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Title: The Stately Homes of England

Author: Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt
S. C. Hall

Release date: February 10, 2016 [eBook #51173]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STATELY
HOMES OF ENGLAND ***

The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Stately Homes of England, by
Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt and S. C. (Samuel Carter) Hall

Note: Images of the original pages are available through Internet
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THE

STATELY HOMES OF ENGLAND

THE STATELY
HOMES OF ENGLAND

BY

LLEWELLYNN JEWITT, F.S.A., Etc., Etc.

AND

S. C. HALL, F.S.A.

COMPLETE IN TWO SERIES.

ILLUSTRATED WITH

THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD

NEW YORK
A. W. LOVERING, IMPORTER.

INTRODUCTION.

E
NGLAND is rich—immeasurably richer than any other country under
the sun—in its “Homes;” and these homes, whether of the sovereign
or of the high nobility, of the country squire or the merchant-prince,
of the artisan or the labourer, whether, in fact, they are palace or
cottage, or of any intermediate grade, have a character possessed by none
other. England, whose
“Home! sweet home!”

has become almost a national anthem—so closely is its sentiment entwined
around the hearts of the people of every class—is, indeed, emphatically a
Kingdom of Homes; and these, and their associations and surroundings, and
the love which is felt for them, are its main source of true greatness. An
Englishman feels, wherever he may be, that
“Home is home, however lowly;”

and that, despite the attractions of other countries and the glare and
brilliancy of foreign courts and foreign phases of society, after all
“There’s no place like home”

in his own old fatherland.
Beautifully has the gifted poet, Mrs. Hemans, sung of English “Homes,”
and charmingly has she said—
“The Stately Homes of England,
How beautiful they stand
Amidst their tall ancestral trees
O’er all the pleasant land!”

and thus given to us a title for our present work. Of these “Stately Homes”
of our “pleasant land” we have chosen some few for illustration, not for
their stateliness alone, but because the true nobility of their owners allows
their beauties, their splendour, their picturesque surroundings, and their
treasures of art to be seen and enjoyed by all.
Whether “stately” in their proportions or in their style of architecture, in
their internal decorations or their outward surroundings, in the halo of
historical associations which encircle them, or in the families which have
made their greatness, and whose high and noble characters have given them
an enduring interest, these “Homes” are indeed a fitting and pleasant
subject for pen and pencil. The task of their illustration has been a
peculiarly grateful one to us, and we have accomplished it with loving
hands, and with a sincere desire to make our work acceptable to a large
number of readers.
In the first instance, our notices of these “Stately Homes” appeared in
the pages of the Art-Journal, for which, indeed, they were specially
prepared, with the ultimate intention, now carried out, of issuing them in a
collected form. They have, however, now been rearranged, and have
received considerable, and in many instances very important, additions. The
present volume may be looked upon as the first of a short series of volumes
devoted to this pleasant and fascinating subject; others of a similar
character, embracing many equally beautiful, equally interesting, and
equally “stately” Homes will follow.
LLEWELLYNN JEWITT.
Winster Hall, Derbyshire.

CONTENTS OF FIRST SERIES.

PAGE
I. — Alton Towers, Staffordshire 1
II. — Cobham Hall, Kent 37
III. — Mount Edgcumbe, Devonshire 54
IV. — Cothele, Cornwall 70
V. — Alnwick Castle, Northumberland 78
VI. — Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire 116
VII. — Arundel Castle, Sussex 153
VIII. — Penshurst, Kent 172
IX. — Warwick Castle, Warwickshire 192
X. — Haddon Hall, Derbyshire 221
XI. — Hatfield House, Hertfordshire 294
XII. — Cassiobury, Hertfordshire 308
XIII. — Chatsworth, Derbyshire 322

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIRST SERIES.

