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Title: The Baronial Halls, - Ancient Picturesque Edifices of England
Author: Hall, S.C.
Language: English
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THE
BARONIAL HALLS,
AND
ANCIENT PICTURESQUE EDIFICES OF ENGLAND.
FROM DRAWINGS BY
J. D. HARDING, G. CATTERMOLE, S. PROUT, W. MÜLLER, J. HOLLAND.
AND OTHER EMINENT ARTISTS.
EXECUTED IN COLOURED LITHOTINTS, BY DAY AND SON AND HANHART.
THE TEXT BY S. C. HALL, P.S.A.
EMBELLISHED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
WILLIS AND SOTHERAN, 136, STRAND.
MDCCCLVIII.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME I.
HOLLAND HOUSE MIDDLESEX From a Drawing by _C. J. Richardson, F.S.A._
HOLLAND HOUSE, INTERIOR ---- ---- _C. J. Richardson, F.S.A._
BLICKLING HALL NORFOLK ---- _J. D. Harding._
BURGHLEY HOUSE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ---- _T. Allom._
CASTLE ASHBY ---- ---- _F. W. Hulme._
KIRBY HALL ---- ---- _J. D. Harding._
WOLLATTON HALL NOTTINGHAMSHIRE ---- _T. Allom._
BENTHALL HALL SHROPSHIRE ---- _J. C. Bayliss._
PITCHFORD HALL ---- ---- _F. W. Hulme._
MONTACUTE, GREAT CHAMBER SOMERSETSHIRE ---- _C. J. Richardson, F.S.A._
CAVERSWALL CASTLE STAFFORDSHIRE ---- _H. L. Pratt._
INGESTRIE HALL ---- ---- _J. A. Hammersley._
THE OAK HOUSE ---- ---- _A. E. Everitt._
THROWLEY HALL ---- ---- _W. L. Walton._
TRENTHAM HALL ---- ---- _F. W. Hulme._
HELMINGHAM HALL SUFFOLK ---- _J. D. Harding._
HENGRAVE HALL ---- ---- _C. J. Richardson, F.S.A._
WEST-STOW HALL ---- ---- _W. Müller._
HAM HOUSE SURREY ---- _Henry Mogford._
LOSELEY HOUSE ---- ---- _F. W. Hulme._
ARUNDEL CHURCH SUSSEX ---- _Samuel Prout._
BOXGROVE CHURCH ---- ---- _S. Prout._
ASTON HALL WARWICKSHIRE ---- _A. E. Everitt._
BEAUCHAMP CHAPEL, WARWICK ---- ---- _George Cattermole._
CHARLECOTE ---- ---- _J. G. Jackson._
CHARLECOTE, INTERIOR ---- ---- _J. G. Jackson._
COMBE ABBEY ---- ---- _J. G. Jackson._
WARWICK CASTLE ---- ---- _J. D. Harding._
WROXHALL ABBEY ---- ---- _J. G. Jackson._
BROUGHAM HALL WESTMORLAND ---- _F. W. Hulme._
SIZERGH HALL ---- ---- _F. W. Hulme._
CHARLTON HOUSE WILTSHIRE ---- _C. J. Richardson, F.S.A._
THE DUKE’S HOUSE ---- ---- _C. J. Richardson, F.S.A._
WESTWOOD HOUSE WORCESTERSHIRE ---- _F. W. Fairholt, F.S.A._
FOUNTAINS HALL YORKSHIRE ---- _William Richardson._
HELMSLEY HALL ---- ---- _William Richardson._
[Illustration:
Day &c Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
]
HOLLAND HOUSE,
MIDDLESEX.
Holland House stands upon rising ground, a little to the north of the
high-road which leads from Kensington to Hammersmith.[1] It is
interesting to all passers-by, as affording a correct idea of the
baronial mansions peculiar to the age of James I.; and, from its
vicinity to the metropolis, its examination is easy to thousands who
rarely obtain opportunities of viewing the “old houses,” with which are
associated the records and pictures of English hospitality as it existed
in the olden time. Although modern dwellings of all shapes and sizes
have grown up about it, the house retains so much of its primitive
character--its green meadows, sloping lanes, and umbrageous woods, in
which still sings the nightingale; with gables and chimneys bearing
tokens of a date two centuries back--that few traverse the highway
without a word of comment, and a sensation of pleasure, that neither
time nor caprice have yet operated to remove it from its place, or even
to impair its imposing and impressive features. It is almost alone in
its “old grandeur,” in a vicinity at one period crowded with ancient
houses; the baronial halls have, with this exception, that of Campden
House,[2] adjacent, and Kensington Palace, a comparatively recent
structure, been removed, to make way for “detached villas” and streets
of narrow dwellings; and there are many sad surmises that, ere long, the
park, and gardens, and venerable mansion, will be also displaced, to
supply building-ground for speculators in brick and mortar. This will be
a grievous outrage on taste, and a sore mortification to the antiquary,
and be another terrible inroad on the picturesque in a district which,
within living memory, was as primitive in character as if London had
been distant a hundred miles.
The approach to Holland House is by an avenue of venerable elms; the
entrance-gates are examples of wrought iron, remarkably elegant in
design and fine in execution. Within the demesne, small although it be,
all sense is lost of proximity to a great city: the close foliage
completely shuts out the view of surrounding houses, and the birds are
singing among the branches, as if enjoying the freedom of the forest.
Yet Holland House is now enclosed on all sides--north, south, east, and
west--by brick houses of all sorts and sizes, upon which it seems to
look down, from its elevated position, with supreme contempt for the
convenient “whimsies” of modern architects.
Before we conduct the reader about the grounds and into the mansion, it
will be well to give some history of the several personages through
whose hands they have passed. As we have shewn in a note, the manor,
during the reign of Elizabeth, became the property of Sir Walter Cope, a
knight who became high in favour with her successor, James I., and who
obtained, partly by grant and partly by purchase, considerable
possessions in and around Kensington. By him the house, subsequently
called “Holland House,” was built. His daughter, Isabella, having
married Sir Henry Rich, the second son of Robert Rich, first Earl of
Warwick, this Sir Robert inherited the estates in right of his wife; in
1622 he was created Baron Kensington; and in the 22d James I. was
elevated to the dignity of Earl of Holland, and installed a Knight of
the Garter. Having taken part with the king during the civil wars, he
was tried by the Parliament, condemned to death, and beheaded on the 9th
of March, 1649.[3] His lady was, however, permitted to return to Holland
House, where she brought up her family, and where she was succeeded by
her son, Robert, the second earl, who, in 1673, became also Earl of
Warwick, by the death of Charles, the fourth earl. He was succeeded by
his son, the third earl, who married Charlotte, only daughter of Sir
Thomas Middleton of Chirk Castle, Denbighshire, who survived, and
subsequently took for her second husband, in 1716, the renowned Joseph
Addison; “but,” writes Dr. Johnson, “Holland House, although a large
house, could not contain Mr. Addison, the Countess of Warwick, and one
guest--Peace:” they lived on ill terms, which probably hastened the
death of Addison; an event which took place in the mansion on the 17th
of June, 1719.[4] Edward Henry, the fourth Earl of Holland, dying
unmarried, his cousin, Edward, succeeded as fifth earl; but he dying
without issue, in 1759, his honours and titles became extinct; but the
family estates were inherited by William Edwardes, Esq., son of the
sister of Edward, the third earl, created Baron Kensington of the
kingdom of Ireland in 1776. Holland House came into the possession of
the family to whom it now belongs (the family of Fox), first about the
year 1762, when the Right Hon. Henry Fox, Secretary of State (soon
afterwards created Lord Holland), became a tenant of the mansion, which
he subsequently purchased, together with the manor, from Mr. Edwardes.
Here the first Lord Holland resided until his death in 1774, and was
succeeded by his son, Stephen, the second peer,[5] who died the year
following, and was succeeded by his son, Richard Vassal; during whose
long minority the house was let to the Earl of Roseberry and Mr.
Bearcroft. On his death in 1840, he was succeeded by the present peer,
Henry Edward Fox, the fourth Lord Holland.
During the lifetime of the late peer, Holland House obtained a certain
degree of fame as the occasional rendezvous of the wits of the age; and
the fêtes at which they were assembled furnished brilliant themes for
the exercise of poetical talent; but the records of genius there
fostered and encouraged are singularly few. The historian, the poet, the
artist, and the man of science, became guests in the mansion when they
had acquired fame, but those who were achieving greatness, and stood in
need of “patronage,” were not permitted to share its enjoyments and
advantages.
The grounds and gardens of Holland House have been skilfully and
tastefully laid out; the trees are remarkably fine, and give a character
of delicious solitude to the place, keeping away all thought of the vast
city, the distant hum of which is at all times audible; and, although
“prospects fresh and fair” are in a great degree shut out, imagination
may easily follow the steps of Addison into this calm retreat, and quote
the lines of Tickell on the poet’s death, as applicable to the present
day as they were to a century back:--
“Thou hill, whose brow the antique structures grace,
Rear’d by bold chiefs of Warwick’s noble race;
Why, scene so lov’d! where’er thy bower appears,
O’er my dim eyeballs glance the sudden tears?
How sweet were once thy prospects fresh and fair,
Thy sloping walks, and unpolluted air!
How sweet the gloom beneath thy aged trees,
Thy noontide shadow, and thy evening breeze;
His image thy forsaken bowers restore,
Thy walks and airy prospects charm no more.
No more the summer in thy glooms allay’d,
Thy evening breezes and thy noon-day shade!”
The prospect, however, notwithstanding the multiplicity of houses by
which the grounds are surrounded, is not all destroyed; vistas are here
and there formed between the trees, which command extensive views; and
garden-seats still exist, to wile the visitor into “shady places,” where
the hill of Harrow and other striking objects are seen in the distance,
while the surrounding shadow enhances the value of the bright scene
beyond:--
“For loftie trees, y’clad with summer’s pride,
Did spread so broad, that heaven’s light did hide,
Not pierceable with power of any starre;
And all within are paths and alleies wide,
With footinge worne, and leading inward farre.”
But judgment, tastefully exercised, has made many openings among those
thick woods; and those who wander among them enjoy the feelings of
entire solitude--a feeling augmented if the time be evening; for, as we
have intimated, although scarcely two miles distant from the heart of
London, here the nightingale
“Supplies the night with mournful strains,
And melancholy music fills the plains.”
[Illustration]
The beautiful gates which open upon the avenue that leads to the
principal entrance to the mansion are pictured in the appended woodcut;
they were brought from Belgium by the late Lord Holland, and placed in
their present position about twelve years ago; they are of wrought iron,
and are considerably impaired by time. Recently they have been
repainted, and picked out with gold; and they now make a gay appearance;
they are, however, of a much later date than the venerable structure,
with which they would be out of “keeping,” but that they are separated
from it by considerable space--a long avenue of ancient and finely grown
elm-trees, which shadow the broad path that conducts to the house. The
immediate entrance is between two piers of Portland stone, designed by
Inigo Jones, and “executed by Nicholas Stone in 1629, for which he was
paid 100_l._;” they have no peculiar merit, but serve the purpose of
supporting “the arms of Rich quartering Bouldry, and impaling Cope.” The
pleasure-grounds are behind the house, “falling abruptly to the
north-east:” they were laid out by Mr. Hamilton in 1769. Scattered in
various parts are memorials to some of the personal friends of the late
Lord Holland: among others, the author of “The Pleasures of Memory” is
honoured by this poor couplet:--
“Here Rogers sat, and here for ever dwell
To me those pleasures that he sings so well.”
Some lines, scarcely better, have been appended by Henry Luttrell, Esq.;
but the genius of the place has essayed a flight no higher than that
which might grace a school-girl’s album. Nature has done more for the
domain than art; from various points, fine views are obtained of the
country that surrounds London; and although, of late years, they have
been sadly narrowed by “endless piles of brick,” when Tickell wrote his
lines on the death of Addison, no doubt they were “Fresh and Fair.”
Considerable alterations internally were made to the building by Inigo
Jones. The entrance-hall, the two staircases, and the parlour leading
out of the principal staircase, are the only parts of the mansion on the
ground-floor that still retain their original character. On the first
floor, beside the Gilt Room, is a noble long gallery, now the library,
and the late Lady Holland’s drawing-room or boudoir. All these rooms
preserve their ancient decorations, and are in the purest taste and the
most costly style of execution.
“The Gilt Room,” which forms the subject of the appended print, is
approached from the entrance-hall by a richly ornamented oak staircase.
From the style of the details it would appear that it was the work of
John Thorpe, and that the painted decorations were the produce of
Francis (or Francesco) Cleyn, a favourite artist of the time, who was
employed largely by the kings James I. and Charles I., from whom he
derived an annuity of 100_l._, settled on him during his natural life,
and which he enjoyed till the Civil War. The ceiling of the room was
originally painted by him in the same style as the other portions of the
apartment; being out of repair during the minority of his late lordship,
it was removed, and a plain one put up in its stead. In the view here
given, Mr. Richardson has supplied it from such fragments and sketches
as were obtainable several years ago.
[Illustration]
Notwithstanding the loss of its painted ceiling, the room
presents an appearance of elaborate magnificence, and of unique
singularity--carrying us back at once to that luxurious period, the
early part of the reign of Charles I. The paintings, the figures over
the fireplaces, deserve great praise, although we cannot entirely
coincide with Horace Walpole, who declares (in his life of Cleyn) that
they are not unworthy of Parmigiano. The paintings--such as remain over
the fireplaces and soffites of the arches--certainly are masterly,
though the architect might discover a little of the “contract style”
about them. Cleyn was employed by Charles I., whose good taste led him
to patronise only the most eminent men in art. The painter was
denominated “Il famosissimo pittore Francesco Cleyn, miracolo del
secolo, e molto stimato del Re Carlo della Gran Britania.”[6]
This cut represents some of Cleyn’s painting in the soffite of one of
the arches in the gilt-room; it is roughly painted--although in a free
and masterly style--in umber, on a white ground; the drapery, dress, and
hair of the figures, are gilt.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by C. F. Richardson, F.S.A. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
THE GILT ROOM, HOLLAND HOUSE.]
The decorative panelling of the Gilt Room is continued round the four
sides, and in the large recess in the centre (immediately above the
entrance-porch); the interior of each panel has a small raised fillet,
about an eighth of an inch in thickness, forming an ornamental border:
this is gilt. In the centre of the panels are painted alternately
cross-crosslets and fleur-de-lis, charges in the arms of Cope and Rich;
they are surmounted by an earl’s coronet, with palm or oak branches, in
gold, shaded with bistre. The figures over the fireplaces have the flesh
painted, the rest is gold shaded; the lower columns of the fireplaces
are painted black, the upper being of Sienna marble: both have gilt
ornaments at the lower part of the shaft, and their caps and bases gilt:
for the rest, all the prominent mouldings, the flutes, caps, and bases
of the pilasters are gilt; the cima recta of the great entablature has a
painted leaf enrichment, with acorns between, the latter of which are
gilt. The groundwork of the whole is white. The busts in the room were
placed there by his late lordship: over the fireplaces are those of King
William the Fourth, and George the Fourth when Prince Regent. Arranged
on pedestals round the room are busts of the late Lord Holland, Francis
Duke of Bedford, Henry first Lord Holland, the late Duke of Sussex, John
Hookham Frere, the Duke of Cumberland (of Culloden), Napoleon, Henry the
Fourth of France, the Right Hon. Charles James Fox, by Nollekens, a
duplicate made for the Empress Catharine of Russia. In the bow-recess
are models of Henry Earl of Pembroke, and Thomas Winnington, Esq. The
painted shields in the corner of the room bear the arms of Rich of
Warwick, and Cope and Rich. Of the ancient furniture of the
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
Gilt Room two chairs alone remain; these are mentioned by Horace Walpole
as being the work of Francesco Cleyn: they are painted white, and partly
gilt. A large bench, formed by three of these chairs placed together,
with one arm only at each end, was discovered by the artist some years
ago, in a lumber-place over the stable, where, probably, it still
remains. The Gilt Room, during the lifetime of his late lordship, was
used as the state dining-room: the state drawing-room, lined with silk,
and hung with paintings, led out of it by the door on the right--seen in
the print. Parallel to these rooms, at the back of the
[Illustration]
building, is another line of drawing-rooms, modernised, but which
contain a valuable collection of paintings. Among them is a celebrated
one by Hogarth--the amateur performance, by children of the nobility, of
“The Beggar’s Opera.” This painting is very large: the whole of the
figures are portraits. Another painting by Hogarth is in the collection,
which has never been engraved. It is a view of the entrance to Ranelagh
Gardens, Chelsea. The collection contains a few very fine Sir Joshua’s.
Among them is his portrait of Joseph Baretti, well known from the
engraving. There are likewise a few first-rate pictures of the old
masters. The library contains a series of portraits of political and
literary friends of his late lordship; and, in the boudoir, are the
series of the late J. Stothard’s most exquisite compositions to
illustrate Moore’s poems. These drawings are very highly finished, and
are twice the size of the engravings which were made from them.
In “Lady Holland’s Boudoir,” among other curiosities, are two
candlesticks formerly belonging to Mary Queen of Scots; they are of
brass, each of eleven and a half inches in height. They are of French
manufacture; the sunk parts are filled up with an inlay of blue, green,
and white enamel, very similar to that done at Limoge. These
candlesticks are extremely elegant; one of them is represented in the
above woodcut.
[Illustration]
The accompanying woodcut represents the fireplace in “the ancient
parlour;” leaving the principal staircase in the ground floor; the door
on the left leads into this room. It is supposed to have been painted in
a similar style to the great chamber above-stairs. The fireplace in this
room is of the most excellent design and capital execution. A portion of
the framing of the room is shewn by the side of the fireplace: this is
likewise very elegant. One of the ancient windows of this apartment is
blocked up, and an ornamental arch placed in front of it by Inigo Jones.
It was in this room that plays were performed by the direction of the
first Lady Holland, when the theatres in London were shut up by the
Puritans: it is commonly called “The Theatre Room.”[7]
The other rooms will require but a brief notice. “The Journal Room” is
so named because a complete set of the journals of the Houses of Lords
and Commons are there preserved: it contains several portraits, among
which are three or four by Sir Joshua Reynolds. This is on the
ground-floor. Underneath the hall is the ancient kitchen, not long ago
fitted up as a servants’ hall. In the north-east wing is a large
apartment, formerly the chapel of the mansion: it has been disused for
half a century, having been converted into a bath-room.
The Libraries are spacious and “well stocked;” the principal, which
forms the west wing of the house, is styled the Long Gallery; it is, in
length, one hundred and two feet, and, in breadth, seventeen feet four
inches. According to Mr. Faulkner (“History of Kensington”), whose
account was written under the superintendence of the late Lord Holland,
in the year 1746, this fine apartment was entirely out of repair, and
even “unfloored:” it was, however, at that period completely restored,
and converted from its ancient use, as the gallery for exercise, into a
receptacle for books, of which it contains a rare selection. The first
Lord Holland had fitted it up for pictures; blocking up many of the
windows, and opening in lieu of them a large bow-window on the west
side. The “West Library” and the “East Library”--two rooms of moderate
extent--contain also several valuable folios--curious treasures of
antiquity. Mr. Faulkner enumerates some of the more remarkable of the
contents of the eastern library, which cannot fail to interest the
reader:--
“A curious copy of Camoens, to which the praises of Mr. De Souza,
the patriotic editor of the late splendid edition of that poet,
have given extraordinary celebrity. It is a copy of one of the
earliest editions, and Mr. De Souza alleges that it must have been
in the hands of the poet himself. At the bottom of the title-page
the following curious and melancholy testimony of his unfortunate
death is written in an old Spanish hand, which states that the
writer saw him die in an hospital at Lisbon, without even a blanket
to cover him.
“‘_Que coza mas lastimosa que ver un tan grande ingenio mal
logrado! yo lo bi morir en un hospital en Lisboa, sin tener una
sauana con que cubrirse, despues de aver triunfado en la India
oriental, y de aver navigado 5500 leguas por mar: que auiso tan
grande para los que de noche y de dia se cançan estudiando sin
provecho, como la arana en urdir tellas para cazar moscas!_’
“Specimens of all the types in the Vatican Library, printed in the
Propaganda press, A.D. 1640, on silk.
“The music of the ‘Olimpiade,’ an opera of Metastasio, well
authenticated to have been transcribed by J. J. Rousseau, when that
extraordinary man procured his livelihood by copies of this kind. The
hand-writing is so beautiful that it resembles copper-plate engraving.
“Four volumes of MS. Plays of Lope de Vega, the first containing three
plays in his own hand-writing, with the original license of the censor.
“The original copy, in MS., of the ‘Mogigata,’ a favourite play of the
celebrated Moratin, the first writer of Spanish comedy now living, but
who has been proscribed and exiled by Ferdinand the Seventh.
“There are several others of nearly equal interest, and among the MSS.
there are many curious autographs of Philip the Second, Prince Eugene,
Pontanus, Sannazarius, and others, and three original letters of
Petrarch.
“Also a voluminous MS. collection of the proceedings in Cortes, from the
earliest period, copied from the archives of the King of Spain. The
original correspondence of Don Pedro Ronquillo, the Spanish ambassador,
resident in London at the time of our Revolution; part in cypher, with
the translation by the side, with several others of equal value and
curiosity.”
The Long Gallery is ornamented with portraits of the Lenox, Digby, and
Fox families; Dryden and Addison; Sir C. H. Williams; Admiral Lestock;
Sir Robert Walpole; the Right Honourable Thomas Winnington; Cardinal
Fleury, by Rigaud; and Van Lintz, by himself. Scattered throughout the
apartments are King Charles II. and the Duchess of Portsmouth; Sir
Stephen Fox, by Sir Peter Lely; Henry, Lord Holland; Stephen, Lord
Holland, by Zoffany; the late Right Honourable C. J. Fox, when an
infant;--when a boy, in a group with Lady Susan Strangeways and Lady
Mary Lenox (by Sir Joshua Reynolds); and a fine picture of him in more
advanced life by the same artist. There are two busts, also, of him, by
Nollekens, one of which was taken not long before his death; and a
statue, seated in the entrance-hall.
We may not take leave of this fine old mansion without expressing a
fervent hope that the interesting work of two centuries may endure for
many centuries to come; that modern improvements--although they may
place the suburb of which it is the crowning gem in the centre of the
Metropolis--will not displace it to make room for petty structures of a
day, but that the tale of the Olden Time may be there told to our
descendants as it has been there told to our ancestors.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by J. D. Harding Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
BLICKLING HALL. NORFOLK.]
BLICKLING HALL,
NORFOLK.
Journeying a dozen miles north of the city of Norwich, the Tourist
reaches the old town of Aylsham. A mile hence is the very ancient manor
of Blickling[8]--famous so far back as the time of the Confessor, when
it was in the possession of Harold, King of England; remarkable, in
after times, when occupied by the Bishops of the See, and celebrated, in
the history of various epochs, as a seat of the noble families of
Dagworth, Erpingham, Fastolff, Boleyne, Clere, and Hobart. From this
ancient house, Henry VIII. married the unfortunate mother of Queen
Elizabeth; here the virgin queen herself is said to have been a guest,
and here Charles II. and his consort were visitors--events referred to
by the court-poet, Stephenson:
“Blickling 2 monarchs and 2 queens has seen;
One king fetch’d thence, another brought, a queen.”
The mansion--Blickling Hall--is one of the most perfect examples
remaining of the time of James I.; the exterior has undergone few
changes; the bridge, the moat, the turrets, the curiously-formed gables,
and the double row of spacious and convenient out-offices--connected
with the mansion by an arcade--are characteristic of the period, while
elaborate finish and costly ornament indicate the wealth and rank of its
noble owners. The high-road passes the gates, and runs within a few
yards of the house; a small green sward only separating it from the
public pathway. The moat is crossed by a Bridge of remarkably light and
graceful proportions; on either side of this bridge are Pedestals with
bulls (the heraldic crest of the Hobarts) bearing blank shields. The
entrance-porch is exceedingly beautiful; the design is simple and
elegant; “it may be regarded,” according to Mr. Shaw, “as one of the
earliest attempts at the restoration of classical architecture, and
appears to be formed upon the model of the Arch of Titus at Rome.” In
the spandrels are sculptured figures of Victory. Over the entablature,
supported by two Doric columns, is an enriched compartment, bearing the
arms and quarterings of Sir Henry Hobart, Bart. (by whom the stately
mansion was erected). A massive Oak Door contains the date 1620; the
knocker of this door is peculiarly quaint; a copy of it acts as the
initial letter commencing this description. Passing a small quadrangular
court, we enter the Hall, from which opens the grand Staircase of Oak,
the newels of which are crowned with figures. Unhappily, the oak has
been covered with paint; and time having removed some of the figures,
their places have been supplied by others out of harmony with the
character of the venerable structure.[9] Of the several apartments, the
only one that demands particular notice is the Library--a noble room,
filled with the rarest and most valuable books. It measures one hundred
and twenty-seven feet; the ceiling is a magnificent collection of works
of art, unsurpassed by anything of the kind in Great Britain. It
consists of a series of models, representing the Senses, the Passions
and the Elements, in low relief--comprising a very large number of
subjects, no two of which are alike. The library is--as a private
collection--extensive; the books it contains are generally “large paper
copies,” and in the finest possible state. Some of its treasures are
unique--here are a volume of Saxon Homilies, and a Latin MS. of the
Psalter, certainly as ancient as anything we possess in the Latin
tongue, and several others, with and without illuminations, of very
remote dates. Here also are two copies (imperfect) of the Coverdale
Bible; an uncut copy of the diminutive Sedan New Testament, and a vast
assemblage of the choicest productions of the early English press. It
was formed by Maittaire for Sir Richard Ellys, Bart., of Norton, in
Lincolnshire, to whom he dedicated his “Anacreon,” in 1725. The
curiosities of the library were shown to us by the Rev. James Bulwer,
whose own family seat of Heydon is in the neighbourhood of Blickling
Hall.
Mr. Harding’s print of this fine old mansion affords an accurate idea of
its elegance and grandeur. Its form is quadrangular--having a square
turret at each angle. Viewed from any point it is highly picturesque.
The Park, which surrounds it on three sides, contains above 1000 acres.
Its trees are celebrated for their exceeding beauty and prodigious
growth. A remarkably fine piece of water, shaped like a crescent,
adjoins the house, extending nearly a mile in length. Nature and Art
have both contributed to adorn this artificial Lake; gentle acclivities
rise from its sides, here and there fringed with evergreens infinitely
varied, while gigantic oaks, and elms, and beeches, rising at intervals,
seem the guardians of its banks.
We may sum up our account of Blickling Hall in the words of old
Blomefield:--“The building is a curious brick fabric, four-square, with
a turret at each corner; there are two good Courts, with a fine Library,
elegant Wilderness, good Lake, Gardens, and Park; it is a pleasant,
beautiful seat, worthy the observation of such as make the Norfolk
Tour.”
The erection of the existing structure was commenced by Sir Henry
Hobart, Bart., during the reign of James the First, but was not finished
until the year 1628, when “the Domestic Chapel was consecrated.” The
building, however, retained its original character, varying very little,
in external appearance and internal arrangements, from the old Mansion
in which Queen Anne Boleyne was born, and which had been famous for
centuries.
When the Domesday Survey was made, one part of the Manor belonged to
Beausoc, Bishop of Thetford (the seat of the See until 1088), the other
part being in possession of the Crown. Both moieties were invested with
the privileges of ancient _demesne_, were exempt from the hundred (of
South Erpingham) and had the _lete_ with all royalties. Having
successively passed through the hands of many distinguished families, in
1431 it was the property of Sir Thomas De Erpingham, by whom it was sold
to Sir John Fastolff, who, about the year 1452, sold it to Sir Geoffrey
Boleyne, Knt., who was Lord Mayor of London in 1458, and who made
Blickling his country-seat. From him inherited his second son, Sir
William Boleyne, Knight,
[Illustration]
who married Margaret, sister of James Butler, Earl of Ormond; dying in
1505, he was succeeded by his son, Sir Thomas Boleyne, who, the 18th of
Henry VIII., was raised to the peerage by the title of Viscount
Rochford, and three years afterwards was created Earl of Wiltshire. His
daughter, Anne, was privately married to Henry VIII., on the 5th of
January, 1533. On the 19th of May, 1536, she was beheaded; her dismal
fate having been shared by her brother, Viscount Rochford; and the old
Earl died in 1538--it is believed of a broken heart. Soon afterwards the
estate of Blickling, having been for a short time in the family of the
Cleres, was purchased by Sir Harry Hobart, Bart., “a fortunate lawyer,”
who became Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. He was succeeded by
his son and grandson, the second and third Baronets; the fourth Baronet
was created, by George II., Lord Hobart of Blickling, in 1728; and in
1746, Earl of Buckinghamshire. His son, the second Earl, died without
male issue, but left four daughters, one of whom married the late
Marquis of Londonderry, another William Lord Suffield, the third Lord
Mount Edgcombe, and a fourth the Marquis of Lothian, whose surviving
son, the fifth Marquis, died at Blickling in 1841, leaving a son, an
infant, who is heir-apparent to the estate, now in the possession of his
great aunt, the Dowager Lady Suffield.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The venerable Church of Blickling adjoins the mansion. It is built--in
the style of nearly all the Norfolk Churches--of flint, a material that
essentially impairs the solemn dignity of the structure. Many of the
Brasses and Tombs are of high interest; the one of which we append an
engraving (on the preceding page) is to the memory of Edward Clere. It
is described by Blomefield as “a most curious Altar Tomb, placed between
the Chancel and Boleyne’s Chapel. The Effigy which laid upon it is now
gone; but there remain the Arms and Matches of his family, from the
Conquest to the time that his son and heir, Sir Edward Clere, erected
this tomb.” As a work of art, the Tomb possesses considerable
excellence. The carved Armorial Bearings retain much of the original
brilliancy of their colouring. Among the Brasses is one for Anne
Boleyne, aunt of the unfortunate Queen, and another of Isabella Cheyne,
(date 1485) remarkable as exhibiting the earliest authentic example of
the necklace. An elaborately-wrought Oak Chest, of great size, strongly
banded with iron, and secured by five curiously formed locks and keys,
is preserved in Blickling Church; but a relic still more curious and
unique is a Poor-box, of very primitive character, heart-shaped, and
painted blue, the letters, “Pray remember the Pore,” being gilt. We give
engravings of both these peculiar and very interesting antiquities.
[Illustration]
BURGHLEY HOUSE,
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
Burleigh, or Burghley House, the princely seat of the Marquis of Exeter,
is one of the most magnificent mansions of its period; it has come down
to us intact, and is perhaps more interesting--from its associations
with the “glorious days”--than any other edifice now remaining in the
kingdom. The halls are still standing where the famous Lord Treasurer
entertained his Sovereign and her dazzling court; while Nonsuch,
Theobalds, and Cannons have vanished--their sites are ploughed over; and
Kenilworth has become a venerable antiquity, a moss-covered ruin.
In the reign of the Confessor, Burghley was let to farm by the Church of
Burgh, to Alfgar, the king’s chaplain, for his life. The crown having
seized it at his death, Abbot Leofric redeemed it for eight marcs of
gold. In Doomsday Book it is rated at 40s. As usual in the feudal ages,
it often changed hands, when treasons and rebellions were every-day
occurrences. In the 9th of Edward II. Nicholas de Segrave was possessed
of Burleigh, which had descended to Alice de Lisle, as part of the
inheritance of John de Armenters. The successor of Nicholas de Segrave
was Warine de L’Isle. He was one of the great men who, in the 14th of
Edward II., took up arms against the King, under the command of Thomas
Earl of Lancaster; was made prisoner with him at the battle of Barrow
Bridge, and the week following executed at Pontefract. In the 1st of
Edward III., Gerard de Lisle, son of the above Warine, was restored to
his father’s possessions, and accompanied several times the King in his
wars with Scotland and France. After undergoing many of the usual
changes to which property was subjected in such uncertain times, it
finally passed into possession of a family named Cecil, as we now spell
it, although it appears to have enjoyed many variations of orthography
in its transition. The founder of the house and family was a gentleman
named William Cecil, who accompanied the Duke of Somerset to Scotland.
At the battle of Musselburgh field he narrowly escaped being killed, a
gentleman who out of kindness pushed him out of the level of a cannon,
having his arm shattered as he withdrew it. On his return he was made
Secretary of State, and in some political trouble was sent prisoner to
the Tower: but no charge being brought against him he was released from
his captivity, again made Secretary of State, became a Privy Councillor,
and received the honour of knighthood. During the reign of Mary, he
attached himself much to the fortunes of her younger sister, Elizabeth.
When she ascended the throne, fresh honours were lavished on him: he
became Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Master of the Court of
Wards, Baron Burleigh, Lord High Treasurer, and Knight of the Garter. He
was much afflicted with gout in his latter years, and on one occasion
when he was confined with an attack of it, at his house in the Strand
(called Burleigh House, where a street of that name is now built), the
Queen condescended to visit him. On one of these occasions, coming with
a high head-dress, and the servant, as she entered the door, desiring
her to stoop; she replied, “For your master’s sake I will stoop, but not
for the King of Spain.” He died in 1598, having been Lord High Treasurer
twenty-six years, and was buried in the parish-church of St. Martin,
Stamford. A superb white alabaster monument, sixteen feet high, is
raised over his tomb; his figure lies under a canopy supported by
several black marble columns. It is in the style of the period, and
stands under the arch of the north aisle and body of the church.
Thomas, Lord Burghley, the Lord Treasurer’s eldest son, was created Earl
of Exeter in 1605; and Henry, tenth Earl of Exeter and eleventh Lord
Burghley, his lineal descendant, was created Marquis of Exeter in 1801.
His son, Brownlow Cecil, the second Marquis, who succeeded his father in
1804, is the present possessor of the princely mansion and estates.
The mansion we are about to notice is built on ground where there is but
little undulation of surface, and stands about a mile and a half from
the old town of Stamford, in Northamptonshire, separated from
Lincolnshire by the river Welland, which runs through Stamford. At the
northern extremity of the domain stand the park lodges: they are
extremely handsome erections, and more than usually important buildings
for such purposes. Although built so recently as the year 1801, by Henry
the tenth Earl, they are in perfect harmony of design with the main
edifice. The cost of their erection exceeded 5000_l._ The park is about
two miles in length and a mile and a half in width. It was arranged and
planted by the famous “Capability Brown,” and is well adorned with fine
ash, elm, chestnut, and other trees, as well as plantations of
shrubberies. A temple, grottos, and picturesque buildings for domestic
or agricultural services, add to its beautiful character. It is well
stocked with deer. On entering the park to proceed to the house, a noble
piece of water, three quarters of a mile in length, is spanned by a
handsome bridge of three arches, having the balustrades decorated with
four statues of lions couchant. In the park enclosure are the remains
of the ancient Roman road, called Ermine Street, from Stilton through
Castor to Stamford: it is easily traceable in many parts.
[Illustration]
On arriving opposite the mansion, the eye is bewildered at its unusual
extent: its numerous turrets, and the spire of the Chapel rising above
the parapets, give it the aspect of a town comprised in comparatively
diminished area, rather than a single abode. The appended engraving
exhibits a portion of the west front. The mansion stands in an extensive
lawn. Mr. Gilpin, in his “Tour to the Highlands,” thus describes
it:--“Burghley House is one of the noblest monuments of British
architecture of the time of Queen Elizabeth, when the great outlines of
magnificence were rudely drawn, but unimproved by taste. It is an
immense pile, forming the four sides of a large court, and although
decorated with a variety of fantastic ornaments, according to the
fashion of the time, before Grecian architecture had introduced
symmetry, proportion, and elegance into the plans of private houses, it
has still an august appearance. The interior court is particularly
striking: the spire of the Chapel is neither, I think, in itself an
ornament, nor has it any effect, except at a distance; when it
contributes to give this immense pile the consequence of a town.” Horace
Walpole says, John Thorpe was the architect; and that he superintended
the erection of the greater part of this stupendous building. This
assertion is corroborated by the plans, still extant, in this celebrated
architect’s collection of designs, now in the Soane Museum. It is built
of freestone and forms a massive parallelogram, enclosing a court 110
feet long and 70 feet wide. The principal entrance is on the north side,
[Illustration]
and offers a frontage of nearly 200 feet, pierced with three ranges of
large square-headed windows, divided by stone mullions and transoms. The
outline is varied by towers at the angles surmounted by turrets with
cupolas; the frontage is varied by advancing bays between the towers; a
pierced parapet, occasionally embellished with ornaments that mark the
Elizabethan era, crowns the walls. The chimneys are constructed in the
hollows of Doric columns, which are in groups, connected by a frieze and
cornice of the order; as they are very numerous, and of fine
proportions--rising loftily in the air--they combine with the turrets,
&c. to give a great variety of forms to the superior portion of the main
design. In the arched roof under the passage to the interior court,
which was in the first instance intended to be the chief entrance, are
escutcheons of the family arms, on one of which is inscribed “W. DOM de
Burghley, 1577,” being the year when that part of the house was built.
On the opposite side of the court, over the dial and under the spire, is
carved the date 1585, which indicates when that part was erected; and on
the present entrance, on the northern side, stands the date 1587 between
the windows. The house has been much adorned by various successive
possessors, and at the present time few seats, either in England or on
the Continent, can vie with Burghley House.
Queen Elizabeth frequently visited her favourite minister, her Lord
Treasurer, here; and on April 23, 1603, James I., on his journey from
Scotland, came to Burghley: the next day, being Easter Sunday, he
attended divine worship at the parish church, St. Martin’s, Stamford,
when the Bishop of Lincoln preached before him.
[Illustration]
Entering the court, the beauties of the architecture become apparent.
The appended engraving represents the entrance from the courtyard. The
eastern side is the most highly decorated, and its three stories adorned
with the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, in super-position. Above
the last are two large stone lions, supporting the arms of the family.
Over an arch before the chapel is a bust of King William III.; the
balustrades are enriched with a variety of sculptured vases. Four large
gates from the various sides open into the court, and give entrance to
the several portions of the building, which contains nearly one hundred
and fifty apartments, many of them of great dimensions, all furnished
suitably for their purpose, and a considerable number in gorgeous
profusion of decorative ornament and splendid furniture. It is one of
the few palatial mansions of a refined, gay, and brilliant period, which
remain carefully preserved, and undisturbed by modern upholsterers. It
is impossible to speak too highly of the elegance and splendour of the
interior. The first apartment on entering is the spacious Hall: from
some of the remaining features of its construction, it has been imagined
that the great Lord Treasurer did not build a new house from the
foundation, but that an edifice existed to which he imparted vastness
by the additions he made. The dimensions of this Hall show at once that
it includes a noble space, being sixty-eight feet long and thirty feet
broad. It receives light from two large windows, and has a fine
open-worked timber roof, springing from corbels, very similar in idea to
the roofs of Westminster Hall, and the Parliament House at Edinburgh.
The chimneypiece is in perfect keeping with the Baronial Hall, and is of
stone, finely sculptured, bearing for its principal device in the centre
the shield and supporters of the founder of the family; it is also
ornamented by a number of pictures, some of which are portraits. There
are statues in marble of life size, one of which, very much esteemed,
represents Andromeda chained to the rock, and the Sea-monster. It was
purchased in Rome, a century ago, by the fifth Earl of Exeter, for
300_l._ “Drakard’s Guide” attributes it to Peter Stephen Monnot; but
Brydges, in his “History of Northamptonshire,” says it is by Domenico
Guidi.
From the Hall, visitors pass through the Saloon, and up the ancient
grand vaulted stone staircase in the north-west part of the house, to an
apartment called the Chapel Room, which contains nearly fifty pictures,
mostly of sacred subjects. A true description of the numerous pictures
in the different rooms is sadly wanted, as we find one here called
_Titian’s Wife and Son, attributed to Teniers!_ in “Drakard’s Guide,”
published at Stamford. Here also stands a model of the Holy Sepulchre at
Jerusalem, curiously inlaid. The Chapel, to which the preceding serves
as an ante-room, is spacious, being forty-two feet long, thirty-five
feet wide, and eighteen feet high. The ceiling is panelled and studded
with devices; the side-walls are wainscoted half-way up, and at
intervals are placed, on pedestals, ten antique bronzed figures, of life
size, each holding a lamp. Festoons of fruit and flowers, carved by
Grinling Gibbons, are its principal ornaments. Many of the finest
apartments in the house, such as chimneypieces, are profusely decorated
with his valuable carving. A seat on the left-hand side, nearest to the
altar, is pointed out as having been occupied by Queen Elizabeth when on
a visit to Burghley. There are some large pictures placed on the walls
of another space, which forms also a portion of the Chapel at the
western end. This part, thirty-one feet long and twenty-four feet broad,
is wainscoted to the ceiling, and is filled with open seats, for
servants and others connected with the family to attend divine service.
The gorgeous Ball-room succeeds, fifty feet in length, twenty-eight in
width, and twenty-six in height. The walls are painted with historical
and other subjects by Laguerre. The candelabra, which are placed on
pedestals of japan gilt about two feet high, are truly splendid. Two of
them, placed by the sides of the lofty bow-window, are the figures of
Negroes kneeling, and supporting the lights on their heads. The Brown
Drawing-room, filled with pictures and a carved chimneypiece by Gibbons,
leads to the Black Bedchamber, so called from the hangings of the bed,
which are of black satin lined with yellow; the chimneypiece here is
also by Gibbons. The west Dressing-room has in the window recess a
toilette-table, set out with richly gilt dressing-plate. The north-west
Dressing-room is hung with pictures; indeed every one of the principal
rooms boasts of pictorial decoration, and among the profusion are many
fine examples of ancient art. In a small apartment called the China
Closet is an extensive gathering of varied specimens of antique Chinese,
and Indian porcelain. Queen Elizabeth’s Bed-room is hung with tapestry,
and contains an ancient state bed with hangings of green embossed
velvet, on a ground of gold tissue; with chairs to correspond. The
toilette-table is set out with richly chased dressing-plate. A number of
other apartments in this range follow, similarly furnished and adorned.
On the south side of the house there is another suite of grand
apartments called the George Rooms, which were decorated in 1789, under
the express direction and control of Brownlow, earl of Exeter, who
selected the whole of the ornaments from publications of ancient
architecture in the library at Burghley. His lordship directed the
whole, without the assistance of any professional person. The rooms are
wainscoted with the finest Dutch oak, of a natural colour; the ceilings
are mostly painted by Verrio, in mythological subjects; carving,
gilding, and tapestry, are profusely employed; the furniture is of
corresponding magnificence; and pictures, sculptures, and antiquities
are dispersed, to add to the general embellishment. The Dining-room
contains two superb sideboards laden with massive silver-gilt plate; a
silver cistern weighs 3400 ounces, and a lesser one 656 ounces: there
are also coronation dishes, ewers, &c. Two apartments are Libraries;
they are filled with many MSS., fine and rare books, antiquities, and an
extensive collection of ancient coins.
