The Basics
Time: English Regency (~1790-1820)
Place: Ariston; --shire, England
Location: West of London, on the Thames
In Detail: Ariston is not particularly booming, nor is it an incredibly quiet little town. It is, moreso, an escape from London and its central hub of activity, but lively enough. Homing a port on the river Thames, some trade by land and water keep the place busy.
While well-off folk may retreat to Ariston from London for a little more solitude, the town is not without its lower-class representation. In fact, the upper class makes up only a small portion of all the inhabitants (though the city does have its share of ranked folk). Yes, Ariston is well-spread across the social groups; from wealthy (or, perhaps, broke) Duke or Marquis to the slums, where for some, each day is a fight for survival.
Three roads lead into Ariston: Lumbsford, from the west along the Thames toward Wales; Rithe circles southeast, along a bend in the Thames before turning north and east again in the direction of London; Tinsdale is a straight shot south in the direction of the coast, and the ports of Southampton and Portsmouth.
On the river, of course, there is a port, commonly bustling without activity, though not constantly. Just south of the port, and ringing around, is the main township. The Square, or City Commons, is a quarter-mile from the river, at most, and along the street that leads between, one might find some market stalls and a few taverns - the most popular (and infamous) of which is the Swaggering Duke. Below The Duke, at the North-Western corner of the Commons is an old house built long with two stories; it's not any amazing piece of architecture, but it is large enough and has been managed in such a way that it has been turned into popular apartments for those with funds insufficient to pay for the Amery Inn. This old manor has become known as the Apartments; some remain for a short stay, and some actually live here for a discounted price from that of those who rent only for a visit. All around the Square are market stalls, and the things continue to line the street down to the south, and a little ways down Tinsdale and Rithe.
Further down along Lumbsford, a few more middle-class families reside, and they also have their shops there. To the south of that street, cradled between Lumbsford and Tinsdale with a few dirt streets winding through are the slums, where small houses home the poor, some of whom have not enough money to buy their own bread, much less a proper house or apartment.
On Rithe, on the other hand, which also leads into the Square, one will find the majority of the higher quality shops, as well as the Amery Inn, a Manor abandoned long ago by its owners who perhaps gambled away all their money and were forced to move. That history is as much a mystery to the current owner as to his parents and to other residents of the town, for at the time there was no town. A few of the middle-class families who run these shops live in a back apartment or above at times, though it depends on the nature of the architecture and the family's overall wealth, though this is truly the better-off side of town.
Almost inevitably, the upper class (and some of the middle class) reside at least a half-mile from the town center. They have their estates, of varying sizes and wealth and on varying tracks of land, and come to town only when necessary (though most have servants who tend to that request).
Retreating from the town, west or east along the river, the Riverfront is a pleasant enough retreat, should one venture away from the docks which tend to be rather noisy. And, just along the outskirts of the town begins Barclay Forest, which will later fade to heath; many estates are cut out of that wood, and surrounded thus by tall trees and gurgling streams.
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