Page

I.—ALTON TOWERS.
Lion Fountain 1
Ruins of Alton Castle 2
Alton Towers, from the Terrace 4
” from the Lake 6
The Octagon 8
The Conservatories and Alcove 11
The Temple 19
The Conservatories 22
The Pagoda 24
Choragic Temple 27
View from the Lower Terrace 29
The Gothic Temple 31
Part of the Grounds 33
Hospital of St. John 34

II.—COBHAM HALL.
Initial Letter 37
Cobham Hall 38
The Three Sisters 43
The Lodge 45
Interior of the Church 48
The College Porch 50
The College 52

III.—MOUNT EDGCUMBE.
The Eddystone Lighthouse 54
Plymouth Breakwater 57
Mount Edgcumbe, from Stonehouse Pier 59
The Mansion 61
Lady Emma’s Cottage 64
The Gardens 65
The Ruin, the Sound, Drake’s Island, &c. 68
The Salute Battery 69

IV.—COTHELE.
The Mansion 73
The Landing Place 75

V.—ALNWICK CASTLE.
Lighting the Beacon 78
Plan of Alnwick Castle 80
Alnwick Castle, from the River Aln 81
The Barbican 83
The Prudhoe Tower and Chapel 85
The Keep 87
Norman Gateway in the Keep 89

The Armourer’s Tower 91
Figure of Warrior on the Barbican 93
The Well in the Keep 94
The Constable’s Tower 95
Figure of Warrior on the Barbican 96
The East Garret 98
The Garden Gate, or Warder’s Tower 99
Bond Gate: “Hotspur’s Gate” 103
Alnwick Abbey 105
The Percy Cross 107
Hulne Abbey: The Percy Tower 109
” The Church 111
The Brislee Tower 114

VI.—HARDWICK HALL.
Ancient Pargetting, and Arms of Cavendish 116
Hardwick Hall, with the Entrance Gateway 118
The West Front 122
The Great Hall 125
The Grand Staircase 127
The Chapel 129
The Presence Chamber 131
Mary Queen of Scots’ Room 133
The Picture Gallery 135
Ancient Lock, and Arms of Hardwick 137
Hardwick Hall, from the Park 139
The Old Hall at Hardwick 142
Interior of the Old Hall 144
Fac-simile of the Countess of Shrewsbury’s Signature 145
Hault Hucknall Church 146

The Grave of Hobbes of Malmesbury in Hault Hucknall
Church 148

VII.—ARUNDEL CASTLE.
Horned Owls in the Keep 153
The Quadrangle 156
Entrance Gate, from the Interior 158
The Keep 160
The Library 163
The Church of the Holy Trinity 169
Tombs of Thomas Fitzalan and Lady Beatrix in Arundel
Church 171

VIII.—PENSHURST.
The Bell 172
Penshurst, from the President’s Court 174
North and West Fronts 177
View from the Garden 179
The Baron’s Court 182
The Village and Entrance to Churchyard 185
The Record Tower and the Church, from the Garden 186
The Hall and Minstrels’ Gallery 188

IX.—WARWICK CASTLE.
The Swan of Avon 192
The Castle, from the Temple Field 194
The Keep, from the Inner Court 196
Earl of Warwick and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester 198
Earl of Warwick’s Combat before the Emperor
Sigismund and the Empress 199
Earl of Warwick Departing on a Pilgrimage to the Holy
Land 200

Badge of the Earl of Warwick 201
Cæsar’s Tower 202
The Castle, from the Bridge 203
The Castle, from the Island 205
Guy’s Tower 206
The Warder’s Horn 207
The Castle, from the Outer Court 209
The Inner Court, from the Keep 211
Guy’s and the Clock Tower, from the Keep 212
The Castle, from the banks of the Avon 214
The Beauchamp Chapel; Monument of the Founder 216
The Confessional 217
The Oratory 218
Warwick: The East Gate 219