The new State Bed-room, in the suite of George Rooms, contains a state
bed, which has the reputation of being the most splendid in Europe. It
stands on a base or platform, ascended by a couple of steps. A canopy,
richly carved and entirely gilt, is supported at the angles by clusters
of columns rising from elaborate tripods, which support the canopy or
dome. The height of this construction, which resembles a temple, is
twenty feet from the ground; 250 yards of striped silk coral velvet and
900 yards of white satin are employed in the hangings. The bed is a
couch, which stands under the temple. The fifth George Room is called
“Heaven,” from the multitude of Pagan deities with which Verrio has
covered it; and the grand staircase (not the vaulted one) is usually
called “Hell,” in consequence of the painted ceiling representing the
poetic Tartarus.
It would be vain to attempt a minute description of all that interests
the learned or accomplished visitor; a volume has already been
published, which in itself is but an abridged account. Every faculty of
rational enjoyment is gratified to repletion in viewing the gorgeous
halls of Burghley House.
[Illustration: CASTLE ASHBY, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE]
CASTLE ASHBY,
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
Castle Ashby, the venerable and deeply interesting seat of the Most
Noble the Marquess of Northampton, is situate about eight miles from the
town of Northampton.
Much curious information exists concerning the early history of the
manor; to which, however, we shall not be able to enter at any length.
No mention is made of the Saxon lord of “Asebi;” but in the time of the
Confessor it was rated at twenty shillings yearly: this yearly value had
quadrupled at the time of the Domesday Survey, when the estate “was held
by Hugh, under the countess Judith.” In the reign of Henry III., the
manor was seized under a forfeiture, incurred by David de Esseby, for
aiding the confederate barons against the king. After the battle of
Evesham, the estates of all these barons were confiscated; but by the
subsequent conciliatory policy of the sovereign, the offenders were
allowed to redeem their lands by payment of five years’ value within
three years. This boon led to much disputation and some violence between
the _de jure_ and _de facto_ holders; and in the case of Esseby (Ashby),
Alan la Zouch, the then holder, died of fever induced by wounds
inflicted on him before the king’s justices in Westminster Hall, by Earl
Warren (guardian of Isabella, grandchild of David de Esseby), who sought
to recover the estates for his ward. Immediately after this outrage Earl
Warren fled, but was pursued by Prince Edward, son of the king, who
captured him, and it was only by much crying for mercy, and many
protestations of making such reparation as he could, that he saved
himself from immediate punishment.
It is not necessary to trace the various hands through which Castle
Ashby passed subsequently to this period, until we arrive at the
fifteenth century, when the estates became the property of the Compton
family, ancestors of the present noble possessor, who only succeeded in
establishing a claim by a re-purchase in 1465, after fifty years’
possession, in consequence of “rival nuncupative wills” made by previous
owners. Sir William Compton, the purchaser, was the head of a family
long settled at Compton Winyate, in Warwickshire, from which place the
family name was derived; at the death of his father, Sir William had not
attained his majority, and being in ward to Henry VII., was chosen by
the king to attend his son Prince Henry, who, on subsequently ascending
the throne, gave him an appointment as groom of the bed-chamber. Sir
William, then Mr. Compton, soon became a favourite with the sovereign,
one of whose freaks was to attend _incog._ a tournament got up by some
of the courtiers, on which occasion he was attended by his favourite,
Mr. Compton, who received a dangerous wound by an accidental collision
with Sir Edward Nevill. In November 1510, the king proclaimed a
tournament, “at which he with his two aids, Charles Brandon, afterwards
Duke of Suffolk, and William Compton, gave an universal challenge with
the spear at tilt one day, and at tourney with the sword the other.”
Magnificently accoutred, the royal party entered the lists, gained great
distinction, and received the prize. Afterwards, in 1511, the king
granted to William Compton Esq., “his trusty serv’nte and true liegman,
for the good and (acceptable) s’vyce whiche he hathe doone to his
Hignesse, and durynge his lyfe entendithe to doo,” the manor of
Tottenham, in Middlesex, and he was honoured, in the following year,
with an armorial augmentation out of the royal arms. “Mayster Compton,”
as he is called in an old MS., became Sir William in 1513, being
knighted by the king after the battle of the Spurs (5 Hen. VIII.). He
died in 1528, after retaining through life the confidence and regard of
his wayward master, from whom he received many valuable marks of
attachment. His son Peter, who was only six years of age, became the
ward of Cardinal Wolsey, and afterwards of the Earl of Shrewsbury, to
whose daughter he was married. He died in his minority, leaving one son,
Henry Compton, who was knighted by the Earl of Leicester in 1566, and
summoned to parliament by writ, as Baron Compton, in 1572 (14 Eliz.).
About this time another attempt was made to wrest the estate of Ashby
from the Compton family, which, however, ended in a compromise between
the contending parties, each making some concessions, “for the finall
endinge of all sutes and controversies.” Lord Compton was one of the
Commissioners deputed to sit in judgment on Mary queen of Scots.
William, second Lord Compton, married the daughter and heiress of Sir
John Spencer, alderman of London, and thus obtained a large addition to
his possessions. This union would appear to have been made secretly, and
without the consent of the lady’s father; it took place at the church of
St. Catharine Colman, Fenchurch St., as the register shews: “18 Apr.
1599, William Lorde Compton, and Elizabeth Spencer, maryed, being thrice
asked in the churche.” Lord Compton, by reason of zealous service, was
regarded with great favour by James I., who made him President of the
Council within the marches of Wales, to which he added the honour of
Lord Lieutenant of the Principality, and the counties of Worcester,
Hereford, and Salop. In 1617 he was created Earl of Northampton. He died
in 1630, and was succeeded by his only son Spencer, who became one of
the most distinguished men of the age. He was an accomplished linguist,
and filled posts of much distinction about the person of the king;
ultimately taking an active part in the great civil war, and after many
brilliant feats of arms he was killed at Hopton Heth. He left six sons,
all worthy of their heroic father, distinguished like him for their
devotion to the royal cause.
James, the eldest son of the loyal and gallant peer, became his
successor--the third Earl of Northampton. At Hopton Heath he was carried
wounded from the field, immediately before his father received his
death-wound: afterwards, he greatly distinguished himself in the king’s
service, particularly at Lichfield. On the Restoration he headed a troop
of two hundred gentlemen, “clothed in grey and blue,” at the entry of
Charles II. into London; and “his loyalty was subsequently rewarded with
several honourable appointments, which he held till his death, at Castle
Ashby, December 15, 1681.” George, fourth Earl, died in 1727, and was
succeeded by his eldest son, James, fifth earl, who was summoned to the
House of Peers, by writ, in 1711. He married Elizabeth Shirley, Baroness
Ferrars, of Chartley, by whom he had issue, and left Charlotte, his only
surviving child, who married the first Marquess Townshend. George, the
sixth earl, after enjoying his title but four years, died without issue,
and was succeeded by his nephew, Charles, seventh earl, a nobleman of
considerable accomplishments, who was made ambassador extraordinary to
Venice in 1763. He died at Lyons, on his way home, leaving an only
daughter, Elizabeth, wife of the late, and grandmother of the present,
Earl of Burlington. Spencer, eighth earl, brother of the preceding, was
succeeded, in 1797, by his only son, Charles, ninth earl, who was
created Baron Wilmington, Earl Compton, and Marquess of Northampton in
1812. On his death, in 1828, the titles and estates devolved on his only
son, Spencer Joshua Alwyne Compton, born in 1790,--the present Marquess
of Northampton.
The noble marquess is not alone distinguished by high descent and lofty
position; few persons of the age have more assiduously cultivated
science and letters. His lordship is president of the Royal Society, and
member of various other learned Institutions; and his “annual
gatherings” of distinguished or accomplished men at his mansion in
London, have been among the most gratifying and beneficial events of a
period which recognises genius as a distinction, and gives its proper
_status_ to mind.[10]
Castle Ashby is about two miles from the White-Mill Station, on the
Northampton and Peterborough Railway, from which a convenient road
offers facilities to vehicles, while pedestrian visitors may shorten the
distance, and enjoy extensive prospects of scenery, by taking a footpath
over the hills--thus at once saving time and augmenting enjoyment. On
ascending the first of these hills, he sees before him an extensive
valley; on the opposite hill is placed the castle, of which, however, as
yet he can obtain no glimpse, being hidden from his view by a dense
mass of noble trees, which protect it from the northern winds.
[Illustration]
From this point the church is an object of much beauty in the landscape,
and being partially screened by fine trees, offers, as the visitor
proceeds towards it, many pleasing and picturesque combinations.
Emerging suddenly from under thick foliage, we tread upon an extended
lawn, and the whole of the southern front of the mansion is at once in
sight: its symmetrical regularity, its not unhappy marriage of English
with Italian, its stately octangular towers, and the silvery grey of its
time-bleached walls, all combine to produce a most agreeable impression.
It is placed on the crest of the hill, the slope in its rear, a large
tract of table land in front; at right angles with the front a most
magnificent avenue of noble trees passes far into the distance,
terminating on the northern side of Yardley Chase.
Mr. Robinson, in the “Vitruvius Britannicus,” relates all that is known
regarding the erection of the house. “The castle, embattled by license
to Bishop Langton, in the reign of Edward I., was the occasional
residence of successive proprietors. Sir William de la Pole, and
Margaret Peveril, his wife, in 1358, dated a feoffment of their manors
of Ashley and Little Brington at “Castell Assheby;” but when acquired by
the family of Grey de Ruthyn, in the fifteenth century, its proximity to
their patrimonial seat at Yardley Hastings, would naturally lead to its
partial and, ultimately, entire desertion. A century had scarcely
elapsed before Leland thus recorded its desolate condition. “Almost in
the middle way betwixt Welingborow and Northampton I passed Assheby,
more than a mile off on the left hand, wher hathe bene a castle, that
now is clene downe, and is made but a _septum_ for bestes.” By a survey
in 1565, it appears that George Carleton, Esq., under a lease granted by
Sir William Compton for sixty-one years, held the site of the manor and
farm of “Asheby David,” with all the demesne lands, “whereunto
pertaineth the old ruined castle.” Camden, in his “Britannica,”
says:--“From hence (Northampton) men maketh haste away by Castle Ashby,
where Henry L. Compton began to build a faire sightly house.” The
commencement of the present stately edifice may, therefore, be safely
dated between the expiration of the lease in 1583 and the death of this
nobleman in 1589. One of the requests of the rich heiress of Spencer to
her lord was, to “build up Ashby House.” And the original pile may be
presumed to have been completed when King James I. and his queen
favoured its noble owner with a visit in 1605. The dates of 1624 on the
east front and on the two turrets, must have reference to the subsequent
alterations and erections by Inigo Jones.
[Illustration]
The castle buildings occupy a huge quadrangle, with a garden court in
the centre. The most important apartments are on the northern and the
southern sides. The north front is of pure Elizabethan architecture,
plain, but of massive design, combined with a grandeur and
impressiveness not often attained with such unadorned simplicity. The
principal, or southern front, is remarkable for the curious anomaly it
presents in the mixture of Elizabethan with Italian architecture. Pure
taste, of course, rejects such experiments, but if they be at all
allowed, perhaps it would hardly be possible to find an instance in
which the incongruous association is less offensive than in this front;
arising, no doubt, from no attempt having been made to engraft the one
style upon the other, both being kept distinct. The Italian façade was
added to enclose the court, and complete the quadrangle: it was designed
by Inigo Jones, and may be considered a good example of its peculiar
character. In contrast with the plain, massive, Elizabethan wings, the
work of Jones may, perhaps, justly be charged with something of a petite
character; but, nevertheless, taking the whole together, it forms a
composition by no means unpleasing. On entering the castle the visitor
is ushered into the Great Hall, a room of noble dimensions, and which
formerly possessed many claims to admiration, but, unfortunately, it has
been modernised, and, therefore, after noting the fine pictures it
contains,--chiefly old family portraits,[11]--we pass on to the
Dining-Room, which also contains some choice pictures; the most striking
are portraits of the present noble marquess and his lady, apparently by
Hoppner, and some choice gems of the Dutch school. Hence we pass into
the Billiard-Room, where, after admiring the table and a few good
pictures, there is nothing to detain us, and we enter the Drawing-Room,
in which is an excellent large picture of landscape, with cattle and
figures, the painter of which is not known. Presently we come to the
Great Staircase, which may be admired for its rich old oak, carved,
according to the fashion of Elizabeth’s time, into a variety of
geometrical forms, intermingled with wreaths of fruit and flowers, some
parts of which argue no mean skill in the artisan. From hence we gain
entrance to an ante-room, containing tapestry, said to have been
presented by Queen Elizabeth; and on leaving this room we pass into the
gallery of the Great Hall, whence we must pause awhile to examine a
portrait of Mrs. Chute, by Reynolds, a most valuable picture of an
excellent lady; the dress is white, the picture is in a light key,
clear, broad, and harmonious, and of perfect execution. The next room is
the Octagon, where are two life-size figures, in marble, of Mercury and
the Venus de Medici, and also various other statues, of minor size and
merit. King William’s Room next engages attention: it is of large
dimensions, and is chiefly remarkable for its ceiling, of which we have
given one of the enrichments as our initial. There are two magnificent
bay-windows in this room. The Long Gallery is contained in the upper
part of Inigo Jones’ façade, or screen, of which it runs the entire
length--ninety-one feet. It is not remarkable for any peculiar
attractions. It contains a few good pictures, one of which is of
interest, “The Battle of Hopton Heath,” where, as we have seen, several
members of the Compton family were distinguished. It will be at once
understood that our remarks and enumeration of objects refer solely to
matters of artistic or antiquarian interest; we therefore pass over much
that might greatly interest general readers. On the whole, the interior
does not sustain the rich promise of the exterior; the plan does not
seem to have been carried out with the fulness and determination so
marked in many of our Baronial Halls. The gardens do not present any
remarkable features: the grounds are picturesque, and contain a large
artificial lake, formed by the famous landscape gardener Brown, to whom
so many of our nobility entrusted their estates for such aids as art can
supply to nature. The grounds of Castle Ashby needed, however, but
little of such help; they are naturally of a kind which art cannot
create, nor do much to improve.
[Illustration:
Day & Son, Lithᵗʰ. to The Queen.
KIRBY HALL, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE]
KIRBY HALL,
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
Kirby Hall.--Although now deserted, this very venerable and exceedingly
beautiful Mansion ranks among the finest of the kingdom.[12] For upwards
of two centuries, it was the seat of “the Hattons,”--the famous Sir
Christopher and his lineal descendants, the Earls of Winchelsea. It was
built by Humphrey Stafford, the Sixth Earl of Northampton; the Architect
was John Thorpe, and two plans of the building are preserved among his
collection of sketches in the Museum bequeathed to the nation by the
late Sir John Soane; one of them is thus distinguished:--“Kirby, whereof
I layd the first stone, 1570.” Not long afterwards, it came into the
possession of the Lord Chancellor Hatton, who obtained it from Queen
Elizabeth in exchange for that of Holdenby--a superb structure erected
by him, and which Camden describes as “a faire pattern of stately and
magnificent building which maketh a faire glorious show,” and as “not to
be matched in this land.”[13] It is more than probable that Kirby was
largely added to--perhaps finished--by Sir Christopher; but that it was
commenced by the unhappy family of Stafford, is evidenced by the “Boar’s
head out of a Ducal Coronet,” and the name “Humfree Stafford,” to be
found on several parts of the building. The front was decorated by Inigo
Jones about the year 1638. The mansion is the property of the present
Earl of Winchelsea, who was born there. It remains in a comparatively
good state of preservation; but it is certain that in its now neglected
and deserted condition, the encroachments of Time will not be withstood
much longer. Its situation, like that of so many structures of the same
date in England, is unfortunately low, and the difficulty of drainage
(it is liable at times to be flooded) offers some excuse for removal to
a more eligible site. The approach is through an avenue of finely-grown
trees, extending above three quarters of a mile. The first Court-yard
resembled that of Holdenby--a balustraded inclosure, with two grand
archways. The external front is the work of Inigo Jones, by whom also
much of the interior was considerably altered. Passing through this, the
visitor enters the principal Quadrangle (which forms the subject of Mr.
Richardson’s drawing). “On each side of the arched entrance are fluted
Ionic pilasters, with an enriched frieze and entablature; the arched
window above, opening upon a Gallery supported by consoles, has a
semicircular pediment, broken in the centre, and inclosing a bracket for
a bust, with the date 1638.” The window is, however, an insertion by
Inigo Jones; and being of a much later date than the other parts of the
front, sadly mars the effect of the architecture of old Thorpe. The
third story contains the motto and date “Je. Seray 1572, Loyal.” The
Garden front has a raised Terrace--now a corn-field--in which the slopes
and a few ornamental seats yet remain. This front supplies one of the
grandest examples of Elizabethan architecture existing in England. It
was built by Thorpe, and essentially agrees with the German School of
Architecture of that day--which the British Architect had evidently
studied. The Garden seats, vases, &c., of which there endure only broken
fragments, are in the style, and believed to be the works, of Inigo
Jones. The Garden was terminated by a remarkably picturesque little
bridge, ornamented with a balustrade and scroll work, now, like all
other objects about the structure, or connected with it, submitted to
the wanton assaults of every heedless passer-by. Modern Vandalism has,
indeed, been very busy everywhere within and around this venerable
Mansion;--a farmer occupies a suite of rooms, the decorations of which
would excite astonishment and admiration in a London Club-house;
farm-servants sleep surrounded by exquisite carvings; one room in the
south side of the Quadrangle, decorated with a fine old fire-place, in
which are the arms of the Lord Chancellor, served, at the time of the
artist’s visit, the purpose of a dog-kennel; and an elegant Chapel,
constructed by Inigo Jones, is entered with difficulty through piles of
lumber and heaps of rubbish.
Our initial letter is copied from one of the Finials, which crown the
pilasters and gables in the Quadrangle. They formerly held staves with
moveable vanes (in metal), “turning with every winde.”
[Illustration:
From a drawing by T. Allom Day & Son, Lith.ʳˢ. to The Queen.
]
WOLLATTON HALL,
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
Wollatton Hall, the seat of the Right Hon. Digby Willoughby, the seventh
Baron Middleton, is situate three miles west of Nottingham, in the
centre of a finely wooded park, remarkable for a judicious combination
of wood and water. It stands on a considerable elevation, and is seen
from all parts of the surrounding country; of which, consequently, it
commands extensive views--not only of rich and fertile valleys, but of
one of the busiest and most populous of manufacturing towns. We give on
this page an engraving of the north entrance to the mansion.
The mansion was erected by Sir Francis Willoughby, Knt., towards the
close of the sixteenth century, as we learn from an inscription
[Illustration]
over one of its entrances. In the old history of the county of
Nottingham by Thoroton there is a descent of this family, down to the
builder of the present Mansion, whose daughter Bridget married Sir
Percival Willoughby, of another branch of the family. Sir Percival left
five sons, the eldest of whom, Sir Francis, who died in 1665, was father
of Francis Willoughby, Esq., one of the greatest _virtuosi_ in Europe.
His renowned history of birds was published in Latin after his death, in
1676. He died in 1672, leaving two sons and one daughter. The latter,
Cassandra, was married to James Duke of Chandos. The eldest son died
unmarried, in his twentieth year. The second son was created a peer in
the tenth of Queen Anne, A.D. 1711. In 1781, on the death of Thomas Lord
Middleton without issue, the estate and its honours descended to Henry
Willoughby, Esq., of Birdfall, county of York. It is a remarkable
circumstance, that up to the present time the heir-at-law, in
consequence of there being no proximate issue, has always been a remote
member of the family.
The exterior of the mansion is peculiarly grand and imposing. It is in
the fashion of Queen Elizabeth’s reign,--or rather the fashion just then
beginning to be introduced,--and is in the Italian style, but of Gothic
arrangement. It is square, with four large towers adorned with
pinnacles; and in the centre the body of the house rises higher, with
projecting coped turrets at the corners. The front and sides are adorned
with square projecting Ionic pilasters; the square stone pillars are
without tracery; and “the too great uniformity of the whole is broken by
oblong niches, circular ones filled
[Illustration]
with busts of philosophers, &c., and some very rich mouldings;” “In the
richness of its ornaments it is surpassed by no Mansion in the kingdom.”
The accompanying engraving represents the Terrace and south entrance to
the mansion.
The Hall is lofty, and the roof, which is supported by arches somewhat
like Westminster Hall, has a very noble appearance. The screen in the
Hall is supported by pillars of the Doric order: there is a variety of
quaint devices under the beams, in conformity with the taste of the
time; such as heads of satyrs, chimeras, &c. &c. The walls and ceilings
were painted by Laguerre. The rooms in general are on a grand scale,
lofty and spacious. The fabric, taken as one built by a commoner,
exceeds the loftiest ideas of magnificence. It is wholly of stone, and
must have cost an immense sum in its erection. Indeed the learned
Camden, in the first edition of his “Britannia,” pays to the builder a
somewhat equivocal compliment, asserting that by the time it was
finished he had sunk in its erection “three lordships;” “this Sir
Francis,” he adds, “at great expence, in a foolish display of his
wealth, built a magnificent and most elegant house with a fine
prospect.”
[Illustration: BENTHALL HALL, SHROPSHIRE.]
BENTHALL HALL,
SHROPSHIRE.
Benthall Manor,[14] Shropshire, is in that part of Wenlock hundred which
was comprised in the Saxon hundred of Patintune; a division which became
obsolete soon after the compilation of Domesday Book. Though in the
present day Benthall constitutes a parish in itself, it was included in
that of Wenlock till the latter end of the seventeenth century. In the
reign of Edward the Confessor--and, probably, from a much earlier
period--this estate belonged to the priory of Wenlock; and when William,
the successor of that pious king, distributed lands among his Norman
followers, at the expense of the Saxon nobles, he had too much regard
for his reputation to deprive the Church of her possessions.
Reconciling, however, his piety to worldly policy, King William made the
priory of Wenlock subservient to the abbey of Rheims, and thus contrived
to reward the latter establishment for successful prayers made in favour
of his expedition, and at the same time to raise a Norman influence over
possessions of the English Church. The abbots of Rheims, like modern
non-resident landlords, had cause to regret their absence; for we find
that in the reign of Richard I. the Prior of Wenlock dealt with his
lands as if the Norman abbot had no concern with them: and when, at
length, in the reign of Edward III., the Abbot of Rheims obtained the
king’s charter, confirming to him and his successors all the English
lands which belonged to his abbey, the interposition of the sovereign
was ineffectual as far as it related to Benthall, that estate having
been in the meantime irrevocably disposed of.
In a series of charters possessed by the Benthall family, some of which
are written in the Saxon language, though without date, it appears that
the manor was owned many years by a family who took their surname from
this estate, and these are referred to in the hundred-rolls of the reign
of King Henry III., as having been the ancestors of Phillip de
Benethall, then Lord of Benethall, who held certain lands under the
Prior of Wenlock. Early in the following reign, however, on Phillip’s
forfeiting his lands, Benthall was re-granted to Robert Burnell, Bishop
of Bath and Wells and Lord Chancellor, whose annexation of this and
numerous other estates to his neighbouring castle of Acton Burnell is
not free from suspicion. The chancellor’s object seems, however, to have
been the preferment of his family, and, perhaps, an addition to his
local influence, rather than an increase to his own revenue, for no
sooner had he acquired the manor than he subgranted it to his kinsman,
John Burnell, who describes himself Lord of Benethall, and appears to
have resided here many years; but on his succeeding his son Henry, as
Abbot of Buildwas, his eldest son, Phillip Burnell, received possession
of his father’s lands, and, dropping the patronymic of Burnell, assumed
the surname of De Benethall.[15] Several acts of liberality on the part
of this Phillip towards the fraternity at Buildwas are recorded to his
credit; and his father appears to have been a considerable benefactor of
the abbey. The descendants of this Phillip de Benethall, and his wife
Maude, daughter of Nicholas Forrer, of Lynley, continued to hold the
lordship of Benthall, with other lands, upon conditions of feudal
service to the elder branch of the Burnell family, namely, the
descendants of Sir Hugh, the eldest brother of the chancellor; among
whom are included the Handloes and the Lovells, descended from Maud,
sister and heiress of Edward Lord Burnell, the grandson of Sir Hugh,
until Francis Viscount Lovell, Lord Chamberlain of the Household and
Chief Butler of King Richard III., having fought for his sovereign at
Bosworth Field, his estates were forfeited to the Lancastrian king,
Henry VII.[16]
On the loss of the battle, with which King Richard lost his life as well
as his ill-gotten crown, Lord Lovell escaped to Saint John’s Abbey at
Colchester, and afterwards to Flanders, where Margaret, duchess of
Burgundy, sister to the late King Edward IV., supplied an army of two
thousand men; with which, and associated with John de la Pole, Earl of
Lincoln, he invaded England, and was killed at the battle of
Newark-upon-Trent, in the third year of King Henry VII. Robert Benthall,
the seventh in descent from Phillip Burnell, was owner of the estate at
this time, and continued to enjoy it, notwithstanding Lord Lovell’s
forfeiture.[17] From this circumstance there can be no doubt that Robert
had proved himself of Lancastrian politics; and it is probable that he
was one of the party of eight hundred gentlemen and others of Shropshire
who were collected by his cousin, Sir Richard Corbet, and accompanied
the Earl of Richmond from Shrewsbury to Bosworth.
From this period the family of De Benethall, or Benthall, held the manor
immediately under the crown,[18] till the death of Richard Benthall,
Esq.,[19] in 1720, who, by his will, gave this estate, together with
other lands, to his affianced cousin, Elizabeth, daughter of Ralph
Browne, Esq., of Caughley, who was high-sheriff of the county anno 1567,
by Catherine, the daughter and sole heiress of Edward Benthall. By the
will of Ann, widow of Ralph Browne, Esq. (who was a son of the
before-mentioned Ralph), the manor of Benthall was entailed, in the year
1768, on Lucia, the only daughter and heiress of Francis Turner Blythe,
Esq., afterwards the wife of the Rev. Edward Harries, Rector of Hanwood,
and Vicar of Cleobury Mortimer, from whose eldest son, Thomas Harries,
Esq., of Cructon Hall, the estate has been recently purchased by John
George Weld, second Lord Forester.
About twelve miles from Shrewsbury, and three from Wenlock, lies
Benthall Hall, built by William Benthall, Esq.,[20] A.D. 1535, on the
site of a former house, which, as well as the adjacent manor chapel, is
mentioned in the reign of Henry III.,[21] as being then the property of
Phillip de Benethall; the chapel, however, which was of early English
architecture, remained until A.D. 1666, when it was destroyed by fire,
and in its place the modern chapel, now the parish church of Benthall,
was erected.
The situation of Benthall has at all times enabled its proprietor to
exercise considerable influence over elections in the borough of
Wenlock, the franchise of which extends over the whole of this manor;
but few of the preceding residents at the Hall have aspired to the
office of bailiff, the chief magistrate of this borough--an office
which, nevertheless, is of importance, since the liberties of Wenlock
are more extensive, it is said, than those of any other borough in
England. There is, however, in the Bodleian Library, a curious
manuscript account of the honourable reception which Edward Sprott,
deputy to Richard Benthall, of Benthall, the bailiff, and Richard
Lawley, gave, on the 16th July, 1554, to the Lord President of the
Marches of Wales, on his visiting Wenlock with Justice Townsend. Mr.
Sprott was a member of an ancient family, who long held a considerable
property, called “The Marsh,” in the borough of Wenlock. Richard Lawley
was a son of Mr. Thomas Lawley, who had purchased the then lately
dissolved priory of Wenlock, and had converted it to a residence for
himself. He was the ancestor of the present (anno 1847) Lord Wenlock and
Sir Francis Lawley, Bart., to the latter of whom the extensive property
of the Lawley family in this neighbourhood now belongs. Richard Benthall
was eldest son and heir of William, who has been before noticed. He
married Jane, daughter of Lawrence Ludlow, Esq., of the Morehouse in
this county.
The Hall stands on one of a chain of wooded hills called Benthall Edge,
which rises from a sheet of water in front of the house to a point at
some distance in its rear. In this direction the table of the hill is
terminated by a precipitous wood, which skirts the river Severn, and, at
the left, commands a distant view of mountains in Montgomeryshire, while
the Severn is seen winding its course through the vale of Shropshire. In
the foreground the river passes beneath the Wrekin hill, and washes the
ruined walls of Buildwas Abbey. These objects are presented from a
natural terrace raised some hundred feet above the Severn, which here,
pent in by opposing hills, glides rapidly towards Bridgnorth.
The oak carving in the hall, dining-room, and drawing-room of the
manor-house, were executed by order of John Benthall, Esq. (a grandson
of William), about A.D. 1618, and the arms of Cassey were impaled with
those of Benthall in the ornamental panels, as a compliment to that
family, upon the recent marriage of Lawrence, the heir of Benthall, with
the daughter of Thomas Cassey, Esq.,[22] of Whitefield and Cassey
Compton, in Gloucestershire.
During the Parliamentary wars, Lawrence impoverished himself by his zeal
in support of King Charles; he was one of a list of thirty-two principal
gentlemen of Shropshire (headed by the sheriff) who, in November 1642,
entered into a mutual undertaking to raise a troop of dragoons for his
Majesty’s service; a step deemed necessary in consequence of the
additional strength which the Parliamentary party had acquired in the
county, by Colonel Mitton’s capture of Wem, in the preceding month of
August; but the cause of the Royalists sustained a far severer blow
eighteen months afterwards in the loss of Shrewsbury, which borough,
after having voluntarily expended nearly all its resources in aid of the
king, was surprised in the night of 21st February, 1645, through the
treachery of one of its inhabitants. After an ineffectual defence, the
town was carried by the rebels, and among the prisoners whom they took
on that occasion, was Ensign Cassey Benthall, the eldest son of
Lawrence. The young officer was fortunate enough, however, to make his
escape, and, pursuing his loyal course, had attained the rank of
colonel, when he was killed, fighting for Charles I., at
Stow-in-the-Wold, in Gloucestershire. Colonel Benthall had enlisted in
his regiment many of the yeomen in the neighbourhood of his father’s
estate, and among those who were killed at Stow was Thomas Penderel, a
brother of the famous Richard Penderel, who was the attendant and guide
of Charles II. in his wanderings after the battle of Worcester. The
loyalty of Lawrence Benthall was well known to Richard Penderel, and
nearly procured for the former the honour of aiding the king to escape;
for the royal fugitive, having been conducted by Richard to the town of
Madeley, would have crossed the Severn by the Benthall ferry, but his
intention had been anticipated by the Parliamentary soldiers, who had
taken possession of the boat. Charles, therefore, remained concealed at
Madeley, in a barn of Mr. Woolf, a worthy loyalist, who entertained him
there a night and a day; and from thence the unfortunate king retreated
to Boscobel wood, where he had the well-known adventure which has made
the oak-leaf sacred to his memory.
Many were the damages sustained by the houses of the gentlemen of
Shropshire at this troublesome period, through wanton acts of violence;
but Benthall Hall remained in tolerably perfect preservation till A.D.
1818, when it was partly destroyed by fire, from which, however, the
principal rooms escaped without injury.
[Illustration]
The exterior of the mansion, though it would be commonly denominated
Elizabethan, affords an example of the domestic architecture which was
antecedent to the pure Elizabethan style. The landscape view of the
front presented to the reader is taken from the avenue, which has been
unfortunately deprived of its most stately trees by its present noble
proprietor. The building is of stone; the extent of frontage being
relieved by a slight projection on the left, and by two tiers of
bay-windows, which are placed at equal distances on either side of a
porch. All the windows have stone compartments and lozenge-panes. The
roof is gabled without finials, and the chimneys, which are tastefully
placed, are lofty, with ornamented shafts and mouldings. The porch
stands somewhat out of the centre of the frontage, so as agreeably to
subdue the regularity of the building, and surmounted by a windowed
room, harmonises with the other projections. The front entrance is a
round arched door, on the left of the porch.
The rooms in the interior are lofty. The entrance-hall has unfortunately
lost all its wainscoting, except some carved oak over the chimneypiece,
which represents the Benthall
[Illustration]
coat of arms with that of Cassey impaled. On the right is the ancient
with-drawing-room, completely wainscoted, and containing an oak
chimneypiece, which is executed in the diminutive Grecian style
essential to Elizabethan architecture. The uppermost tier of columns,
which have Ionic capitals, enclose the Benthall coat of arms with that
of Cassey impaled, and immediately beneath it is the coat of Harries,
enclosed by a tier of Roman Doric columns. This room has an elegant
bay-window, and a decorated ceiling; further on the right is a spacious,
but modern dining-room, built by Francis Blythe Harries, Esq. of
Broseley Hall, who resided here many years. On the left of the
entrance-hall is the principal staircase-lobby, forming a passage to the
ancient dining-room. This room is fully and richly wainscoted, and has a
handsome oak chimneypiece extending to a decorated ceiling, and
exhibiting on its panels the Benthall and Cassey coats of arms. The
staircase is also of oak, and elaborately worked, in the angle of which
a panel tastefully, though somewhat fantastically carved, represents a
leopard, the crest of Benthall.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F W Hulme. Day & Son. Lithʳˢ to The Queen
PITCHFORD HALL, SHROPSHIRE]
PITCHFORD HALL,
SHROPSHIRE.
Pitchford Hall. This very curious and interesting example of the
half-timbered houses of the time of Henry VIII. is situate in the
hundred of Condover, and about six miles south of Shrewsbury. Its
position is singularly felicitous, being placed in one of the
pleasantest and most fertile parts of that most beautiful county,
Shropshire. From Shrewsbury it is approached by a sort of
“cross-country” road, passing through rich tracts of corn-growing land,
up and down, in and out; and the first view of its chequered walls and
clustered chimneys is gained from a distance of about half a mile,
looking up the well-wooded slopes of a rich valley of pasture land. The
road traverses one side of the vale; the Hall occupies a commanding
position on the other, presenting to the tourist new combinations of
beautiful scenery at almost every step he advances, all marked by a
happy unity of impression. No railway comes near it, to break its quiet
with the din and clatter of the too-busy world.
The best general view of the house is from the public road, seen from a
point nearly opposite the principal front: at a distance, the somewhat
harsh contrast of the vivid interlacings of black and white is toned
down into harmony with the general effect, still leaving point enough to
give value to the full, rich masses of wood, by which three of its sides
are encompassed. The house is highly picturesque; the walls seem to be
composed, for the most part, of strongly framed timber, raised on a
substructure of stone and brick. The whole is in a surprising state of
preservation for its age, and seems to have suffered but little from the
progress of time, or the assaults of “improvers.” In front of the Hall a
small stream of water flows, passing under a bridge, on one side of
which it has been raised by means of a weir. This serves a double
purpose--it gives the upper part of the stream a broad river-like
appearance, and at the same time is an admirable defence to the
extensive gardens, which skirt its banks for a considerable distance.
The interior contains nothing peculiarly remarkable; it has some good
rooms, wanting in height, however, as is almost invariably the case in
houses of this description.
Pitchford is said to have derived its name from “a bituminous well, one
of the greatest natural curiosities of the county, on the surface of
which constantly floats a sort of liquid bitumen, in nature resembling
that which floats on the Lake Asphaltites in Palestine.”[23]
The earliest possessors of Pitchford of whom we find mention, were a
family who derived their name from the place; of whom one Ralph de
Pitchford, says Camden, “behaved himself so valiantly at the siege of
Bridgnorth, that King Henry I. gave him Little Brug near it, to hold by
the service of finding dry wood for the Great Chamber of the castle of
Brug, or Bruggnorth, against the coming of his sovereign lord the king.”
The Hall is now the property and residence of the Earl of Liverpool, to
whom it was devised in 1806 by Mr. Oteley, in whose family the estate
had been for nearly four centuries. William Ottley Esq., as the name was
then spelt, was high-sheriff for the county of Salop in the 15th of
Henry VII., and again in the 5th of Henry VIII., in whose reign the
present Hall is supposed to have been built. Robert Ottley is mentioned
as the lord of the manor in the time of Queen Elizabeth. During the
Civil War, members of this family gained much distinction as active and
zealous, but not always successful, adherents of the royal party. “Sir
Francis Ottley was successively governor of the towns of Shrewsbury and
Bridgnorth; the latter he surrendered, after a siege in 1646, to the
Parliamentary forces.” In the articles of capitulation, still existing
at Pitchford, it is stipulated, that “Sir Francis Ottley be permitted to
retire with his family and baggage to his home at Pitchford, or at the
Hay,” another possession of the family.
Close to the Hall, screened on all sides by thick plantations, is the
church, a plain, neat, “respectable” structure, of great age. It
contains some interesting monuments of various members of the Ottley
family, and also “a fine and curious oaken figure of a Knight Templar, a
Baron de Pitchford, a crusader, who was buried here.”
In October, 1832, Pitchford Hall was visited by her Majesty the Queen
(then Princess Victoria) and her august mother, the Duchess of Kent; “on
which occasion,” says the loyal and zealous county historian, “it was
the scene of genuine Shropshire hospitality and festivity.”
[Illustration:
From a sketch by C J Richardson Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen
THE GREAT CHAMBER MONTACUTE]
MONTACUTE,
SOMERSETSHIRE.
Montacute. The village of Montacute is one of the most primitive and
picturesque of the villages of England. It consists of a large Square, a
Market-place, with its simple and beautiful School-house, an erection
which dates so far back as the time of Henry the Seventh,--a very rare
and fine example in a remarkably good state of preservation, which
formerly stood against a quaint old Market-house, now destroyed. The
principal street consists of stone hovels, built in a rude style, but
still retaining proofs that the comforts of the inmates were duly
weighed and considered. The village and its vicinity are flourishing, in
consequence of the ample employment which the women obtain at
glove-making, at which they are nearly all occupied in their own
cottages. It is situated within four miles west of the town of Yeovil,
and about the same distance south of Ilchester.
Montacute derives its name from a conical hill (_mons acutus_) which
overlooks the
[Illustration]
village, and on which is a round tower, commanding an extensive view of
the Vale of Somerset, and the British Channel.[24] The prospect thence
is, indeed, not only extensive but exceedingly magnificent; including
“the hills below Minehead and Blackdown, Taunton, Quantock Hills,
Bridgewater Bay, and the coast of Wales; Brent Knoll, the whole range of
Mendip, with the city of Wells and Glastonbury Torr; Cheech and Knowl
Hills, Alfred’s Tower, and the high lands about Shaftesbury; also the
Dorsetshire Hills, and Lambert’s Castle near Lyme.” At the foot, is the
site of a Priory of black Cluniac monks, suppressed in the time of Henry
the Eighth, of which only the Gatehouse endures; it is here pictured
from a drawing by Mr. Richardson. It is somewhat extensive, and
contains one room, little injured by time, with a good oak ceiling of
peculiarly bold character.
Montacute House, and the estates adjoining, have been for several
centuries the property of the family of Phelips; who originally “came
over” with the Conqueror, and in consideration of military services were
requited with large grants of lands in Wales, where they were long
settled. In the fourteenth century they “migrated” into Somersetshire,
residing for many years at Barrington, not far from the present seat.
The “spacious and noble building” was commenced in 1550, and finished in
1601, for Sir Edward Phelips, Knight, Queen’s Serjeant, the third son of
Sir Thomas Phelips. Its cost is said to have exceeded the sum of
£19,500. It has since continued in the family of the founder, in the
following line of succession. Sir Edward Phelips, Master of the Rolls,
Chancellor to Henry Prince of Wales, and Speaker of the House of
Commons, in the reigns of Elizabeth and James the First; Sir Robert
Phelips, his son, in the reigns of James the First and Charles the
First; Colonel Edward Phelips, during the Commonwealth, and in the reign
of Charles the Second;[25] Sir Edward Phelips, Knight, in the reigns of
James the Second and William the Third; his nephew, Edward Phelips,
Esq., in the reigns of Anne and George the First; Edward Phelips, Esq.,
in that of George the Second; William Phelips, Esq., in that of George
the Third; and John Phelips, Esq., in that of George the Fourth; the
present possessor is a minor. But, unhappily, the Mansion, so long the
scene of comparatively uninterrupted hospitality, has been, of late
years, deserted; stripped in a great degree of its internal decorations;
and left to the mercy of time. It presents, however, one of the finest
and most interesting examples of the architecture of the period, yet
existing in the kingdom; “combining simplicity of design with richness
of ornament,”--“a magnificent specimen of the style of Elizabeth’s
reign.”
The form of the building is that of the Roman letter E; a form which the
founder is said to have adopted in compliment to his Royal mistress. It
is built entirely of brown stone, found on the Estate. “The length of
the Eastern or principal front,” according to Mr. Shaw, (“Elizabethan
Architecture,”) is one hundred and seventy feet; it is three stories in
height, and is surmounted by gables and a parapet, crowned with
pinnacles. Each story is marked by its entablature; the bays of its
numerous windows are divided by stone mullions; and between each window
of the uppermost story are recessed niches, containing a series of
statues, the size of life, in Roman armour, resting on their shields.”
The wings, twenty-eight feet in width, are crowned by ornamental gables;
the space between them being occupied by a terrace ascended by a flight
of seven steps. The Western Front--we learn from the same source--was
greatly improved, in 1760, by the acquisition of an ancient screen,
removed from Clifton House, near Yeovil; “it is placed between the wings
in front of the original edifice; surmounted by finials, crowned with
grotesque figures rising from turrets connected by a pierced parapet.”
The Court, upon the Eastern front, is “a fine and appropriate accessory”
to this stately Mansion. It contains two picturesque square Pavilions,
or Lodges, at the angles facing the building. The sides are formed by an
open balustrade, having a small circular temple in the centre of each;
these latter are twenty-five feet in height, from the level of the
Court. The whole composition exhibits great beauty.
Over the arched entrances in the centre compartment are the arms of the
family--argent, a chevron between three roses, gules, seeded or, barbel
vert, with lions rampant as supporters. Over the principal door of the
building is the following couplet, indicative of the hospitality of its
high-born owners:--
Through this wide opening gate,
None come too early, none return too late.
