ome. Old
Vane House previously stood here, and was the residence of Sir Harry
Vane of the Commonwealth, and later of Bishop Butler, who wrote the
"Analogy." The Home is on the site of the south wing of this building,
and includes no part of it. Belmont House, now a private residence, was
the northern wing. Baines speaks of a date, 1789, and the initials
I.R.W. scored on the leads of the latter, but this gives no clue to the
age of the building. He says: "The antiquity of the house is abundantly
shown by the arrangement of the basements, by the thickness of the main
walls, and by a curious subterranean passage from the brewhouse to the
stable-yard."

The institution of the Soldiers' Daughters' Home was the outcome of the
patriotic feeling aroused by the Crimean War. The house was built for
the reception of the girls, who entered into possession in 1867. The
Tudor feeling has been well carried out, from the deep porch which
overlooks the ivy-surrounded courtyard in front to the stone staircases
within. The result is delightful; instead of the hideous dreariness of
an institution, we have a real home. At the back a large extent of grass
playground stretches out westward, and at the end of this there is a
grove of trees. On one side of the grass is a large playroom built in
1880 by means of an opportune legacy, and on the other a covered
cloister which leads to the school, standing detached from the house at
the other end of the playground. An old pier burdened with a mass of ivy
stands up in the centre, the only remnant of this part of old Vane
House. Some years ago a portion of the ground was profitably sold for
the frontage to Fitz John's Avenue.

The girls are received between the ages of six and eleven years, and
remain until sixteen. They are trained in every requisite for domestic
service, and make all their own clothes except hats and boots. As a
badge of the army, they are always dressed in scarlet.

High Street has been greatly changed within recent years, and it is
within the memory of living persons that there were trees on each side.
The opening of the two new roads, Prince Arthur Road and Gayton Road,
affected its appearance. At the corner of Prince Arthur Road is a large
Wesleyan chapel in many coloured bricks. Opposite is the King of
Bohemia, a public-house which dates back to Jacobean times, and contains
some good Jacobean woodwork; also Stanfield House, once the residence of
Clarkson Stanfield the artis