X.—HADDON HALL.
Dorothy Vernon’s Door 221
Haddon, from the Meadows on the Bakewell Road 223
The “Peacock” at Rowsley 225
Haddon, from the Rowsley Road 226
Arms of Vernon quartering Avenell 227
Arms of Lord Vernon 230
Haddon, from the Meadows 234
The Main Entrance 235
Inside of Gateway 236
Ground and Garden Plan of Haddon 237
The first Court-yard 239
Gateway under the Eagle Tower 240
The Chaplain’s Room 241
The Chapel 242
Norman Font in the Chapel 244

Wall-paintings in the Chapel 248
Steps to State Apartments 249
Roman Altar, Haddon Hall 250
The Banqueting-Hall: with the Minstrels’ Gallery 251
Old Oak-table in the Banqueting-Hall 252
The Hand-lock in the Banqueting-Hall 252
Staircase to Minstrels’ Gallery 253
Oriel Window in the Dining-room 255
Ante-room to the Earl’s Bed-room 256
The Ball-room, or Long Gallery 257
Steps to the Ball-room 259
Dorothy Vernon’s Door: Interior 260
Dorothy Vernon’s Door: Exterior 261
The State Bed-room 263
The Archers’ Room, for Stringing Bows, &c. 264
The Rack for Stringing the Bows 265
The Eagle, or Peverel Tower 266
Gallery across Small Yard 267
Room over the Entrance Gateway 268
The Terrace 270
The Hall from the Terrace 271
Arms of Family of Manners 272
Arms of the Duke of Rutland 278
The Foot-Bridge 279
Ring found at Haddon Hall 280
Washing-Tally found at Haddon Hall 281
Bakewell Church 283
Monument of Sir John Manners and his Wife, Dorothy
Vernon 286
Ancient Cross, Bakewell Churchyard 290

XI.—HATFIELD HOUSE.
Armed Knight 294
The Old Palace at Hatfield 295
The Front View 297
The Garden front of Hatfield House 299
The East View 302
The Gallery 304
The Hall 305

XII.—CASSIOBURY.
Crest of the Earl of Essex 308
Back View 310
From the Wood Walks 313
From the South-west 315
The Swiss Cottage 317
The Lodge 318
Monument in the Church at Watford 320

XIII.—CHATSWORTH.
Entrance to the Stables 322
The Old Hall as it formerly stood 325
Chatsworth from the River Derwent 333
The Entrance Gates 335
The Grand Entrance-Lodge at Baslow 340
Edensor Mill Lodge and Beeley Bridge 341
Entrance Gate 342
The Bridge over the River Derwent, in the Park 343
The Great Hall and Staircase 344
Vista of the State Apartments 346
Grinling Gibbons’ Masterpiece 348
The Old State Bed-room 349

The State Drawing-room 351
The State Dining room 352
The Drawing-room 355
The Hebe of Canova 356
The Library 357
Fireplace by Westmacott in the Dining-room 359
The Sculpture Gallery 360
Mater Napoleonis 361
The Pavilion and Orangery, from the East 363
Carving over one of the Doors of the Chapel 365
Carving over one of the Doors of the Chapel 366
Carvings in the Chapel 367
The Private or West Library 370
The Sculpture Gallery and Orangery 372
Bust of the late Duke of Devonshire 373
The French Garden 374
The Great Cascade 375
The Alcove 376
Waterworks—The Willow Tree 377
Part of the Rock-work 378
The Great Conservatory 379
Part of the Rock-work—The Rocky Portal 380
The Emperor Fountain 381
The Garden on the West Front 382
West Front from the South 383
The Hunting Tower 384
Mary Queen of Scots’ Bower 385
The late Sir Joseph Paxton’s House 386
The Victoria Regia 388
Edensor Church and Village 389

Monumental Brass to John Beton 391
Cavendish Monument, Edensor Church 392
Tomb of the Sixth Duke of Devonshire 393
The Chatsworth Hotel, Edensor 395

ALTON TOWERS.