This, however, is not the only inscription to convey their sense of duty
to their guests. Over the North Porch is the following:--
And yours my friend.
And on one of the lodges,
Welcome the coming
Speed the parting guest.
The interior is divided into suites of handsome and spacious apartments.
The staircase is of the construction usual in the time of
Elizabeth--stone steps round a
[Illustration]
huge solid mass of stone. In the Hall, is a fine stone screen; and, at
the end, a bas-relief, four feet six inches in height, representing the
ancient custom of “skimmitting or stang-riding.”[26] The Hall contains
also a curious old chest--the work, probably, of some Italian or French
artist of the time of Henry the Eighth. The Rooms are generally panelled
with oak; but the ceilings throughout, and the staircase, are quite
plain; the walls of the principal apartments are, however, lined with
finely-carved wainscotting to within a few feet of the ceiling--the
intervening space being ornamented by rich plaster-work, which has a
fine effect. The screen, which Mr. Richardson has pictured in the
appended print, belonged originally
[Illustration]
to the entrance to the Dining-room, and was removed to its present
position by one of the later proprietors of the Mansion.[27]
Although the Mansion at Montacute supplies us with many subjects for
illustration by the pencil, we have preferred to introduce a copy of the
graceful and venerable School-house--one of the most striking and
interesting remains of a remote period, and one with which no other than
agreeable memories can be associated. The initial letter is part of the
sculpture of the western front.
Unhappily, the Destroyer is busily at work about this fine old
Mansion--one of the grandest, most original, and most auspiciously
situated of the few unimpaired structures of the reign of Queen
Elizabeth by which the kingdom is still enriched. Although its present
possessor is the direct descendant of its founder, and “the line” has
been unbroken for nearly three centuries, it is now deserted. All its
glories are of ancient dates: the “wide opening gate” gives admission to
no gay revellers; and the yet existing motto seems a solemn mockery--
Welcome the coming
Speed the parting guest.
[Illustration:
From a sketch by J. L. P. Day & Son, Lith.ʳˢ to The Queen
CAVERSWALL CASTLE, STAFFORDSHIRE.]
CAVERSWALL CASTLE,
STAFFORDSHIRE.
Caverswall Castle.--The pretty and secluded village of Caverswall is
seated in the centre of a rich level vale, through which runs the river
Blithe,--here, not far from its source, a narrow stream, which gradually
swells into size and strength. The venerable Castle of Caverswall, one
of the most striking, picturesque, and interesting remains of a distant
age, towers above this pleasant and appropriately named streamlet,
overlooking the broad valley, the whole of which it completely commands,
and of which it was formerly the guardian and the glory.
In the twentieth year of William the Conqueror, Caverswall was held of
Robert de Stadford by Ernulfus de Hesding; but in the time of Richard
Cœur de Lion, one Thomas de Careswell was lord of this demesne, from
whom it descended to Sir William de Caverswell, Knight, most likely the
same who was sheriff of Staffordshire towards the close of the reign of
Henry III., and whose descendant, probably grandson, of the same name
and title, in the latter end of the reign of King Edward II., built
[Illustration]
a large and strong stone castle here, surrounded by a deep moat. As
additional security, when safety was worth a costly purchase, we are
told he gave it the further defence of square turrets at the heads of
extensive pieces of water. This is “the castel or prati-pile of
Caverwell” of Leland’s time. Of its founder, we know nothing more than
is revealed to us by his marble monumental slab, now reduced to the
level of the church-floor at the entrance into the chancel--strange
transition!--to be trodden on by every foot that passes. This “goodly
castle,” as Erdeswick terms it, in his time, about two hundred and fifty
years ago, he tells us, “was lately in reasonable good repair, but is
now quite let to decay by one Browne, farmer of the demesnes, which he
procured (if a man might guess at the cause) lest his lord should take a
conceit to live there, and thereby take the demesnes from him.” Now, it
is probable no remnant of this ancient Castle is extant, unless in the
chiselled stones which give support to garden-hedges about the village.
Still, the lower portions of the wall which surrounds the platform of
the Castle, with its graduated buttresses, and perhaps also the
foundations of some of the turrets, give indications of an architecture
at least much anterior to the present building. We are inclined to refer
this ancient wall to the period of the original Castle.
The lordship descended from the Caverswells, who enjoyed it until the
nineteenth of Edward III., when by the heir-general it passed to the
Montgomerys, and subsequently to the Giffards, the Ports, the family of
Hastings, Earls of Huntingdon, who were owners of it in the seventeenth
century; and, by purchase, to Matthew Cradock, Esq., whose father, we
are told in a celebrated letter of Sir Simon Degge’s, was a wool-buyer
at Stafford. In the reign of James I., this latter proprietor, it is
said, employed the skill of the celebrated Inigo Jones to erect the
present castellated mansion. The site of this solemn fortress-like
structure, enriched by the dark-grey tints of age, is the rock which
gave foundation to Sir William de Caverswell’s Castle. The grit-stone of
which it is built has been excavated from the moat that surrounds the
whole; the same being the case no doubt with the materials of the
earlier building, for the circumstance, as we shall see, is alluded to
in the Latin lines on the founder’s tomb. The Castle is placed upon an
elevated quadrangular platform, which is defended by a curtain running
along each side, having a number of graduated buttresses rising from the
moat, and by an octagonal turret, with its base dipping in the fosse, at
each angle. The pointed arched gateway, approached by a stone bridge, is
flanked by an additional turret on each side, like the others,
balustraded at the top. This balustrade formerly was carried round the
top of the Castle also. Its removal in recent times has been injurious
to picturesque effect; hence the artist has retained this proper mark of
style in our lithotint. The quadrangle of the Castle is laid out in
gravelled walks, shaded by fine hedges of hornbeam, and a beautiful
flower-garden, exhibiting many of the gems of Flora’s chaplet, and some
remarkably fine specimens of Cotoneaster trained along the walls. The
building itself is chiefly interesting as presenting the ideal of the
great architect of the transition from the ancient castle to the
baronial mansion. The keep may be said to be still retained in the lofty
square tower, which overtops the building at its western end. Two great
bays ascend, one on each side, to the top of the building, which break
the plainness of the front, and afford additional light to the
apartments. The numerous windows are all large, divided by deep
mullions; and in a winter’s evening, when most of the rooms are
occupied, a distant spectator might conceive there was an illumination
in the Castle. The rooms are plain, and afford nothing worthy of
particular note. The square tower is chiefly occupied by staircases. The
turrets have been converted into apartments of residence. Whilst around
the whole, flow the dark yet clear waters of the moat, which expands on
the western side into a small lake. This moat is supplied by a number of
springs and a limpid rill that runs into it. Its outer margin receives
the shade of some fine limes. As if in pointed contrast to all this
panoply of defence, on the inner margin of the fosse there is seen a
pretty little flower-border, occupying the recesses between the
buttresses which support the platform.
We have here an indication of the peaceful, unwarlike purpose to which
this sombre fortress is now devoted. On the decease of Matthew Cradock,
Esq., who built the present Castle, it came into the hands of his son,
George Cradock, Esq., who died in 1643,[28] with whose descendants it
remained only till 1655. From them it passed to Sir William Jolliffe,
Knight; and from him, by marriage with his daughter, to William Viscount
Vane, of Ireland. It subsequently passed into the hands of the family of
Parker, one worthy descendant of which house, Thomas Hawe Parker, Esq.,
resides at Park Hall, near the village, and still retains the manor.
During the disastrous wars of the French Revolution, it was purchased
for the retreat of a religious community from Ghent, in Belgium,--the
Benedictine Dames,--who emigrated hither in 1811, having previously
settled at Preston, in Lancashire. These ladies, in their antique black
dresses and hoods, as they traverse the terraces on the platform of the
Castle, or engage in the cultivation of their flower-gardens, give an
air of surprising interest, of living reality, to this castellated
mansion of other ages. They have erected a good-sized chapel on the
eastern side of the house, in which is a large picture over the altar
representing St. Benedict and St. Scholastica praying to the virgin; and
they devote much of their time to the purposes of education. On the
opposite side of the moat, amidst the shade of surrounding trees, we
perceive the final resting-place of the sisterhood. In this neat little
plot is a number of tombstones, two of which are distinguished from the
rest by bearing the cross and pastoral staff--emblems of ghostly
superintendence. They mark the graves of Lady Abbesses. One lay sister,
now rapidly descending the vale of years, is the only religieuse who
came over with the original refugees.
A doorway, now closed, formerly led from the Castle to the Church, which
is close by. It is a spacious village church, dedicated to St. Peter,
embosomed in a grove of
[Illustration]
sycamores, and presenting, like many others, indications of great
antiquity--indications which are almost overgrown with the additions and
reconstructions of nearly every period since its foundation. The piers
of the nave, which give support to a series of semicircular arches, from
their plainness most probably belong to the Norman style. The decorated
finds its representatives in the belfry arch, and the two aisles of the
nave; whilst the perpendicular is fairly displayed in the handsome
eastern window of the tower. This tower and the aisles may be referred
to the fourteenth century. The beauties and harmonies of the whole have
been sadly marred, especially by the low flat ceilings, which extend
from the tower to the chancel, in different stages of degradation. The
nave contains some plain low oaken stalls, very ancient. Some pews also
and the pulpit exhibit specimens of carving in oak in a pleasing
style--an illustration of which forms our initial letter. The Church is
rich in monuments. Beyond mentioning a fine evidence of Chantrey’s
skill, in a monumental figure to the memory of the Countess of St.
Vincent,--the lady kneels in an attitude of submissiveness to the
inevitable stroke, her coronet being laid aside,--beyond this mere
mention, and that the family vaults and monuments of the Parker family,
of Park Hall, the patrons of the living, exist here, we shall confine
ourselves to the memorials of the two founders of the ancient and more
modern Castles of Caverswall. At the entrance to the chancel, near to
the foot of the pulpit stairs, is a massy slab of grey marble, laid in
the floor. This is all that now remains of the monument of Sir William
de Caverswell, the builder of the Castle in the time of Edward II.,
about A.D. 1300. It has originally contained a large and elegant
cross-fleurie, stretching over the entire length of the slab, a shield
on each side, and an inscription running along the head and the two
sides, all in inlaid brass. Erdeswick, the Staffordshire antiquary, who
described it about two hundred and fifty years ago, tells us that then
the metal had been taken out. He adds, in a parenthesis, “such is the
iniquity of this day;” but yet he was able to perceive what the letters
were. These letters are in a fine character of the period, before
black-letter was employed. Having carefully examined them, we were still
able to decipher the whole, and now present a more correct reading than
has ever before appeared, which, together with the accurate drawing of
this rich and finished tablet (printed on the front page of this
article) by our artist, Mr. F. Hulme, will, we trust, preserve a faint
memory of the original. The inscription commences at an ornamental cross
near the top on the left side, and ends at one opposite.
†Hic: jacet: Will[=s]: de: Kaverswelle: miles.†
Then follow these lines along the two sides:--
“Castri: strvctor: eram: domibvs: fossis: que: cemento.
Vivvs: dans: operam: nvnc: clavdor: in: hoc: monvmento.”
Which Dr. Plot informs us was Englished thus:--
“Sir William of Caverswall, here lye I,
Who built the Castle, and made the pooles by.”
In a spirit not altogether inaccordant with the original, another hand
added this couplet, as Dr. Plot further says:--
“Sir William of Caverswall here you lye,
Your Castle is down, and your pooles are dry.”
In the south wall of the chancel is a mural tablet in memory of Matthew
Cradock, Esq., the founder of the present Caverswall Castle. In its
style, this monument bears
[Illustration]
marks of the age in which it was constructed,--the reign of Charles I.
It is worthy of note, however, that, whilst the hand of man, as well as
his foot, has continually warred against the monumental memorial of his
great predecessor for more than five hundred years, without being able
to obliterate the recognition of his name and merits, the inscription on
that of Matthew Cradock, although not of half the antiquity, protected
and even partially renewed, is now, in the main, irrevocably effaced. It
has commenced in these terms, “Hic sepelitvr Matie Cr rmig.” The rest is
so greatly defaced, as only to allow us to make out that he married
Elizabeth, the daughter of a Salopian esquire, and that his first-born
child married the daughter of John Saunders, M.D., which agrees with the
inscription on the mural tablet of George Cradock, Esq. Some lines in
white paint below profess to have derived their origin from “ I. M. R.
E. de Stoke.” Matthew Cradock, we believe, was a merchant, and was
returned to Parliament, A.D. 1640, 15 Charles I., for the City of
London. His arms appear upon the tablet.
At an early period of the contest between Charles and his Parliament,
Caverswall Castle seems to have excited notice, and was garrisoned for
the Parliament; the family, no doubt, took this side. From the following
entry of the Committee at Stafford, the widow of George Cradock, Esq.,
appears to have received some marks of respect amidst this military
intrusion. “Dec. 4, 1643.--It is ordered that Captain John Young shall
forthwith repayre to Carswall House, and safely keepe the same for the
use of the King and Parliament, until he shall have order to the
contrarie. But he is to leave his horses behind him at Stafford; he is
likewise to use Mrs. Cradock with all respect, and not suffer any spoyle
or waste made of her goods.” “It is ordered that Mrs. Cradock shall
have, towards the fortification of her house at Carswall, liberty to
take, fell, cut downe, and carrie away any timber, or other materials,
from any papist, delinquent, or malignant whatsoever.” “March 1,
1643-4.--It is ordered that Carswall be made unservisable.” This last
order does not appear to have been fulfilled to the letter; for
Caverswall Castle still remains unimpaired, sombre and venerable, to
grace the verdant meads amid which it is situated--to shelter the
religieuses who have succeeded the refugees from the Low Countries--and
to show the pilgrim, who wanders through shady dells and by babbling
brooks, catching the bland whisperings of the spirits of the past,
that--
“Time
Has moulded into beauty many a tower,
Which, when it frown’d with all its battlements,
Was only terrible.”
[Illustration: INGESTRIE, STAFFORDSHIRE.]
INGESTRIE HALL,
STAFFORDSHIRE.
Perhaps there are few districts so rich in historical interest as that
in which is situated this venerable Mansion. The manors of Shugborough,
Sandon, Chartley--with its ruined Castle--Heywood, Blithfield, and
Wolseley, are all within view; Tixal Heath, with its abundant legends,
is close at hand;[29] and the ancient Town of Stafford is distant about
three miles. Ingestrie, or, as now more commonly written, Ingestre, and
anciently Ingestrent (from _ing_, in Danish, _a meadow_, that is, Trent
Meadow), and in Domesday-book called _Gestreon_, was a part of the Great
Barony of Stafford, and granted to Robert de Toeni by William the
Conqueror, being then valued at 15_s._ 5_d._ In the reign of Henry the
Second, it was held by Eudo, or Ivo de Mutton, or Mitton, who gave
certain lands in Ingestre to the Priory of St. Thomas à Becket near
adjoining, and then newly-founded: he afterwards became a lay-brother
there, leaving his possessions to his son, Sir Ralph de Mutton, who had
issue Adam and Philip, both knights. Sir Adam was also a benefactor to
the fore-named convent, and had the presentation of a canon granted to
him and his heirs for ever, to celebrate Divine Service for the souls of
Sir Philip de Mutton, his brother, his own soul, and those of his
ancestors and successors: he died in the fortieth year of the reign of
Henry the Third, leaving by Isabella, his wife, Ralph, his son, who died
without issue, and Isabella, his only daughter, married to Sir Philip de
Chetwynd. After the death of Sir Philip de Mutton without issue, Philip
de Chetwynd, son of Sir Philip and Isabella, became sole heir to that
family (the Muttons) in his mother’s right, and was possessed of
Ingestre, &c., &c.; which, by a continued succession, descended to
Walter Chetwynd, Esq., who, dying without issue, his estates devolved to
Captain Chetwynd, his near relation, whose descendants were created
Barons of Ingestre and Talbot. In 1784, John Chetwynd Talbot, who
succeeded his uncle William in the barony, was raised to the dignity of
an Earl of the United Kingdom by the style and title of Earl Talbot of
Ingestre.
His successor was his son, Charles Chetwynd, Earl Talbot of Ingestre,
whose seat is still the noble old Hall of his ancestors. None of the
nobles of the kingdom are more universally esteemed or respected. He has
extensive estates in the immediate neighbourhood in his own holding; and
is distinguished by his active promotion of agricultural improvements.
The nobility and gentry of the surrounding district frequently assemble
to witness the success of his experiments, and to participate in the
hospitality of this noble “English farmer.” His Lordship, however, has
not altogether eschewed public life. For some time he was the Irish
Viceroy. The manor and estate of Ingestre have recently received a large
accession by the purchase of the Tixal Estate, from Sir Clifford
Constable, by the present Earl Talbot.
Ingestre Hall is pleasantly situated on a gentle declivity, sloping
towards the river Trent, in a large and richly wooded park, which
contains some remarkably fine beech and other trees.[30] The house has a
stately and venerable appearance. It is in the style which prevailed
during the reigns of Elizabeth and James the First--having various
projections, bay windows, and others with stone mullions. The north
front was built by the present Earl, corresponding in character with the
south front; and like that also of brick and stone; by which means
several elegant rooms and a grand staircase have been added. The north
side has a terraced flower-garden ornamented by fountains, a stone
balustrade, &c., which add much to the elegance of this part of the
building. The interior well agrees with the exterior--consisting of
large and well-proportioned apartments, the principal of which is the
Library, an elegant room occupying the western portion of the Mansion,
containing a valuable collection of Books, placed in handsome oak cases,
with pilasters, &c., of the Corinthian order; also a beautiful marble
fire-place. The Billiard-room is wainscotted with oak, one-third of its
height, containing a variety of grotesque heads in small panels. The
grand Staircase has a massive oak railing of arabesque character. The
interior, however, has been greatly modernised; and its chief attraction
to the antiquary will arise from the Family Portraits, which possess
considerable interest. But the Mansion contains a rich treasure of
historical and antiquarian lore: in the Library are preserved five
Volumes in Manuscript, collected by Walter Chetwynd, Esq., consisting of
Letters, Pedigrees, &c., &c.[31]
The present Church of Ingestre is situate very near the Hall, on the
S.E. side (the ancient Church was on the S.W. side of the house),
and is a plain but handsome structure in the Grecian style of
architecture--consisting of a Tower; a Nave, with side aisles; and a
Chancel; the Ceiling of the Nave being much enriched with festoons of
fruit, flowers, &c.--and that of the Chancel with shields of arms, &c.
The Nave is separated from the Chancel by an appropriate Screen, having
the Royal Arms in relief over the Entrance, and, together with the
Pulpit, &c., is of Flanders oak. The Chancel contains several mural
Monuments of the Chetwynd Family, and Busts of the late Countess and a
little Boy. There is an interesting mural Tablet for the late
unfortunate Charles Thomas Viscount Ingestre, who was lost in a Morass,
near Vienna, on the 23rd of May, 1826, being twenty-four years of age;
it represents the extrication of his dead body. There is also a figure
exhibiting Religion with a chalice in the hands. This is placed on a
Monument to the present Earl’s brother, the late Rev. John Talbot,
Rector of Ingestre, &c. The Church has six fine Bells, and an Organ; and
was built by Walter Chetwynd, Esq., in 1673. A full account of the
building and consecration of the Church is given by Dr. Plot, in his
“Natural History of Staffordshire.”[32]
The neighbourhood of Ingestre is full of historical interest. On Hopton
Heath (now inclosed), distant about a mile and a half, a bloody battle
was fought on Sunday, the 19th of March, 1643, between the King’s
troops, commanded by Spencer Compton Earl of Northampton, and the
Parliamentary Forces under Sir John Gell and Sir William Brereton; in
which the Earl, with six captains and about 600 soldiers, were all
killed. Human bones and fragments of military weapons have been turned
up by the plough on this spot. One of the most interesting of several
ancient remains in the vicinity is that of Chartley Castle. It has been
a ruin for more than a century. The Park contains a thousand acres,
inclosed from the Forest of Needwood, and never submitted to the plough.
It has long been inhabited by a noble herd of “wild cattle,” descended,
_in a direct line_, from the wild cattle of the country which roamed at
large in ancient times over the Forest of Needwood--probably a
corruption of Neat’s Wood, or the Wood of Cattle. Chartley Castle was
one of the prison-houses of Mary Queen of Scots. On the 21st of
December, 1585, she took her final leave of Tutbury, and was removed to
Chartley. It was during her residence at the latter place, that what has
been denominated “Babington’s Plot,” was matured; which, on its
discovery, led to the execution of no less than twelve persons engaged
in it. The discovery of this plot, likewise, in which Mary herself was
intimately involved, hastened the fate of the unhappy queen. It was
whilst Mary was on horseback, enjoying the sports of the field, in this
neighbourhood, that she received the messenger who communicated the
discovery of her guilt. The announcement of the fatal intelligence which
Sir Thomas Gorges conveyed, suddenly extinguished the fond expectations
which had been so long cherished. She instantly directed her horse’s
head homewards; but was not permitted to return thither. She was
conveyed to Fotheringay--the last sad scene of her eventful history.
[Illustration:
From a sketch by A. E. Everitt. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
THE OAK HOUSE, WEST BROMWICH, STAFFORDSHIRE.]
THE OAK HOUSE, WEST BROMWICH,
STAFFORDSHIRE.
West Bromwich--a village distant a few miles from busy
Birmingham--supplies a curious and interesting example of the
half-timbered houses, of which many still remain in the Midland Counties
of England. It is commonly known as “The Oak House,” is situated on the
borders of the great Staffordshire coal-bed, and is now surrounded by
collieries,--creating a dense and murky atmosphere, which almost hides
the ancient mansion from sight. Yet the site was well chosen; for at the
period of its erection it commanded extensive views of a picturesque and
fertile country, now absolutely covered with iron-works and other
results of the traffic peculiar to the district. Far as the eye can
reach, it encounters only the smoke and steam which indicate busy
labour; the few trees that endure to grace the landscape are stunted and
sickly, and even the fields seem never to have borne a coating of
natural green. Nevertheless, although the eye may turn away unrefreshed
from a scene which exhibits Nature expelled by Commerce, the mind will
be cheered to know that in these unsightly mountain-heaps, “dug from the
bowels of the harmless earth,” originates the true supremacy of England.
The coal-fields of Staffordshire and Warwickshire render available the
gigantic discoveries which have made the present century already famous.
Without their aid, science and manufacture could have achieved
comparatively little; it is by such auxiliaries only we can set at work
the forge and the foundry, where
“Incessant, day and night, each crater roars,
Like the volcano on Sicilian shores:
Their fiery wombs each molten mass combine;
Thence, lava-like, the boiling torrents shine;
Down the trenched sand the liquid metal holds,
Shoots showers of stars, and fills the hollow moulds.”
The “Poet of Science” seems to have had in view the locality to which we
refer; at least, to no part of England are his lines more strictly
applicable.
Little is known of the ancient possessors of the Oak House,
notwithstanding that the direct descendants of the earliest occupants
continued to inhabit it until towards the close of the last century. The
only author who appears to have taken any note of them is the Rev.
Stebbing Shaw, who in his “History of Staffordshire,” under the head of
West Bromwich[33] states, that the Oak House belonged for several
generations to a branch of the respectable old family of Turton, of
Abrewas, near Lichfield; and the first mentioned in this parish was John
Turton, in the freeholders’ book, A.D. 1653. Amongst the inscriptions
formerly in the ancient Church of St. Clement, here, was one to the
memory of William Turton, of the Oak, gent., who died A.D. 1682 (son of
that John), and Eleanor his wife, daughter of Robert Page, of Leighton,
in the county of Huntingdon, who died A.D. 1696, ætat. 61; and one also
to John Turton, of the Oak, gent., the eldest son of the above William,
who died December 6th, 1705, ætat. 45. This is the same John, no doubt,
who, with William his brother and Sarah their sister, are mentioned in
the will of Sir John Turton, of Abrewas, as his cousins. Either from the
first mentioned John, or from another of that name settled at Rowley
Regis, a few miles off, was, according to Shaw, descended the eminent
physician Dr. Turton, of London, whose ancestors had for some years
resided in an old house called “The Hall,” at Wolverhampton. The house
and estate afterwards came into the possession, by will, of a Mrs.
Whylie, who left it to the present owner, J. E. Piercy, Esq., of Warley
Hall; and it is now inhabited by his agent, Mr. Samuel Reeves.
[Illustration]
The general character of the building is that of the later years of the
reign of Elizabeth; this will be sufficiently apparent from the drawing
of the north front, which supplies our principal plate. The groups of
tall chimneys, and the minor details of the doors, windows, &c., are all
of that age; while evidence of its date is confirmed by the south or
garden front (as will be seen by the accompanying vignette), built
chiefly of red brick, and containing the pediments and square stone
mullions of the period.
Upon entering the house, through the porch, we reach a narrow passage,
formed by a small room, abstracted from “the Hall”--the spacious hall
of former times. At the termination of this passage a door leads into
the present hall, of far more limited extent, from which a broad flight
of stairs conducts to the upper apartments. These apartments, however,
having been long disused, exhibit the melancholy aspect of desertion and
decay. The stairs consist of four flights, and the balusters of the
whole are curiously carved; the small pendant hanging from the upper
flight,
[Illustration]
as seen from the first-floor landing, supplies our initial letter. On
the ground-floor there are four of the rooms pannelled with oak, the
chimney-pieces being carved in arabesques.
The peculiar feature of this house, however, is the very curious timber
turret or lantern which rises nearly from the centre of the roof, and
has its principal frontage towards the north. It is square, and forms
one small room, to which a subsequent addition appears to have been
made.
The parish Church (dedicated to St. Clement) is distant from the House
about two miles. Modern “improvement” has been busily at work in
mutilating and defacing it; yet “ignorant churchwardens” have been
unable to deprive it entirely of the venerable character it derives from
age.
From the little that remains of ancient work, the whole Church seems to
have been built during the later period of the Decorated style of
architecture, with here and there additional portions of a later date.
On the south side there is a small chapel but whether used as a chantry
or not is uncertain, the date upon it being as late as 1618. It is most
probable that it was used as the burial-place of the Whorwoods; an old
family, who inhabited a mansion built on the site of the Priory of
Sandwell, which stood at a short distance from the Church. The Tower of
the Church is square, of two stories, and has an octagonal turret on its
northern side. The Font also is octagonal, with the sides pannelled, and
containing shields. It stands at the west end of the north aisle.
In the immediate neighbourhood of the Church are several old houses,
which seem to belong to the seventeenth and early part of the eighteenth
centuries, and originally formed the village of West Bromwich, which at
that period must have been a very inconsiderable place; but, from its
situation near the main-road through the mining district, and the rapid
increase of coal and iron works in its vicinity, it has become of
considerable note; the whole of the distance between the Oak House and
the Church being thickly covered with houses, among which are three new
churches, several meeting-houses, and the other ordinary accompaniments
of a modern town. Within about the distance of a mile, at a place where
three lanes meet, is a wayside inn, bearing the sign of “The Stone
Cross;” of the cross which formerly existed there, barely a trace is
left.
Amongst the other timber houses in the immediate vicinity of Birmingham,
there are but few remarkable for any peculiarity of construction; such
as still exist have been in nearly all cases subjected to the
“improvements” which destroy early and valuable character; perhaps the
only exception is an old house, situated on the north side of the
churchyard at Kingsnorton (a village in the county of Worcester), about
five miles distant from Birmingham, which is still retained for the use
of a Free School, founded there by King Edward VI., but which, from
having a window at its east end, that clearly belongs to the decorated
period of English architecture, was most probably used as a residence
for the priest of the adjacent church. But although the neighbourhood is
so deficient in good examples of ancient timber houses, there will be
found several mansions worthy of observation; we need mention only the
names of New Hall, near the little town of Sutton Coldfield; Castle
Bromwich Hall, the seat of the Earl of Bradford, erected in 1580; the
ancient Castle of Maxtoke, which remains, for the greater part, in good
preservation; and the magnificent pile of Aston Hall--one of the finest
and best preserved Halls yet existing in the Kingdom.
[Illustration:
From a sketch by H.L. Prout. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
THROWLEY HALL, STAFFORDSHIRE.]
THROWLEY HALL,
STAFFORDSHIRE.
Throwley Hall. In the North-East corner of the County of Stafford there
exists an elevated region of limestone hills; one of which, the Bunster,
rises to the height of twelve hundred feet above the level of the sea.
Their scanty soil, pierced in many places by the naked rock, bears a
rich verdure, which is cropped by numerous herds of cattle and sheep.
The bottoms of the intervening valleys are occupied by clear streams,
which dash along their stony beds, and give fertility to the various
shrubs and trees growing upon their margins. In a concavity, about
midway down one of these hills, stands the old Hall of Throwley. In the
vale below, the superterranean or surface course of the river Manyfold
winds its devious way. This stream, like its fellow, the Hamps, sinks
into fissures of the rocks, and flows through caverns hid in the earth,
for some miles, whilst the remaining portion of the waters, especially
during floods, occupies the bed we have pointed out. The valley of the
Manyfold, opposite Throwley Hall, is marked by an umbrageous wood,
exhibiting a highly luxurious foliage of varied tints.
This picturesque spot, environed by the neighbouring hills of such great
altitude, was chosen for the foundation of a house at a remote period.
At the time of Erdeswick, we find him recounting that “Throwley is a
fair, ancient house, and goodly demesne; being the seat of the
Meverells, a very ancient house of gentlemen and of goodly living,
equalling the best sort of gentlemen in the Shire.” In the fifth year of
the reign of King John, Oliver de Meverell was settled here. In the
second of Edward the First, Thomas de Meverell married Agnes, one of the
five daughters and co-heirs of Gerebert de Gayton. In a deed given at
Fredeswall, now Fradswell, another manor of the Meverells, in the
seventeenth year of Edward the Third, we find the name of Thomas de
Meverell, Lord of Throwley. The following inscription occurs on an
alabaster monument in the south aisle of the chancel of Ilam Church, in
which parish Throwley is situated:--“Here lyeth yᵉ bodies of Robert
Meverell Esqvʳ & Eliz: his wife, Davghter
[Illustration]
of Sʳ Tho: Fleming Kniᵗ & Lord Cheife Ivstice of yᵉ Kings Bench, by whō
he had issve only one davghter, who maried Tho: Lord Cromwell, Visconte
Lecaile; wᶜʰ Robert died yᵉ 5th of Febrʸ anᵒ 1626 & Elizabᵗʰ departed yᵉ
5th of Avgvst 1628.” Upon a slab are placed the effigies of this Robert,
the last male of the Meverells, and Elizabeth his wife, in the
magnificent ruffs and other costume of the period--the husband wearing a
vast pair of boots with spurs on them, the former falling in thick
wrinkles from the ankle to the knee, and terminating in a peak about the
middle of the thigh. In a recess in the wall above is the kneeling
figure of their daughter and heir, Lady Cromwell, wearing her coronet,
and her four children by her. There are shields of arms emblazoning
those of Meverell, viz., argent, a griffin segreant sable, armed gules,
with the alliances enumerated; and above the tomb is suspended a helmet
having a pointed visor. We are enabled to trace this heiress of the
ancient House of Meverell to her last resting-place, for in the floor
near the altar in Fradsivell Church is a flat stone, inscribed, “Dame
Cromwell.” And on an old Tablet in the Chancel may still be read: “Iana
Cromwellʳ: Ex nobilibus Familys Cromwellorum et Meverillorum.” 1647.
From the family of Lord Cromwell, Viscount Lecaile, and first Earl of
Ardglass, in Ireland, Throwley subsequently passed to Edward Southwell,
the last Baron de Clifford; and was sold by him in 1790 to Samuel
Crompton, Esq., whose son, Sir Samuel Crompton, Bart., of Wood End, near
Thirsk, is now the proprietor of it. The Hall is occupied by a worthy
family of the name of Phillips.
The “fair ancient house of Throwley” has undergone many mutations since
the days of Erdeswick. It still, however, presents a diversity of
outline which corresponds admirably with the imposing site it occupies.
It is built of the limestone of the neighbourhood, quoined with larger
gritstones; and its walls bear a very time-worn appearance. On the
Eastern side, its gables, large bayed window of many lights, divided by
stone mullions, terminating in depressed arches, and its strong square
tower, carry us back to the Sixteenth Century--the period of its
erection. Whether it was the work of Robert, the last male of the House
of Meverell, or one of his predecessors, we are not enabled to ascertain
by any positive evidence; yet there is little doubt the latter surmise
is most correct. On the western side of the House there formerly stood
a large Chapel, with a lofty ceiling to the roof; a stone of which,
still preserved, bears the initials “F. M.”, most likely pointing to the
founder of the entire structure. The little turret contains a circular
stone stair, that conducts to the roof of the tower, the leads of which
bear many a mark of visitors long since departed--most of them to an
eternal home. The view here, as it takes in a large reach of the valley
in both directions, and Castern on the opposite hill, is very fine. The
principal entrance to the House of Throwley has been on the north, and
leads first to a small Entrance-Hall, and next, to the great Hall; which
in the strange transmutations it has undergone, retains only a portion
of its wainscot and the massive beams of oak that support the ceiling.
This Hall is lighted by the lower window in the large bay to the left of
our litho-tint. A fine room of equal size, above, entered by a pair of
oaken folding doors, has been richly finished, its ceiling still bearing
a beading that has been gilt, disposed in an elegant device of octagons
and stars. This chief apartment has had a large bay-window, containing
two rows of six lights each, to the South, as well as the Eastern bay
apparent in the engraving. All these windows are rendered secure by
upright bars of iron, bearing cross-bars at short intervals. They have
formerly contained some stained glass, the only remains of which, the
arms of Lord Thomas Cromwell quartering the sable griffin segreant of
the Meverells, are now placed in the neighbouring farm-house of Mr.
Parramore. An upper wainscotted room in Throwley Hall still retains an
appropriate memorial of its former lordly occupants in the armorial
bearings of the House of Ardglass, elaborately carved in high relief in
oak, now enriched by the tints of age, with the supporters, two fierce
winged bulls. At a short distance behind the house stands a stately pile
of ancient stabling, two lofty stories in height, topped with a
high-pitched roof. The entrances are so tall, that we might conclude the
lords and dames of other days had mounted their steeds before they
issued to the chase or other amusements--among which we may presume that
of falconry would be no infrequent pastime amid these wild hills.
Of the ancient owners, the Meverells, almost the only additional
historical notice we can regain, is, that Arthur Meverell of Throwley
was the last Prior of Sutbury. At the period of the Dissolution, A.D.
1538, he, together with eight monks, surrendered the Priory, with all
its possessions, into the hands of Henry VIII.; the original deed still
remaining in the Augmentation Office, with the signatures of the Prior
and brotherhood, and the common seal of the Convent attached. In
consideration of this surrender, Arthur, the Prior, had an annuity of
fifty pounds.
Besides the remarkable natural phenomenon before alluded to, of the
disappearance of the rivers Hamps and Manyfold in this vicinity, the
vast caverns in the limestone rocks present to our notice objects of
great interest. One of these, within a short distance of Throwley, has
long been distinguished by the name of “Thor’s House.” Both rivers and
caves are happily alluded to by the poet:--
“Still the nymphs emerging lift in air
Their snow-white shoulders and their azure hair;
Sail with sweet grace the dimpling streams along,
Listening the shepherd’s, or the miner’s song;
But when afar they view the giant cave,
On timorous fins they circle on the wave,
With streaming eyes, and throbbing hearts’ recoil,
Plunge their fair forms, and dive beneath the soil.”
By following the valley from Throwley about two miles, we reach the
beautiful gardens of Ilam Hall, its ivy-covered Church, and the village
itself. Passing over the chaste productions of modern art crowded into
this graceful spot, which is equally marked as the opening, round the
base of the mighty Bunster, of the most romantic portion of Dovedale, we
can scarcely refrain from noticing, as we depart, the two fragments of
ancient crosses, covered with sculpture forming rude devices, in the
churchyard; the curiously-figured Norman font; and the plain but
handsome altar-tomb in the Church, which is pierced at the sides with
large quatrefoils, and bears the designation of “Bartram’s Tomb.” This
latter attracted Dr. Plot’s attention, who referred it to St.
Bertelline. He was the son of a king, and a hermit, who is related to
have lived on an island where the present town of Stafford is situated,
till he was disturbed, when he removed into some desert mountainous
place, where he ended his life. Plot has concentrated--
“Tradition’s dubious light,
That hovers ’twixt the day and night,
Dazzling, alternately, and dim,--”
upon the wild hills and dells which abound round Throwley, Ilam, and
Dovedale. He enumerates, as corroborative testimony, this tomb, which he
considers may have been renewed,--as undoubtedly it must have been if it
have reference to the legend; a well, and an ash tree near it, on the
western side of Bunster, towards the base;--all of them being then and
still popularly appropriated to St. Bertram. St. Bertram’s ash has been
cut down in the memory of many living in the village; whilst the water
of St. Bertram’s Well, “clear as diamond-spark,” still rills out of the
base of the mighty hill.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by W. F. Hulme. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
TRENTHAM HALL, STAFFORDSHIRE.]
TRENTHAM HALL,
STAFFORDSHIRE.
Trentham, the home or settlement on the Trent, has been a village since
the days of the Saxons, who adopted this fertile nook on the banks of a
beautiful stream as a fit abode for man. Here, in this well-selected
spot, they were led by their religious impulses to found an Abbey, over
which presided no less a personage than Werburg, daughter of the
ferocious Wulphere, king of Mercia, whose palace was hard by, at
Berry-Bank, and whose wicked murder of his two sons, Wulfard and Rufin,
on suspicion of their conversion to Christianity, was perpetrated at
Bursson and at Stone, where subsequently religious houses were erected
as memorials of their martyrdom. St. Werburg, for she was canonized, and
was, moreover, sister to King Ethelred, died at Trentham or at Hanbury,
in the year 683, was buried at the latter place, and her body was in the
year 875 removed to Chester Cathedral, where the rich decorated stone
case of her shrine now forms the bishop’s throne. Of the Saxon abbey of
Trentham no records remain; of its “ancient glories” there exists not a
trace.
In the time of King Stephen,
[Illustration]
Ranulph, the second of the great Earls of Chester who bore that name,
refounded the monastery of Trentham for canons of St. Augustine. In the
present church, which closely adjoins to Trentham Hall, and which, by
the munificence of the Duke of Sutherland, has been within these three
or four years carefully and judiciously restored in every part, under
the charge of Mr. Barry, we have still some slight but interesting
remains, reaching back nearly to the time of its foundation. These
consist of the tall, round, Norman piers of the nave, with their quaint
capitals, and the bold and lofty pointed arches to which they give
support.
[Illustration]
The appended woodcut exhibits the interior of the church--the screen, of
carved oak, being one of very considerable beauty.
At the Dissolution, the Monastery had only seven religious, and was
granted by King Henry VIII. in 1539, to Charles Brandon, duke of
Suffolk. It afterwards came into the possession of the Levesons, a
Staffordshire family of great antiquity, seated at Willenhall. Nicholas
Leveson, lord-mayor of London, died in the year that Trentham was
granted to the Duke of Suffolk. His great-grandson, Sir John Leveson,
left two daughters only, co-heiresses; one of whom, Frances, by marrying
Sir Thomas Gower of Sittenham, carried Trentham and other extensive
possessions into this ancient Yorkshire family, which dates from the
Conquest. Sir John Leveson-Gower was elevated to the peerage in 1702-3,
as Baron Gower of Sittenham. His son John, the second Baron, was
constituted Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, and was repeatedly one of the
Lords of the Regency during the absences of George II. on the Continent.
In 1746 he was created Viscount Trentham of Trentham, and Earl Gower. He
died in 1755, and was buried at Trentham. He was succeeded by his eldest
son, Granville, the second Earl, who was Member of Parliament for the
city of Westminster. On the occasion of his appointment as one of the
Lords of the Admiralty, his re-election was strongly opposed by Sir
George Vanderput, who was defeated by a small majority. In consequence,
a scrutiny ensued; and there occurred several riotous proceedings
recorded in the journals of the time. He filled the high offices of Lord
Privy Seal, Lord Chamberlain, and Lord President of the Council. He was
installed Knight of the Garter, and created Marquis of Stafford in 1786.
His eldest son, George Granville, also a Knight of the Garter, married
the late estimable Countess of Sutherland in her own right, and was
created Duke of Sutherland in 1833. This peerage, according to some of
the Scottish writers, is the most ancient of any in North Britain. The
Duke did not long survive to enjoy his new dignity, but died in the same
year, carrying with him the sincere regret of his numerous tenantry. The
latter, to testify their respect for His Grace’s memory, commissioned
Sir Francis Chantrey to execute a colossal statue of their noble
landlord, which occupies a neighbouring height of great elevation,
immediately in front of Trentham Hall across the lake, and forms a very
conspicuous object in the surrounding scenery. Of the present noble
possessor of the title, George-Granville-Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, the
second Duke of his family, it will not be necessary to add much. After
sitting in the Commons for Staffordshire, he was summoned to the House
of Peers in the lifetime of his father, as Earl Gower, and is
distinguished for the gracious dignity with which, during the whole of
his career, he has sustained the honours of so many ancient and noble
families, concentrated, as it were, in his own person.
To the Levesons we may be allowed to recur. Sir Richard Leveson was
distinguished as a naval commander. He is considered to be the subject
of that fine old plaintive ballad, “The Spanish Lady’s Love,” which
relates the woes of a captive maid, “by birth and parentage of high
degree,” at being about to be separated for ever from her detainer--
“Full woe is me,
O let me still sustain this kind captivity!
* * * * *
My heart in prison still remains with thee!”
for he accompanied the Earl of Nottingham, in 1596, in his expedition
against Cadiz, when he was twenty-seven years of age. He was married to
the daughter of this famous Earl, who was the Lord High Admiral and
Commander in Chief of the English fleet which defeated the so called
“invincible” Spanish Armada. Sir Richard Leveson, who was in this
engagement as well as many others, in 1601 was made Vice-Admiral, and
died early in life in 1605. In the Collegiate Church at Wolverhampton a
noble bronze statue, richly gilt, supported by a stately monument in
black marble, was erected to his memory; by which were two brass plates,
the one inscribed with the chief events of his life, registered at
length in Latin, terminating in these words--“E vita pie discessit
[Illustration]
sine prole, sed non sine magno multorum luctu, auro dignus, ære
contentus;” and the other in English. He was succeeded by Sir Richard
Leveson of Trentham, Knight of the Bath, who erected this splendid
memorial to the Admiral’s fame. It was executed by Le Sueur for 300_l._,
and the original contract in French is still preserved at Trentham.
