms around the churchyard which he is said to
have planted, some of them of great size. The view from the Prospect,
however, is the town's chief present glory. It stands on the brink of
the river-cliff, with the Wye sweeping at its feet around the apex of
the long horseshoe curve. Within the curve is the grassy Oak Meadow
dotted with old trees. On either hand are meadows and cornfields, with
bits of wood, and the Welsh hil