W E commence this series with Alton Towers, one
of the most interesting of the many Stately
Homes of England that dignify and glorify the
Kingdom; deriving interest not alone from
architectural grandeur and the picturesque and
beautiful scenery by which it is environed, but as
a perpetual reminder of a glorious past—its
associations being closely allied with the leading
heroes and worthies of our country.
The Laureate asks, apparently in a tone of
reproach—
“Why don’t these acred sirs
Throw up their parks some dozen times a year,
And let the people breathe?”

The poet cannot be aware that a very large
number of the “parks” of the nobility and gentry
of England are “thrown up” not a “dozen times”
but a hundred times in every year; and that,
frequently, thousands of “the people” breathe
therein—as free to all the enjoyments they supply as the owners
themselves. Generally, also, on fixed days, the chief rooms, such as are
highly decorated or contain pictures—the State Apartments—are open

also; and all that wealth has procured, as far as the eye is concerned, is as
much the property of the humblest artisan as it is of the lord of the soil.
And what a boon it is to the sons and daughters of toil—the hard-
handed men—with their wives and children—workers at the forge, the
wheel, and the loom,—who thus make holiday, obtain enjoyment, and gain
health, under the shadows of “tall ancestral trees” planted centuries ago by
men whose names are histories.

Ruins of Alton Castle.

Indeed a closed park, and a shut-up mansion, are, now, not the rule, but
the exception; the noble or wealthy seem eager to share their acquisitions
with the people; and continually, as at Alton Towers, picturesque and
comfortable “summer houses” have been erected for the ease, shelter, and
refreshment of all comers. Visitors of any rank or grade are permitted to
wander where they will, and it is gratifying to add, that very rarely has any
evil followed such license. At Alton Towers, a few shillings usually pays the
cost consequent upon an inroad of four thousand modern “iconoclasts:” the
grounds being frequently visited by so many in one day.
The good that hence arises is incalculable: it removes the barriers that
separate the rich from the poor, the peer from the peasant, the magnate from

the labourer; and contributes to propagate and confirm the true patriotism
that arises from holy love of country.
Alton, Alveton, Elveton, or Aulton, was held by the Crown at the time
of taking the Domesday survey, but, it would appear, afterwards reverted to
its original holders; Rohesia, the only child of the last of whom, brought
Alton, by marriage, to Bertram de Verdon, who had been previously
married to Maude, daughter of Robert de Ferrars, first Earl of Derby.
Alveton thus became the caput baroniæ of the Verdon family, its members
being Wooton, Stanton, Farley, Ramsor, Coton, Bradley, Spon, Denston,
Stramshall, and Whiston.
From the Verdons, through the Furnivals and Neviles, Alton passed to
the Earls of Shrewsbury, as will be seen from the following notice of the
Verdon family. Godfreye Compte le Verdon, surnamed de Caplif, had a son,
Bertram de Verdon, who held Farnham Royal, Bucks, by grand sergeantry,
circa 1080. He had three sons, one of whom, Norman de Verdon, Lord of
Weobly, co. Hereford, married Lasceline, daughter of Geoffrey de Clinton,
and by her had, with other issue, Bertram de Verdon, who was a Crusader,
and founded Croxden, or Crokesden, Abbey, near Alton, in the twenty-third
year of Henry II., anno 1176. He married twice: his first wife being Maude,
daughter of Robert de Ferrars, first Earl of Derby (who died without issue
in 1139), and his second being Rohesia, daughter and heiress of a former
possessor of Alton, through which marriage he became possessed of that
manor, castle, &c. He was Sheriff of the counties of Warwick and Leicester,
and, dying at Joppa, was buried at Acre. By his wife Rohesia (who died in
1215) he had issue—William; Thomas, who married Eustachia, daughter of
Gilbert Bassett; Bertram; Robert; Walter, who was Constable of Bruges
Castle; and Nicholas, through whom the line is continued through John de
Verdon, who, marrying Marjorie, one of the co-heiresses of Walter de Lacie,
Lord Palatine of the county of Meath, had issue by her—Sir Nicholas de
Verdon of Ewyas-Lacie Castle; John de Verdon, Lord of Weobly;
Humphrey; Thomas; Agnes; and Theobald, who was Constable of Ireland,
3rd Edward I., and was in 1306 summoned as Baron Verdon. He died at
Alton in 1309, and was buried at Croxden Abbey. His son, Theobald de
Verdon, by his first wife, Elizabeth, widow of John de Burgh, Earl of Ulster,
and daughter and one of the co-heiresses of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of
Gloucester, by “Joane de Acres,” had a daughter, married to Lord Ferrars of
Groby; and, by his second wife, Maude, daughter of Edmund, first Baron