During the contest between Royalty and the Parliament, this bronze
effigy was ordered by the Committee of Sequestrations at Stafford to be
taken away and cast into cannon; but by the timely interposition of Lady
Leveson, the Admiral’s widow, it was redeemed for a sum of money, and
deposited in Lilleshall Church till the strife was over. The marble
monument being destroyed, it now occupies a niche in the church at
Wolverhampton. A copy of the effigy is placed in a recess in the
court-yard at Trentham Hall of which we give an illustration.
The above Sir Richard Leveson, Knight of the Bath, was member
of parliament for the county of Salop, and afterwards for
Newcastle-under-Lyme, and was devoted to the cause of Charles I. He made
his residence at Trentham, “being accounted one of the best
house-keepers and landlords in the county.” In consequence of his
adherence to the royal cause, his property was sequestrated, for which
he compounded by the payment of more than 6000_l._, the largest
composition obtained. There remains a letter from him to the Governor of
Shrewsbury, which strikingly indicates the distresses sustained, by
persons of distinction even, during those troubled times:--
“Sʳ,
“Since the unhappy surprise of Stafford by the rebelles, the place
where I am is not safe, either for myself or my goodes, and
therefore I have sent 2 wagons loaded with some household stuffe,
which I desire, with your dispensac’on, may bee received into your
towne of Shrewsbury, into a roome which I have longe reserved in
myne owne handes for this purpose against a tyme of neede; and that
to this effecte you will please to give order unto your watch for
free passage to and fro, whereby you will oblige mee more and more
to remayne
“Yoʳ ever affectionate frende,
“R. LEVESON.”
“Lilleshall Lodge, 16 May, 1643.
“_To my muche respected frende, Sʳ Francis Oteley, Kt. Governour of
Shrewsburye. Haste these._”
Sir Richard Leveson built the old hall at Trentham in 1633, two views of
which are given in Dr. Plot’s singular “Natural History of
Staffordshire.” He died in 1661. His widow, Lady Catherine Leveson, was
a great benefactress to the parish, and died at Trentham in 1678.
The present Hall, previous to the recent most happy and successful
“transformation” under the direction of Mr. Barry, was built on the
model of Buckingham House, in St. James’s Park. It has now become, by
the addition of the semicircular colonnade, rich carriage porch
surmounted by the ducal arms, and baronial tower, an imposing and
stately mansion, enriched with much diversity of outline.
A massy structure near the Hall was erected by the late Marquis of
Stafford as a family mausoleum, in the Egyptian style; the grounds
around it being planted with various species of yew and other sombre
plants, of a lofty, pointed, and pyramidal form. The ponderous
architecture, the deeply-tinted foliage and heavenward aspect of the
evergreens, form most appropriate emblems, both of human frailty and of
the brighter hopes of the Christian.
The park is marked by the unrestrained native beauties of the
neighbouring wood of oaks, “wild above rule or art,” and by the river
Trent expanding into a goodly lake:--
“A gentle stream,
Adown the vale its serpent courses winds,
Seen here and there through breaks of trees to gleam,
Gilding their dancing boughs with noon’s reflected beam.”
[Illustration:
From a drawing by J. D. Harding. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
HELMINGHAM HALL, SUFFOLK.]
HELMINGHAM HALL,
SUFFOLK.
Helmingham Hall may be classed among the most remarkable and interesting
edifices in the Kingdom; for, although it has undergone many changes,
and been subjected to a variety of “improvements,” the leading
characteristics of the ancient structure are retained; it still exhibits
a connecting link between the strong castles of the old Barons, and the
embattled mansions which succeeded them. The Hall is distant about eight
miles from the venerable town of Ipswich. The Park contains about
five hundred acres, and is largely stocked with deer. The
Entrance-gate--which forms the initial letter to this Chapter--is placed
between two Lodges--modern, but in admirable keeping with the old House.
An Avenue, arched by magnificently grown trees, conducts to the South
[Illustration]
Front of the Mansion; in which is the principal Entrance, approached by
a Bridge thrown across the Moat. The Moat encompasses the building;
which is surrounded also by a Terrace. Both are kept in excellent
repair; and the former is well supplied with fish. The Drawbridges are
maintained in all their primitive formality, and are, we understand,
even to this day, raised every night. The appended print exhibits the
picturesque interior of one of the two “Gate-houses,” in which these
ancient appendages still remain,--showing also the rude machinery by
which it was elevated or depressed. It is an object now very rarely
encountered: one of the most impressive records of “the state” (using
the term in its double sense) in which our ancestors lived--keeping
perpetual watch and ward. All praise be to the existing Lord of this
Mansion, who has taken especial care to prevent Time from destroying so
peculiar a relic of a remote age. The present representative of the
Tollemaches--John Tollemache, Esq.--has indeed manifested continual zeal
to protect from injury the seat of his ancestors--restoring with
judgment, skill, and taste, where injuries have resulted from years, but
so as in no
[Illustration]
degree to impair its original character; neither adding to, nor taking
from, its early and “fair” proportions.
Notwithstanding these solemn tokens of gone-by days, so intimately
associated with times of peril, the external appearance of the building
is peculiarly light and graceful--a character which it derives, chiefly,
from four large Bay Windows, with projecting cornices and embattled
parapets; Gables profusely ornamented with richly wrought finials; and a
multiplicity of Chimneys similarly enriched, with reticulated and
indented mouldings. The structure is quadrangular. The Courtyard, with
its several dependent buildings, has been restored with remarkably good
taste and imposing effect. The Eastern Entrance to these buildings is
here pictured. Crossing this Court, the Hall is reached[34]; the State
Apartments are limited to the Western Front. They have been arranged
with greater care to comfort than to Baronial grandeur; due attention
has been paid, however, to the “furnishing,” and the taste of the Tudor
age harmoniously prevails throughout the Mansion. Until very lately, the
Hall had been completely deserted by the family, and was rapidly falling
to decay. When it became the residence of the present proprietor, it was
completely renovated; the Garden or West Front, which had become
dilapidated, having been entirely rebuilt. The Hall and several of the
Apartments are adorned with Portraits of the ancient and noble Family;
among them are some fine paintings by Lely, Kneller, and Reynolds.
A relic of exceeding interest is contained in one of the rooms. It is
the Lute which Queen Elizabeth presented to an infant scion
[Illustration]
of the House, to whom her Majesty stood Godmother. It has the
date,--1580,--and the inscription, “Cymbalum Deca chordon.” It is
preserved in a glass-case, which also encloses a variety of rare and
curious coins; and in the same chamber is a spinette--believed to have
been once the property of the Virgin Queen.
The very ancient Family of Tollemache resided for many generations at
Bentley in Suffolk. In their old Manor House there was “to be seen until
lately,” (within the present century, perhaps), the following
inscription:--
When William the Conqueror reigned with great fame,
Bently was my seat, and Tollemache was my name.
They boast their descent from Tollemache, a Saxon Lord of Bentley and
Stoke Tollemache in Oxfordshire, in the sixth century. In the Domesday
Book, the name is written Toolmag, and subsequently Thalemache,
Tolemache, Talmage, Tallmash, and Tollemache. For nearly thirteen
hundred years, the Family has dwelt in Suffolk county, flourishing in
uninterrupted male succession, until so recently as 1821, when, by the
death of the late Earl of Dysart, the title became extinct, and with it
the direct male line of the long famous race. They acquired the rich
estate at Helmingham by the marriage of Lionel Tollemache, of Bentley,
Esquire, with Edith, daughter and sole heiress of William Joyce, of
Crekes Hall, in Helmingham, who in the first year of the eighth Henry
was found, by requisition, to hold the Manor of Bentley by knight’s
service. He served the office of High Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk in
the fourth year of the same reign. By this Lionel Tollemache, Helmingham
Hall was built. He died in the early part of the reign of Edward the
Sixth, and was succeeded by his son, Lionel Tollemache, Esq., who was
knighted by Queen Elizabeth, who, during her progress through the
counties of Suffolk and Norfolk in 1561, honoured him with her presence
at Helmingham Hall, on August 14th and four following days, “where she
was entertained with great splendour and hospitality.” During the visit,
Her Majesty stood Godmother to her Host’s eldest son, Lionel: to
commemorate this event, she presented to him, as we have stated, a Lute,
still preserved as an heir-loom in the Family.
His son, the first Baronet, was advanced to the dignity by James the
First, in 1611. He died at Helmingham on the 5th of September, 1612, and
was buried there on the same day (in the Parish Register the interment
is entered, “Et eodem die sepultus fuit).” Helmingham Hall continued in
his male descendants until the death of Wilbraham Tollemache, Earl of
Dysart, in 1821[35], when it devolved upon his sister Louisa, Countess
of Dysart, and upon her death in 1840, to the present proprietor, John
Tollemache, Esq., M.P. for North Cheshire, eldest son of the late
Admiral Tollemache, grandson to Lady Jane Halliday, sister to Lionel,
fifth Earl, and Wilbraham, sixth and last Earl of Dysart.
The Earldom of Dysart came to the family by the marriage of Sir Lionel
Tollemache, Bart., with the Lady Elizabeth Murray, eldest daughter and
heiress of William Murray, first Earl of Dysart; upon the death of her
father she succeeded to the title. Sir Lionel died in 1669, and was
buried with great pomp at Helmingham on the 25th of March, in the same
year. The Countess married secondly at Petersham, in Surrey, February
17, 1671-2, to John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, and Knight of the
Garter.
The Tollemaches--although classing amongst the most ancient families of
the realm, and for centuries preserving an unbroken link--appear never
to have been very emulous of distinction. The name scarcely appears upon
the Roll of Fame: neither in the Senate nor at the Bar have they
achieved for it high repute; nor does it occupy a conspicuous place in
the annals of war of any period--from the Conquest down to the existing
age[36].
In the immediate vicinity of the Hall, are several primitive and highly
picturesque Cottages, many of which are of a date coeval with that of
the Mansion: and the very ancient and venerable town of Ipswich is
inconceivably rich in architectural antiquities.
HELMINGHAM CHURCH stands by the south side of the Park. The Tower was
built in 1487, as appears by the copy of an agreement now in the Church
chest, between “John Talmage, Esquier, Maistress Elizabeth, his wyff,
Edmund Joyce, Gent., John Wythe, and William Holme on the one part, and
Thomas Aldrych, of North Lopham, Mason, on the other, for thirty
pounds.” It is not known by whom the Church was built; but in 1258, Dame
Margaret Creke, who founded the Nunnery of Flixton, near Bungay,
presented to it; and the Prioress and Nuns of Flixton presented to it
till 1312, when she exchanged the patronage for that of Flixton, with
the Bishop of Norwich; from that time the Bishops presented to it till
the Reformation, when the Crown claimed and has presented to it ever
since. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. About a foot and a half from
the ground, on the south side of the steeple, carved in stone letters of
a foot high, is the following inscription, in old English letters:--
“Scandit ad ethera, Virgo, puerpera virgula Jesse.”
[Illustration]
The Steeple is a square tower of Flints, embattled on the top: on the
south side are the arms of Tollemache--three shields--of the date 1543,
when it was built. It is supported by four buttresses, all standing
diagonally. On the west side, near the ground, was an inscription, now
gone.
The Nave of the Church is of the date of the fourteenth century, and
contains a fine South Door of the then prevalent style of architecture.
The Windows, as well as the Roof, are of a later age--probably about
1540. The Chancel is quite modern, but is now undergoing alterations and
repairs; the result of which will be to assimilate it with other parts
of the venerable building. In reference to this matter, also, high
praise is due to the present proprietor of Helmingham, inasmuch as he is
removing many of the blots left upon the sacred edifice by the bad taste
or heedless indifference of his predecessors.
Both the Chancel and Nave are crowded with monuments commemorating the
heroic deeds of members of the Family of Tollemache. The most remarkable
and interesting fills nearly the whole of the southern side of the nave;
and it is so lofty, that part of the roof has been displaced to make
room for it. It contains, in niches, four figures of men kneeling with
their hands clasped and erect before them, the three first in a row, the
fourth above them; they are bareheaded, with swords by their sides, and
in the dress of the 17th century. We learn from a rhymed inscription
underneath each figure that these are the effigies of the four first of
the Tollemaches who settled at Helmingham--the monument to their honour
being erected by the fifth.[37]
[Illustration:
From a sketch by C. J. Richardson. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
HENGRAVE HALL, SUFFOLK.]
HENGRAVE HALL,
SUFFOLK.
Hengrave Hall, “an embattled Manor-house, with Turrets of singular
design and a Gate-House of acknowledged beauty”--is situate about two
miles from the ancient and venerable town of Bury St. Edmunds.[38] The
founder of the building was Sir Thomas Kytson, a wealthy cloth-merchant
of London, by whom it was erected, between the years 1525 and 1538,
probably upon the site of a mansion still older,--the ancient hall of
the De Hemegraves. A brief history of the several families through whose
hands the Manor has passed into those of its present possessor, Sir
Thomas Gage, Bart., may interest the reader.[39]
In the reign of Edward the Confessor, it formed part of the territory of
St. Edmund, by whose monks it was held at the Conquest. About the middle
of the twelfth century it was granted by Anselm, the seventh Abbot, to
“Leo and his heirs;” and by them was assumed the surname of Hemegrave.
The De Hemegraves filled the highest offices in Suffolk for upwards of
two centuries, when the race was extinct, and the estate became, by
purchase, the property of the Hethes. In failure of male issue, it
passed--in the nineteenth of Henry VI.--by purchase, to the Staffords.
In 1522, consequent upon the attainder of Edward, Duke of Buckingham, it
was sold to Sir Thomas Kytson, “citizen and mercer of London, otherwise
called, KYTSON THE MERCHANT;” so he is styled in an Act of Parliament
which confirmed him the purchaser of Hengrave.[40] He was succeeded by a
posthumous son, who left no male issue; he had, however, three
daughters, one of whom married Thomas Lord Darcy, created Viscount
Colchester and Earl Rivers, and who, in right of his wife, became
entitled to, and resided at, Hengrave. From her inherited a daughter,
Penelope, who married Sir John Gage, Bart., of Firle, in Sussex.[41] In
this family Hengrave has since continued; its present proprietor being
Sir Thomas Gage, the eighth Baronet, born on the 20th of March, 1812.
The Mansion, which seems to have undergone very little change since its
erection, and may be classed among the most unimpaired domestic
structures of the kingdom, is of considerable size, “covering 18,500
square feet of ground,” although by the removal, in 1775, of a mass of
building which projected at the east and north sides, together with a
high Tower, it has been reduced one-third at least from its original
extent. Several ancient family documents which still exist, and of which
copies are given by Mr. Gage, inform us that the whole cost of the
structure did not much exceed £3000.[42]
From these interesting documents we learn also that the Mansion at
Hengrave was furnished with all necessaries from sources within its own
boundaries--a mill, a forge, and a farm; a dovecote, a grange, a barn; a
great and little park, a vineyard, an orchard, a hop-ground, and a
hemp-ground. There were butts for the Archers, (“still visible in the
upper part of the Park”); mews for the hawks, and kennels for the
hounds. There was a bowling-green also; and the neighbouring ponds were
well stocked with fish to divert the Angler and supply the “Fast-day
meal.” The Inventory of household goods, taken in 1603, enumerates among
other items, now familiar only to the Antiquary, “the Shovelboard,” a
table for playing a fashionable game; of Armour, the “Almain Rivetts,”
“the Privye Coats” of Mail; the “Jackes of Plate,” the “Mayle Gorgetts,”
the “Spanish Burgenetts,” the “Dagges,” (short Hand-guns);
“Snaphaunces,” (Firelocks,) Pethernells, (a kind of Harquebuss,) and
Ptyzens, (Partizans,) both “ordinary and very fayre.” Of Musical
Instruments, the Recorder, the Cornute, the Bandore, the Cittern, the
Curtall, and the Lysarden--all “in ye chamber where ye Musicyons playe;”
with books, “covered with parchment,” containing pavines, galliards,
measures, levaultoes, corrantoes, and Italian fa-laes.
The beautiful and long-famous Gate-way of Hengrave Hall is pictured in
the accompanying print. It is a splendid example of “Tudor
magnificence;”--“of such singular beauty,” says Mr. Gough, “and in such
high preservation, that, perhaps, a more elegant specimen of the
Architecture of the age in which it was erected cannot now be seen.” We
borrow our description of it from Mr. Gage. The structure has an arch
obtusely pointed; in the spandrels appear the Kytson Crest,--a unicorn’s
head erased. The space above is filled by a triple bay window, the domes
of which are rich in scale work and crockets, and have basements or
brackets elegantly terminated in pendant corbels; each square
compartment in the lower division of the window contains a Shield,
bearing the Arms of some member of the family of the founder. On the
frieze below two of these Shields are these words:--
Opus hoc fieri fecit Tome Kytson.
Ano Dni. MCCCCC. Tricessimo Octavo.
The battlements of the Gate-house, assuming the appearance of small
gables, the points of which, crowned with richly carved hoop garlands
and vanes, correspond with those of the triple dome below, give height
to the whole, and complete the beauty and harmony of the design. The
Inner Court of fine masonry, embattled, appears in its original state;
and is distinguished by the bay window of the Hall on the north side.
The interior of the Mansion has little of its primitive character; but
“the florid style of architecture which prevailed, is still conspicuous
in the fair tracery, pendant, and spandrels of the bay window,” which
retains its early beauty. Of the number and variety of the apartments at
Hengrave, and of the splendid luxury of its domestic arrangements, some
judgment may be formed from the “Inventory,” dated 1603, of which Mr.
Gage prints a copy. Here we read of the Queen’s Chamber, the Chiefe
Chamber, the Great Chamber, the Armoury, the Gallery at the Tower, the
Dyning Chamber, the Chapell Chamber, the Chamber in which the muscycions
playe, and a host of others--all magnificently furnished. The Great
Chamber was hung with eight large pieces of fine arras--“parke worke
with great beasts and fowls, 160 yards;” the cheyres and stooles were
covered with coloured clothe of silver; the carpetts were of Turkeye
worke. The Dyning Chamber had its tapestrye--“of the story of Danea.”
The Wynter Parlor, its “pfuming frame of brasse” and “chesse boorde, wᵗʰ
men to it.” To the furniture of the Armoury and the Musicians’ Chamber
we have adverted. The contents of the “Sadler’s Shopp,” however, denotes
more pointedly the wealth and luxury of the family. The saddles were of
sumptuous character--“layed with gould lace;” “fringed with gould and
silke;” “embroidered with goulde and purle;” and so forth.
Towards the close of the last century, the Mansion was the abode of a
sisterhood of expatriated nuns. They belonged to the English Convent of
Austin Nuns at Bruges, and obtained an asylum here by the generosity of
Sir Thomas Gage, himself a Roman Catholic. They subsequently returned to
France; but the mortal remains of many of the persecuted Sisters lie in
the Churchyard of Hengrave--among others, those of their Abbess, the
venerable Mary More, one of the heirs-general, and the last lineal
descendant, in the paternal line, of the great Chancellor, Sir Thomas
More.
Hengrave Church is very close to the Hall, and would appear, indeed, to
have been originally attached to it. It has
[Illustration]
long ceased to be used for the purpose of worship, but is kept in repair
as the Burial-place of the family. It is of small structure, built of
the materials common to sacred edifices in the counties of Norfolk and
Suffolk--rough flint, with cement and free-stone in the battlements,
parapets, groins, buttresses, windows, and arches. The round Tower,
indicated in the accompanying print, is curious, and of remote
antiquity. Its external aspect is peculiarly venerable, covered with
Ivy-trees, the growth of centuries. The interior where, it is said, no
religious service has been performed since the Reformation, the family
having adhered, through all changes, to the old faith, is without pews,
and contains many richly-sculptured Monuments. Among them is a superb
Tomb of marble and coloured free-stone, to the memory of Margaret,
Countess of Bath, and her three husbands; the first of whom was Sir
Thomas Kytson--the citizen-founder of Hengrave--who died September 13th,
1545, aged 55 years. The other principal Tombs are in memory of Sir
Thomas Kytson, the younger; Sir Thomas Darcy; the Bourchiers, Earls of
Bath; the Cornwallys; and the Gages.
Altogether, there are few of the Baronial Mansions of England so little
spoiled by time--so comparatively uninjured by modern taste and
injudicious improvement. Hengrave Hall is “a fair and, in some respects,
a unique example of the domestic architecture of the period of its
erection.”
[Illustration:
From a drawing by W. Müller. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
WEST-STOW HALL, SUFFOLK.]
WEST STOW HALL,
SUFFOLK.
Within four miles--north-west--of the venerable town of Bury St.
Edmunds, the traveller may notice, not far from the road-side, the
turrets of an ancient House, now decayed, but which, in the palmy age of
England, was classed among the stateliest of its “stately Homes.” Unless
attention is directed to it, however, it will attract no passers-by; for
very humble are now the pretensions of the Palace-Hall, in which resided
Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and his Royal wife, the youngest
daughter of Henry VII., sister to Henry VIII, and widow of Louis XII.,
King of France.
The Old Hall is situated in the very centre of a host of picturesque
antiquities; in all directions around it exist objects of exceeding
interest,--as relics of the olden time and imperishable illustrations of
British History. It would be difficult to find in the kingdom so many
remains of architectural splendour within a circuit of four or five
miles. Bury contains the most interesting of our monastic ruins. Among
them are those of the famous “Norman Tower” (still comparatively
unimpaired), erected in the reign of the Conqueror, as the Grand Portal
to the magnificent church of Abbot Baldwin;--the Charnel Chapel, in
which Lidgate wrote,--the Church which for centuries enshrined the
miracle-working bones of St. Edmund,--and the walls of the Chamber
where, on the 20th of November, 1215, “the Barons” pledged “the repose
of their souls” to extort the Charter of Freedom from the tyrant John.
The road to West Stow is scarcely less rich in historic sites than the
town of Bury. Without the north-gate are the remains of the Gateway to
St. Saviour’s Hospital, where,--during the Parliament of 1446, assembled
at Bury, by Henry VI.,--the “good Duke Humphrey” was murdered by
Cardinal Beaufort and De la Pole; half a mile beyond, we cross the Old
Toll-gate Bridge of the mitred Abbots of St. Edmunsbury; at a short
distance, an ivy-clad Tower is all that remains of the Church of Fornham
St. Genevieve; but tumuli still endure to indicate where the ten
thousand Flemings were buried by “sloven-hands,” after the bloody battle
which gave to the second Henry peaceable possession of the crown. By
other roads we pass objects equally fertile of history. The Round Towers
of Saxham are within ken; Risby and Hengrave Churches are close at hand;
and very near us are some of the grandest and most beautiful of the
Baronial Halls of England--Coldham, Rushbrooke, and Hengrave among the
rest.
All who visit the ancient mansion of West Stow, will first enter the
venerable Church, to which a footway leads through a field from off the
main road. It is a fine example of a very early age. The Tower is square
and embattled; the Chancel, apparently of a more recent date than the
Nave, contains an enriched Piscina, of the fifteenth century, and many
mural monuments and grave-stones of the once illustrious family of
Crofts--a family now known in Suffolk only by history and these cold
records of their fame. The Nave has an open roof; the brackets that
support the principals are ornamented with armorial bearings of “many
ancient Lords of this Manor, with their alliances.”
Of West Stow Hall very little is known. The assertion that it was
formerly the residence of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and the
Royal widow he had married, is supported mainly by tradition and their
armorial bearings, which still exist, carved upon a stone, over the
porch. Of the once extensive pile nothing now remains, except the
Turrets we have pictured; and a long Corridor, reaching to a modern
house--the comfortable home of a substantial farmer. The former bears
ample evidence that its date is of the time of Henry VIII.; that of the
Corridor is not so remote by a century.
It is certain that, after the romantic marriage of Charles Brandon with
the beloved of his younger days, when death had freed her from her
state-contract with Louis XII., and her early lover had become a
widower, they lived for many years in comparative seclusion in Suffolk;
and, although “Mary Tudor died at the Manor of Westhorpe in this county,
in 1533,” it is more than probable that West Stow was one of their
mansions. It was evidently of great extent; there are persons still
living, who recollect a quadrangular court and extensive out-buildings;
and the wide Moat by which it was surrounded was filled up only two
years ago. The Tower is partially of a defensive character; the interior
consists of several small chambers, one of which contains some singular
paintings in distemper, the principal objects in which are these:--A boy
hawking, with an inscription in old English letters, “Thus doe I all the
day;” a young man making love to a maiden, inscribed--“Thus doe I while
I may;” a middle-aged man, looking on--the inscription, “Thus did I when
I might;” an aged man, hobbling onward--the inscription, “Good Lord,
will this world last ever?” The drawings are rude, but they are of the
age of Elizabeth. They were recently exposed to view by the removal of a
skirting of oak; and are as fresh as if painted yesterday.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by Henry Mogford. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
HAM HOUSE, SURREY.]
HAM HOUSE,
SURREY.
Ham House.--Few mansions are more pleasantly situated than this--the
dwelling of the Tollemaches, Earls of Dysart. It stands on the south
bank of the Thames; distant about twelve miles from London; the pretty
village of Twickenham is immediately opposite; to the left is “Eel-pie
Island,” famous as a holiday resort of many who “in populous city pent”
covet periodical acquaintance with clear streams and green lanes; to the
right is far-famed Richmond Hill, which, although distant a mile
perhaps, seems, from the tortuous winding of the river, to form a part
of the demesne; while the back ground is supplied by Richmond Park, with
its graceful slopes and its thick masses of rich underwood mingled among
groups of magnificent forest trees.
The House was erected early in the seventeenth century--the date, 1610,
still stands on the door of the principal entrance. It is said to have
been built for the good Prince Henry, eldest son of James the First; and
a tradition exists that the illness of which he died was the result of
bathing too freely in the adjacent river. It is, however, unlikely that
the Prince ever resided here; and it is certain that the builder was Sir
Thomas Vavasor, Knight Marshal, appointed, in 1611, together with Sir
Francis Bacon, Judge of the Marshal’s court, and to have been
“surrendered by him, together with certain customary lands, to John
(Ramsay), Earl of Holderness, who died in 1624 or 1625.” We follow the
authority of Manning, the County Historian, who states that by this
Earl, or, more probably, his heirs, the House and Lands were “sold to
William Murray--groom of the bed-chamber to James the First, and
afterwards created, in 1643, by that monarch Earl of Dysart[43]--“whose
widow, Katherine, on the 22nd May, 1651, surrendered them to the use of
Sir Lionel Tollemache and Elizabeth his wife, her daughter, who in the
year following surrendered them to the use of Sir Lionel’s will.” This
daughter, to whom the honour of the Earl--“such it was,” writes
Burnet--descended, having outlived Sir Lionel, married a second time
(being then Countess of Dysart) the Earl, afterwards Duke, of
Lauderdale.[44] The House and Estates of Ham were inherited by “her
heirs by her first husband;” in whose possession they have since
continued, being now the property of Lionel William John Tollemache, the
sixth Earl of Dysart, and the residence of his Lordship’s brother.
The Duchess of Lauderdale--famous during the reigns of four monarchs;
the First and Second James, and the First and Second Charles; and
through the Protectorship of Cromwell--refurnished the House at Ham;
where she continued to reside, until her death at a very advanced age.
The Interior, with its gorgeous, yet remarkably tasteful “furnishing,”
has been scarcely altered since the aged dame occupied the Mansion. Time
has dimmed the splendour of the “hangings,” and tarnished the costly
draperies of the rich looms of France; but they remain--in some places
tattered and torn--to supply indubitable evidence that the “woman of
great beauty, but of far greater parts,” had at all events a refined
taste, and that at least a portion of the money she was “wanting in
[Illustration]
no means to obtain,” was judiciously expended in the adornment of her
House. Among other untouched relics of gone-by days, is a small
Antechamber, where, it is said, she not only condescended to receive the
Second Charles, but, if tradition is to be credited, where she “cajoled”
Oliver Cromwell. There still remain the chair in which she used to sit,
her small walking-cane, and a variety of objects she was wont to value
and cherish as memorials of her active life and the successful issues of
a hundred political intrigues.[45]
The Exterior of the Mansion derives singularity chiefly from the
adornment the outer walls receive from a collection of Roman busts;
some of which, however, having been removed by time, have been replaced
by those of Poets of the age of Anne. Immediately in front stands the
statue
[Illustration]
of “Father Thames”--copied from the well-known work of the elder Bacon
in the Courtyard of Somerset House. The Hall-door (which supplies our
initial letter) is of very elegant and elaborate workmanship. The Hall
is surrounded by an open gallery; the rooms on the ground floor contain
little to interest, except the Chamber and Dressing-room of the famous
Duchess--the room in which her descendant, the late venerable Countess
of Dysart, also died. Passing a small Chapel, the Chambers on the upper
floor are reached by a staircase of peculiar character and very
considerable beauty. The balustrades are of walnut-tree, richly carved
into representations of armour and military trophies of various
countries and epochs. The State Apartments are, as we have intimated,
little changed. On either side of the Landing are the State
[Illustration]
Bed-rooms--one of which, containing copies in tapestry of some of the
Cartoons, the young Prince Henry is said to have occupied; the bed and
furniture are certainly of the period. The several Drawing-rooms contain
valuable and interesting relics of antiquity; and a small closet is
amazingly rich in the choicest and rarest objects of virtù--Miniature
Paintings by Philip Wouvermans, carved Frames by Grindling Gibbons,
carved Cupids by Fiamingo, Conversation Scenes by Watteau, Miniatures by
Cooper--in short, the assemblage here is of immense value and of
surpassing interest. Among its other treasures may be mentioned a Lock
of Hair of the unhappy Devereux, Earl of Essex--the authenticity of
which admits of no dispute; a Prayer book, the gift of Charles the
First; and, in the Library, no fewer than sixteen uninjured Caxtons.
The “Long Gallery”--ninety-two feet in length--is hung with Portraits,
the majority of which are original works of the great Masters who
conferred honour and glory on the Courts of the First and the Second
Charles. Leading from the Long Gallery is the famous “Cabal
Chamber,”[46] the chairs and tables and other furniture in which have
been untouched since the notorious “five” here met in secret to arrange
and carry out their plans.
So unchanged is the character of the Mansion, that little effort of
imagination will be required to people it with the gay courtiers and
light dames of the reign of the second Charles, when the “House at Ham”
was in its glory. Every object it contains is in keeping with the
period; of modern furniture there is nothing; but all the tables,
chairs, footstools, fire-dogs,--from things of curious and rare value
down to the minutest matters of daily use,--are of an age gone by. This
advantage is mainly attributable to the fact that since the Restoration
the venerable dwelling has had but few occupants--two of them, the
Duchess of Lauderdale and the late Countess of Dysart, having died there
when their years numbered upwards of fourscore. According to Hume, James
the Second was “ordered to retire to this house,” on the arrival of the
Prince of Orange in London, but “thinking himself unsafe so near the
Metropolis, he fled privately to France.” Subsequently the “Manor House
at Ham” ceased to possess any public interest; fortunately there has
been no wish on the part of its noble owners to effect “restorations” of
any kind; it has been consequently suffered to retain its solemn aspect
and somewhat gloomy character; and remains a striking and impressive
monument of the period of its erection.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F. W. Hulme. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
LOSELY HOUSE, SURREY.]
LOSELEY HOUSE,
SURREY.
Loseley House. This ancient Mansion--the residence of James More
Molyneux, Esq., the lineal representative of two families, famous in old
times--although sadly impaired by time and neglect--cannot fail, while
one stone remains above another, to retain the interest that arises from
venerable antiquity, in association with renowned names. It is situated
about two miles south-west of Guildford. A long Avenue, perfectly bare
of trees, leads from the public road to the House. The old Hall has been
shorn of its proud and graceful proportions; repairs have been made by
sloven hands; parts of the Moat have been filled up, but so coarsely, as
to seem the result of accident rather than design. The principal
approach is over a bridge between clumsy stables and storehouses. The
odious face of a modern clock covers the antique Horologe, of which many
of its old admirers make honourable mention; the Porch, which bears the
date of 1812, over which is still inscribed, in Roman capital letters,
the sentence--
“INVIDIÆ, CLAUDOR, PATEO SED SEMPER AMICO,”
is of a nondescript character, utterly out of keeping with the
structure; a deformity which--following absurdities of outhouses and
unseemly patches--carries conviction that
“Something ails the place.”
Nor is the impression removed upon entering the venerable
Hall--venerable only from its age--for bad taste appears to have studied
how most effectually to deface it. A patent stove, of Birmingham
manufacture, stands a few feet from the embayed window, illuminated with
the “Household Coats of the Family, emblazoned in the gorgeous tinctures
of Heraldry on the glass;” a “thin” Gallery, which the gauntleted hand
of one of the grim Knights of old times might shiver into fragments at a
single blow, leads to some upper chambers; above the sturdy arched
Doorway hang some double-handed swords, glaives, partisans, and rusty
helmets, relics of the once heroic masters of the place,--
“The treasures of a soldier, bought with blood,
And kept at life’s expense,”--
mingled with the bugles of a brass band, and the drumsticks of a corps
of Yeomanry.
These unequivocal signs of neglect and tokens of indifference towards
ancient honours and long-ago renown are mournful indications--grieving
the heart of the antiquary, and nullifying the belief that a proud name
is a noble heritage because a stimulus to rivalry in honour and in fame.
It has been our bounden duty thus to notice this modern vandalism--for
the humblest writer may contribute somewhat to increase a love for what
is excellent by aiding to censure what is evil.
Of its internal decorations there are some interesting and valuable
remains, which have neither been removed nor defaced. Mr. Shaw, in his
“Details of Elizabethan Architecture,” publishes an engraving of the
beautiful and elaborately-carved Chimneypiece of the Dining Room. “The
compartment above the mantel is entirely devoted to a very full display
of heraldic insignia, recording the descent and alliances of the family
[Illustration]
of More; the rich effect of which is increased by the spirited carvings
of the styles, and of the six variously-formed panels in which the
several shields are inserted. These ornaments are all executed in fine
stone, and skilfully wrought.” The ceilings at Loseley are also of
remarkable character. That of the Drawing Room is especially fine. It is
adorned with “Gothic tracery and pendant corbels.” In one of the
cornices is inserted a mulberry-tree, on one side of which is inscribed
“Morus tarde Moriens;” on the other, “Morum cito Moriturum”--being a
rebus on the name of the family. The ceiling of the Bed Room, of which a
portion is shown in the wood-cut annexed, is also very beautiful. In
several of the compartments are introduced the Moor-cock and
Moor-hen--badges of the race of More.
“The Manor of Loseley,” according to Mr. Kempe, in his introduction to
“The Loseley Manuscripts,”[47] “bore its present appellation from the
Saxon times.” Osmond gave it to King Edward the Confessor; the
Conqueror gave it to Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel and
Shrewsbury, a stout leader of the Normans at Hastings fight; and after
passing into the possession of various persons by inheritance or
purchase, it was, early in the reign of the Eighth Henry, bought by
Christopher More, Esq., whose grandfather was Thomas More, of Norton, in
the County of Derby, Gent., with whom the pedigree of More of Loseley,
in the Books of the Heralds’ College, begins. His son and successor,
William, who was knighted by the Earl of Leicester--“the Queen being
present at the ceremony”--built the Mansion at Loseley, commencing the
work in 1562--it is conjectured “to the north of an older edifice.” It
was evidently intended to form three squares of a quadrangle, if not a
complete square. The centre of the building, which remains to this day,
was completed in 1568. The Gallery and Chapel were added subsequently,
but these have been “of late years demolished.” The accompanying
wood-cut is of the South front; and, fortunately for the picturesque
effect of the subject, a group of trees on the
[Illustration]
lawn conceals from view the ungainly modern porch, and some other
monstrous additions to the venerable building of the sixteenth century.
To Sir William More succeeded, in 1600, Sir George More, who had been
knighted by Queen Elizabeth; and who, under James the First, was
Chancellor of the Order of the Garter, Lieutenant of the Tower, and
Receiver-General and Treasurer to Henry Prince of Wales. The last male
heir of the Mores dying in 1689, the estate devolved to Margaret his
sister, who married Sir Thomas Molyneux, Knight, the ancestor of the
present possessor of Loseley--a name even more renowned than that with
which thenceforward it became united.
It was during the Lordship of Sir George More--between the years 1600
and 1632--that the history of Loseley became deeply interesting, as
associated with some of the most remarkable events and illustrious
worthies of the epoch. The famous Dr. Donne--Poet, Scholar, and
Divine--privately married the daughter of Sir George. Donne was at that
time Secretary to the Lord Chancellor Egerton, the husband of the Lady’s
aunt. The marriage was “to Sir George so immeasurably unwelcome,” that
he successfully exerted his influence to procure the Poet’s dismissal
from his honourable and profitable service, and consigned to a gaol the
clergyman by whom the knot had been tied. His father-in-law--although
earnestly intreated in a letter, still preserved at Loseley, “so to deal
in the matter as the persuasions of nature, reason, wisdome, and
Christianity should dictate”--separated the couple, imprisoning one
“offender,” and involving the other in a tedious and ruinous law-suit,
for the recovery of his “deare life.” His friend and biographer,
exquisite Izaak Walton, has in his own simple and natural manner
recorded the story of this young affection, and of the sad trials and
pecuniary difficulties in which the Poet and his wife were for a long
period involved; presenting us with a beautiful though a mournful
picture of a high and generous mind struggling against the most galling
of all troubles; to him the more intolerable, because of her whom he had
“transplanted into a wretched fortune, which he laboured to disguise
from her by many honest inventions.” At length, however, fate was not
only borne but conquered; Dr. Donne entered into holy orders, became a
prosperous man--King’s Chaplain and Dean of St. Paul’s--and the gates of
Loseley did not for ever remain closed against him. Other names--equally
immortal--are associated with this ancient house. Sir George More was
the guardian of Lord Herbert of Cherbury--the Knight “whose chivalry was
drawn from the purest founts of the Fairy Queen”--the history of whose
life is a brilliant romance.
Queen Elizabeth paid frequent visits to Loseley during her “progresses;”
and among the “manuscripts” there exists a letter, not very
complimentary to the hospitality of the Mansion, in which Sir Anthony
Wingfield warns his friend Mr. More that he will find the visit “a very
great trouble and hinderance,” and advises him how to get himself
excused from the honour. It is certain, however, that her Majesty did
receive entertainment there, several times. There are letters from Sir
Christopher Hatton, in 1583, and from Lord Hunsdon, in 1591, ordering
Sir William More that his house be “kept sweete and cleane” to receive
her Highness--and the former intimates, that a past excuse will not
again serve a turn; “for,” writes Sir Christopher, “I have been
heretofore informed that you had some sycke of the infectione the last
yeare, and of other dangerous diseases of late in it, w’ch is now
reported here as a misinformacion and for otherwise than the brute
(bruit) declared.” The letter is addressed “from the Court at Otlands,
to the Right w’shipˡˡ my very good frende, Sʳ Will’m More, Knight.”
[Illustration:
From a drawing by S. Prout. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
ARUNDEL CHURCH, SUSSEX.]
ARUNDEL CHURCH,
SUSSEX.
The church at Arundel--of which we give a print of the interior from a
drawing by Mr. Prout--is of very ancient date. For a series of years
down to our own time, it was suffered to fall into decay; and age was
gradually removing all tokens of its former splendour. The roof had
disappeared from the chancel; and ivy had overgrown its carved pillars
and mullioned windows; the few repairs to which it had been subjected
had been carried out in bad taste; and for a long period it remained a
discreditable evidence of the apathy of successive Dukes of Norfolk,
rather than a monument to record the honours and glories of the race. It
is now, however, in progress of restoration; its
[Illustration]
claims upon the noble family have been recognised; the inroads of time
have been effectually arrested; and it is undergoing such necessary
changes (at the cost of the present Duke) as are dictated by judgment
and good sense. The church occupies an elevated position north of the
town, and nearly opposite the principal entrance into the Castle. Its
exterior has many traces of antiquity, and not a few remains of early
beauty. Age, and the slovenly hands of stonemasons, have, however,
materially injured its venerable character and imposing effect--its
principal injury having been sustained by the addition of a wooden spire
placed above a low square tower which rises from the centre of the
edifice. The church is of large size, and consists of a double arcade,
dividing the nave from the aisles, above which are placed, “in what in
the architecture of the age was termed the cleoestory, a row of circular
windows enclosing quatrefoils--a shape of rare occurrence.” The south
transept was, we are told, formerly occupied by the parochial altar; it
now contains the communion-table and the font; the latter being
octagonal upon an octagonal shaft, with a corresponding pedestal. It is
composed of Sussex marble, and is of very early date. In the north
transept was “the chantry of St. Christopher, commonly called
Salmon’s”--to which was attached a priest whose endowment was the
appropriation of the Church of Rudgwick, “with two acres of land, one in
Rudgwick for his use, the other in Arundel for the site of his
residence.” The foundation of this chantry was created by the
benefaction of Edward Mille, Esq. “The first incumbent, William Baynton,
took possession of the benefice on the 9th May, 1440.”[48]
The original ecclesiastical foundation was that of the alien priory, or
cell, dedicated to St. Nicholas, established by Roger de Montgomery,
Earl of Arundel, soon after the Conquest, and subjected to the
Benedictine Abbey of Seez, or De Sagio, in Normandy. It consisted only
of a Prior and three
[Illustration]
or four Monks, who continued to conduct the establishment for nearly
three centuries, until the 3rd year of the reign of Richard II., when
Richard Fitz-alan, Earl of Arundel, obtained a license to extinguish the
Priory and to found a Chantry for the maintenance of a master and twelve
secular canons with their officers. Upon this change, it was styled “the
College of the Holy Trinity.”[49]
The Collegiate church being intended as the mausoleum of his family, the
founder supplied ample means to enrich it with examples of monumental
splendour. The tomb of his son Thomas Fitz-alan and his wife Beatrix,
daughter of John, King of Portugal, was the earliest of those placed in
the church. It is of alabaster, finely sculptured.[50] It was formerly
painted and gilt. It contains the effigies of the Earl and his Lady; at
the feet of the Earl is a horse, the cognizance of the Fitz-alans, and
at those of the Lady are two lap-dogs. Around, in niches, are small
standing figures of ecclesiastics or pleureurs, with open books, as
performing funeral obsequies, and above them as many escutcheons, the
emblazoning of which is nearly obliterated. Other “stately tombs” are
erected to the memories of John Fitz-alan and Eleanor his wife; Thomas,
Earl of Arundel, and his wife, “one of the eyres of Richard Wodevyle
Earl Rivers, sister to Elizabeth Queen of England, sometime wife to King
Edward IV.”--recording the date of the Earl’s death, 1524; and to Henry,
Earl of Arundel, the last of the Fitz-alans, erected by his son-in-law,
John, Baron Lumley, with a Latin inscription, of which the following is
a translation:--
“The magnanimous hero, whose effigy is here beheld, and whose
remains are deposited beneath this monument, was the Earl of this
place, the last of a family deriving its lengthened descent from
the son of Alan. His name was Henry, Lord and Baron Maltravers,
Clunne and Oswaldestre, senior knight of the most noble Order of
the Garter, only son and successor of William, Earl of Arundel, and
the worthy representative of his father’s virtues. To Henry,
Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth, he discharged the duty of Privy
Councillor. Under the first, he was Governor of Calais, Marshal of
the army at the siege of Boulogne, and afterwards Lord Chamberlain.
At the coronation of Edward, he officiated as Earl Marshal; at that
of Mary, as Lord High Constable. To the former, as to his father,
he was Lord Chamberlain: to the latter, as well as to her sister,
Queen Elizabeth, he was Lord High Steward, and President of the
Council.
“Thus, this man, illustrious in his descent, more illustrious in
his employments, and deemed most illustrious both at home and
abroad, rich in honour, but broken with labour and worn out with
age, having attained his sixty-eighth year, calmly and piously fell
asleep in the Lord, in London, on the 25th of February, 1579.
“To the kindest of fathers-in-law, and the best of patrons, here
interred, John Lumley, Baron Lumley, his affectionate son-in-law
and executor, with many tears, and as a last testimony of his love,
has consecrated this monument, and adorned it with his own armour,
not for the sake of preserving his memory, which his virtues have
rendered immortal, but for the sake of that mortal body, which is
here deposited, in the hope of a happy resurrection.”
There is one monument of a peculiarly striking character; it occupies an
opening cut in the wall, between the chancel and the Lady’s chapel--the
chapel which forms the subject of our principal engraving. They are
divided by low arches. The tomb is an open feretrum or bier, carved in
alabaster, and formerly painted, under which lies an emaciated figure
extended on a shroud. Upon the upper slab is an effigy in plate armour,
with a close tabard, emblazoned with Fitz-alan and Maltravers,
quarterly, the feet resting on a horse. Two angels support the head. It
represents John Fitz-alan, Earl of Arundel, who died at Beauvais of
wounds received at the siege of Gerberoy, in 1435. He had selected this
spot as the place of his interment; and although his remains were buried
in the Cathedral of Beauvais, this singular monument was erected to his
memory here.
The church encloses several monuments in addition to those we have
enumerated; and in the chancel are many brasses, containing epitaphs “in
obsolete Latin and monkish verse” to masters and fellows of the college
and to servants of the noble families--the Montgomeries, the Albinis,
the Fitz-alans and the Howards--who have held sway over Arundel for
centuries, for--
“Since William rose and Harold fell,
There have been Counts of Arundel;
And Earls old Arundel shall have
While rivers flow and forests wave.”
The decorations of the church and its magnificent tombs were either
seriously injured or destroyed by soldiers quartered in the church
during the siege of the castle in 1643. The windows were formerly filled
with richly stained glass, the eastern window containing a series of
kneeling figures, male and female, in coat armour and mantles, with
their respective armorial bearings.[51]
It is to the honour of the present Duke of Norfolk, that although a
member of the Roman Catholic Church, he has deemed it his duty to
restore this ancient and venerable edifice from the state of
dilapidation in which it has for many years existed.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by J. D Harding. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
BOXGROVE CHURCH, SUSSEX.]
BOXGROVE CHURCH,
SUSSEX.
The Priory, Boxgrove--part of which is now in ruins, but portions of
which are still used as the Parish Church--was founded by Robert de
Haiâ, Lord of Halmacro, A.D. 1117, in the reign of King Henry the First,
in honour of the Virgin and St. Blaise, for three monks only of the
Benedictine order. The sole daughter of the founder was married to Roger
St. John, who added three more; and the number was augmented to fifteen,
by their two sons, William and Robert, in the reign of King Stephen. It
remained, however, subordinate to the Abbey of L’Essay, or De Exaquio,
in Normandy, A.D. 1149. Before the suppression, the monks were reduced
to nine. But when Edward the Third assumed possession of other
alien Priories, that of Boxgrove secured the privilege of being
“indigena,” by which it was rendered independent, and retained its
endowment--considerable in proportion to the extent of the
establishment. In the year 1535, its annual revenue was £185 19_s._,
without including the income derived from fines and renewals.
The Ruins of Halnacre, or Halnaker, House, the mansion of Robert de
Haiâ, or De Haye, still exist in the grounds of Goodwood, the seat of
his Grace the Duke of Richmond. To this “worthie and valourous knight,”
the estate was given by Henry the First; from his descendant it passed,
by marriage, to the family of St. John. In the reign of Edward the Third
it was transferred, also by marriage, to the Poynings; subsequently, it
passed through the hands of the Bonvilles into those of the Lords de la
Warr, who gave it to Henry the Eighth in exchange for the Abbey and
lands of Wherwell, in Hampshire. Halnacre remained an appanage of the
Crown until towards the close of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, when the
Morleys received a grant of it. In 1701, it became the property of Mary,
Countess of Derby,[52] who inherited from her father, Sir William
Morley. At her death in 1752, it devolved to her cousin, Sir Thomas
Ackland, Bart., who sold it for the sum of £50,000 to the Duke of
Richmond. The Remains are of very limited extent; sufficient, however,
to indicate the former magnitude and splendour of the edifice.
Of the conventual buildings (the great extent of which may be estimated
by the old walls which form enclosures to neighbouring farm-yards)
little remains except the Refectory, now used as a barn; and the present
Parish Church, supposed to be the Choir of the original building. Some
portions of the ancient Nave, which appears to be of a
[Illustration]
more remote era, may be traced in the broken arches westward of the
Church; and the Chapter-house is attached, externally, to the North
Transept, having a Norman doorway, with arches on each side of it,
leading, it is believed, to a Cloister which extended to the Refectory
and the habitation of the monks. It is this fine relic of the once
extensive and richly-decorated structure which Mr. Prout has pictured in
the appended Print. A considerable portion of it has been removed by
time; and the Church is now separated from the Refectory by a huge gap,
where sheep were feeding quietly at the time of our visit. Marks of a
Piscina, and a place for the Bell, may still be detected by a minute
scrutiny. In an old MS., which came accidentally into our hands, it is
surmised that this portion of the edifice was the Private Chapel of the
monks.
The exterior of the Church (represented on the opposite page) is of very
imposing character, bearing indubitable tokens of remote antiquity. The
Tower is low, with windows; in its general form it resembles that of
Winchester, and seems to be of the era of Henry the Second. The interior
consists of a Nave and Chancel, without division, with aisles on each
side, north and south Transepts; and a space, westward of the Tower,
which is certainly the most ancient part of the structure. In length it
is 126 feet; the width of the Nave being 24 feet, and that of the aisles
each 13 feet 6 inches. The Eastern Window, of three large lights, is
separated internally by tall shafts and flourished capitals, and is
ornamented, externally, with the nail-head moulding. This mixture of
ornament affords almost conclusive proof that the structure is of the
date of Stephen or Henry the Second, when the round Norman arch was
first abandoned, and several novelties, which prevailed only in a few
instances, were introduced. Pillars, somewhat similar in character,
support the roof; but they have been consigned, from time to time, to
the hands of the “white-washer,” who has effectually hidden the fine
Purbeck
[Illustration]
marble of which they are composed.
The sepulchral remains in the Church of Boxgrove are remarkable, and
worthy of investigation, although it is difficult to ascertain with any
degree of certainty to whom the Tombs severally belong. They are six in
number, two situated against the north wall of the north aisle, and
another of large dimensions under one of the arches which divide the
Chancel from the north aisle; and three others, placed against the south
wall of the south aisle. Two of these probably contain the bodies of a
sister and daughter of William de Albini, Earl of Arundel, who left a
donation to the Church for prayers to be made “pro animâ Adelizæ reginæ
(his mother, and Queen-Dowager of Henry the First), et pro animabus
Oliviæ; sororis meæ, et Oliviæ filiæ meæ, quæ ibi jacent.” Out of this
circumstance has probably arisen a tradition, that Queen Adeliza was
here interred; but there is sufficient evidence to prove that her
remains were deposited in the Conventual Church of Reading.[53] Dugdale
asserts, but erroneously, that Gundreda, wife of William Earl Warren,
was here buried; her husband, it is believed, was a benefactor to the
establishment. Thomas de Poynings and Philippa his second wife (daughter
of Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, Countess Dowager of Arundel and
Pembroke), are also said to have been here interred; and upon the
key-stone of one of the tombs in the north aisle are the arms of the
family of St. John (argent in a chief gules, two mullets pierced
or)--the tomb possibly of Thomas de Poynings, summoned as Lord St. John
of Basing, 1369, (42 Edw. III.), obit. 1429. It is left mainly to
conjecture, aided by the uncertain light of tradition, to determine
whose dust is covered by these stones. There is, however, one Monument,
concerning which no doubts can exist. It is a Sacellum, or Shrine,
belonging to the family of West, or La War. The date, as may be seen on
the pendant ornament between the two north-eastern arches, is 1532,
which was during the lifetime of Thomas West, second Baron La War and
Cantilupe; but it is supposed to have been erected after his death by
his daughter, Dorothy, who married Sir Edward Owen. The inscription
under the Altar in the Shrine--
Of yʳ charite pray for yᵉ souls of Thomas La Ware and Elyzabeth hˢ wyf,
seems to sanction the supposition. In other parts of the Shrine may be
read the words,
Thomas La War Anno Dni MVXXXII.
and
Elizabeth La War.
Between the niches of the Shrine, over the arcades, are four coats of
arms, supported by angels, with the quarterings of La War, Cantilupe,
Mortimer, St. John, Poynings, Bonville, Wingfield, &c. The Tomb is a
peculiarly interesting and remarkably beautiful object. It has recently
been cleaned and repaired by order of the Duke of Richmond--somewhat
clumsily, however, for the workman has disarranged several of the
decorations, and one of the figures he has placed “upside down.” It is
richly carved in stone, and abundantly ornamented. Mr. Prout has
introduced it into the Drawing which exhibits the Interior of the
venerable Church, with its Pulpit of carved oak, black with age. An
ancient Font has been recently removed from the Nave to the foot of the
Pulpit. In the Chancel are many encaustic tiles--one of which supplies
us with an initial letter.
The Church is situated about eight miles west of Arundel, a short
distance out of the road to Chichester, from which it is distant about
four miles.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by A. E. Everett. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
ASTON HALL, WARWICKSHIRE.]
ASTON HALL,
WARWICKSHIRE.
Aston Hall, the residence of James Watt, Esq.--whose name has been
rendered “famous for all time” by the genius and enterprise of his great
father--is situate about two miles from the town of Birmingham, on an
eminence which overlooks the river Tame. Although erected during the
reign of James the First and his successor, it is certain that a
baronial mansion previously existed adjacent to the present edifice:
authorities are conclusive on this point, and its site was indicated
until recently by some venerable trees, the relics of at least three
centuries. Prior to the Norman conquest (according to Dugdale) the manor
of Aston, or, as it was then written, Estone or East Town, was possessed
by Edwin earl of Mercia. Upon the distribution of lands which followed
that event, it was bestowed by the Conqueror upon William Fitz-Ausculf,
lord of the neighbouring castle of Dudley, for whom it was held by one
Godmund. It was certified to contain, at that time, viii. hides of land,
valued at 100 shillings, a mill rated at iii_s._, a church, and woods
extending three miles in length and half a mile in breadth. After
passing through the hands of several successive lords of Dudley, it was
presented by one of them, named Ralph Someri, in the beginning of the
reign of King John, to William de Erdington and his heirs for ever; and
we find the following curious grant respecting it, viz. “That the
manour-house and demesne at Estone, with divers tenements thereto
belonging, should be held by him, by the service of a pair of gilt
spurs, or the value thereof, viz. vi_d._, payable yearly at Easter, for
all services or demands whatsoever.” From the Erdingtons it passed to
the family of Maidenhache, whose daughter Sibel conveyed it by marriage
to Adam de Grymesurwe, whose daughter sold it in 1367 to John Atte Holt
of Duddeston near Birmingham, and in whose family it subsequently
continued for upwards of four hundred years. Originally of the people,
they became powerful and wealthy “lords of the soil,” eminent for worth
and probity, and occupying offices of high trust in Warwickshire and the
neighbouring counties. Thomas Holt is especially mentioned as an
eminent lawyer in the reign of Henry the Eighth; he was Justice of North
Wales, and in commission as a justice of the peace for his native county
during the greater part of that monarch’s sovereignty. To this “worthie
gentleman” succeeded his son Edward, who, dying in the thirty-fifth of
Elizabeth, was succeeded by his son Thomas, who was Sheriff of
Warwickshire in the forty-second of Elizabeth, was knighted by King
James on his accession to the throne, and in the tenth year of his reign
advanced to the dignity of a baronet. It was this Sir Thomas who
enclosed the spacious park, and erected the present mansion. The date
and circumstances of the building are thus recorded over the entrance
doorway:--
“Sir Thomas Holte, of Duddeston in the countie of Warwick, Knight
and Baronet, began to build this house in Aprill, Anno Domini 1618,
in the 16th yeare of the raigne of King James of England, &c., and
of Scotland the one and fiftieth; and the said Sir Thomas Holte
came to dwell in this house in May, in Anno Domini 1631, in the
seaventh yeare of the raigne of our soveraigne Lord King Charles,
and he did finish this house in Aprill, Anno Domini 1635, in the
eleventh yeare of the raigne of the sayde King Charles.
“LAUS DEO.”
We may hence infer that “Sir Thomas Holte of Duddeston,” until the
building of the mansion, chiefly resided at the old house at Duddeston,
which, though still standing, is so completely altered that barely a
trace of its ancient character remains. It is now used as a public place
of recreation under the title of “Vauxhall.”
Sir Thomas was emphatically a good man and a loyal subject. He endowed
alms-houses, which, to this day, give shelter to some aged people; and
though too old to appear in arms for his sovereign during the wars of
Charles with the Parliament, he was represented by his son in the army
of the king, whom he received and entertained in his house a few days
prior to the battle of Edgehill. For his devotion to his master he, of
course, endured persecution; heavy fines were levied on his estate, and
his mansion was more than once plundered. Sir Thomas was succeeded by
his grandson and heir, Sir Robert Holt; subsequently the estate came
into the possession of Sir Lister Holt, who, dying without issue the 8th
of April, 1770. was succeeded by his eldest brother Charles, from whom
it passed into the family of Bracebridge;[54] by them it was sold a few
years ago to some parties in the neighbourhood of Warwick, who leased it
to its present occupier.
The mansion, which is built of brick, with stone quoins and dressings,
forms three sides of a square, and bears some resemblance to the letter
E, a practice which originated in compliment to Queen Elizabeth, and
was not altogether in disuse during the reign of her successor. The
eastern or principal front derives its principal features from the
massive character and judicious display of details; and a highly
pleasing effect is given to the structure by its gables, numerous
picturesque chimneys, bay windows to the wings, and, especially, the
stately grandeur of the central and side towers.
The south, or garden front, is also an interesting portion of the
structure; the appended vignette affords a correct idea
[Illustration]
of it. It will be seen that its principal feature is an open arcade,
around which are several antique carved seats, so placed as to
facilitate views of the garden, with its quaint and venerable trees and
shaded walks. Passing through a small door at the termination of this
arcade, we step upon a noble terrace, which extends the whole length of
the back or western front of the edifice. From this point we obtain an
unbroken view of the park in nearly its whole extent. The house is, from
this side, very imposing, from its great width and massive character.
Returning to the principal front, passing through the great doorway,
which is elevated on four steps and is of good character, we enter the
great hall. It is richly decorated; the fireplace is remarkably fine;
along the sides are ranged various old pictures, which, combined with
antique furniture profusely scattered about, take us back to the days of
its early grandeur, when the mansion was the residence of a true and
hospitable baronial lord. The apartments are fitted up in good keeping;
the dining and drawing-rooms, entered from the hall, retain their
ancient aspects; the panelling and ceilings are in excellent
preservation, the chimneypieces comparatively unimpaired by time, and
the whole interior is of a character sound and true.
We must not omit to mention that the fine oak staircase received
considerable injury during the great civil war. It appears that a cannon
was fired from a little eminence at a short distance from the south side
of the house, the shot from which, after passing through two strong
walls, lodged on the first landing of the great staircase,
shattering in its course a considerable portion of the richly-carved
balustrade--which, as a memorial of the event, has not been since
repaired.
The house is reached from the main road by a noble avenue of
finely-grown trees; these extend for nearly half a mile.
[Illustration]
The entrance gates, of which we append an engraving, are directly
opposite the very venerable church; and this church must be associated
with the mansion, for it is the resting-place of nearly all its ancient
owners. It is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and consists of a
nave with north and south aisles, a spacious chancel, and a substantial
tower, surmounted by a tall spire, at the western extremity of the nave.
The church bears evidence of being built at two distinct periods, or, at
least, of having undergone considerable alterations. We find, according
to Dugdale, that the south aisle was built by Henry de Erdington; for in
the 12th Edward II. he gave a certain rent-seck of _vid._ per annum to
the maintenance of the gutter betwixt the church and it. In this grant
he terms it “Nova capella beatæ Mariæ de Aston;” thus proving it to have
been (with the north aisle, which is precisely similar) erected during
the prevalence of the decorated style. But, unfortunately, owing to some
injudicious repairs a few years since, the whole of the windows, of
which there are three, on each side, and one larger, at the eastern and
western ends, were deprived of both mullions and tracery, and, no doubt,
at the same time of several interesting portions of stained glass, of
which we have a description in Dugdale, but which is now nowhere to be
found. This, combined with the loss of the high-pitched roofs, gives a
poor appearance to the interior. The tower and spire are by far the
finest portions of the building, and add greatly to the beauty of the
whole. The tower is of four stories, with battlements and pinnacles; but
its chief peculiarity is the belfry story, which is decorated on three
sides by six long and narrow compartments, the two centre ones of which
are pierced, and have louvre boards for the better distribution of
sound; on the fourth or south side are only four of these compartments,
the space for the two others being taken up by an octagonal turret
staircase, that adjoins this portion of the tower. The spire is
octagonal, plain, but of a good substantial character; and from its
details, with those of the tower, which exhibit some deviations from the
true principles of pointed architecture, we may safely trace their
erection to the early portion of the sixteenth century.
The pillars and arches of the nave, of which there are four on each
side, seem to belong, like the exterior, to a transition period, as
their general character is decorated, whilst there are several
mouldings that may be ascribed to the early English period. Among the
modern barbaric “restorations and improvements” to which this fine
church has been subjected, may be mentioned the plaster ceilings, the
altar-screen of Roman design, and an odious assemblage of pews of all
shapes and sizes; but it may be hoped, from the good spirit that has
lately directed the introduction of some ancient stalls from Leicester
at the entrance of the chancel, a richly-carved lecturn, and last,
though not least, the establishment of a choral service, that in a few
years this noble edifice may resume its pristine splendour and
magnificence.
In monumental architecture this church will be found to possess an
interesting series. The most ancient, from the character of its design,
evidently belongs to the latter part of the fourteenth century; it is
supposed to be to the memory of one of the now extinct but once powerful
family of Arden. It is an altar-tomb of alabaster, supporting effigies
of a knight and lady, and is situated against the north wall of the
chancel. Towards the eastern end of the north aisle are two monuments
that will next require our attention. The first, an altar-tomb, around
the side of which are angels bearing shields, and still retaining traces
of their original painting and gilding; on the top are the painted
effigies of William Holt, Esq. and Joan his wife, and the inscription
(now obliterated) originally bore the date of 1423. Against the north
wall, near this tomb, is a mural monument containing the effigies of
Edward Holt, Esq. and Dorothy his wife, under an arch of Roman design,
kneeling one on each side of a small lecturn or desk. This monument
bears the date of 1592. In the pavement near is a large slab, containing
the effigies in brass of the Thomas Holt and his wife Margaret, who, as
we have mentioned, was Justice of North Wales during the reign of Henry
the Eighth. The next monument demanding notice is situated against the
north wall
[Illustration]
of the chancel, and forms the subject of the accompanying vignette: it
is of a bold character, but, in its minor parts, exhibits a sad falling
off in execution as compared with the more ancient ones to which we have
referred.[55] It is to the memory of Edward Devereux, Esq. of Castle
Bromwich Hall in this neighbourhood (a seat now possessed by the Earl of
Bradford), and the Lady Katherine his wife, and was erected A.D. 1627:
it bears their effigies, with those of their children, painted and
habited in the costume of the early part of the seventeenth century.
There are also two other monuments, which, though not immediately
connected with the text, may not be left unnoticed. One of these bears
the effigies of Sir Thomas de Erdington and his lady, Joyce; the other
is also supposed to belong to a member of the same family. They
originally stood in the south aisle, which was erected by their
ancestor, Henry de Erdington, in the reign of Edward II., and used as a
chanting chapel for the family, but were removed a few years since to
their present position on the south side of the chancel. They are both
good specimens of the monumental sculpture of the middle ages.
Recently a beautiful memorial window of stained glass has been erected
at the west end of the south aisle, which for excellence of design and
richness and harmony of colour, is hardly surpassed by the best
specimens of ancient days.
Among the very numerous series of mural monuments with which this church
abounds, we need only observe that there are several to the different
members of the Holt family, and one, in particular, to the good and
worthy knight Sir Thomas, the builder of the present hall; but from
their wholly unsuitable character for a Christian temple, and from their
abounding in pagan emblems and decorations, they serve only to disfigure
the walls of the sacred and very venerable edifice.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by G. Cattermole. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
THE BEAUCHAMP CHAPEL, WARWICK.]
BEAUCHAMP CHAPEL,
WARWICK.
Beauchamp Chapel ranks among the most exquisitely beautiful examples of
sacred edifices in Great Britain. It was founded by that famous Earl of
Warwick, who, early in the fifteenth century, upheld the glories of his
line, and transmitted his abundant honours unimpaired to his
posterity,--the Talbots, the Dudleys, the Willoughbys, the Grevilles,
and the Nevils.[56]
The purpose of its erection was to supply a fitting mausoleum for the
noble family of its founder; yet few of his successors are there
interred; for, having subsequently become entitled to the patronage of
the Holy Abbey of Tewkesbury, they preferred it as their place of
sepulture--and the great Earl is nearly the only one of his proud and
lofty race whose ashes moulder beneath the fretted roof of the graceful
and magnificent structure. It was commenced 21st Henry VI. and finished
3d Edward IV.; occupying a period of twenty-one years, and costing
£2,481 4_s._ 7_d._--an enormous sum, of which some idea may be formed
from the fact, that, at the time, “the value of a fat ox was 13_s._
4_d._” The Chapel was not, however, consecrated until the 15th Edward
IV., when John Hales, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, was specially
commissioned for the purpose by John Carpenter, Bishop of Worcester.
The Church of St. Mary, Warwick--to which the Beauchamp Chapel is
attached--is of very early date. Of its foundation, prior to the
Conquest, there is conclusive evidence; for in “the Survey,” it was
certified to have “one hyde of land in Myton, given to it by Turchil de
Warwick, which land was then valued at ten shillings.” It was made
collegiate by Hen. de Newburg, first Earl of Warwick; and his son Roger,
in 1123, largely augmented its revenues.
The riches and piety of subsequent Earls of Warwick contributed to its
grandeur and importance; and at the survey, 26th Hen. VIII., previous to
the dissolution, its revenues were certified to amount to £334 2_s._
3_d._ A fire, in 1694, destroyed the whole of the edifice, except the
choir and the Beauchamp Chapel; and when the Church was rebuilt it was
from a design of Sir Christopher Wren. It is, nevertheless, conspicuous
for no architectural beauty, except the fine proportions of its Tower.
The choir--a part of the ancient church--is a rare example of the
architecture of the period. It was built by Thomas de Beauchamp, about
the 43rd Edward III.; and his remains, with those of his Countess, a
daughter of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, were interred in a sumptuous
tomb, placed in the centre of the edifice erected for their reception.
Nearly five hundred years have passed since the Earl was laid there, and
the mason, the gilder, and the sculptor, laboured to perpetuate the
memory of a great soldier, who led the van at Crecy, bled at Poictiers,
“did great service in a sea-fight,” “warred against the infidels,” and
drove a besieging army from before Calais, by the mere sound of his
name,--yet the monument endures almost unimpaired by time; telling its
high tale of glory after a lapse of half a thousand years.[57]
A vaulted corridor extends from the transept nearly the whole length of
the choir on its north side. This has been divided by a screen of blank
panelling, and the eastern portion formed into a “Vestrie.” The
remainder is used as a north entrance to the Church, having also an
entrance into the Chapter House. This building is hexagonal on its
exterior end, and is now appropriated as a mausoleum, to which those who
love the muse will resort as to a place of pilgrimage, for here repose
the earthly remains of that “servant to Queen Elizabeth, Chancellor to
King James, and friend to Sir Philip Sidney,” whose name will be as
imperishable as that of the dear brother of his heart, whose friendship
was the climax of his fame, and the consummation of all his ambitious
hopes. The monument to the memory of Fulke Grevill consists of a
sarcophagus, placed beneath a heavy canopy, supported by Corinthian
columns. It is a heavy and ungraceful erection--rendered picturesque,
however, by the ancient helmets and glaives laid upon it, and the
moth-eaten banners, and rusted armour, that hang above the tomb.
The entrance to the Beauchamp Chapel is by a descent of several steps,
from the south transept of the Church, beneath a doorway of
finely-carved stone--the work of a
[Illustration]
native artist, “a mason of Warwick,” in 1704. Entered, the spectator
beholds a sepulchral chapel, built in the “style of the later Gothic,”
of limited extent--its size being 58 feet in length by 25 in breadth,
and its height being 32 feet--but of surpassing beauty. The light is
supplied by three large windows in the upper part of the side walls
(north and south), on the west by a window which looks into St. Mary’s
Church, and by a large window on the east. Formerly, they were all
richly adorned with painted glass, of which some valuable relics yet
remain. The east window is, however, even now, nearly perfect, and may
be considered one of the finest examples of the art to be found in the
kingdom. “Indeed,” (we quote from a writer in “The Antiquarian and
Architectural Year Book,”) there are few windows of painted glass
remaining in ecclesiastical or other buildings
[Illustration]
in England that can, for its dimensions, exceed, either in beauty or
general treatment, this Eastern Window of the Beauchamp Chapel.” Its
value has been diminished by carelessness in repairs; some parts having
been displaced: but the figures, which form its primary objects, are
gorgeous specimens of art, on many accounts of rare value to the
antiquary. The ceiling of the Chapel is ornamented with groined ribs, at
the intersections of which are bosses elegantly painted and gilt. Old
oak seats, richly carved, antique desks, niches--which, according to
Dugdale, formerly held images of gold, each of the weight of 20
lbs.--and various other objects--minor, though of considerable
interest--demand attention; but their examination may be postponed until
a small oratory--of exquisite beauty--has been inspected. It is reached
by a short flight of stone steps--the roof is fan-work,
groined--peculiarly light and elegant; and a range of high and narrow
windows open into the Chapel. Scattered about are some reliques--save
for their antiquity, out of keeping with the peaceful and secluded
character of the small confessional--glaives and head-pieces--one of
which bears indisputable evidence that the wearer died not in his bed.
From this oratory, some half-dozen steps, “worn by the knees of fervent
devotees,” afford ascent to a small confessional, formed in the
thickness of the south wall of the choir. Both these interesting
objects, are represented, by woodcuts, on the preceding page. The
ceiling and sides partake of the elegant character already described;
and here could the holy father, through a small opening, unseen, witness
the elevation of the Host, or listen to the o’erburthened penitent.
[Illustration]
The grand object of attraction in the Beauchamp Chapel, however, is the
gorgeous tomb of its founder. It is an altar-tomb, of Purbeck marble,
bearing the recumbent effigy of the Great Earl, in fine latten brass,
gilt. His head, uncovered, rests upon a helmet, and at his feet are a
Bear and a Griffon. The tomb is surmounted by one of the few “hearses”
that yet remain in our churches. It consists of six hoops of brass, kept
extended by five transverse brass rods, on which formerly was hung a
pall “to keep the figure reverently from the dust.” Around the tomb, in
niches, are fourteen figures, in “divers vestures, called
weepers”--friends and relatives of the deceased, who mourn his loss.
Between each weeper are smaller niches, raised upon pillars, containing
whole length figures of angels, holding scrolls inscribed--
Sit deo laus et gloria: defunctis misericordia.
The following inscription is on the edge of the tomb, running twice
round, in the old English character, and freely interspersed with the
Earl’s crest, the bear and ragged staff:--
“Preieth devoutly for the Sowel whom god assoille of one of the
moost worshipful Knyghtes in his dayes of monhode and conning
Richard Beauchamp late Eorl of Warrewik lord de spenser of
Bergavenny, and of mony other grete lordships, whos body resteth
here under this tumbe, in a fulfeire vout of Stone set on the bare
rooch, thewhich visited with longe siknes in the Castel of Roan
therinne decessed ful cristenly the last day of April the yer of
oure lord god M. CCCCxxxxix, he being at that tyme Lieutenant
gen’al and governer of the Roialme of Fraunce and of the Duchie of
Normandie. by sufficient Autorite of oure Sov’aigne lord the King
Harry the vi. thewhich body with grete deliberacon’ and ful
worshipful condiut Bi See And by lond was broght to Warrewik the
iiii day of October the yer aboueseide, and was leide with ful
Solenne exequies in a feir chest made of Stone in this Chirche
afore the west dore of this Chapel according to his last will And
Testament therein to rest til this Chapel by him devised i’ his
lief were made. Al thewhuche Chapel founded On the Rooch, And alle
the Membres thereof his Executours dede fully make and Apparaille
by the Auctorite of his Seide last Wille And Testament And
thereafter By the same Auctorite They dide Translate fful
worshipfully the seide Body into the vout aboveseide, honured be
god therfore.”[58]
The effigy may be considered as one of the finest works of this class
executed during the middle ages, and it derives additional interest from
the fact of the original contract for its construction being still in
existence. Of this beautiful work the late C. A. Stothard executed four
views, in his magnificent volume on the Monumental Effigies of Great
Britain, in a spirit worthy of so fine a subject. He ascertained that
the ponderous figure of latten or bronze which lay upon the altar-tomb
was loose, and with considerable effort succeeded in turning it over,
when the armour at the back was found to be as carefully and accurately
represented as in front, having all the parts of a suit, its straps and
fastenings, displayed with singular minuteness. It is, in this respect,
a perfectly unique effigy, and of great value to the historic painter,
or student in ancient armour. On the preceding page we have given the
two views of the effigy, as pictured by Mr. Stothard.
The Chapel contains other monuments of rare beauty and exceeding
interest. The most remarkable is that to Robert Dudley, Earl of
Leicester--“Queen Elizabeth’s Leicester”--and his Countess. It is
erected against the north wall, and consists of a heavy canopy,
profusely ornamented, supported by Corinthian pillars, beneath which is
an altar-tomb supporting the recumbent figures--that of the Earl being
in armour, over which is a mantle bearing the badge of the Order of the
Garter on the left shoulder, the French order of St. Michael on the left
breast, and the Garter is round the knee--that of the Countess is
attired in the robes of a Peeress, a circlet of jewels round the head,
and wearing the high ruff of the period. A Latin inscription gives us in
full the proud titles of the famous favourite of the “Maiden Queene,”
who “gave up his soule to God his Saviour on the 4th day of September,
in the year of Salvation, 1588,” and informs us also that “his most
sorrowful wife, Lætitia, daughter of Francis Knolles, Knight of the
Order of the Garter, and Treasurer to the Queen, through a sense of
conjugal love and fidelity hath put up this monument to the best and
dearest of husbands.”
Of the other tombs “of note,” may be mentioned that to Ambrose Dudley,
the virtuous brother of Elizabeth’s Peer; that to the infant son of
Robert Dudley,--“a noble impe,” a “childe of grete parentage, but of
farre greter hope and towardnes;” and that to the Lady Katherine
Leveson, one of the Dudleys, who “taking notice of these Tombes of her
noble Ancestors being much blemisht by consuming time, but more by the
rude hands of impious people, were in danger of utter ruine by the decay
of this Chapell, if not timely prevented, did in her life time give
fifty pounds for its speedy repair.”
In all respects the Beauchamp Chapel ranks among the most interesting of
the venerable Ecclesiastical remains yet existing in Great Britain. Time
has done it little injury; and it escaped the perils incident to the
civil war--when all external tokens of piety were considered insults to
the Deity they were designed to honour. Moreover, its history is nearly
perfect: the very estimates, bills, and discharges of the builders, the
gilders, and the glaziers may be examined, in the actual presence of the
works they executed centuries ago.
Viewed in association with “the Castle,” of which it may be said almost
to form a part, its importance is greatly enhanced. And, in reference
merely to actual beauty of the design, and the exquisite character of
the work, it may be said to vie with any structure of the kind, not only
in Great Britain, but in Europe.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F. W. Hulme. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
CHARLECOTE, WARWICKSHIRE.]
CHARLECOTE,
WARWICKSHIRE.
Charlecote--famous in association with the early history of William
Shakspere--has undergone little change since he who was “for all time”
wandered along the thick-hedged lanes. So primitive is the “ancient
neighbourhood,” that Fancy may, almost unbidden, call up the old glories
of the place,--may hear the voice of Sir Thomas Lucy chiding his keepers
for the loss of his fallow-deer, and the half-suppressed “chuckle” of an
unnoticed bystander who, thereafter, was to fill the world with his
fame. The Mansion seems quite unaltered; the village church precisely as
it was at “the Reformation;” the humbler dwellings, of red brick, are
only a little older the park palings merely made picturesque by
overgrowing lichen; and the Park, as well as the “sweet Avon,” exactly
as they were two centuries and a half ago; the one
[Illustration]
“flowing gently;” the other supplying, as of yore, many--
“An oak, whose boughs are moss’d with age,
And high top bald with dry antiquity;”
while the same deer--“dappled fools”--only look more conscious than they
did, of assured safety in
“their assigned and native dwelling place.”
Art and Nature seem both to have stopped short of all “improvement;”
there has been no need of the one to disturb the renown which the
locality receives from the other; even the “stocks” that stand under a
group of “Patrician trees” at Hampton Lucy, are suffered to die of
natural decay; and it is as certain that the “bonny sweet Robin,” whose
song we heard from the hawthorn in the churchyard is the progeny of him
who sung there when Elizabeth was queen, as that the lord of the mansion
is the descendant of that very Sir Thomas Lucy who sat in judgment upon
the youth who
“obscur’d his contemplation
Under the veil of wildness.”
This unity of character has been most carefully preserved in the new
buildings erected on the estate, of which the annexed wood-cut will
afford evidence.
[Illustration]
It is difficult to descend to simple facts while describing a
neighbourhood so suggestive of thought--so redolent of fancy. The Lucys,
who occupy to-day the manor in which they lived three hundred years
ago--“good old English gentlemen” of the present, as of the olden
time--have inherited, without break, from father to son; adding little
to their hereditary property, and losing no part of it by carelessness,
profusion, or vice; generally, they seem to have been peaceable and
liberal manorial lords, studious to make their tenantry prosperous and
their dependants comfortable; dwelling apart from the bustle of action,
and the stir of contentious life, even rumours of “oppression and
deceit” seem rarely to have reached them; “exempt from public haunt,”
they passed their days happily and slept together--a long line of
kindly, if not great, men--under the roof tree of the little church
where monuments loftier than their own ambitions have been raised to
perpetuate their names.[59]
The history of Charlecote and its Lords, is given with great minuteness
by Dugdale. Charlecote, Cherlecote, or Cerlecote, as it is written in
Domesday Book, was, previous to the Conquest, in the possession of one
Saxi, but afterwards became the property of the Earl of Mellent, and
doubtless came from him to Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick,
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F.W. Hulme. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
CHARLECOTE GREAT HALL.]
whose son, Roger, (23rd Henry I.), gave half a hide of land lying in
Cherlecote, with the tithes of the whole lordship, and “two mills” to
his newly founded Collegiate Church of Warwick. He also enfeoffed
Thurlestane de Montfort of large possessions in this county, whose son,
Henry, with Alice de Harecourt, the widow of Robert de Montfort, his
elder brother, gave all the village of Cherlecote to Walter the son of
Thurlestane de Cherlecote, which grant was confirmed to him and his
heirs by letters patent from Richard the First, with divers immunities
and privileges thereto: all of which were ratified by King John, in the
fifth year of his reign. From this Walter de Cherlecote (who was a
knight), by Cecily, his wife, descended William, who assumed the name of
Lucy, she perhaps being heir to some branch of that family.
Our space may be better occupied than in carrying their history from
this remote age to the present day.
The Mansion was erected in 1558, by Thomas Lucy, who, in 1593, was
knighted by
[Illustration]
Queen Elizabeth. It stands at a short distance from, and at some little
elevation above, the river Avon. The building occupies three sides of a
quadrangle, the fourth being formed by a handsome central Gatehouse,
which, with its octangular turrets and oriel window, constitutes an
interesting portion of the façade, and as seen in the accompanying view,
backed out by the Mansion and connected by the terrace wings, presents a
very pleasing and picturesque appearance. The House retains its gables
and angular towers, but has suffered from the introduction of the large
and heavy sash-windows of the time of William III., or George I. The
entrance porch runs the whole height of the building, and is ornamented
by pilasters and a pierced parapet, having over the arched entrance the
family arms and the crest at each angle. From this porch or loggia, you
enter the Hall, of which Washington Irving in the “Sketch-book” gives a
graphic description as it existed at the period of his visit. The
present apartment, however, forms a portion of the extensive alterations
and additions carried into effect by the refined taste of the late Mr.
Lucy. The “Gallery” and “Organ” are gone, but the large and lofty
proportions of the room, as also the huge Bay Window, are preserved. The
interior--of which we have given an engraving--will convey an accurate
idea of this fine Hall. In the centre, on a highly polished marble
floor, stands a most elaborate and splendid table, purchased at the
price of 1500 guineas from the late Mr. Beckford’s collection at
Fonthill, composed of lapis lazuli, jasper, &c., intermixed with the
rarest marble: it is a worthy rival to that at Warwick Castle. The room
contains many family portraits--the most interesting of the collection
being one which represents Sir Thomas, his lady, and his children,
painted by Cornelius Jansen.[60]
The Fire-place is modern, but of Elizabethan design, and finely carved.
Above are busts of Sir Thomas Lucy the elder, and his son, and in the
centre is one of Queen Elizabeth. The chairs, tables, &c., are all
handsome, and strictly according in style with the Hall, which is
connected by folding-doors with a fine oak staircase. The new apartments
consist of a dining-room and drawing-room, serving also as a library.
From the House we cross the quadrangle. This is laid out as an
ornamental flower-garden, with very charming effect. From thence the
Park is entered, which is agreeably diversified by hill and dale, wood
and water. The Avon winds its way irregularly through the plain, while
ever and anon the “careless herd” come sweeping by, calling up
involuntarily to the mind remembrances of the “melancholy Jaques” and
his sad musings, as, in “the forest of Arden,”
“he lay along
Under an oak, whose antique root peeps out
Upon the brook that brawls along the wood.”
Under a close avenue of trees a private walk leads to a corner of the
Park, where, snugly embosomed among “scented limes” stands the little
Church of Charlecote--with
[Illustration]
its belfry, simple as a dovecote, and its somewhat grotesque exterior.
There are three monuments--each being of an elaborate and costly
character, with no inconsiderable pretensions to merit as works of art.
The one nearest the altar is that of the Sir Thomas Lucy who is reported
to have “threatened” Shakspere with punishment for deer-stealing, and is
said to have been the object of a lampoon penned by the “immortal
bard.”[61] The grave underneath contains also the ashes of his lady.
They are represented in the usual recumbent posture, on a tomb of
variegated marble, their hands uplifted in prayer. He is clad in armour,
the lady in the ruff and dress of the period. Two smaller figures are
kneeling below, and a tablet of black marble in the recess above their
tomb has the following touching and beautiful inscription:--
[Illustration]
“Here entombed lyeth the Lady Joyce Lucy, wife of Sir Thomas Lucy,
of Cherlecote, in the County of Warwick, Knight, daughter and heir
of Thomas Acton, of Sutton, in the County of Worcester, Esquire,
who departed out of this wretched world to her heavenly kingdome,
the tenth day of February in the year of our Lord God 1595, and of
her age lx and three. All the time of her life a true and faithfull
servant of her good God, never detected of any crime or vice; in
religion most sound; in love to her husband most faithfull and
true; in friendship most constant; to what in trust was committed
to her most secret; in wisdome excelling; in governing of her house
and bringing up of youth in the feare of God that did converse with
her, most rare and singular. A great maintainer of hospitality;
greatly esteemed of her betters; misliked of none unless of the
envious. When all is spoken that can be said, a woman so furnished
and garnished with virtue as not to be bettered, and hardly to be
equalled by any. As she lived most virtuously, so she dyed most
godly. Set down by him that best did know what hath been written to
be true.
“THOMAS LUCY.”
Except the effigy, there is no tribute of any kind to the memory of Sir
Thomas himself. On the opposite side of the chancel, in a small vestry,
or chapel, stands the tomb of his son Thomas, erected by Dame Constance,
his lady, daughter and heiress to Richard Kingsmill; but having no
inscription. It is one of the painted monuments of the period, and
represents him armed, and in the usual recumbent attitude. On a pedestal
in front, is a smaller-sized kneeling effigy of his lady, and in two
panels, one on either side, are the figures of eight daughters and six
sons in low relief. In the chancel, also, is another monument carved
very elaborately; where, under marble pillars and arches, are the
figures of his son Thomas and Alicia his wife, daughter and heiress of
Thomas Spenser, Esq., of Claverdon. The figures are gracefully disposed,
and most beautifully executed; all the details being highly finished.
Behind, on one panel, is a bas-relief of a figure on horseback, and in a
corresponding niche are sculptured shelves, on which are placed the
works of various authors, the central niche being occupied by a very
long Latin inscription, recording his virtues and death, which happened
the 8th December 1640. A further inscription states that the monument
was erected by his lady.