Mortimer of Wigmore, had issue, besides three sons who died during his
lifetime, three daughters, who became his co-heiresses.

Alton Towers, from the Terrace.

One of these, Margaret (who married three times), had Weobly Castle
for her portion; another, Elizabeth, married to Lord de Burghersh, had
Ewyas-Lacie Castle for her portion; and the other, Joan, had for her portion
Alton, with its castle and dependencies. This lady (Joan de Verdon) married,
firstly, William de Montague; and, secondly, Thomas, second Lord
Furnival, who, for marrying her without the king’s licence, was fined in the
sum of £200. She had by this marriage two sons, Thomas and William, who
were successively third and fourth Barons Furnival, lords of Hallamshire.
This William, Lord Furnival, married Thomasin, daughter and heiress of
Nicholas, second Baron Dagworth of Dagworth, and had by her a sole
daughter and heiress, Joan de Furnival, who, marrying Thomas Neville of
Hallamshire, brother to the Earl of Westmoreland, conveyed to him the title
and estates, he being summoned in 1383 as fifth Baron Furnival. By her he
had issue, two daughters and co-heiresses, the eldest of whom, Maude,
“Lady of Hallamshire,” married, in 1408, John Talbot, afterwards first Earl
of Shrewsbury and sixth Baron Talbot of Goderich—“Le Capitaine
Anglais.” This nobleman, whose military career was one of the most

brilliant recorded in English history, was summoned as Baron Furnival of
Sheffield in 1409; created Earl of Shrewsbury, 1442; and Earl of Waterford,
&c., 1446. He was slain, aged eighty, at Chatillon, in 1453, and was buried
at Whitchurch. This Earl of Shrewsbury, who so conspicuously figures in
Shakespeare’s Henry VI., enjoyed, among his other titles, that of “Lord
Verdon of Alton”—a title which continued in the family, the Alton estates
having now for nearly five centuries uninterruptedly belonged to them.
The titles of this great Earl of Shrewsbury are thus set forth by
Shakespeare, when Sir William Lucy, seeking the Dauphin’s tent, to learn
what prisoners have been taken, and to “survey the bodies of the dead,”
demands—
“Where is the great Alcides of the field,
Valiant Lord Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury?
Created, for his rare success in arms,
Great Earl of Washford, Waterford, and Valence
Lord Talbot of Goodrig and Urchinfield,
Lord Strange, of Blackmere, Lord Verdun of Alton,
Lord Cromwell of Wingfield, Lord Furnival of Sheffield,
The thrice victorious Lord of Falconbridge;
Knight of the noble order of Saint George,
Worthy Saint Michael, and the Golden Fleece;
Great Mareshal to Henry the Sixth
Of all his wars within the realm of France.”

To which, it will be remembered, La Pucelle contemptuously replies—
“Here is a silly stately style indeed!
The Turk, that two-and-fifty kingdoms hath—
Writes not so tedious a style as this—
Him that thou magnifiest with all these titles,
Stinking and fly-blown, lies here at our feet.”