In the church there are a circular plain font, apparently of very early
date; two small brasses of the 16th century, on the floor of the nave,
and two bells in the wooden turret, one bearing the date of 1625. Beyond
these it contains nothing worthy of notice.
Yet, as long as one stone shall stand upon another, will the little
plain Church of Charlecote be linked with a glorious memory of the past;
the lofty trees that grow around it conceal it effectually from sight;
not so the Hall, which, standing on a gentle elevation above the Avon,
is seen from all points of the adjacent scenery. It adjoins the pretty
village of Wellsbourne; near to which, on the road between Warwick and
Stratford, commences a double avenue of finely-grown elm-trees, which
reaches, for more than half a mile from the public road, to the
house;--from Warwick it is distant six miles, and from Stratford five.
The Avon winds immediately around the mansion,
[Illustration]
through the Park; close to the entrance-gate it is crossed by a pretty
bridge, which heightens the striking effect of the landscape.
The whole neighbourhood, indeed, between Wellsbourne and Stratford, is
full of beauty; the land seems passing rich; while, here and there,
distant glances are caught of the Avon, or it accompanies the wayfarer
along the road; there are few more delightful walks in England--and none
so pregnant with “happy and glorious” associations. Amid these dells and
by these hill-sides, was Shakspere taught of Nature.
“Here, as with honey gathered from the rock,
She fed the little prattler, and with songs
Oft sooth’d his wondering ears; with deep delight
On her soft lap he sat and caught the sounds.”
Every step to the pilgrim seems “hallowed ground;” he crosses the
bridge, built by Sir Hugh Clopton during the reign of the 7th Harry, and
is at once “at home” with Shakspere, who must have trodden upon these
stones daily when a boy, and passed them often during his occasional
visits to his birth-place, or when--“good easy man”--he retired hither
from busy life, to die like the deer where he was roused. The very
mystery in which his whole career seems inextricably involved, gives the
fancy greater freedom: there is no check upon imagination as we tread
the streets of the Avon’s old town of Stratford, muse in the small
chamber where he was born, think in the school-house where he was
taught, or ponder in the church where his bones have lain for two
centuries and a half, “unmoved.”
Yet the often-quoted passage from Steevens is almost as correct to-day
as it was when he wrote it--notwithstanding every “hole and corner” in
England has been ransacked in the hope to find something that concerns
him--“all that is known with any degree of certainty concerning
Shakspere is--that he was born at Stratford-upon-Avon--married, and had
children there--went to London, where he commenced actor, and wrote
poems and plays--returned to Stratford, made his will, died, and was
buried.”
Of all the poet wrote, during a long and busy life, no scrap remains to
our time; and of his autographs but five are known to exist, three of
which are affixed to his will in the Prerogative Office, Doctors’
Commons. One of the latter is written in one corner of the three sheets
of paper which form that document, and is much injured in consequence,
the christian name only being in any degree perfect; the other two are
rather cramped in style, and one is much confused in the last letters,
as if an error had been made in the spelling. The finest and clearest
autograph is that upon the fly-leaf of the Montaigne of Florio, in the
British Museum, which has been known but a few years, and was secured to
the National Library at the cost of one hundred pounds. The fifth is in
the Library of the City of London at Guildhall, affixed to a deed of
bargain and sale of a dwelling-house, in the precinct of Blackfriars, to
one Henry Walker, dated 11th March 1613; it is written on the slip of
parchment inserted to hold the seal, and is therefore cramped; it,
however, cost the Corporation of London forty-five pounds more than was
paid for that now in the British Museum. There was a sixth known to be
in existence to the counterpart of this deed, of which a fac-simile was
published by Malone, and which came into the possession of Garrick, at
whose death it could not be found.
The small chamber of the humble house in which he was born is still
preserved, comparatively unimpaired. It stands in Henley-street, and is
kept as “a show house,” by an aged woman who lives in the back
apartments. It was some years ago a butcher’s shop, and in possession of
Mrs. Hart, a lineal descendant of Shakspere by his sister’s side, who,
upon leaving the house, whitewashed the room to obliterate the names
which were pencilled over the walls by the many visitors. As this was
done “at the last pinch” in the evening before quitting, no size was
mixed with the wash, and the next occupant, with great patience,
re-washed the walls, took off the coat of white, and the pencilled names
became again visible; among them are those of Byron, Scott, the Countess
Guccioli, Washington Irving, and a host of others; the effect of the
pencilling upon the walls and ceiling, which is very low, is singularly
curious: it looks as if they were covered with fine spider-web, so very
close is the writing of the various names.
Of Shakspere’s house, “New Place,” where he retired after the turmoil of
London life, in the gardens of which he planted the famous
mulberry-tree, and from whence he was borne to his last home in the
venerable church, was totally destroyed in 1757 by a certain “Rev. Mr.
Gastrell,” whose want of reverence to all the world holds dear, will
ever deprive his name of any other share of it than the prefix it bears.
The whole history of the transaction is disgraceful in the highest
degree--the more so as the man was in holy orders. The house was sold to
him in 1751, on the death of Sir Hugh Clopton, who had resided in it.
Five years afterwards, Gastrell became tired of showing the
mulberry-tree, which Sir Hugh delighted in possessing, and by way of
saving himself any further trouble, as well as to vex the Stratford
people, with whom he was not on good terms, he cut it down, and sold it
for firewood. In the year following he rased the house to the ground for
the most discreditable of reasons--a refusal to pay poor’s rates.
But the church--the church in which, in 1564, he was baptised, and where
in 1616, just 52 years afterwards, he was buried--still exists, not only
uninjured but skilfully and judiciously renovated. Here the great object
of attraction is the famous bust, “by Gerard Johnson.” It was executed,
doubtless, by a literal copyist, who, if he had not the high talent of a
great sculptor who endows his work with traces of the mind, will, at
least, faithfully preserve all peculiarities of form and feature. The
head as here given, if not lit up with the soul of the great Poet, is
not unworthy of his calmer moments; the forehead is ample, and the brain
large, well-developed, and altogether characteristic of that evenness of
temper which, combined with unequalled genius, gave him the title of
“the gentle Shakspere.” The great breadth of the upper lip, which might
be objected to as unnatural, finds its fellow in that of another genius,
the Shakspere of the North--Walter Scott.
The “bones” moulder underneath the chancel; and the memorable
inscription remains uninjured upon the slab,--
“Good frend, for Jesus sake forbear,
To digg the dust encloased hear;
Blest be ye man yt spares the stones,
And cvrst be he yt moves my bones.”[62]
Although the history of Shakspere is not necessarily connected with our
subject--a visit to Charlecote, the seat of the Lucys--it was impossible
to consider the neighbourhood apart from the great genius who has made
it famous for all time.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by J. G. Jackson Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
COMBE ABBEY, WARWICKSHIRE.]
COMBE ABBEY,
WARWICKSHIRE.
Combe Abbey, the ancient and venerable seat of the Earls of Craven, is
situate in a pleasant valley on the banks of the river, about five miles
from Coventry. The Lordship of Smite, of which the manor at the time of
the Conquest formed part, was, during the reign of “the Confessor,” in
the possession of Richard de Camvell, who, according to Dugdale, “being
a devout and pious man, and much affecting the Cistertian Monks, whose
Order had then been but newly transplanted into England; and finding
that part thereof which is situate in the valley to be full of woods,
and far from any public passage; as also low and solitary, and so,
consequently, more fit for religious persons, gave unto Gilbert, Abbot
of the Monastery of our blessed Lady of Waverley in Surrey, and to the
Convent of that place, all this Lordship of Smite, there to found an
Abbey of the Cistertian Order. Whereupon they presently began to build,
and out of their own convent planted some monks here, dedicating the
church thereof to the blessed Virgin also, and calling it the Abbey of
Cumbe, in respect of its low and hollow situation; the word Cumen in the
British signifying Vallis or Convallis, as doth Cumbe and Combe in the
Saxon.”
The monastery having been thus founded, its power was augmented by
various other “pious and bountiful gifts;” among the rest, in the time
of Henry II., the Earl of Leicester became so liberal a patron, “that
the monks allowed the said earl to be reputed the principal founder,”
and agreed to “perform for him and his heirs such duties in his
life-time and death as for their chief founder.” Thus richly endowed,
and pleasantly placed among fertile fields, thick woods, and beside a
productive river, the monks of Combe continued to enjoy life until the
“killing frost” of the dissolution not only nipped the shoots, but
destroyed the root, of the flourishing tree.
The abbey with its estates then became the property of the Earl of
Warwick, to whom it was granted by Edward VI.; and after his attainder,
a lease of “the site, and divers lands belonging thereto,” was granted
to Robert Keylway, who dying (23d Elizabeth), left a sole daughter and
heir, who married John Harrington, Esq., afterwards Lord Harrington,[63]
whose daughter inheriting, became the wife of Edward Earl of Bedford;
from her, “in consequence of the profuse expenditure in which she
indulged,” Combe Abbey passed by purchase into the family of Craven, in
whose possession it has since remained.
The family of Craven was, at a very early period, seated at
Appletreewick, at Craven in Yorkshire. In 1611, Sir William Craven,
knight and alderman, was Lord Mayor of London; his son, William, having
served in the army with distinction, was knighted in 1626; soon
afterwards elevated to the peerage as Baron Craven of Hampstead
Marshall, Berks; and in 1663 created Earl of Craven. This heroic
ancestor of the family is immortal in romance as the leading champion of
Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, the eldest daughter of James I., who,
having married Frederic, the Elector Palatine, became for a short time a
queen, when the revolted states, in their attempt to shake off the yoke
of the Emperor Ferdinand II., advanced her husband to the regal dignity.
The battle of Prague was fatal to their fortunes, the result having been
to deprive the elector of his hereditary rank as well as his crown, and
to send him forth an outcast and a wanderer, asking the aid of such
cavaliers as sympathised with fallen greatness. The appeal was answered
by many brave knights, called around the banner of the dethroned monarch
chiefly by the charms and virtues of his British wife; and foremost
among them was the Lord Craven. They were foiled in their hopes,
however; the unhappy king died, and his widow returned to England,
where, it is said, she privately married her gallant champion, and to
whom she bequeathed a fine collection of paintings, chiefly portraits,
which still adorn the long gallery at Combe Abbey.
The earldom became extinct in 1690, but the barony continued in the
family; to which succeeded, in 1769, the sixth baron, who married
Elizabeth, daughter of Augustus Earl of Berkeley, afterwards the
Margravine of Anspach. William, his son, the seventh baron, was, on the
13th of June, 1801, created Viscount Uffington and Earl Craven; in 1807
he married Louisa, daughter of John Brunton, Esq. of Norwich--a lady who
had previously “graced the British stage,” whose talents and virtues
gave additional lustre to the position to which her marriage raised her,
and whose name was not more honoured and respected when elevated to high
rank than it had been when fulfilling the duties of a comparatively
humble station. This estimable lady became a widow in 1825; when, the
Earl of Craven dying, he was succeeded by his son, the present earl, who
in 1835 married the Lady Emily Grimston, the second daughter of the Earl
of Verulam.
The Abbey is, as we have stated, distant from Coventry about five miles;
a plain but neat stone erection forms the entrance lodge. For a short
distance the road winds through pleasant and truly English park scenery,
interspersed with clumps of trees of various sizes and forms; while
herds of deer sweeping across the path, give life and animation to the
scene. Adjacent to a large sheet of water stands the house, which forms
three sides of a quadrangle, originally the cloisters of the Abbey of
Combe.
On the east side of these cloisters five highly
[Illustration]
enriched arches still remain of the later Roman character, the most
northern being of the transition period. The openings towards the court
(now glazed) are of later date, probably about the fourteenth century.
After the Reformation, on the property falling into the hands of the
first Lord Harrington, he built the Elizabethan portion of the mansion,
preserving, no doubt, the cloisters as a means of communication with the
several apartments; and, on the whole, with the manors of Combe, Smite,
and Binley, being transferred by sale from his daughter and heiress,
Lucy Countess of Bedford to Dame Elizabeth Craven, widow of Sir John
Craven (which transfer bears date 24th October, 1622); it fell in due
time into the hands of the famous William Earl Craven, her son, who made
considerable additions to the building, his architect, it is said, being
the no less famous Inigo Jones.[64]
To attempt a formal description of the rooms would far exceed our
purpose and limits; we shall, therefore, content ourselves with pointing
out a few of the more remarkable objects, commencing with the north
parlour, a very handsome room, in which are the fire-dogs, forming the
subject of the annexed vignette. This room contains very fine
whole-length
[Illustration]
portraits of the King and Queen of Bohemia, by C. Honthorst; and of
Charles I. and the Princes Maurice and Rupert, by Vandyck. There is also
a very fine bust of the present earl, by Behnes. Adjoining this room is
the grand staircase, the ceiling of which is enriched by an oval garland
of fruit and flowers, modelled with the most exquisite taste and
delicacy of execution. Around the walls of the landing are suspended
whole-lengths of William the first Earl Craven, Charles II., James I.
and II., and others. From thence we enter the Elizabethan room, the
subject of our illustration. It is said to have been fitted up for the
reception of Queen Elizabeth, and is well worthy of such repute. The
fire-place, of most elaborate design and execution, contains on each
side the initials E. R. The ceiling is richly ornamented, and on the
walls are hung five very fine landscapes, by J. Lootens, with other
pictures of considerable merit. In the window is the bust of the
Princess Elizabeth, with the following inscription:--
“Ælis Reg.
Boh
Fil Jac Rex Mag Brit
1641.”
And also another bust, on the base of which is carved,--
“La Sereniss
Princ Sophia
Pal. Fig: Di: Fred.
A D 1643
Re Di Boenia
Æ S 17.”
From thence, passing a small ante-room, which contains a most curious
picture of the “Decollation of John the Baptist,”
[Illustration]
said to be by Albert Durer, the long gallery is entered--one of those
apartments so judiciously attached to the houses of the wealthy of this
period, for the purposes of recreation and exercise during inclement
weather. It is about one hundred feet in length and sixteen in width,
lighted from the court-yard side, and filled with portraits of the early
part of the sixteenth century. M. Mirèveldt and G. Honthorst are the
principal contributors, and in the historical series here presented to
view are subjects for much reflection. The Queen of Bohemia, whose
destiny seems so closely interwoven
[Illustration]
with the house of Craven, appears more than once.[65] The gallant and
chivalrous William Earl Craven--the wise Chancellor Oxenstern--Charles
XII. of Sweden, grim, stern, and forbidding--Archbishop Laud,--all are
here; and last, not least, are the painters; besides many others, whose
names are registered in the pages of history. Connected with this
apartment is the elegant porch which forms the subject of our vignette,
and was, no doubt, a garden-approach to the principal apartments. “It is
constructed of very friable stone, the same apparently as that used in
the principal buildings at Coventry. Some of its enrichments can no
longer be made out.”
Descending to the opposite wing we find the dining-room, which is fitted
up in panelled compartments of oak, and contains some beautiful carving
in the sideboard, &c. Fine portraits of the Craven family, the Duke of
Richmond, and Prince Henry (son of James I.), adorn the apartment, which
also contains two transcendent pictures by Rembrandt. Adjacent to this
room is a very handsome
[Illustration]
apartment, ornamented by columns, and containing two pictures by
Canaletti, which may be classed with the finest examples of that master.
There are numerous other rooms particularly rich in old carved
fire-places, bedsteads (of which we give a specimen), tapestry, antique
furniture, and all things which correct taste and refined judgment could
accumulate.
We may recur to the almost romantic interest which attaches itself to
this house, from the chivalrous exertions of one of its early possessors
in behalf of the illustrious but unfortunate princess, who is frequently
recalled to memory within its walls. At each step we are reminded of the
fact; and it is a melancholy, yet most pleasant reflection, in looking
back through the vista of two centuries, to find the youthful and early
devotion of Earl Craven not merely a transient and evanescent impulse,
but enduring to the end, and manifesting itself in studious care to
protect and soothe that royal lady in the decline of her fortunes and
the close of her life. Well did he establish the truth of his family
motto,--
VIRTUS IN ACTIONE CONSISTIT.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by J. D. Harding. Day Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
WARWICK CASTLE, WARWICKSHIRE.]
WARWICK CASTLE,
WARWICKSHIRE.
The early history of the town of Warwick is involved in the mists of
past ages, and carries us back to the period prior to the invasion of
Britain by the Romans; if Rous and other old historians of the county be
correct, who declare it to have been a British town of considerable
importance before that great event. Dugdale says, “as it hath been the
chieftest town of these parts, and whereof the whole county, upon its
division into shires, took its name, so may it justly glory in its
situation beyond any other, standing upon a rocky ascent, from every
side, and in a dry and fertile soil, having the benefit of rich and
pleasant meadows on the south part, with the lofty groves and spacious
thickets of the woodland on the north: wherefore, were there nothing
else to argue its great antiquity, these commodities, which so surround
it, might easily satisfy us, that the Britons made an early plantation
here to participate of them.” The reader will not be expected to place
implicit reliance on the statements of Dugdale concerning its foundation
by Cymbeline, by whom it was termed Caerleon, and its destruction by the
Picts and Scots, “till Caractacus, the famous British Prince, rebuilt
it, making a mansion-house therein for himself.” After the defeat of
Caractacus in A.D. 50, the Romans, in order to secure their conquests in
Britain, erected several fortresses on the banks of the Severn and Avon,
and Warwick is said to have been one of these, but this is not very
clearly proved. During the Saxon period the town was included in the
kingdom of Mercia, and fell under the dominion of Warremund, who rebuilt
it and called it Warrewyke, after his own name. Warwick was subsequently
destroyed by the Danes, and, according to Dugdale, “so rested until the
renowned Lady Ethelfled, daughter to King Alfred, who had the whole
Earldom of Mercia given her by her father to the noble Etheldred in
marriage, repaired its ruins, and in the year of Christ DCCCCXV, made a
strong fortification here, called the doungeon, for resistance of the
enemy, upon a hill of earth artificially raised near the river side;”
and this forms the most ancient part of the present building. But the
most important reparations of the castle were the work of the famous
Guy, Earl of Warwick, although Dugdale tells us that the great tower at
the north-east corner, called Guy’s Tower, the walls whereof are ten
feet thick, was built by Thomas, Earl of Warwick, about the 17th of
Richard the Second, on whose banishment the custody of it was granted to
John de Clinton, and in a short time after to Thomas Holland, Earl of
Kent. In the reign of Henry the Third, the extraordinary strength of
this building was alleged as a reason for particularly prohibiting the
widowed Countess of Warwick from re-marrying with any other than a
person approved by the King; but in the furious contests which occurred
in the latter years of this reign, William Mauduit, the then Earl,
neglecting to keep proper guard, the fortress was surprised, and all the
building, except the towers, levelled with the ground, while himself and
his Countess were carried prisoners to Kenilworth. The family of
Beauchamp shortly succeeded to the Earldom, and by Thomas Beauchamp, in
the reign of Edward the Third, the castle was repaired, strong gates
were added, and the gateways fortified with embattled towers. Thomas de
Beauchamp, his son and successor, passed a great portion of his time
here, during his exile from Court; he had, thus, leisure to repair and
strengthen the castle; and he it was who built the tower as stated
above, on which he bestowed the name of Guy’s Tower; it is a fine relic
of early castellated building, and is represented in our initial
letter.[66]
The daughter of this Richard Beauchamp married Richard Nevil, son and
heir of the Earl of Salisbury, and in consequence of this marriage the
Earldom of Warwick came into the possession of the Nevils. This powerful
Earl played a conspicuous part in the wars of the Roses, and has been
immortalised by Shakspeare, in his drama of King Henry VI.; and, after a
life of strange vicissitude and high excitement, he was killed in the
battle of Barnet, A.D. 1471. His estates were forfeited, his widow was
deprived of all power, “as if she had been naturally dead,” and her vast
inheritances were settled upon her daughters, Isabel and Anne, the
latter of whom was married to George Duke of Clarence, created Earl of
Warwick by his brother, King Edward the Fourth. He chiefly resided at
Warwick Castle, and added much to the strength and beauty of its works.
On the accession of Henry the Seventh, the jealousy of that monarch to
his son Edward, the last of the male Plantagenets, induced him to
compass his death, by holding out to him fair promises and a hope of
liberty (for he had been imprisoned in the Tower on a groundless charge,
to keep him secure), to confess a connection with Perkin Warbeck, after
which confession he was beheaded on Tower-hill. From this time until the
1st of Edward the Sixth there was no Earl of Warwick; until John Dudley
having been advanced to the dignity of Viscount L’Isle, was so created
through the favour of the Duke of Somerset, the powerful Protector; and
on the failure of that line, the title was revived by James the First,
in the person of Robert Lord Rich, in whose posterity it continued till
the year 1759, when it passed into the family of the Grevilles, who now
hold the title of Earl Brooke and Earl of Warwick, their seats being
Warwick Castle and Brooke House, Dorset.
The Castle occupies the summit of a steep hill, which greatly aided its
artificial defences in “the olden time.” The present approach is
[Illustration]
by a narrow passage, cut through the solid rock, and extending to the
main entrance from the Porter’s Lodge,--the Lodge itself, however, being
a place of attraction which few will leave unvisited, for here are
collected the marvellous relics of the great Earl--a rib of the dun cow,
a tusk of the wild boar, with horse armour, a helmet, breast-plate,
tilting-pole, and walking-staff, of such prodigious size and weight that
they could have suited only a giant and his steed. Of the two famous
Towers, that of Guy is to the right, while that of “Cæsar” (here
represented) is to the left: they are connected by a strong embattled
wall, in the centre of which is the ponderous arched Gateway, flanked by
Towers, and succeeded by a second arched Gateway, with Towers and
Battlements, “formerly defended by two portholes, one of which still
remains; before the whole is now a disused Moat, with an arch thrown
over it at the Gateway, where was once the drawbridge.”[67]
Passing the double Gateway, the court-yard is entered. Thus seen, “the
castellated mansion” of the most famous of the feudal Barons has a
tranquil and peaceful aspect; fronting it is a green sward, and the
“frowning keep” which conceals all its gloomier features behind a screen
of ivy and evergreen shrubs. It is only when viewed from the river, when
the battlements of the old Castle seem literally towering in air, that a
notion is obtained of its prodigious strength. The slopes, however, are
now clothed with gently-growing trees; several unscathed cedars speak of
long years of rest from strife; the gardens are among the fairest and
most fertile of the kingdom; and in one of the conservatories of the
rich Park, is deposited “the Vase,” which may be said to have given a
second immortality to the name of Warwick.
The interior of Warwick Castle demands but a brief notice. “The Hall” is
a restoration; and the apartments, generally, have been subjected to the
deleterious influence of the fashionable upholsterer. The rooms contain,
however, many rich treasures of art; the collection of pictures,
although of limited extent, is of rare value, comprising, perhaps, some
of the best examples to be found in England of Vandyck and Rubens; and
there is a fine assemblage of costly garderobes, cabinets, encoigneurs,
tables
[Illustration]
of Buhl and Marquetrie, vases, and bronzes, with many veritable
antiques. An object of much interest is pictured in the appended
wood-cut. It is “the Warder’s Horn.” Its history is told by the
following inscription:--
PHIL. THOMASSINUS. FEC. ET EXCUD. CUM PRIVIL. SUMMI. PONTIFICIS ET
SUPERIOR. LICENTIA ROMÆ. FLORUIT 1598.
It measures two feet two inches across, and three inches and
three-quarters diameter at the mouth.
In all respects Warwick Castle holds rank among the most remarkable of
our existing remains of the dwellings of the Feudal Barons. Its history
is deeply interesting; and from the few changes it has undergone, we
require little aid from fancy to read there a full and perfect record of
the leading incidents of by-gone ages.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by J. G. Jackson. Day & Son. Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
WROXHALL ABBEY, WARWICKSHIRE.]
WROXHALL ABBEY,
WARWICKSHIRE.
Wroxhall Abbey. Of Wroxhall there is no particular mention in the
Conqueror’s survey--a circumstance for which Dugdale accounts by “the
barrennesse of the soil,” which now vies in fertility and beauty with
the choicest districts of England. “A monastery of nuns” was founded
here so early as “King Stephen’s time.”[68] The founder endowed it with
“totam terram loci de Wrocheshale--with large proportions of lands and
woods thereabouts: together with the church of Hatton and whatsoever
belonged thereto, and so much of his royalty in Hatton as lay betwixt
the two little brooks there.” It also received large benefactions from
other parties, and sundry immunities and privileges. At the dissolution
its value extended to 72_l._ 12_s._ 6_d._ “above all reprises;” the then
prioress received a pension of 7_l._ 10_s._ per annum; and the site
thereof, “with church, belfrey, and all the lands thereunto belonging,”
were given to Robert Burgoyn and John Scudamore, and their heirs.
The present structure is on the original site, the southern and eastern
sides having been adapted as offices, and the western front was rebuilt
by Robert Burgoyn, and has been subjected to alterations of a later
date, as will be seen in our view. The mansion was purchased from the
Burgoyn family, in 1713, by the famous Sir Christopher Wren. It is,
however, doubtful whether he resided here, as he was at that period
actively employed in his official capacity. His son, Christopher Wren,
died in 1747. He was buried here, and most probably on this spot he
compiled with so much care and diligence the papers of the “Parentalia,”
afterwards published under this title in 1750 by his son Stephen.
[Illustration]
The mansion, as will be perceived, has a picturesque appearance, and
some of the old wainscotting remains in the principal rooms, with some
good carving round the chimney-pieces. The Chapel seems to have been
formed from part of the cloisters: it is on the north side of the house,
and contains some monuments of the Wren family and some good stained
glass. It is at present in the possession of Mrs. Wren, a lady who
derives her position as well as her property from marriage with the
latest male descendant of the great architect. She resolutely closes the
doors, not only of the mansion but of the adjacent chapel, against the
entrance of all applicants for admission to examine either; and her
discourtesy is consequently a proverb in the neighbourhood. We may add
to this imperfect description an expression of satisfaction at the
probable reversion of the estate into the hands of Chandos Wren Hoskyns,
Esq., a gentleman whose acquirements are such as to render him a worthy
successor of the great man whose name has imparted interest to this
mansion.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F. W. Hulme. Day & Son. Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
BROUGHAM HALL, WESTMORELAND.]
BROUGHAM HALL,
WESTMORLAND.
Brougham Hall--the seat of Henry, Lord Brougham and Vaux--is situated
about a mile south of Penrith, on the high-road from Lancaster to
Carlisle. It is a structure of mixed character--half castle and half
mansion--of which there are many examples in the northern districts of
the Kingdom. Its origin dates from a remote period; and it has, no
doubt, largely participated in the perils that arose from close
proximity to “the Border.” The remains of a castle still more ancient
than the greater part of the building, and, apparently, of far greater
strength, stand at a short distance from the Hall, in the midst of
“pleasant scenery”--fruitful fields and a gentle and generous river, the
river Eamont. The earliest mention we find of Brougham occurs in the
“Itinerary” of Antoninus, and in the “Notitiæ,” from which we gather
that it was a Roman station of considerable importance. The remains of
the camp may still be traced near the present house, and a field close
by appears to have been the burial-place (as usual, without the walls),
many tombs and altars having been, from time to time, discovered there.
“Although,” according to Camden, “time hath consumed its buildings and
its splendour, the name remains almost entire, for at this day we call
it Brougham.” And this so clearly resembles the Roman Brovocum or
Brocovum (for it is spelt both ways) that the etymology may be
considered settled, although for many centuries both the place and the
family were called Burgham--a name considered by Horsley (in his “Roman
Antiquities of Britain”) as of Saxon derivation, compounded of _Burgh_,
castle, and _Ham_, town. Stukeley in his “Itinerary,” (1725) says,--“The
trace of the Roman city is very easily discovered, where the ditch went
between the Roman road and the river. I saw many fragments of altars and
inscriptions at the Hall near the bridge, all exposed in the court-yard
to weather and injuries of every sort.”
In the earliest records belonging to the family, or to be found in the
Tower of London, the place is spelt Broham and Bruham; and this,
singularly enough, while it differs from the spelling of the Roman word
(which, as Camden says, was in his time changed into Brougham), yet in
sound it is absolutely identical with the pronunciation, which has
probably always been, and certainly is at the present day, given to the
name. We are enabled from original documents preserved in the
Charter-room at Brougham, in the Tower, State-paper Office, Rolls
Chapel, and Chapter-house, and from other authentic sources, to trace
with accuracy the descent of Brougham in a family of the same name, who
have been settled there from times long antecedent to the Norman
conquest. An ancient pedigree preserved in a copy of Cranmer’s great
Bible (1540), now at Brougham, states Walter de Broham to have held
Brougham in the time of Edward the Confessor; he was succeeded by
Wilfred; and he by Udard, who was appointed keeper of Appleby Castle on
the degradation of the previous governor, in consequence of his
participation in the death of Thomas à Beckett. This border-fortress was
held by Udard until 1175, in which year he was defeated and the castle
taken by William, king of Scotland. Soon after this we find him taking
part against Henry II. for which he was fined eighty marks, “because he
was with the king’s enemies.” Udard was succeeded by Gilbert, who, in
the year 1200, “made fine with the king” that he might not go with him
to Normandy. This Gilbert, to get rid of the burden of Drengage, gave up
to King John no less than one half of the town of Brougham, together
with the mill, the advowson of the church of Brougham, a great part of
the forest of Whinfell, and the tower which formed the original building
of Brougham Castle. The name was at this period changed from Broham to
Burgham. From Gilbert, after Henry and Thomas, we come to Daniel, who
commanded the king’s forces against Roger Mortimer in Kent. In 1378, Sir
John Burgham was Lord of Brougham, and settled the boundary of the
Lordship with Sir Roger Clifford; the record of which, after noting the
particulars of the agreement, thus ends:--“And so thys ambulacyon was
veiwyd and merkett in the secund yeare of King Richard the Secund, by
the assentt and consentt of Sr. Rogere Clifforth, knight, and Sr John
Burgham, in thayre time.” In 1383, Sir John Burgham was member for
Cumberland. He was succeeded by his son John, who represented Carlisle.
His son, Thomas, was one of the king’s judges in 1433, as appears by a
record of assize taken at Penrith in the 12th Henry VII. John, the son
of the above Thomas, was member for Cumberland, and was succeeded in the
fourth generation by Thomas, who in 1553 married Jane, heiress of John
Vaux of Cattulun and Tryermagne. The next possessor of the name was
Henry, who signalised himself in the family records by alienating part
of the ancient estate; which, however, was repurchased in 1726 by John
Brougham, the then representative of the family.
Henry was succeeded by his son Thomas, whose name we now find changed
from Burgham into Browgham, according to the spelling of the place in
the deed of 1567; he died in 1607, and was buried in the chancel at
Brugham: his widow, Agnes, having Brugham assigned to her for her life,
by a deed dated 29th March, 1608. The heir-male of Thomas was Henry
Browgham, of Scales Hall in Cumberland, who married a Wharton. His son,
Thomas, married a Fleming; and in the deeds of that time his name is
spelt Browham. His son, Henry, married the daughter of Lamplugh of
Lamplugh, ultimately heir-general of that ancient family (and whose
descendant, Peter Lamplugh Brougham, enjoyed their estates). From him
descended John Brougham, of Brougham in Westmorland, and Scales Hall in
Cumberland, who, dying without issue, was succeeded by his nephew, Henry
Richmond Brougham, owner also of Highhead Castle, derived from his
mother, the heiress of the Richmonds, and dying in 1749 was succeeded by
Henry Brougham, the grandfather of Henry, Lord Brougham and Vaux, the
present owner of Brougham, Scales Hall, and Highhead Castle; a nobleman
to whose genius the world owes much, and by whose active industry,
science and literature have been so extensively served, and so largely
promoted, for nearly half a century.
The castle-mansion is irregularly built, and with the court-yards and
outer offices covers a vast extent of ground. The garden-court comprises
on two of its sides nearly the whole of the buildings occupied by the
family. At the lower end of this court is a massive arched
entrance-gateway, which, together with the surrounding buildings, is
very old and picturesque, clothed with a garb of most luxuriant ivy: of
this we append an engraving.
[Illustration]
In our lithotint print is shewn the western side of the Hall, considered
to be the most ancient part of the structure. It is singularly solid in
construction, the works being several yards in thickness. The large
tower in the perspective contains the apartment formerly the Armoury.
The terrace commands an extensive view of scenes rich in historic
interest, and of great natural beauty; comprising in the distance the
whole of the mountains of the Lake district, which rear their airy
summits, chain upon chain, peak above peak, in almost countless numbers.
Nearer, the eye ranges over thick woods, chequered here and there with
grey rocks and quiet holms; while nearer, unseen, but plainly heard, the
Lowther brawls over its rocky bed and through the wide arches of Lowther
Bridge--a famous and most picturesque structure. Higher up the river,
the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway passes over an immense viaduct, of
which the three or four most central arches are distinctly visible from
the Hall. Nothing can exceed the beauty of this scene on a clear sunny
afternoon, when the dull red bridge is in shade; the light touched
clearly but delicately along the parapet and down the inner sides of the
shafted piers: the whole framed, as it were, in ponderous masses of
richly coloured foliage, subdued and harmonised by ever-recurring
passages of most delicious shade.
[Illustration]
The interior contains many apartments of high interest: several of them
having been renovated in the best possible taste, and in perfect harmony
with the edifice. Our space will not permit us to describe them in
detail. The Great Hall (of which we append an engraving) is a double
cube forty feet by twenty, and twenty high; the roof supported by
arches, with open spandrels, made of walnut-wood. The ceiling has been
lately restored, having (at least the greater part of it) fallen to
pieces through age and decay. The fireplace also has been restored. The
windows (six in number) are filled with very fine stained glass, chiefly
of the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century; the colours
are singularly rich: it appears to be of German manufacture, and closely
resembles the old glass at Nuremberg. There is a good deal of curious
armour here; especially a very old and very perfect suit of Edward IV.
or Richard III.’s time. The Armoury was a room about sixteen feet square
at the top of the highest tower, with a fine oak roof, but is now used
as a bed-room. All its contents were recently moved into the Hall,
where, although seen to greater advantage, they have no longer the
picturesque effect they must have had in their original situation.
In the Hall is a very old iron chest, with a lock in the lid which
shoots twelve bolts by one key, that turns in the centre of the lid.
This was probably used in ancient times to keep the vessels belonging to
the chapel. The most curious relic in the Hall is an ivory horn
(introduced as the initial letter), of very early workmanship, and used
(as is believed) in the service of Cornage--an ancient border service,
by which certain of the lands of Brougham are held. In former times this
service consisted in blowing a horn from the top of the high tower, to
give notice of the approach of an enemy (most usually the Scotch), so
that the neighbouring barons might be prepared to resist the threatened
attack; or the nearest beacon (which is on the top of Penrith Fell, and
still in existence) might be lighted up to alarm the country. This
service in later times was changed into a _Corn_ rent, and hence it has
been erroneously supposed that it was called Cornage: the original
service, however, was that of blowing the horn. From its workmanship and
ornaments this horn is evidently of Saxon times, and was probably used
before the introduction of the cornage tenure as a warder’s horn. Over
the chimney-piece in the old drawing-room are the arms of Edward VI.
This room and many others in the house are rich in tapestry and old
stamped leather.
[Illustration]
“At the mansion of Browham stands a chapel of very ancient erection. In
the year 1377, ‘Johannes de Burgham’ is said to have had ‘Capellam apud
Browham, Sancto Wilfrido sacrum, ab antiquis temporibus fundatam,’ and
that a Chaplain attended divine offices at it. Through process of time
it becoming ruinous and neglected, it was lately repaird and beautify’d
by the piety of Anne, Countess of Pembroke, A.D. 1659.”[69] In this
chapel there was formerly a holy well, dedicated to St. Wilfred, which
rose through the ancient font by a hole bored through the shaft (in
which also was the waste-pipe) into the bowl. The hill near the chapel
was cut through about fifty years ago, for the purpose of lowering the
road, and from that time the spring which supplied the well was cut off,
so that the water now only rises to the height of the chapel-floor: the
loss of this singular remnant of antiquity is much to be lamented. There
still remains the shrine, or a considerable portion of it, now fixed at
the west end of the chapel, noticed by Leland in his “Itinerary,” and to
which he says there was a great pilgrimage. The shrine at the east end
consists of three compartments, of very remarkable carving, said to be
by Albert Durer, but apparently, from the architecture of the canopy
work, of an earlier date. It is said to have come from the church of St.
Cunegonde at Cologne. The windows at the east end are early
Anglo-Norman, and are filled with the earliest stained glass known in
England. Two appear to have been repaired, and the broken parts replaced
with glass of a more modern date. At one side of the altar, in the north
wall, is the ancient “ambrie,” or small cupboard cut in the solid wall,
in which were kept the vessels; some of these are still preserved, and
are of great curiosity--the pix, now very rarely to be met with; the
remonstrance, a small oblong box, either used as a reliquary, or, more
probably, to contain the cruet or phial of sacred oil. These are gilt
and finely enamelled, and are in a state of good preservation. The
chalice and paten (silver gilt) are of great antiquity, and are also
well preserved. The door of the ambrie is of black oak, curiously
carved; on the back is fixed a very singular gilt and enamelled
crucifixion, with a very remarkable representation of a glory above the
head of our Saviour: this cross is of the very earliest age, probably of
the sixth or eighth century. The sedilia, of black oak, still stands
upon the raised part of the floor, on the south side of the altar; and
the old drain, or piscina, is still to be seen. The oak carving,
especially some of the stall ends, and the screen, are very fine, but
have been extensively repaired. Some of the oak and stained glass, which
appear formerly to have belonged to the chapel, are now in the great
dining-hall; but what is left, still shews a richness and abundance of
carving rarely to be met with in so small a space. Service is performed
here whenever the family are resident, and generally by the Rector,
after his duty at the parish church is over.
The situation of the parish church is remarkable. It is placed on the
borders of a meadow, close to the river Eamont, at a point where there
is a ford, in a direct line from the Roman way to Carlisle, and nearer
than by Brovoniacum. It is above two miles from the nearest village,
called Woodside, and still further from the place where the town of
Brougham formerly stood: there is no trace of any habitations having
ever existed near it.
Stukeley, who visited this part of Westmorland about 1724, and wrote his
account of it in 1725, after describing the British circus or camp on
the banks of the Lowther, called King Arthur’s Round Table, directly
opposite to Brougham, says,--“This is the most delightful place that can
be imagined for recreation; the rapid river Louther runs all along the
side of it: the Eamont joins it a little way off in view. Beyond is a
charming view of a vast wood, and of Brougham; beyond that the ancient
Roman city, and the Roman road going along under the high hill, whereon
is the beacon.”--Vol. II. p. 43.
After describing various British remains which abound in this
neighbourhood, he proceeds:--“In the pasture on the eastern bank of the
Louther, in the way to Clifton, are several cairns, or carrachs as the
Scotch call them, made of dry stones heaped together; also many other
monuments of stones, 3, 4, 5, set upright together. They are generally
by the country-people said to be done by Michael Scott--a noted conjuror
in their opinion, who was a monk of Holme Abbey, in Cumberland. They
have a notion, too, that one Turquin, a giant, lived at Brougham, and
that Sir Lancelot du Lake lived at Mayborough and slew him.”--P. 45.
Stukeley accompanies his description by a view of Brougham, as seen
rising from the midst of fine old trees (most of which are now cut
down), with King Arthur’s Round Table in the foreground.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F. W. Hulme. Day & Son. Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
]
SIZERGH HALL,
WESTMORLAND.
Sizergh Hall, with its venerable towers, presents to the traveller
journeying from Lancaster to Kendal an appearance peculiarly impressive.
After passing Levens Hall, famous for its antique gardens and other
vestiges of the olden time, two miles bring us to Sizergh, which a
sudden turn presents to view, standing about half a mile from the main
road, on a fine natural terrace of considerable elevation above the
general level of the surrounding country. Fine time-honoured trees are
thickly spread around; among them are some noble elms, whose stateliness
is, however, rapidly giving way before the inroads of age. The park is
small, and not particularly well ordered; it has also the appearance of
being much diminished in size, the main turnpike-road having, in all
probability, been cut through it, as in the case of Levens, where the
house is on one side of the road and the park on the other.
The palmy state of this place belongs to other days; nevertheless much
is left to shew what it has been, with the added interest of increasing
years and antiquity to throw its halo of mystery around the scene. The
hall front faces the east: the lithotint view will shew that it is
singularly irregular and picturesque in its general outline, the whole
being a collection of parts belonging to various eras; exhibiting here
and there incongruities of style, particularly in the ugly modern
windows, which, about eighty years ago, were introduced to supplant
those that were mullioned. These abominations, we were informed, are
shortly to be removed, and their places supplied by windows in keeping
with the structure. By far the oldest parts of the building are the two
southern towers, of the erection of which, it is said, no record
remains; these towers are embattled, and are of amazing strength, the
walls and the floors that divide the several stories being of great
thickness and solidity, displaying a lavish use of materials in their
construction: the beams are particularly remarkable in this respect.
The smaller tower rises considerably above the other: in the upper part
there is a guard-chamber, capable of containing a dozen men--a necessary
precaution in feudal times to prevent sudden attacks. Behind, is a large
square courtyard, one hundred and eighty feet from side to side, and
enclosed on three sides by the back buildings of the mansion. These
large yards were a necessary part of the old Border strongholds; they
were generally large, as in this case, fortified by strong walls, and
were used to protect the cattle, which were regularly secured therein at
night, and during the frequent inroads of the turbulent and
ever-watchful enemy, whose visits were not by any means either few or
far between. In front a double flight of steps leads from the
garden-terrace to a second terrace, leading direct into the Hall, a
large room fifty feet in length, hung with rich tapestry and some good
family pictures, many of the latter being of considerable artistic
merit, as well as of historical interest. Among these the most
“noticeable” are--Sir Robert Strickland, a zealous adherent of the
Royalist party in the civil wars of the time of Charles I.; Sir Thomas
Strickland, knight-banneret, and one of the privy council to James II.;
and of his third son, Roger Strickland; Thomas Strickland, bishop of
Namur, and ambassador to England from the Emperor Charles VI., by
Rigaut. There is also a good portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, said to be
by More. The drawing-room contains portraits of James II. and his queen,
and one of Charles II., a royal gift from James himself to the family.