From this John, Earl of Shrewsbury,—“the scourge of France,” “so
much feared abroad that with his name the mothers still their babes,”—the
manor and estates of Alton and elsewhere passed to his son, John, second
earl, who married Elizabeth Butler, daughter of James, Earl of Ormond, and
was succeeded by his son, John, third earl, who married Catherine Stafford,
daughter of Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham; and was in like manner
succeeded by his son, George, fourth earl, K.G., &c., who was only five
years of age at his father’s death. He was succeeded, as fifth earl, by his

son, Francis; who, dying in 1560, was succeeded by his son, George, as
sixth earl.

Alton Towers, from the Lake.

This nobleman married, first, Gertrude Manners, daughter of Thomas,
Earl of Rutland; and, second, Elizabeth (generally known as “Bess of
Hardwick,” for an account of whom, see the article on Hardwick Hall in the
present volume), daughter of John Hardwick, of Hardwick Hall,
Derbyshire, and successively widow, first, of Robert Barlow, of Barlow;
second, of Sir William Cavendish, of Chatsworth; and, third, of Sir William
St. Loe. She was the builder of Chatsworth and of Hardwick Hall. To him
was confided the care of Mary Queen of Scots. He was succeeded by his
son Gilbert, as seventh earl. This young nobleman was married before he
was fifteen to Mary, daughter of Sir William Cavendish of Chatsworth. He
left no surviving male issue, and was succeeded by his brother, Edward, as

eighth earl, who, having married Jane, daughter of Cuthbert, Lord Ogle,
died, without issue, being the last of this descent, in 1617. The title then
passed to a distant branch of the family, in the person of George Talbot, of
Grafton; who, being descended from Sir Gilbert Talbot, third son of the
second earl, succeeded as ninth earl. From him the title descended in
regular lineal succession to Charles, twelfth earl, who was created by
George I. Duke of Shrewsbury and Marquis of Alton, and a K.G. At his
death, the dukedom and marquisate expired, and from that time, until 1868,
the earldom has never passed directly from a father to a son. The thirteenth
earl was a Jesuit priest, and he was succeeded by his nephew as fourteenth
earl. Charles, fifteenth earl, dying without issue, in 1827, was succeeded by
his nephew, John (son of John Joseph Talbot, Esq.), who became sixteenth
earl. That nobleman died in 1852, and was succeeded as seventeenth earl,
by his cousin, Bertram Arthur Talbot (nephew of Charles, fifteenth earl),
who was the only son of Lieut.-Colonel Charles Thomas Talbot. This young
nobleman was but twenty years of age when he succeeded to the title and
estates, which he enjoyed only four years, dying unmarried at Lisbon, on
the 10th of August, 1856. Earl Bertram, who, like the last few earls his
predecessors, was a Roman Catholic, bequeathed the magnificent estates of
Alton Towers to the infant son of the Duke of Norfolk, Lord Edward
Howard, also a Roman Catholic; but Earl Talbot (who was opposed in his
claim by the Duke of Norfolk, acting for Lord Edward Howard; by the
Princess Doria Pamphili, of Rome, the only surviving child of Earl John;
and by Major Talbot, of Talbot, co. Wexford) claimed the peerage and
estates as rightful heir. After a long-protracted trial, Earl Talbot’s claim was
admitted by the House of Lords, in 1858; and after another trial his lordship
took formal possession of Alton Towers and the other estates of the family,
and thus became eighteenth Earl of Shrewsbury, in addition to his title of
third Earl of Talbot.
His lordship (the Hon. Henry John Chetwynd Talbot, son of Earl Talbot)
was born in 1803. He served in the Royal Navy, and became an admiral on
the reserved list. He was also a Knight of the Order of St. Anne of Russia,
and of St. Louis of France, a Knight of the Bath, and a Privy Councillor. In
1830, his lordship, then Mr. Talbot, represented Thetford in Parliament; and
in the following year was elected for Armagh and for Dublin; and from
1837 until 1849, when he entered the Upper House as Earl Talbot, he
represented South Staffordshire. In 1852 his lordship was made a Lord in

Waiting to the Queen; in 1858 Captain of the Corps of Gentlemen at Arms;
and was also Hereditary Lord High Steward of Ireland.

The Octagon.

He married in 1828 Lady Sarah Elizabeth Beresford, eldest daughter of
the second Marquis of Waterford, and by her had issue living four sons, viz.
—Charles John, present, nineteenth, Earl of Shrewsbury; the Hon. Walter
Cecil Talbot, who, in 1869, assumed, by Royal Sign Manual, the surname
of Carpenter in lieu of that of Talbot, on his succeeding to the Yorkshire
estates of the late Countess of Tyrconnell; the Hon. Reginald Arthur James
Talbot, M.P. for Stafford; and the Hon. Alfred Talbot; and three daughters,
viz.: Lady Constance Harriet Mahunesa, married to the Marquis of Lothian;

Lady Gertrude Frances; and Lady Adelaide, married at her father’s death-
bed, June 1st, 1868, to the Earl Brownlow. The eighteenth Earl died in June,
1868, and was succeeded by his son, Charles John, Viscount Ingestre, M.P.,
as nineteenth earl.
The present peer, the noble owner of princely Alton, of Ingestre, and of
other mansions, Charles John Talbot, nineteenth Earl of Shrewsbury, fourth
Earl of Talbot, of Hemsoll, in the county of Glamorgan, Earl of Waterford,
Viscount Ingestre, of Ingestre, in the county of Stafford, and Baron Talbot,
of Hemsoll, in the county of Glamorgan, Hereditary Lord High Steward of
Ireland, and Premier Earl in the English and Irish peerages, was born in
1830, and was educated at Eton and at Merton College, Oxford. In 1859 he
became M.P. for North Staffordshire, and, in 1868, for the borough of
Stamford. In 1868 he succeeded his father in the titles and estates, and
entered the Upper House. He formerly held a commission in the 1st Life
Guards. His lordship married, in 1855, Anne Theresa, daughter of
Commander Richard Howe Cockerell, R.N., and has issue one son, Charles
Henry John, Viscount Ingestre, born in 1860; and three daughters, the Hon.
Theresa Susey Helen Talbot, born in 1856; the Hon. Gwendoline Theresa
Talbot, born in 1858; and the Hon. Muriel Frances Louisa Talbot, born in
1859.
The Earl of Shrewsbury is patron of thirteen livings, eight of which are
in Staffordshire, two in Worcestershire, and one each in Oxfordshire,
Berkshire, and Shropshire.
The arms of the earl are, gules, a lion rampant within a bordure
engrailed, or. Crest, on a chapeau, gules, turned up, ermine, a lion statant,
with the tail extended, or. Supporters, two talbots, argent.
We have thus given a history of this illustrious family from its founder
to the present day, and proceed to describe its principal seat in Staffordshire
—the beautiful and “stately home” of Alton Towers.
The castle of the De Verdons, which was dismantled by the army of the
Parliament, stood on the commanding and truly picturesque eminence now
occupied by the unfinished Roman Catholic Hospital of St. John and other
conventual buildings, &c. A remarkably interesting view, showing the
commanding site of the castle, and the valley of Churnet, with Alton
Church, &c., is fortunately preserved in an original painting from which our
first engraving is made.