[Illustration]
In the Great Tower are two rooms of much beauty and importance; one is
the drawing-room, the other is called the Queen’s Chamber. Both these
rooms are profusely decorated with rich carving, particularly in the
chimneypieces. Of that in the drawing-room we procured a sketch. It is
exceedingly rich and quaint, the centre compartment being occupied by a
well-executed carving of the arms of the Stricklands. The fireplace is,
as the reader will perceive, of recent date, and quite out of harmony
with the more ancient part above. There is scarcely a room of any
importance in the Hall that is not decorated with a rich chimneypiece
and other carvings, all of great merit, and some of them of rare beauty
and originality. These carvings are of the time of Elizabeth, in whose
reign Walter Strickland, Esq., the then owner, refitted the greater
part of the rooms. They are all exceedingly interesting. The Inlaid
Chamber--a bedroom in the great tower--is, perhaps, the most curious of
all; it is panelled with rich dark oak, inlaid with holly in curious
arabesque devices. The bed is of the olden time, exceedingly massive,
and magnificently furnished, the pillars being quaintly carved and very
elaborate, supporting a canopy covered with rich draperies. There is not
much old movable furniture, but some chairs attracted our attention; on
the back of one was carved the date 1571. In one angle of the tower we
were shewn a deep dark hole, constructed in the wall, with which
tradition has connected some strange stories of secret violence
committed in times when might was right; of which, however, there is no
more direct evidence than rumour and the suspicious look of the place.
No ancient Baronial Hall could be complete without its ample kitchen,
and accordingly we find Sizergh in this respect well supplied. The
important adjunct to hospitality is of large dimensions, with an
enormous fireplace, in which, no doubt, was once placed an old-fashioned
and most capacious cooking apparatus: all this has given way to the
modern range, which had a look so undeniably recent and _patent_ as to
preclude all particular examination from us. The kitchen is low, and
approached from the corridor by a broad flight of stairs.
Sizergh Hall has been for many centuries the property and place of
residence of the Strickland family. At what time they first came here is
not exactly known; they were originally from Great Strickland, in the
parish of Moreland. “The son and heir of Walter de Stirkland was a
hostage, in 1215, for the good behaviour of Roger Fitz-Reinford.” The
erection of the great tower is attributed to Sir Walter de Stirkland, in
the reign of Edward III., during which he procured from the king a
license “to enclose his Wood and Demesne Lands on this estate, and to
make a Park here.” This supposition is supported by the sculptured
shield of arms on the north side of the tower, “placed corner-wise,
D’Aincourt quartering Strickland: three escallops, the crest a
full-topped holly-bush on a close helmet.”[70] Sir Walter was thrice
returned to Parliament, an honour which several of his descendants also
enjoyed. This was in the time of Edward III., when the name was spelt
Sirezergh. The family took part in the Border Wars; and it is said that
in the time of Henry VI. they mustered “bowmen, horsyd and harnessed,
lxix; bylmen, horsyd and harnessed, lxxiiii; bowmen, without hors
harnesse, lxxi; bylmen, without hors harnesse, lxxvi; totalis numerus,
cclxxxx.” The Sir Thomas Strickland, whose portrait is mentioned above,
went into France with the king, where he died, and was buried in the
church of the English nuns at “Roan” in Normandy. “His third son, Roger
Strickland, was page to the Prince of Condé, when he went from France
to be elected king of Poland.” The fourth son was the already mentioned
Bishop of Namur. In Kendal church, “Strickland’s Aisle” contains tombs
of members of this family; “one of them is remarkable for the figure of
Walter Strickland, a fat lad in a loose gown, with a most fulsome
epitaph, dated in 1656.”
There is a tradition that Sizergh was once the property of the Crown;
and this supposition seems in some degree supported by the fact of the
royal arms being placed among the decorations of one of the chambers,
and placed there it is said by Catharine Parr: but for this there is no
sufficient authority.
For some years Sizergh has been the residence of D. Crewdson, Esq., in
whom the old Hall has had a worthy and careful keeper, shewing its
various matters of interest with a courtesy and kindness not too common
among custodians of English antiquities. There is a moat in front of the
house. This place was visited by the poet Gray when on his tour of the
Lakes, in 1769, and its fine situation and antique appearance seem to
have had a powerful impression on his mind--proved by his letters to Dr.
Wharton. From the Hall two avenues diverge to the highway, one towards
Kendal, and the other southward, in the direction of Levens, Milnthorpe,
and Lancaster. The gardens are on the southern end of the terrace, and
contain, in addition to the usual modern flowering plants, some fine old
trees, clipt into the fantastic forms of other times, and also an old
summer-house, fast falling to decay. Altogether the old place is a
deeply interesting relic of times now happily gone by. The feudal
tower--the varied and somewhat rude magnificence of the time of
Elizabeth and James--the spoliating barbarism of the eighteenth
century--all mingle here in curious contrast; carrying the mind rapidly
through a long series of years, and exhibiting, as if in mockery,
memorials of men, whose works remain, but whose hands--many of them, at
least--had mingled with the dust before the arrival of periods of which
even the antiquary speaks as “the past.”
[Illustration:
From a drawing by C. J. Richardson, F.S.A. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
CHARLTON HOUSE, WILTS.]
CHARLTON HOUSE,
WILTSHIRE.
Charlton House, the seat of the Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, stands in
the centre of a spacious park, a short distance from the ancient town of
Malmesbury. The manor in “old times” belonged to the abbey of
Malmesbury, and subsequently passed to the family of Knevit. Thomas
Howard, the first Earl of Suffolk,[71] having married Catherine, eldest
daughter of Sir Thomas Knevit, the estates became the property of that
noble house; and the Earl, soon after entering into possession,
commenced building the mansion we here engrave. It is considered an
excellent example of the style of architecture of the time of James I.;
the house was, however, enlarged and modernised by Henry Earl of Suffolk
and Berks., who was Secretary of State for the Northern Department, in
the reign of George III. The principal front is ancient, with the
exception of the attic over the centre portion between the two towers. A
plan of the building preserved by the family shews the colonnade quite
open, and forming one side of a large quadrangular court, sixty-five
feet square, in the centre of the building: at the end of this court was
the porch leading into the entrance-hall, which appears to have been in
the style of Inigo Jones (the reputed architect of the building). This
court-yard is now enclosed, and is formed into a saloon, which still
remains unfinished, the works before their completion having been
suddenly interrupted, probably by the death of the Earl in March 1799.
The only portion of the interior retaining its original character is the
gallery; it runs through the whole front of the building immediately
over the colonnade: the ceiling, which is ancient, is an extraordinary
specimen of elaborate decoration; it is 115 feet in length, and between
the edges of the cornice, 17 feet in width. An old fire-place, with the
arms of the first Earl of Suffolk, brought from the Charter House,
London, has been placed here. A collection of superb full-length
portraits of this illustrious family adorn this fine apartment. It is
said that the ceiling of this gallery once saved the building from
destruction: previous to the alterations, the Earl, not liking the
situation of the house, thought of having it pulled down, and rebuilt in
another part of the park; the impossibility, however, of removing the
ceiling determined the rejection of the idea. The additions externally
(with the exception of one front) are closely copied from the older
portions of the structure. The house abounds in furniture of antique
character, in harmony with the character of the interesting building.
One of these examples, consisting of a clock and cabinet, we here
engrave.
[Illustration]
The architect under whose directions the repairs and additions were
made, is well known among the profession as an “Architectural
Plagiarist,”--one who was accustomed to affix his name to the designs of
other men. This person, thinking probably that the architecture of James
I. would never be studied, put up the following inscription at Charlton;
it is inscribed on an iron plate inserted in the wall above the roof of
the saloon:--
“This edifice was rendered such as it is under the skilful direction
of Matthew Brettingham, Architect, and the careful superintendence of
James Darley, Clerk of the Works.
(Thomas Carter, Steward.)
Began A.D. 1772, finished A.D. 1776, by Henry, Earl of Suffolk and
Berkshire, the principal Secretary of State to the best of Princes.”
The mansion, taken altogether, is of fine character and of very
considerable interest: as the baronial residence of the noble
representative of an illustrious family, it retains some of the most
striking and important of its ancient features, conveying the (at all
times pleasant) idea, that antiquity is reverenced for its actual
worth.
[Illustration:
From drawing by C. J. Richardson, F.S.A. Day & Son Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
THE DUKE’S HOUSE, WILTSHIRE]
THE DUKE’S HOUSE,
WILTSHIRE.
The Duke’s House, at Bradford, in Wiltshire, is so called from the Duke
of Kingston, to whom it formerly belonged. It subsequently descended to
Earl Manvers. It is now a dilapidated farm-house; but even in its
present condition of neglect, approaching ruin, it exhibits interesting
indications of its early architectural character. In its pristine state,
when the whole of its ornaments were perfect, it must have presented an
appearance peculiarly imposing and grand; for it is seated on the side
of a steep hill, with a lofty terrace in front, approached by a flight
of steps, adorned with balustrades and vases: there were other terraces,
walled gardens also, and orchards in the rear and on either side of the
house, which is built of the fine white stone of the district.
The principal front--to the south--exhibited in the annexed view, is
divided into two stories, with attics in the gables. The entire front
is, as it were, one window: the three projecting bays are crowned with
boldly sculptured open balustrades. The effect is remarkably striking
and picturesque. The windows have all the mullions and transomes of
stone like the rest of the building. The centre bay, on the
ground-floor, serves as a porch, and has a fine large sculptured
doorway, the upper part of which is seen in the print.
At the time John Aubrey visited Bradford, in 1686, he described this
house as inhabited by John Hall, a wealthy clothier of the town,
connected by marriage with the family of Sir John Thynne, of Longleat.
Mr. J. Britten supposes that Bradford House was built by the architect
who erected the grand mansion of Longleat, the foundation of which was
laid in 1567; but the style of the building is that of a much later
period; it was probably built by the Duke of Kingston. A shield of arms,
with what appears to be a ducal coronet above it, is over the fireplace
in the entrance-hall, and the same shield is repeated in the other
apartments. This shield, no doubt, belongs to the nobleman who erected
the mansion.
The palace at Longleat is a structure in style almost pure Italian, and
the architect is well known to be John of Padua, a very celebrated man.
It is the fashion with the antiquaries in Wilts, so proud they are of
the name, to ascribe to him every building and every separate fragment
of Elizabethan architecture in the county; but the Duke’s House is not
by him: it is pure English architecture, of the latest and most polished
period of the style of James I. Aubrey’s description of the house is
curious; he calls it “the best house for the quality of a gentleman in
Wiltshire.” The house has two wings; two, if not three, elevations or
ascents to it, adorned with terraces, having either rails or stone
balustrades.
[Illustration]
The interior contains numerous fragments of the old building: the
entrance-hall has a noble stone fireplace in two stories; one of the
upper rooms had, till within the last few years, a very handsome oak and
stone fireplace, elaborately carved. Some of the rooms contain oak
panelling; and there are a few ornamented ceilings, in which are
pomegranates, the fleur-de-lis, English rose, &c. The desertion of the
house appears to have been caused by the increase of the town, which
rendered it anything but a rural retreat.
Bradford is situated on the banks of the Avon, near the middle of the
western boundary of Wiltshire, on the borders of Somersetshire, within a
cove formed by the surrounding small hills, which screen the town from
the cold northern winds. The Avon here is generally called the Lower
Avon, and is considerably increased by the waters of the Were from
Trowbridge. The name is supposed to be derived from the Saxon word
Bradenford, signifying the broad ford. Over this ford there is now a
handsome stone bridge. The Duke’s House is close to the town, which
contains more than 10,000 inhabitants, of whom the greater part are
employed in the cloth-manufactories. The church is a large and ancient
building, in the chancel of which is an antique altar-piece, coarsely
ornamented with a painting that was intended to represent the Last
Supper. In the church are two windows of painted glass, said to exhibit
the actions of Christ and His Apostles. These windows were a present
from John Ferret, Esq., of London, a native of Bradford, who died in
1770. Near the church is a charity-school, for the education of
sixty-five children, which was opened in January 1712. There is an
almshouse at the west end of the town, founded by John Hall, Esq., the
last of a family which had resided at Bradford ever since the reign of
Edward I.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F. W. Fairholt, F.S.A. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
WESTWOOD, WORCESTERSHIRE]
WESTWOOD HOUSE,
WORCESTERSHIRE.
Within two miles of the ancient town of Droitwich, whose salt-springs
have been famous since the time of the Romans, stands Westwood House, in
the centre of an extensive park, well wooded, and consisting of about
two hundred acres. To the east of the house is a lake extending over
sixty acres, but which was originally intended to cover one hundred
acres of ground. The principal front of the house commands a view of
this lake; and being situated in the centre of the park, commanding on
all sides the vistas produced by the fine old trees, whose radiating
avenues surround it, it is as happily placed as any mansion in the
kingdom. Nash, in his “History of Worcestershire,” thus describes
it:--“Westwood House consists of a square building, from each corner of
which projects a wing in the form of a parallelogram, and turretted in
the style of the Château de Madrid near Paris, or Holland House. It is
situated on a rising ground, and encircled with about two hundred acres
of oak timber. The richness of the wood combining with the stateliness
of the edifice forms a picture of ancient magnificence, unequalled by
any thing in this county.” The house is of brick, with stone quoins and
parapets, and bears a striking resemblance to an old Norman château. Our
plate exhibits the peculiarities of its design as seen in the principal
front. The body of the house is a solid square of three stories in
height, the saloon occupying the first floor, and being lighted by large
bay-windows. Wings project in a line from the centre of each corner of
the house, and communicate by doors with each floor of the central
building. Opposite each wing, at some distance from them, are erected
small square towers, which were originally connected with the main
building by walls, which have now been removed, and the small garden
surrounding the house entirely thrown open. This garden is encircled by
an open railing, and immediately in front of the house, and still
further in advance, is the entrance-gate. Our cut exhibits the
construction of the central pile as it appears from the garden, with the
principal front and one side, taking in a view of three of the wings.
The offices and stabling are at some short distance in the rear of this,
and where the kitchen-garden now stands originally stood an ancient
nunnery, of which no remains exist; but Nash tells us that, in digging,
they sometimes find stone coffins and foundations of buildings.
[Illustration]
Eustachia de Say and her son Osbert Fitzhugh, having given the church
here to the abbey of Font-Evraud in Normandy, an abbey closely connected
with our Norman kings, and where several lie buried, and having, during
the reign of Henry II., granted them various lands, Osbert is styled the
founder of the church of St. Mary at Westwood, in the ancient deeds.
Shortly afterwards was erected a small priory, dedicated to the Blessed
Virgin, for six nuns of the Benedictine order, which, when once
established, shared the usual favours bestowed on such foundations
during the middle ages; it ultimately numbered seventeen or eighteen
inmates. The grants of property, as recited by Nash, do not appear to
have been of such great value as ever to have given great riches or
importance to the priory, but they were of a kind to ensure a certain
amount of comfort and worldly prosperity to the nuns who inhabited it;
and some of the grants are curious, inasmuch as they shew the kindliness
of feeling with which they were regarded, and the simple usefulness of
many donations; all indicative of a period when the necessities of life
were more dependent on the interchange of individual courtesies than
they are at present. Thus, “Jocelyn Fitz Richard, of Wich (Droitwich),
gave them free passage for corn and hay over the bridge of Brerhulle, as
far as his meadow extended, from hay-time to Michaelmas, and for wood
from hay-time to All Saints.” Others made them various grants for things
in return, which they wanted, and which, being of considerably less
value, became a profitable quit-rent. Thus “Stephen de Elmbrug gave land
in Ruinestreet, Droitwich, for one pound of cummin or pepper yearly, at
Michaelmas; which was confirmed at his death by his son Inard.” Ralph
Hacket, “a dole of salt, with a salt-pit and wood-place, for three
shillings and a mit of salt; Ralph Huson confirmed this, and gave an
acre in Broadmead, with seven butts adjoining, for a mark of silver
(13_s._ 4_d._); also six sellions of land without Guerston Ditch,
belonging to their church of St. Nicholas, at Wich. Osbert Fitz Osbert
Bende, of Wich, gave lands in Wich, which he held in fee of Derhurst,
with two helflings (four pounds) and a half of salt at Northernmost
Wich, for a pair of white gloves yearly to his heirs, and fourpence
halfpenny and six baskets of salt.” Other lands were also held by the
same grant of salt from Droitwich, and remittances of rent by the same
means. The change in the value of money is strikingly visible in some
grants; thus, “William Fitz Aldred Fikemore gave 4_d._ yearly rent,” and
“Adam Fitz Adam Luveton, of Wich, gave 12_d._ yearly rent;” sums which
now appear almost ludicrous.
Of the various prioresses of this retired and remote establishment, but
few notices or even names occur. The only noted one was Isabella, who
ruled between 1360 and 1370, and died under excommunication, for having
joined with the antipope Clement VII. The last prioress, Joice Acton,
received at the dissolution, in 1553, an annual pension of 10_l._ At
this period the revenues were valued at 78_l._ 8_s._ in the whole, and
175_l._ 18_s._ 11_d._ clear, which is Dugdale’s valuation.
After the dissolution of religious houses, Westwood with its demesne
lands was granted, in the thirteenth year of Henry VIII., to Sir John
Pakington, knight, in whose descendants it still continues. The
Pakingtons resided first in their mansion at Hampton Lovet; when that
was much damaged in the civil wars, they enlarged the house at Westwood,
which had been built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, as a lodge or
banquetting-house, and made it the place of their abode.
[Illustration]
One of the most interesting features of the place is the gate-house
immediately in front of the mansion; it consists of a double lodge of
red brick, with ornamental gables and pinnacles; the gate in the centre
is ornamented with the heraldic bearings of the family, the mullet or
star of five points, and garb or wheatsheaf; their arms being,--“party
per chevron, sable and argent, in chief three mullets, or, in base as
many garbs, gules.” These bearings are again sculptured on the parapets,
the wheatsheafs doing duty as pilasters, and the mullets serving in
place of balusters. The timber work over the gate, with its high pointed
roof and pinnacle, is exceedingly picturesque and striking; and is all
the more interesting from the rarity of such examples.
[Illustration]
Passing through the gate and crossing the small lawn we reach the
principal door, to which a flight of stone steps lead. The stone portico
is decorated in the style of the Renaissance, but is more purely Italian
in its taste than is usually the case in works of that period. An open
balustrade is on each side of the steps. Over the centre arch is a regal
figure on an eagle. It was probably erected after the civil wars, when
Westwood was enlarged and improved.
[Illustration]
From the hall, which is an oblong room, presenting no particular
features of interest, and from which the library, containing many choice
and curious volumes, is reached, and which is situated in the wing to
the left, the principal apartments are reached by the staircase, a view
of which is here given, and which is chiefly remarkable for the
Corinthian capitals, supporting globes, which are placed on the
banister. The whole of this staircase is of carved oak, in a fine state
of preservation, and exhibiting great finish in execution. By this stair
we reach the saloon, a noble apartment, with a double bay-window
situated immediately over the hall, and having its walls hung with fine
old tapestry of the Elizabethan era, filled with symbolical
representations of various kinds, and resembling, in style and
character, that exhibited in the great hall at Hampton Court. A
magnificent fireplace of elaborate detail, decorated with the royal
arms, is in the centre. The roof is of plaster, but is not the original
one; it is very florid and elaborate, in the style of Louis Quatorze,
yet, however good as a specimen of that peculiar taste, it does not
harmonise with the rest of the building.
From the windows of this room a noble view of the country is obtained,
which is very undulatory and beautiful; the lake, the avenues, and the
antique oaks which surround the house, also add to the beauty of the
prospect. The effect of the pavilion opposite each wing of the building
is here seen to good effect, surrounded as they generally are with trees
and flowers. We engrave one of them. The chimney upon its exterior
bracket is a peculiar feature in their design.
Among the portraits preserved in the mansion may be noticed particularly
a curious one of Sir John Perrott, Knight of the Bath, and Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland from 1583 to 1588, who was descended from a very
ancient family in Pembrokeshire; his mother was Mary, daughter of James
Berkeley, Esq., second son of Lord Berkeley. Sir Robert Naunton, in his
“Fragmenta Regalia,” intimates that he was a natural son of Henry VIII.
“If we compare,” says he, “his picture, his qualities, gesture, and
voice, with those of the king, which memory retains yet amongst us, they
will plead strongly that he was a surreptitious child of the
blood-royal.” His first appearance at court was early in the reign of
Edward VI. He was arraigned of high treason at Westminster, April 17,
1592, and received sentence of death; but did not suffer, for he died
five months after in the Tower. He left one son, Sir Thomas Perrot,
knight, who married Dorothy, sister to the favourite Earl of Essex, by
whom he had one or more daughters. Sir Thomas dying early, his widow
married Henry Percy, the ninth Earl of Northumberland, and his estate
came afterwards by marriage to the Pakingtons.
Sir John Pakynton, knight, son of the first grantee, was sheriff of this
county in the reign of Elizabeth, and a favourite with that queen, who
first took notice of him in her progress to Worcester; he followed her
to court, and was made a Knight of the Bath. On one occasion he betted
with three courtiers, for 3000_l._, to swim against them from
Westminster to Greenwich, but the queen, by her especial command,
prevented it. His only court favour on record was a monopoly of starch.
Fuller says of him, that, “being a fine but no assiduous courtier, he
drew the curtain between himself and the light of the queen’s favour,
and then death overwhelmed the remnant, and utterly deprived him of
recovery; and they say of him, that had he brought less to the court
than he did, he might have carried away more than he brought, for he had
a time of it, but was no good husband of opportunity.” He died of gout
at the age of seventy-seven, and was buried at Aylesbury, 1625.
Sir John Pakyngton, Bart., knight of the shire 15 Charles I., was a
confirmed loyalist, and was tried for his life by the Parliament, his
estates were sequestered, and he was plundered for his loyalty, but he
ultimately compounded with the parliamentary committee for 5000_l._, and
died in 1679. His house was an asylum for all learned men in these
troublesome times. Nash says, “Dr. Hammond, Bishops Morley, Fell,
Gunning, and others, always met with hospitable entertainment here,
during the troubles of the kingdom. In concert, with some of these,
Dorothy, “the good Lady Pakington” as she was called, is supposed to
have written “The Whole Duty of Man,” one of the most popular of
religious volumes. In defence of her supposed authorship, it is said
that Lady Pakington’s letters and prayers are marked with the easy
familiar language of that book; and it has been asserted that the
original MS. in the handwriting of this lady, and interlined with
corrections by Bishop Fell, was sometime in possession of her daughter,
Mrs. Ayre, of Rampton, who often affirmed it to be the performance of
her mother, adding that she was also the authoress of the “Decay of
Christian Piety,” another celebrated religious work. But “upon the
whole,” adds Nash, “it still remains a doubt, and it is much easier to
prove who was not the author than to assert who was.”
At the Revolution, the doors of Westwood were open to some persons who
scrupled to take oaths to King William. Dean Hickes wrote here great
part of his “Linguarum Septentrionalium Thesaurus;” and the preface to
his “Grammatica Anglo-Saxonica” is dedicated to Sir John Pakington. In
it he gives the following declamatory description of Westwood,--“Ibi
porticus, atria, propylæa, horti, ambulacra clausa et subdialia, recta
et sinuosa, omnia studiis commoda; ibi luci, silvæ, nemora, prata,
saltus, planities, pascua, et nihil non, quod animum pene a literis
abhorrentem et legendum, audiendumve, et quovismodo discendum componere,
et conciliare potest.”
[Illustration:
From a drawing by Wᵐ Richardson. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
FOUNTAINS HALL, YORKSHIRE]
FOUNTAINS HALL,
YORKSHIRE.
Fountains Hall is situated about five miles west of Ripon, in the West
Riding of Yorkshire, and “within two hundred yards” of the famous Abbey,
the name of which it “borrowed,” as well as the stones of which it is
built. The hall was, indeed, formed out of the ruins of the
time-honoured structure; and Sir Stephen Proctor, by whom it was
erected, thought, no doubt, he was dedicating to “right uses” the
precious relics he had bought, which supplied him with a
“quarry”--plentiful and easy of access. It has since passed through
various hands; the descendants of the builder held it but a short while:
the daughter of Sir Stephen conveyed it, with the manor, to John
Messenger, Esq., whose descendant sold it to William Aislabie, Esq.;
recently it was the property of the late Miss Lawrence of Studley-Royal;
and now, we believe, belongs to the Earl de Grey. Farther than this,
little is known of the mansion or its history; and its interest is
derived principally, or solely, from the ruined structure--magnificent
and beautiful in decay--which it adjoins, and out of the broken columns
of which it was raised.
[Illustration]
Fountains Abbey[72] ranks among the most picturesque and interesting of
the monastic ruins of England. It was founded early in the twelfth
century for monks of the Cistercian Order; the locality being then an
“uncouth desert,” which supplied no better shelter than “seven
yew-trees,” under which the monks made their habitation while their
magnificent house was progressing. Yet, long after the stupendous
structure was deserted and unroofed, their first dwelling continued in
existence; for, so late as the year 1810, six of the seven trees were
flourishing above the ground where the builders had congregated, and
formed their projects for a great future. In process of time the abbey
became richly endowed: such was its repute for sanctity, that princes
and nobles “purchased with immense donations” the right of sepulture
within its walls; the most illustrious of the northern families were
among its benefactors. “Popes and kings seemed to emulate one another in
granting to the monks privileges and immunities;” its possessions
“stretched from the foot of Pinnigant to the boundaries of St. Wilfred
of Ripon, without interruption.” Fountains-fell still retains the name
of its ancient possessors; “all the high pastures from thence to Kilnsey
were ranged by their flocks and herds;” and “their lands in Craven”
amounted to sixty-four thousand acres. At the dissolution, its revenues
exceeded a thousand pounds per annum; its site, with the estates
thereunto belonging, were sold by the sovereign spoiler to Sir Richard
Gresham, who resold them to Sir Stephen Proctor (the builder of the Hall
out of the Abbey stones); and the Abbey became a ruin--of deep interest
to the antiquary, the artist, and the lover of the picturesque.
[Illustration]
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F.W. Hulme. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
HELMSLEY HALL, YORKSHIRE.]
HELMSLEY HALL,
YORKSHIRE.
Helmsley Hall is situate about six miles from Kirby-Moorside, in the
North Riding of Yorkshire. The date is early in the seventeenth century;
but it occupies the site, and is, indeed, chiefly built from the relics
of a structure of far more remote antiquity. The manor is in Domesday
called Elmeslae, “from elm, and slae, a narrow vale,” and was given by
the Conqueror to the Earl of Morton. Not long after the Conquest it
became the property of Sir Walter de la Espee, from whom it passed to
the noble family of Ross or Roos, and from them to the Earls of Rutland.
Catherine, daughter of the sixth earl, married George Villiers, first
Duke of Buckingham, to whom was thus transferred the estate, which the
second Duke wasted by a career of profligacy and vice.[73] From his
trustees, Helmsley was purchased by Sir Charles Duncombe, from whom it
has descended to the present Lord Feversham.
Helmsley Castle, once a place of formidable strength, was built about
the year 1200 by one of the family of Ross--one who, it is said,
forfeited by rebellion during the reign of Richard I., but regained his
estates by favour of Richard’s successor, the infamous John. The remains
are still imposing, and give indications of having formerly covered
immense space. They are thus described by the Rev. W. Eastmead:--“The
grand entrance on the south has been very strong. Without the outer wall
is a ditch, which has added to the strength of the fortification; then
the gateway leading into the first court or ballium, which measures
twenty feet in thickness. After that a second gateway, leading to the
inner court, where were the lodgings, &c.; and then the keep,
ninety-five feet high, under which was the dungeon: and these walls were
defended by a number of towers, which were strong and magnificent. The
walls of this castle were extremely well built, and the vast masses of
them which were thrown down yet hang together with amazing firmness.
Besides the south gate the remains of two others are yet visible, one on
the north and another on the west; and it is said that the waters of the
Rye were conducted through the ditches which surround the building.
During the Civil Wars the castle, after a severe conflict, was taken by
the Parliament forces under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, who,
during the siege, was wounded in the shoulder. It was soon afterwards
dismantled by order of Parliament.”
The Hall, as we have intimated, was built out of parts of the ancient
castle. The apartment pictured by Mr. Richardson is the principal
drawing-room, but the house has ceased to be inhabited by any member of
the family to whom it belongs; it is, nevertheless, a good subject for
the artist, and one which he is bound to rescue from the grasp of time.
This “state chamber” is approached by stone steps from the courtyard;
several smaller apartments are contiguous to it, but are without
decorations, unless their ample bay-windows may be so called. A lofty
tower at the south-east angle has been divided into several stories, but
the stairs and various floors are gone. Helmsley Hall is rapidly
decaying, and will be ere long, like its far more powerful parent and
neighbour “the Castle,” but a relic of the past; it will, however,
always possess considerable interest. Here revelled the licentious
Buckingham,--
“That life of pleasure and that soul of whim!”
And these now lonely walls suggest many a thought to connect the
surrounding scenery with the brilliant career of the most famous of
Helmsley’s lords.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Holland House is the manor-house of Abbots Kensington. “In Domesday
Book (our extract is from Lysons) the place is called Chenisitun, in
other ancient records Kenesitune and Kensintune. Chenesi is a proper
name; a person so named held the manor of Huish in Somersetshire, in
the reign of Edward the Confessor. Kensington manor, which had been
the property of Edward, a thane of King Edward’s, was granted by
the Conqueror to Geoffrey, bishop of Constance, Chief Justiciary of
England, under whom it was holden (when the survey of Domesday was
taken) by Alberic or Aubrey de Vere, ancestor of the Earls of Oxford.
The manor,” says the Survey, “is taxed at 10 hides, and contains 10
caracutes; on the demesnes are four ploughs, the villans have five, and
might employ six. There are 12 villans, holding each a virgate, and 6
who hold 3 virgates jointly. The priest has half a virgate, and there
are seven slaves, meadow equal to two plough lands, pasture for the
cattle of the town, pannage for 200 hogs and three acres of vineyards,
valued altogether at 10_l._--in King Edward’s time at the same. The
manor was afterwards the absolute property of the Vere family, and was
held by them _in capite_ for several generations, being parcel of their
barony by virtue of their office of High Chamberlain. [In 1264, on the
death of Hugh de Vere, the demesne was valued at 4_d._ an acre, and the
meadow-land at 3_d._; a dovehouse at 3_s._, a court and vineyard 3_s._,
fishpond and moat 2_s._ In 1296 the whole value of the manor was 19_l._
13_s._ 6¼_d._ In 1331 it was somewhat less.] Aubrey de Vere, grand
justiciary of England, was created Earl of Oxford by the Empress Maud,
and afterwards confirmed in that title by Henry II. Upon the attainder
of John, the twelfth earl, who was beheaded in 1461 for his adherence
to the house of Lancaster, the manor was seized by the crown and given
to Richard, duke of Gloucester. It came afterwards into the hands of
William, marquis of Berkley, who gave it to Sir Reginald Bray. John,
earl of Oxford, son of the attainted earl, having been restored to his
honours, recovered (probably by purchase) the ancient inheritance of
his ancestors, and by his will, bearing date 1509, left it to John,
his nephew, the next heir to the title. Subsequently it passed to Sir
Walter Cope, and from him to Henry Rich, earl of Holland, to whose
descendant maternally, Lord Kensington, it now belongs. In 1776 the
only surviving son of Francis Edwardes, Esq., who married Elizabeth,
daughter of Robert Rich, earl of Warwick and Holland, was created an
Irish peer by the title of Baron Kensington.”
[2] Campden House, now a ladies’ school, was built about the year
1612, by Sir Baptist Hickes, an eminent citizen of London, afterwards
Viscount Campden. In 1691, it was the residence of Anne, then Princess
of Denmark, who lived here for about four years with her son, the Duke
of Gloucester, who, unhappily, died at the age of eleven years. Here,
it is said, a regiment of boys about his own age was formed for his
amusement, “with whom he sported in military evolutions.” The house
has undergone many alterations, but retains many of its original
features. The palace of Kensington was chiefly built by William III.,
but “considerably enlarged and altered by succeeding monarchs.” Until
his death, it was the residence of his late Royal Highness the Duke of
Sussex.
[3] Clarendon, in his “History of the Rebellion,” has drawn the
character of this peer:--“He was a very handsome man, of a lovely and
winning presence, and genteel conversation, by which he got so easy an
admission into the Court of King James,” that he abandoned the life
he had previously led--that of a soldier. The favour of James was
continued to him by his successor, Charles I.; and “whilst the weather
was fair, he continued to flourish above any man about the court; but
the storm did no sooner arise, but he changed so much, and declined
so fast from the honour he was thought to be master of,” that he grew
distrusted by the two State parties, and alternately deserted and
betrayed both. Ultimately, however, he took part with the king, was
taken prisoner at a skirmish near Kingston, tried, and sentenced to
death: “the house being divided upon the question, whether he should
be reprieved or not, and the Speaker giving the casting vote against
him.” “Thus,” says Lord Orford, “perished the once gay, beautiful, and
gallant Earl of Holland, whom neither the honours showered upon him by
his prince, nor his former more tender connexion with the queen, could
preserve from betraying and engaging against both. On the scaffold he
appeared sunk beneath the indignation and cruelty he received from men,
to whom and from whom he had deserted.”
[4] The death of Addison is thus touchingly described by Dr.
Young:--“After a long and manly, but vain struggle, with his distemper,
he dismissed his physicians, and with them all hopes of life; but with
his hopes of life, he dismissed not his concern for the living, but
sent for a youth nearly related, and finely accomplished (the young
Earl of Warwick), yet not above being the better for good impressions
from a dying friend. He came, but life now glimmering in the socket,
the dying friend was silent: after a decent and proper pause, the
youth said, ‘Dear sir, you sent for me; I believe and I hope that you
have some commands; I shall hold them most sacred.’ Forcibly grasping
the youth’s hand, he softly said, ‘See in what peace a Christian can
die.’ He spoke with difficulty, and soon expired.” Dr. Johnson states
that “Addison had been tutor to the young Earl, and anxiously, but in
vain, endeavoured to check the licentiousness of his manners. As a last
effort, he requested him to come into his room when he lay at the point
of death, hoping that the solemnity of the scene might work upon his
feelings. When his pupil came to receive his last commands, he told him
that he had sent for him to see how a christian could die.”
[5] The second son of the first, and brother of the second, Lord
Holland, was Charles James Fox, much of whose early life was passed at
Holland House.
[6] Francis Cleyn was born at Rostock, and was originally in the
service of Christian IV. of Denmark. For a proper education in art he
visited Italy, and there became known to Sir Henry Wotton, by whom he
was introduced to Prince Charles, afterwards Charles I. Soon after his
arrival in England he was employed to give designs, “both in history
and grotesque,” for the tapestry manufacture then recently established
at Mortlock. At Somerset House he painted a ceiling of a room near
the gallery, with histories and compartments in gold; the entrance of
Wimbledon House he painted in fresco; Bolsover in Nottinghamshire,
Stone Park in Northamptonshire and Carew House at Parson’s Green,
were ornamented by him. He also executed several books for carvers,
goldsmiths, &c., “made designs for various artists,” and was the
master of Dobson. His two sons also were esteemed painters. He died in
London--“a most pious man,” according to Evelyn--in 1658.
[7] Whilst mentioning the drama as connected with Holland House, it is
worthy of notice that the tragedy of “Jane Shore” was acted there in
the “late Lord Holland’s time” (Dodaley’s “Old Plays,” vol. xii. p.
345). The late Mr. Fox supported the character of _Lord Hastings_; his
brother, the General, was _Bishop of Ely_; Lady Sarah Bunbury, _Jane
Shore_; and Lady Susan O’Brien, _Alicia_.
[8] “The name Blickling,” according to Blomefield, “seems to signifie
the low meadows at the Beck.”
[9] Among these odd substitutes for ancient heroes, are carved copies
of foot-soldiers of the time of George III. It would seem as if the
Earl of Buckingham--writing in 1765--had actually contemplated the
“improvements” indicated in the following letter. “I have,” he writes,
“determined what to do with the Hall. Some tributary sorrow should,
however, be paid to the nine Worthies--but Hector has lost his spear
and his nose; David his harp; Godfrey of Boulogne his ears; Alexander
the Great his highest shoulder; and part of Joshua has fallen in. As
the ceiling is to be raised, eight of them must have gone; and Hector
is at all events determined to leave his niche. You will forgive my
replacing them with eight worthies of my own times, whose figures are
not yet essentially mutilated, viz., Dr. Shebbeare, Mr. Wilkes, Dr.
Hill, Mr. Glover, Mr. Deputy Hodges, Mr. Whitfield, Justice Fielding,
and Mr. Foote; and as Anne Boleyn was born at Blickling, it will not
be improper to purchase her father Henry, the eighth figure (which by
order is no longer to be exhibited in the Tower), who will fill with
credit the space occupied by the falling Hector.”
[10] We borrow a passage from Mr. Robinson’s “Vitruvius Britannicus,”
which conveys a compliment as justly merited as it is well expressed.
“On the resignation of the Duke of Sussex, the Marquess of Northampton
was elevated to the chair of the Royal Society; and if ardent zeal
in the promotion of scientific truth, unaffected affability of
manners, liberal and unostentatious hospitality, and exemplary private
character, are deemed qualifications for the blue riband of science,
his lordship’s claim to the distinguished honour must be universally
admitted.”
[11] Among the pictures are portraits of Bishop Compton, Sir Stephen
Fox, a “conversation piece,” by West, including the eighth Earl of
Northampton, his lady, and two children. There is also a portrait of
Spenser, second earl (in armour), who, as we have seen, devoted himself
so bravely to the royal cause in the civil wars, and was killed at
Hopton Heath: at an advanced age he raised a regiment of foot and a
troop of horse at his own expense. Other portraits at Castle Ashby are,
a curious and finely-painted head of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who
was killed by Felton. In the Long Gallery are portraits of John Talbot,
Earl of Shrewsbury, and his countess, painted on panel; these are
valuable as examples of the art of the time of Henry VI. This Talbot
was one of the most renowned heroes of his time, having gained no less
than forty battles and skirmishes. At his death he was above eighty
years of age. Walpole ranks these pictures among the most ancient
specimens of English painting.
[12] “Kirby Hall is situated in Corby Hundred, about nine miles
north-west of Oundle, partly in the Parish of Bulwick, and partly in
that of Gretton--the Church of which contains several monuments to
members of the family of Hatton.”
[13] The family of Hatton is stated to be descended from Ivon, a noble
of Norway, whose sixth son, Wolfaith, obtained the Manor of Hatton, in
Cheshire. Sir Christopher Hatton is said to have danced himself into
Court favour; mightily pleasing the fancy of “the virgin Queen” by
the graces of his person; and consequently rising with great rapidity
through the several offices of Captain of the Guard, Vice Chamberlain,
Privy Councillor, &c., until, in 1587, he obtained possession of
the seals as Lord Chancellor. He died not long afterwards--and, it
is believed, of a broken heart, in consequence of a demand, on the
part of his fickle and heartless mistress, for the payment of an old
debt, which he was unable to discharge. He was a liberal patron of
learning,--one of the worthies of the Elizabethan age; “so great, that
his sentence was a law to the subject; and so wise, that his opinion
was an oracle to the Queen.”
[14] The name has been said to be compounded of _Bent_, an old
English word for brow of a hill, and the Celtic _al_, or _hal_ (Lat.
_altus_), a termination commonly found in names of hills. The motto
of Benthall, “Ten_de_ _Bene et alta_ pete,” seems to allude to this
interpretation of the name; but as, in Domesday Book, the name is spelt
“Benhale,” the first syllable may be derived from the Gaelic word
_En_, or _An_--water, the letter _B_ being only the prefix importing
the article _the_. This suggestion receives some weight from the fact
that the Benthall estate, and one of the same name in another part of
Shropshire, are washed by a river--the Severn. The derivation of the
second syllable is too plainly correct to be interfered with.
[15] Benthall MSS. Dugdale’s “Monasticon.”
[16] Polyd. Virg.
[17] Heralds’ “Visitations of Salop.”
[18] It is remarkable that a superior seigniory or lordship in this
estate was retained by the Burnell family till so late a period as
the close of the reign of Richard III., while the Benthalls, the
subtenants, were lords of the manor, as appears by their descriptions
in deeds and on the court-rolls.
So early as in the reign of Edward III., lords of manors began to
neglect the military services, on condition of which they held their
lands under the tenant _in capite_ (in most instances a powerful
baron), who, on his part, owed and neglected services to the king, the
supreme owner of the lands. The rights of the superior or intermediate
lords becoming disused, the lords of manors gradually acquired the
tenure which, in the present day, supposes only a superior right in the
sovereign; yet it was not till Henry VII. had grasped the sceptre that
the feudal system of military service was totally suppressed.
In effecting national improvement, that sagacious monarch acted on the
just conviction that his own paid army was better to be relied on than
the retainers of his nobles: he wisely conceived that, having already
dethroned their sovereign, they might be little scrupulous of removing
his successor, whose personal pretensions to the throne, though
strengthened by his marriage, were by no means universally admitted.
[19] Buried in the family vault, near the altar of Benthall Chapel.
[20] This gentleman and his wife, Ann, daughter of Piers Cariswall,
Esq. of Lilleshall, were interred in St. Clement’s Chapel, in the south
aisle of the parish church of Much Wenlock. There is a small estate in
the parish belonging to their descendants, the Benthalls of Buckfast,
in Devonshire.
[21] Rot. Hund.
[22] At that time the head of the family of Cassey of Wightfield,
Cassey Compton, and Kilcot, in the county of Gloucester.
These manors descended to John Cassey, Chief Baron of the Exchequer
in the reign of Henry IV., and from him to Thomas, the subject of
this note, who died while on a visit to his son-in-law at Benthall,
A.D. 1634, and was buried in Wenlock Church.
[23] Hulbert’s “History of Shropshire.”
[24] This tower was erected by one of the family of the Phelips. The
ascent to it is so gradual, that he is said, upon one occasion, to have
visited the summit in his coach and four. The road winds round the hill.
[25] The family suffered considerably, in consequence of their
devotion to the royal cause during the unhappy reign of Charles the
First; and, afterwards, their loyalty being unchilled by their losses,
Colonel Richard Phelips united with Colonel Wyndham in secreting, and
subsequently conveying out of the kingdom, the Second Charles.
[26] “Skimmitting, or, as it is called in the north of England,
stang-riding, is still kept up in many parts of the kingdom, for the
purpose of exposing to shame and ridicule, the man who has been guilty
of cruelty or infidelity towards his wife.” In the basso-relievo
at Montacute, the wife, accompanied by a crowd of villagers, is
represented bestowing a few sound blows with her shoe upon her
faithless partner, and “the artist has with happy effect introduced a
church in the back-ground, to intimate that certain vows and promises
which had been there solemnly pledged ought to have been kept in
remembrance.”
[27] “It would appear from the introduction of the elegant screens
or door-cases in the principal living rooms, that the cold draughts
of air, caused by the long passages, the extent of the rooms, and
the great size of the windows, must have been felt even in the time
of Elizabeth; these screens could have been made only for warmth and
comfort. They are beautifully painted, and their effect is very quaint
and pleasing.”--C. J. RICHARDSON.
[28] On a mural monument in the chancel of Caverswall Church, adjoining
that of his father, which we have engraved, is the following singular
inscription to his memory:--
“M.S.
“George Cradock, Esq., (for his great prvdence in yᵉ common lawes
well worthy to be beav-Clarke of yᵉ assizes for this Circvit), did
take to wife yᵉ most amiable, most loving Dorothy, yᵉ davghter of
John Savnders, Doctor of Physicke, by whom he had a Pair-royall of
incomparable davghters, to wit, Dorothy, Elizabeth, and Mary.
“It is easie to gvess that he lived in a splendid degree, if I
shall bvt recovnt vnto you that
Sʳ. Thomas Slingsby, Baronet, } { Dorothy }
yᵉ Right Honᵇˡᵉ Robt. Lord Cholmondely } Maried { Elizabeth } Coheir.
Sʳ. John Bridgeman, Baronet, } { Mary }
“But! but! to our grief, George Cradock is assavlted by death in
yᵉ meridjan of his age, not far off from his Castle of Caverswal
(lately bvilt, even to beavty, by Mathew Cradock, Esq., his father,
who lies inter’d near this place).
“And dying of yᵉ small pox yᵉ 16th of April, 1643, he tooke
himselfe to yᵉ private masion of this tombe, erected for him at yᵉ
cost of Dorothy, his obseqviovs wife, where he now rests (vnder the
protection of an Essoine) vntil he shall be svmmon’d to appeare at
yᵉ last great and general Assizes.”
The Sir Thomas Slingsby, of Scriven, Bart., who married Dorothy, the
eldest of this “pair-royal,” was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell.
[29] William Chetwynd, who was Gentleman Usher of the Chamber to Henry
the Seventh, in the ninth year of that king’s reign was barbarously
and treacherously assassinated on Tixal Heath, near Ingestre, by Sir
Humphrey Stanley, of Pipe, from motives of jealousy, having inveigled
him from his house by a counterfeit letter. Pennant says:--“It does
not appear that justice overtook the assassin, although his widow
perseveringly evoked it.”
[30] The fertility and other natural advantages of “the vale,” and, we
may believe, its picturesque beauties also, in remote times, determined
the ancient nobility of Staffordshire to make it their chosen seat.
This, and a lower portion of the river, are adorned with that graceful
bird the swan. Ingestre, and the neighbouring royalties, have had
“games of swans” immemorially. Amongst the distinguishing marks on the
beaks of the birds used in 1785 in the several royalties adjoining
the Trent, enumerated by Dr. S. Shaw, we find that of “Earl Talbot,
Ingestre; two notches on the right side.”
[31] Walter Chetwynd, Esq., of Ingestre, the celebrated antiquary, was
the son of Walter Chetwynd, Esq., and married Ann, daughter of Sir
Edward Bagot, Bart., August, 1658. He introduced the learned Dr. Plot,
from Oxford, into Staffordshire, to write its Natural History. Dr.
Plot exhibits in his work (1686) a Plan of Ingestre Hall, and gives an
account of the rebuilding of Ingestre church by his patron.
The first person who undertook to write upon the history and
antiquities of Staffordshire was Sampson Erdeswick, Esq., of Sandon,
near Ingestre, venerandæ antiquitatis cultor maximus, as Camden
describes him; _i. e._ an eminent encourager of venerable antiquity.
He died in 1603, and was buried under a handsome monument, having his
effigy, “cut to life,” erected by himself in his lifetime, in Sandon
church. His MS. papers fell into the hands of Walter Chetwynd. This
latter gentleman obtained in addition the collections of Mr. Ferrers,
of Baddesley, and of William Burton, the Leicestershire historian, and
brother of the Anatomist of Melancholy. To these he added very large
collections of his own. All these MSS., upon the repairing of Ingestre
Hall, were put in a box, for safety, by the Rev. James Milnes, rector,
and were unfortunately lost. They were, however, subsequently found
at Rudge; but continued in obscurity, till rediscovered at Ingestre,
when they were placed in the hands of Dr. Stebbing Shaw, the learned
and indefatigable historian of the county, whose premature decease
unhappily interrupted his elaborate work. There is a good portrait of
Walter Chetwynd, Esq., the antiquary, by Lely, at Ingestre Hall.
[32] One member of the Talbot family, Charles Talbot (son of the Lord
Chancellor), who died in 1733, made the tour of Europe with Thomson,
the author of the “Seasons,” to whom Lord Talbot was a liberal patron
and kind benefactor.--His poem on “Liberty,” which was conceived during
their travels, opens with an affectionate tribute of sorrow to the
memory of his friend.
“O my lamented Talbot! while with thee,
The Muse gay roved the glad Hesperian round,
And drew th’ inspiring breath of ancient arts;
Ah! little thought she, her returning verse
Should sing our darling subject to thy shade!
And does the mystic veil from mortal beam
Involve those eyes, where every virtue smiled,
And all the father’s candid spirit shone?
The light of reason, pure without a cloud;
Full of the generous heart, the mild regard;
Honour disdaining blemish, cordial faith,
And limpid truth that looks the very soul.”
Thomson also composed a poem “To the memory of Lord Talbot,” which is
equally creditable to the Chancellor and the Poet, and reflects great
honour on Lord Talbot’s family, to whom it is addressed.
[33] The village of West Bromwich is remarkable as the birthplace of
Walter Parsons, porter to King James I., who appears to have been
equally distinguished for extraordinary strength and equanimity of
temper. His stature was but little above the common size; yet such was
the prodigious power of his arm, that he could easily “take up two of
the tallest yeomen of the guard and carry them where he pleased, in
spite of their attempts to free themselves from his iron grasp.”
[34] Over the entrance of the Porch leading to the Great Hall from the
Court Yard, is a shield cut in stone, with these seven quarterings:--
1. Tollemache, Argent, a Frett Sable.
2. Joyce Argent on a Chevron Gules, 3 escallops, Or.
3. Joyce Or, a Lion rampant, Azure armed Gules.
4. ---- Gules, a Fesse between 3 buckles, Or.
5. Visdeliea Argent, 3 Wolves’ heads, couped Gules.
6. Curzon Ermine a bend checky, Argent and Sable.
7. Peche Argent, a Fesse between 2 Chevrons Gules.
[35] During the lifetime of this Earl, old English hospitality was kept
up in a most primitive style, whenever he was residing at the Hall.
The tenants and tradesmen employed by his Lordship were allowed to
visit the Hall whenever they pleased, and many yet living remember with
grateful pleasure the entertainment afforded them there.
[36] The exception should, however, be made in favour of General
Thomas Tollemache. In the Church, there is a sarcophagus of white
marble, in which stands, upon a pedestal, a bust, and behind it an
obelisk of reddish marble, surrounded by military trophies. On the
face of the sarcophagus is this inscription:--“Thomas Tollemache,
Lieutenant-General (descended of a family more ancient than the Norman
Conquest,) second son of Sir Lionel Tollemache, Bart., by his wife,
Elizabeth Murray, Countess of Dysart in her own right. His natural
abilities and first education were improved by his travels in foreign
nations, where he spent several years in the younger part of his
life, in the observation of their genius, customs, politics, and
interest; and in the service of his country, abroad in the field, in
which he distinguished himself to such advantage by his bravery and
conduct, that he soon rose to considerable posts in the Army. Upon
the accession of King William III. to the Throne, he was made Colonel
of the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, and soon after advanced
to the rank of Lieutenant-General. In 1691, he exerted himself with
uncommon bravery in the passage over the river Shannon, and the taking
of Athlone, in Ireland, and in the battle of Aghrim. In 1693, he
attended the King to Flanders; and at the battle of Landen, against
the French, when His Majesty himself was obliged to retire, he brought
off the English Foot with great prudence and success. In 1694, he was
ordered by the King to attempt the destroying of the harbour of Brest
in France; but on his landing at the head of six hundred men, he was
so much exposed to the enemy’s fire, that most of his men were killed,
and himself shot through the thigh, of which wound he died a few days
after. Thus fell this brave man, extremely lamented, and not without
suspicion of being made a sacrifice, in this desperate attempt, through
envy of some of his pretended friends; and thus failed a design, which,
if it had been undertaken at any time before the French were so well
prepared to receive it, might have been attended with success, and
followed with very important effects.”
[37] These rhymes are curious and interesting, and possess sufficient
merit to justify our devoting to them the space necessary.
I.
Baptized Lyonel Tollemache, my name,
Since Norman’s conquest of unsoyled fame,
Shews my descent from ancestors of worth;
And that my life might not belye my birth,
Their virtues’ track, with heedful steps I trod:
Rightful to men, religious towards God.
Train’d in the law, I gain’d the bar and bench,
Not bent to kindle strife, but rather quench;
Gentle to clients, in my counsels just;
With Norfolk’s great Duke, in no little trust;
Sir Joyce his heir was my fair faithful wife,
Bentley my seat, and seventy years my life.
II.
Heir of my Father’s name, surname, and seat,
Lands, goods, and goodness towards small and great;
By Heaven’s dear blessing on my best endeavour,
In his fair footsteps did I well persevere;
Amongst the best, above the most admir’d,
For all the parts my race and place requir’d.
High sheriff of Suffolk once, of Norfolk twice,
For both approv’d, right, gentle, just and wise;
Frank house, frank heart, free of my purse and port
Both lov’d, and loving towards every sort;
Lord Wentworth’s daughter was my lovely Pheer,
And fourscore, six less, lived I pilgrim here.
III.
My stile and state (least any question should)
My Sire and Grandsire have already told;
My fame and fortune not unlike to theirs,
My life as fair as human frailty bears;
My zeal to God, my love to ev’ry good,
My Saviour knows, his saints have understood.
My many virtues moral and divine,
My liberal hand, my loving heart to mine,
My piety, my pity, pains and care,
My neighbours, tenants, servants, yet declare.
My gentle bride Sir Ambrose Jermyn bred;
My years lack five of half my grandsire’s thread.
IV.
Here, with his father, sleeps Sir Lyonel,
Knight, Baronet, all honours worthy well;
So well the acts of truth, his life exprest
His elders’ virtues, and excell’d their best;
His prudent bearing in his public place,
Suffolk’s high sheriff twice, in sixteen years space.
His zeal to God, and towards ill, severity;
His temperance, his justice, his sincerity;
His native mildness towards great and small,
His faith, his love to friends, wife, children all,
In life and death; made him belov’d and dear,
To God and man, happy in Heaven and here.
Happy in soul and body, goods and name;
Happy in wedlock with a noble dame,
Lord Crumwell’s daughter; happy in his heir,
Whose spring of virtues sprouts so young and fair:
Whose dear affection, to his founders debtor;
Built them this tomb, but in his heart a better.
[38] Hengrave is called in Domesday Book “Hemegretha.” In several
ancient deeds it is variously spelt Hemegreth, Hemegrede, Hemegrave,
and Hengrave.
[39] This information we condense, chiefly from a costly volume in
quarto, published by the late John Gage, Esq., F.S.A., entitled “The
History and Antiquities of Hengrave.”
[40] His portrait, by Holbein, is among the family portraits at
Hengrave. It is that of a fine portly citizen, with a stern, but
intellectual, countenance. He was Sheriff of London in 1533 having
been previously knighted. His mercantile transactions were principally
carried on “at the cloth fairs or staples holden at Antwerp,
Middleburg, and other places in Flanders, by the Merchant Adventurers,
to which company he belonged.” His wealth must have been enormous,
for he purchased estates in the counties of Suffolk, Devon, Dorset,
Somerset, and Nottingham.
[41] It is said that Sir George Trenchard, Sir John Gage, and Sir
William Hervey, each solicited at the same time the hand of the wealthy
heiress; and that, to keep peace between the rivals, she threatened the
first aggressor with her perpetual displeasure; “humorously telling
them that, if they would wait, she would have them all in their
turns--a promise which the lady actually performed.” Her first husband
was Sir George Trenchard, her second Sir John Gage, and her third Sir
William Hervey. She left issue only by her second husband.
[42] Several documents relative to “the raising of Hengrave” are still
preserved. Among others, is the contract with John Eastowe, the mason,
to “macke a house at Hengrave of all manor of mason’s worck,” &c. &c.
“The said John must have for ye sayd worck, and finishing thereof,
iic. li. (£200), to be paid, x li. when he begins the foundacyon
thereof, and afterwards always as xx li. worth of worke is wrought by
estymacion.” The plasterer’s contract is for £116 “of lawful money of
Ingland.” Among other items are these--“For a lode of tymber, vi s.;”
“The glasyar, for making of all the glass wyndowes of the manour place,
with the solar, and for xiii skuttchens with armes, iiii li.” (four
pounds.)
[43] Burnet gives a character of the first Earl of Dysart by no means
flattering. “He was well turned for a Court; very insinuating, but
very false; and of so revengeful a temper that rather than any of the
counsels given by his enemies should succeed, he would have revealed
them, and betrayed both the King and them. He had one particular
quality, that when he was drunk, which was very often, he was upon a
most exact reserve, though he was pretty open at all other times.”
[44] The Duchess of Lauderdale was one of the “busiest” women of
the busy age in which she lived. Burnet insinuates, that during the
life-time of her first husband “she had been in a correspondence with
Lord Lauderdale that had given occasion for censure.” She succeeded in
persuading him that he was indebted for his escape after “Worcester
fight” to “her intrigues with Cromwell.” “She was a woman,” continues
the Historian, “of great beauty, but of far greater parts. She had
a wonderful quickness of apprehension, and an amazing vivacity in
conversation. She had studied not only divinity and history, but
mathematics and philosophy. She was violent in every thing she set
about; a violent friend, but a much more violent enemy. She had
a restless ambition, lived at a vast expense, and was ravenously
covetous; and would have stuck at nothing by which she might compass
her ends.” Upon the accession of her husband to political power, after
the Restoration, “all applications were made to her; she took upon her
to determine everything; she sold all places; and was wanting in no
methods that could bring her money, which she lavished out in a most
profuse vanity.”
[45] Lysons, writing more than half a century ago, describes the
furnishing of the Mansion in terms which suit exactly to describe its
present state. “It is,” he says, “a curious specimen of a mansion of
the age of Charles the Second. The ceilings are painted by Verrio, and
the rooms are ornamented with that massy magnificence of decoration
then in fashion. The furniture is very rich; even the bellows and
brushes, in some of the apartments, are of solid silver, or of silver
filigree. In the closet adjoining the bed-chamber, which was the
Duchess of Lauderdale’s, still remains the great chair in which she
used to sit and read; it has a small desk fixed to it, and her cane
hangs by the side. The furniture of the whole room is such that one
might almost fancy her Grace to be still an inhabitant of the house.”
[46] The ministry, popularly known as the Cabal, came into power at
the latter end of the year 1667, when Clarendon was turned out of
office, and impeached by Parliament. That minister had raised a host of
enemies at Court, by preserving a state and decorum foreign to their
reigning habits. Evelyn says, “He kept up the form and substance of
things in the nation with more solemnity than some would have had. The
Parliament had accused him, and he had enemies at Court--especially the
buffoons and ladies of pleasure--because he thwarted them, and stood
in their way.” There were, however, grave charges brought against him
as Chancellor, and he was obliged to fly the kingdom, dying an exile
in France about seven years afterwards. The ministry that succeeded
him consisted of five noblemen, the initials of whose names formed
the word _Cabal_, to which their actions in many instances too well
answered. These noblemen were Sir Thomas Clifford, first commissioner
of the Treasury, afterwards Lord Clifford and high treasurer; the
Earl of Arlington, secretary of state; the Duke of Buckingham; Lord
Ashley, chancellor of the Exchequer, afterwards Earl of Shaftesbury
and lord chancellor; and the Duke of Lauderdale. During the ascendancy
of these ministers, Charles grew more reckless than ever. As none of
them possessed the power Clarendon had of restraining him, he became
much more despotic, treated Parliament more contemptuously, and allowed
himself to become the pensioner of the French king.
The passing of the Test Act in 1673 first disunited “the Cabal,” on
which occasion Clifford, the Popish lord treasurer, resigned his staff.
Soon after the Prorogation of Parliament, on the fourth of November in
the same year, the King took the great Seal from Shaftesbury, and gave
it to Sir Heneage Finch, as Lord Keeper. The other members of the Cabal
ministry, Arlington, Buckingham, and Lauderdale, were in seeming odium
at court; and Clifford was unexpectedly succeeded by Sir Thomas Osborn,
who was created Lord Treasurer and Earl of Danby; he became in effect
prime minister, and the Danby administration was in many respects more
iniquitous than that of the Cabal.
[47] “Manuscripts and other rare documents illustrative of some of the
more minute particulars of History, Biography, and Manners, from the
reign of Henry VIII., to that of James I., preserved in the muniment
room of James More Molyneux, Esq., at Loseley House, in Surrey. Edited
by Alfred John Kempe, F.S.A., 1836.” This curious and very interesting
volume contains many singular documents, “connected with passages in
history and biography, with the entertainment of the Court, with the
internal regulations of the magistracy, and in some instances with
the minor relations of domestic life”--affording very considerable
help to arrive at correct ideas and just estimates of the state of
society and political government in the 16th and early part of the 17th
centuries. The editor intimates that the manuscripts were discovered
in the muniment room at Loseley, “of which the key had been lost, and
its existence disregarded during an interval of 200 years.” One of its
earliest documents is a summons to Christopher More, to come to London
to welcome Anne of Cleves, with six servants in his company, to ride
amongst other gentlemen in “cotes of black velvet, with cheines of gold
about their neckes, and with gownes of velvet or some other good silke
for their chainge.”
[48] “In 1511, a dispute arose between the college on the one part,
and the mayor, burgesses, and parishioners on the other, as to the
liability of their respective bodies to repair the transepts and
tower, with the bell and other appurtenances belonging to the latter.
By consent of the parties, the point at issue was referred to the
arbitration of Thomas, Earl of Arundel, and Robert Sherburne, Bishop
of Chichester; and an award was soon after published, by which the
burthen was equally divided between the college and the town. To the
former, the duty of repairing the south transept, commonly called ‘_the
chancel of the parish_,’ was assigned; to the latter, the obligation of
attending in the same manner to the north transept; while the expense
of upholding the tower, and the emoluments to be derived from the use
of its bells, were thenceforth to be shared equally by both.”
[49] At the suppression, it was endowed with a yearly revenue of
263_l._ 14_s._ 9_d._
[50] By this Thomas Fitz-Alan and his wife Beatrix was founded a
hospital called “Maison Dieu,” for the maintenance of as many poor
as the revenues with which it was endowed, would support. At the
Dissolution, these were valued at 42_l._ 3_s._ 8_d._ per annum.
[51] In one of the chapel windows is the figure of a swallow on the
wing, which is considered to intimate the original of the name of the
castle; “for history and geography,” says Mr. Tierney, “the realms
of fancy and romance, have all been explored in order to discover
its etymon.” One author has amused himself with a rebus founded on
the resemblance between the words Hirondelle and Arundel; and “it
is not improbable,” writes Dr. Beattie, “that the migratory bird,
here introduced, may have been selected as an appropriate emblem
for the chapel window. The conjecture is, at least, as plausible as
another that has been advanced; namely, that Arundel is derived from
Hirondelle--the name of Bevis’s Horse.”
[52] This Countess of Derby was the daughter of Sir William Morley,
K.B., and her mother was a daughter of Sir John Denham, the Poet. On
the north side of the Chancel is a marble Monument to her memory. She
died in 1752, at the age of 85. She was distinguished by charitable
deeds and on her tomb is represented sitting under an oak, relieving
poor travellers, and pointing to a building she had founded in the
Parish--a Hospital endowed in 1741, as the inscription informs us,
“the Alms-houses for the habitation and support of poor aged and
infirm women,--the School for the habitation and maintenance of a
school-master, and the education of poor boys and girls--the women and
children to be chosen out of the parishes of Boxgrove, East Lavant, and
Tangmere.”
[53] “This Adeliza,” writes Camden, “was daughter to Godfrey Barbatus,
of Lovaine, who had for her dowrie Arundell Castle and all the
forfeited lands of Robert de Belismo, the Earle, when the King (Henry
the First) took her for his second wife.
“In her commendation, a certaine Englishman in that unlearned age wrote
some unlearned verses,” of which these lines are the commencement:--
“When Muses nine thy beauties rare (faire Adeliza Queene
Of England) readie are to tell, they starke astonied beene;
What booteth thee so beautifull, gold-croune or pretious stone,
Dimme is the diadem to thee, the gemme hath beautie none.”
After the King’s death she married William de Albini; “who, taking part
with Maude the Empresse against King Stephen, and defending his castle
(of Arundel) against him, was, in recompense of his good service, by
the saide Maude, the Empresse and Ladie of Englishmen (for this title
she used), created Earle of Arundel; and her son, King Henry, gave the
whole Rape of Arundel to that William, to hold of him by the service of
fourscore and foure knights’ fees and one halfe.” During her contest
with Stephen, Maud was lodged in the Castle of Arundel, which the
King besieged. The Earl, however--or, it is said, his Countess--by
diplomacy, contrived to facilitate the escape of the Empress to
Bristol, from which she took shipping, and returned to the Continent.
“A small Chamber, over the inner gate of Arundel Castle, enjoys the
traditionary fame of having been her sleeping-room, during her sojourn
there. It is a low square apartment, such as the Castellan might
have occupied during a siege.” The Bedstead on which the Empress is
reported to have slept is still preserved there. “Its massive wallnut
posts are elaborately carved, but so worm-eaten that, unless tenderly
scrutinized, the wood would be apt to fall into powder in the hands
of the visitor.” We have quoted this brief account from Dr. Beattie’s
History of Arundel. From the engraving that accompanies it, there can
be little doubt that this relic is no older than the reign of Henry the
8th, if so old.
[54] Hutton, in his “History of Birmingham,” states that Sir Lister
Holt, taking advantage of his brother’s necessities, induced him to
cut off the entail, in order that the estate might pass away from his
family. Thus, he adds, “an ancient race, which sprung from the anvil,
and sported upon an estate of 12,000_l._ a-year, is now sunk into its
pristine obscurity; for its head, Thomas Holt (perhaps Sir Thomas), at
this day (1812) thumps at the anvil for bread, in the fabrication of
spades--as amiable a man as any of his race; and the only baronet who
ever shaped a shovel may take a melancholy ramble for many miles upon
the lands of his ancestors, but cannot call a single foot of it his
own.”
[55] For the several drawings which accompany and illustrate this
account of Aston Hall and the church, we are indebted to Mr. Allen
Edward Everitt, an excellent artist of Birmingham.
[56] Richard de Beauchamp was born on the 28th of January. 1381,
and succeeded his father in the Earldom of Warwick in 1401. At the
coronation of Henry IV., he was created a Knight of the Bath, being
then only 19 years of age. “When scarce more than a youth,” he
suppressed the rebellion in Wales, under Owen Glendower, whose standard
he took in battle. During the whole of the reign of the fourth Henry,
he was one of the most prominent, honourable, and useful “pillars of
the state;” and, at the coronation of Henry the 5th, he was constituted
Lord High Steward; in 1415, he was declared Captain of Calais, and
Governor of the Marches of Picardy: subsequently, he became tutor to
the young Prince Henry, and on the death of the Duke of Bedford--14
Hen. VI.--he was appointed Regent of France, and Lieutenant-General of
the King’s forces in that realm and the Duchy of Normandy. He died in
the Castle of Rouen, April 30, 1439--17 Henry VI. His body was conveyed
to England, and deposited in the Church of St. Mary, “in a fair chest
made of stone.” until the Chapel was prepared for its reception.
[57] Thomas de Beauchamp died of the pestilence at Calais, on the
13th of November, 1370, at the age of 63. He had retired from public
life, but hearing that the English army, under the Duke of Lancaster,
lay in camp, perishing from famine and disease, and refused to fight
the French, by whom they were surrounded, he instantly embarked for
France, where his “bare appearance so alarmed the enemy, that they
commenced an instant retreat.” Recumbent figures of the Earl and his
Countess--finely sculptured--are laid upon the monument which occupies
the centre of the choir. A fine brass of his second son, Thomas, and
Margaret, his wife, was preserved from the fire of 1694, and is now
placed against the east wall of the transept, and near the entrance to
the Chapel. It is a beautiful specimen of the costume of the period,
and has been engraved in Waller’s recent publication.
[58] Dugdale has preserved a curious and interesting document in
connexion with the Chapel, being the “Covenants of Agreement between
the Executors of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, viz. Thomas
Huggeford, Nich. Rodye, and Wm. Berkswell, and the severall Artists
that were employed in the most exquisite parts of its fabrick and
ornaments--as also of the costly Tombe before specified, bearing date
xiii Junii, 32 H. 6.”
These are the covenants of John Essex, Marbler; Will. Austen, Founder;
Thomas Stevyns, Coppersmith; Bartholomew Lambespring, Dutchman and
Goldsmith. John Prudde, of Westminster, Glasier, further covenanted to
glase all the windows in the new Chappell in _Warwick_, with Glasse
beyond the Seas, and with no Glasse of _England_; and that in the
finest wise, with the best, cleanest, and strongest glasse of beyond
the Sea that may be had in _England_, and of the finest colours of
blew, yellow, red, purpure, sanguine, and violet, and of all other
colours that shall be most necessary, and best to make rich and
embellish the matters, Images, and stories that shall be delivered
and appointed by the said Executors by patterns in paper, afterwards
to be newly traced and pictured by another Painter in rich colour at
the charges of the said Glasier. All which proportions the said _John
Prudde_ must make perfectly to fine, glase, eneylin it, and finely
and strongly set it in lead and souder, as well as any Glasse is in
_England_. Of white Glasse, Green Glasse, black Glase, he shall put in
as little as shall be needfull for the shewing and setting forth of the
matters, Images, and storyes. And the said Glasier shall take charge
of the same Glasse, wrought and to be brought, to _Warwick_, and set
up there, in the windows of the said Chapell; the Executors paying to
the said Glasier for every foot of Glasse _ii_ s. and so for the whole
_xci_ li. _i_ s. _x_ d.
[59] While standing among the graves of generations of the family,
and noting down the words in which were recorded their claims to live
in memory, we heard suddenly from a young woman who guided us to the
church--and who conveyed the sad intelligence with tearful eyes--that
on the very morning of our visit another of the Lucys had been summoned
to take his place among the dead. George Lucy, Esq., the Lord of
Charlecote, died on the 1st of July, 1845--somewhat suddenly; leaving,
however, a son, not yet of age, to inherit the honours and estates.
The circumstance was to us peculiarly unfortunate; for Mr. Lucy had
courteously offered to supply us with all the information in his power
to give, concerning the neighbourhood and its several associations.
We found that his loss was felt in the cottages almost as bitterly
as in the mansion; and obtained certain assurance that he, like his
progenitors, had been a generous landlord, and a kind friend to the
poor.
[60] The painting is so well described by Washington Irving that we
quote his words:--
“The picture gives a lively idea of the costume and manners of the
time. Sir Thomas is dressed in ruff and doublet; white shoes with
roses in them, and has a peaked yellow, or, as Master Slender would
say, a cane-coloured beard. His lady is seated on the opposite side
of the picture, in wide ruff and long stomacher, and the children
have a most venerable stiffness and formality of dress. Hounds and
spaniels are mingled in the family group; a hawk is seated on his
perch in the foreground, and one of the children holds a bow; all
intimating the knight’s skill in hunting, hawking, and archery, so
indispensable to an accomplished gentleman in those days.”
[61] It is now generally admitted, however, that the lines beginning--
“A parliament member, a justice of peace,
At home a poor scarecrow, in London an asse,”
were--neither the whole nor a part--written by Shakspere, the lampoon
containing no indications of genius; it is a libel on the memory of
the poet to assert that they were the offspring of his mind--to say
nothing of the “poorspite” they would have manifested,--a feeling
totally away from so great a soul. The story of Shakspere’s early
transgression and its consequences is thus related by Rowe: “An
extravagance that he was guilty of first forced him out of his country,
and that way of living which he had taken up; and though it seemed at
first to be a blemish upon his good manners, and a misfortune to him,
yet it afterwards happily proved the occasion of exerting one of the
greatest geniuses that ever was known in dramatic poetry. He had, by
a misfortune common enough to young fellows, fallen into ill company,
and, amongst them, some that made a frequent practice of deer-stealing,
engaged him more than once in robbing a park that belonged to Sir
Thomas Lucy, of Charlecote, near Stratford; for this he was prosecuted
by that gentleman, as he thought somewhat too severely; and, in order
to revenge that ill-usage, he made a ballad upon him.” That Shakspere
engaged in a frolic similar to the one related of him, is by no means
improbable; freaks of the kind are common enough to “young fellows;”
and although it is impossible to imagine that the poet took part in
this, from any motive other than that love of risk and adventure
inseparable from great minds in the bud, we may readily believe
tradition to be in the main correct. That Sir Thomas Lucy was not a man
of even poor understanding is sufficiently proved by the epitaph to the
memory of his wife.
[62] Mr. Wheeler, a most intelligent gentleman of Stratford, who
has given much time and thought to all subjects connected with
Shakspere’s history,--and by whom we had the advantage of being
accompanied to the church--directed our attention to the fact, that
formerly a charnel-house adjoined the chancel, from which there was a
communicating door. Here the bones of the neglected or forgotten were
gathered:
“The vault
To whose foul mouth no healthsome air comes in,
* * * * * * an ancient receptacle,
Where for these many hundred years, the bones
Of all my buried ancestors are packed.”
And it is by no means unlikely that the frequent contemplation of a
scene so humiliating, and of objects so revolting, may have induced the
anathema,
“Cvrst be he yt moves my bones.”
[63] It was part of the plot of the conspirators implicated in the
Gunpowder Plot to hasten into Warwickshire, seize the person of the
Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I., and proclaim her Queen; and,
on the discovery of the plot, they did so “hasten into Warwickshire”
(it is surmised to Combe Abbey, where probably the princess then
was); but the vigilance of Sir John Harrington secured her from their
hands. In a work published in 1833--“Lives of Eminent and Illustrious
Englishmen,” edited by J. G. Cunningham--we find the following
interesting particulars relative to the son of this Lord Harrington:--
“John, Lord Harrington, born 1591, died 1613, was eldest son of that
Lord Harrington to whose care King James committed the education of
his daughter Elizabeth. While a boy, he spoke French and Italian with
fluency, and was distinguished for the extent, variety, and accuracy
of his learning. During a tour which he made on the Continent, he is
said to have excited the deadly enmity of the Jesuits by his ardent
attachment to the reformed doctrines, and by his bold and eager
avowal of them in public; and it was supposed his premature death was
occasioned by poison, administered during his residence abroad; but
it is extremely probable the whole of this statement may be referred
to the violent religious prejudices and antipathies of the times. On
succeeding to the family title and estates, he honourably discharged
all the debts which his father had contracted by his magnificent style
of housekeeping. He was eminently pious, spending great part of the day
in religious meditation and exercises, and devoting the tenth part of
his income to charitable purposes.” He died in the twenty-second year
of his age, and his estate descended to his two sisters, Lucy, Countess
of Bedford, and Anne, wife of Sir Robert Chichester.”
[64] Mr. Richardson makes the following observations on this
controverted point: “Great portion of the present building was raised
by Lord Harrington; of the ancient monastic pile a portion of the
cloisters only remains; these form a fine corridor, which ranges along
the lower division of the building. On the west side of the house is a
large addition, said to be by Inigo Jones, but which is more probably
the work of Captain William Winde, the pupil of Sir Balthazar Gerbier;
at least, it is ascribed to him by Horace Walpole (see his ‘Anecdotes,’
vol. iii. p. 169, Dallaway’s edition).”
[65] The Princess Elizabeth was married to the Elector Palatine at
the early age of sixteen. Her virtues, talents, and sweetness of
temper, combined with exceeding gaiety of disposition, together with
her personal charms, made her almost an object of idolatry with the
cavaliers of her age. She was usually styled “the queen of hearts;”
and it was to her that Sir Henry Wotton addressed the elegant lines
commencing--
“You meaner beauties of the night,
That weaklie satisfie our eies,
More by your number than your lighte,
Like common people of the skies,
What are you when the moon doth rise?”
Immediately after her marriage to the Elector, they proceeded to their
palace at Heidelberg, which became the focus of the chivalry of the
period.
This scene of their enjoyment and happiness they quitted when the
Elector became king of Bohemia, and thenceforward evil destiny pursued
their steps. The deposed sovereign died of a broken heart, at the early
age of thirty-six; and after his death the queen remained at the Hague,
living in privacy and poverty, but exerting the energies of her fine
mind to educate her children, of whom she had several. The management
of her affairs she confided entirely to her gallant defender the Earl
of Craven, who had entered the military service of the states to be
near her, and to whom she is understood to have been privately married.
On the Restoration she was invited by her nephew, Charles II., to pass
the remainder of her life in England, a proposal which she gladly
accepted. She arrived in London on the 17th of May, 1661, with Lord
Craven, and took up her residence at his house in Drury Lane, where she
remained till the following February, on the 8th of which month she
removed to Leicester House, and died there on the 13th, only five days
after she had entered it. She was buried in Westminster Abbey, in a
vault made for the interment of her brother Henry, prince of Wales.
That her ambition principally induced the downfall of her husband,
there is little doubt. On this subject we borrow an eloquent passage
from Mrs. Jamieson: “One of the most interesting monuments of
Heidelberg, at least to an English traveller, is the elegant triumphal
arch raised by the Palatine Frederick V., in honour of his bride--this
very Elizabeth Stuart. I well remember with what self-complacency and
enthusiasm our chief walked about in a heavy rain, examining, dwelling
upon every trace of this celebrated and unhappy woman. She had been
educated at his country seat; and one of the avenues of his magnificent
park yet bears her name. On her fell a double portion of the miseries
of her fated family. She had the beauty and the wit, the gay spirits
the elegant tastes, the kindly disposition of her grandmother, Mary of
Scotland; her very virtues as a wife and woman, not less than her pride
and feminine prejudices, ruined herself, her husband, and her people.
When Frederick hesitated to accept the crown of Bohemia, his spirited
wife exclaimed, ‘Let me rather eat dry bread at a king’s table than
feast at the board of an elector.’
[66] The legend of Guy of Warwick was extremely popular in the middle
ages; and his encounter with the Danish champion Colbrand, as well
as his victory over the Dun Cow, was the favourite subject of the
wandering minstrel. Dugdale has given the narrative of his battle
with Colbrand, which he seems inclined to believe to be true in the
main features, although “the monks may have sounded out his praises
hyperbolically.” According to him, “in the 3 year of King
Athelstan, A.D. 826, the Danes having invaded England cruelly
wasted the countrys where they marcht, so that there was scarce a
Town or Castle that they had not burnt or destroyed almost as far as
Winchester,” where the King resided, and to whom they sent a message,
requiring him to resign his crown to their generals, holding his power
at their hands, and paying them yearly tribute for the privilege of
ruling; or, that the whole dispute for the kingdom be determined in
a single combat, by two champions, for both sides. The King having
chosen the latter alternative, enjoins a fast for three days, and in
great anguish of heart that Guy, the famous warrior, is absent on a
pilgrimage to the Holy Land, prays Heaven for assistance. An Angel
appears to the King as he lies on his bed, and directs him to arise
early on the morrow, and take two bishops with him to the North gate
of the city, and stay there “till the hour of Prime,” until the poor
people and pilgrims arrive, among whom he must choose a champion, and
the choice must fall on him who goes barefooted, with a wreath of
white roses on his head. The King goes, and meets the Pilgrim, accosts
him, and asks his championship, which he hesitates to give, excusing
himself on the ground of his weakness with much travel, and exhorts him
to seek a fitter help. To this the King bitterly answers, “I had but
one valiant knight, which was Earl of Warwick, called Guy, and he had
a courageous servant, named Sir Heraud de Ardene; would to God I had
him here, for then should this duel be soon undertaken, and the war
finished, and as he spake these words the tears fell from his eyes.”
The Pilgrim is moved, and ultimately consents, and after three weeks
spent in prayer and preparation, the battle begins. Colbrand “came so
weightily harnessed that his horse could scarce carry him, and before
him a cart loaded with Danish axes, great clubs with knobs of iron,
squared bars of steel, lances, and iron hooks, to pull his adversary
to him.” The giant uses a bar of steel in the combat, which lasts the
whole day--Guy in the end proving victorious, and taking a farewell of
the King to whom he declares himself, goes towards Warwick, and thence
to a hermit in its neighbourhood, living with him till his death, and
succeeding him in his cell until his own decease. The spot is still
pointed out, and bears the name of Guy’s Cliff.
But this is not the only Giant story connected with the family. Their
well-known crest or cognisance is said to come from one Morvidus, an
Earl of Warwick in the days of King Arthur, “who being a man of great
valour slew a mighty giant in a single duell, which gyant encountered
him with a young tree pulled up by the root, the boughs being snag’d
from it; in token whereof, he and his successors, earles of Warwick,
in the time of the Brittons, bore a ragged staff of silver in a sable
shield for their cognisance.” Such were the old fables with which
our ancient family histories were obscured, or rendered romantic and
wonderful to the subordinate classes.
[67] From the top of Guy’s Tower, ascended by 133 steps, the view is
most fine and most extensive. Far stretching in the distance are seen
the tall spires of the Churches at Coventry; nearer is the ruined
Castle of Kenilworth; still nearer, are Guy’s Cliff and Blacklow Hill,
famous in legend and story; Leamington appears lying at our feet; while
“Stratford-on-the-Avon” seems almost “within arms-reach;” far off are
the hills of Shropshire; on all sides are fertile plains, of seemingly
illimitable extent, with here and there dark woods and forests; the
Panorama is inconceivably beautiful and grand.
[68] The following legend is given by Dugdale, as extracted from a MS.
penned about the time of Edward IVth:--“Hugh the son of one Richard,
holding the lordship of Hatton and likewise this place of Wroxhall, of
Henry earl of Warwick, was a man of great stature; which Hugh going to
warfare in the Holy Land was taken prisoner, and kept in great hardship
for 7 years: at length he addressed his prayers to St. Leonard, the
patron of his church, who appeared to him in a dream, in the habit of
a black monk, and bade him arise and go home and found at his Church
a house of nuns of St. Benet’s order. He treated it as a dream, but
on its repetition joyfully made a vow to God and S. Leonard that he
would perform his commands: which vow was no sooner made than he was
miraculously carried thence with his fetters, and set in Wroxall woods,
not far from his own house, yet knew _not_ where he was, until a
shepherd of his own accidentally found him, and though much affrighted
(in respect of his being overgrown with hair), after some communication
discovered all to him. His lady and children being apprised of the
circumstance, came forthwith to him, but believed not that he was her
husband till he shewed her a piece of a ring that had been broken
between them. Having given thanks to God, our Lady, and S. Leonard, and
praying for some divine revelation as to the site for his monastery, he
was specially directed by certain stones pitched into the ground in the
very place where the altar was afterwards set. On its completion two of
his daughters were made nuns therein, one of the nuns of Wilton being
fetched to direct them in their rule of S. Benedict.”
[69] Extract from a MSS. written about 1690, by Dr. Markhouse, a
prebendary of Carlisle, upon the “Deanery of Westmorland,” and
containing much curious information upon ecclesiastical matters in that
county.
[70] “Sir William Stirkland in the reign of King John or Henry III.
married Elizabeth, only daughter and heiress of Ralph D’Aincourt and
his wife Helen.”
“This piece of sculpture is one of the earliest instances of the
quartering of arms, and is a curious example of the preference given
to the heiress with whom the family had become allied, the arms of
D’Aincourt being placed first--a circumstance which often occurred at
that early period of heraldic art. The quartered coat was not in use
before the time of Edward III.”
[71] “The family is a branch of the Howards, Dukes of Norfolk: the
first Earl was only son of the fourth Duke of Norfolk by his second
marriage, and was a distinguished naval commander _temp._ Elizabeth.
In 1605 this peer was employed in the search about the houses of
Parliament, which terminated in the discovery of the Gunpowder Plot;
in 1613 he was Lord High Treasurer of England. His second son was the
first Earl of Berkshire.”--DODD’S _Peerage_.
[72] “The reason why the name of Fountains was given to this Abbey is a
matter of some doubt. It is not an improbable conjecture that the monks
might think it conducive to their honour, and that of their house, to
give it the appellation of the place where their founder, St. Bernard,
drew his first breath--Fountaines in Burgundy. This opinion is also
corroborated by the consideration that no remarkable springs break out
on this spot which could have given rise to the appellation. But the
learned and ingenious historian of Craven, Whitaker, has given another
derivation of the word. Skell, the rivulet that washes its walls,
signifies a fountain; and he observes that the first name assigned
to this house was the Abbey of Skeldale; but the monks, who always
wrote in Latin, translated it ‘De Fontibus;’ and afterwards, when the
original name was forgotten, it was translated ‘Fountains.’”
[73] George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, died at a small inn at
Kirby-Moorside, on the 15th April, 1687. He was buried in the
churchyard, but the precise spot is unknown. The following is a literal
extract from the register which records his burial:--
“1687, April 17. Gorges vilaus Lord dooke of bookingam.”
He must have gone to the grave unattended except by the parish
officials. The Earl of Arran accidentally passing by the inn while he
was dying, gave, indeed, directions to see him “decently interred.”
But the memory of his grave has faded; there is not only no stone to
preserve his name, but even tradition cannot point out the spot upon
which to place it, so that his ashes may be covered by a poor monument.
The reader will recall the famous lines of Pope:--
“In the worst inn’s worst room,” &c.
The room is still shewn to the curious; it is a small and poor chamber,
not the “worst” in the house, although a strange contrast to the
princely halls the licentious duke had so long inhabited:--
“No wit to flatter left of all his store,
No fool to laugh at, which he valued more;
There, victor of his health, his fortune, friends,
And fame, this lord of useless thousands ends.”
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The Baronial Halls, - Ancient Picturesque Edifices of England" ***
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