The site of Alton Towers was originally occupied by a plain house, the
dwelling of a steward of the estate. A hundred and forty years ago it was
known as “Alveton (or Alton) Lodge,” and was evidently a comfortable
homestead, with farm buildings adjoining.
When Charles, fifteenth Earl of Shrewsbury, succeeded to the titles and
estates of his family, in the beginning of the present century, he made a tour
of his estates, and on visiting Alton was so much pleased with the natural
beauties of the place, and its surrounding neighbourhood, that he
determined upon improving the house and laying out the grounds, so as to
make it his summer residence.[1] With that view he added considerably to
the steward’s dwelling, and having, with the aid of architects and landscape
gardeners, converted that which was almost wilderness into a place of
beauty, he called it “Alton Abbey,”—a name to which it had no right or
even pretension. To his taste, the conservatories, the temples, the pagoda,
the stone circle, the cascades, the fountains, the terraces, and most of the
attractive features of the grounds, owe their origin, as do many of the rooms
of the present mansion. A pleasant memory of this excellent nobleman is
preserved at the entrance to the gardens, where, in a noble cenotaph, is a
marble bust, with the literally true inscription—
“He made the desert smile.”

After his death, in 1827, his successor, Earl John, continued the works
at Alton, and, by the noble additions he made to the mansion, rendered it
what it now is—one of the most picturesque of English seats. In 1832 his
lordship consulted Pugin as to some of the alterations and additions, and
this resulted in his designing some new rooms, and decorating and altering
the interior of others. Mr. Fradgley and other architects had also previously
been employed, and to their skill a great part of the beauty of Alton Towers
is attributable. The parts executed by Pugin are the balustrade at the great
entrance, the parapet round the south side, the Doria apartments over Lady
Shrewsbury’s rooms, on the south-east side of the house, called sometimes
the “plate-glass drawing-room,” the apartments over the west end of the
great gallery, and the conservatory, &c. The fittings and decorations of
many of the other rooms and galleries, including the unfinished dining-hall
and the chapel, are also his. The entrance lodges near the Alton Station are
likewise from Pugin’s designs.

The Conservatories and Alcove.

The principal, or state, entrance to the mansion is on the east side, but
the private foot entrance from the park is by the drawbridge, while that
from the gardens and grounds is by a path leading over the entrance
gateway or tower. To reach the state entrance the visitor on leaving the park,
passes a noble gateway in an embattled and machicolated tower, with side
turrets and embrasures, near to which he will notice the sculptured arms of
De Verdon, of Furnival, and of Raby, and on the inner side of the tower,
those of Talbot, with the date, 1843. Passing between embattled walls, the
entrance to the right is a majestic tower, bearing sculptured over the
doorway the armorial bearings, crest, supporters, with mantling, &c., of the
Earl of Shrewsbury. The steps leading to the doorway are flanked on either
side by a life-size “talbot,” bearing the shield and the family arms, while on
the pedestals, &c., are the monogram of Earl John, and the motto “Prest
d’accomplir.” Passing through the doors the visitor enters the Entrance
Tower, a square apartment of extremely lofty proportions. “The doors being

closed after him, he will at once notice the most striking feature of this hall
to be, that the entrance-doors and the pair of similar folding-doors facing
them—each of which is some twenty feet high, and of polished oak—are
painted on their full size with the arms, supporters, &c., of the Earl of
Shrewsbury. This fine effect, until the place was dismantled a few years
since, was considerably heightened by the assemblage of arms, and armour,
and of stags’ antlers, &c., with which the walls were decorated. In this
apartment the old blind Welsh harper, a retainer of the family, with his long
dress, covered with medals and silver badges, sat for years and played his
native strains on the ancient bardic instrument of his country.
“From this apartment one of the immense pairs of heraldic doors opens
into ‘The Armoury,’ a fine Gothic apartment of about 120 feet in length,
with oak roof, the arches of which spring from carved corbels, while from
the central bosses hang a series of pendant lanterns. The ‘armoury’ is lit on
its north side by a series of stained-glass windows, the first of which bears,
under a canopy, &c., the portrait and armorial bearings of William the
Conqueror; the next those of ‘Marescallus pater Gilberti Marescalli Regis
Henrici Primi, temp. Willm. Conqr.;’ the third, those of Donald, King of
Scotland, 1093; the fourth, those of Raby; the fifth, those of De Verdun, the
founder of the castle of Alton (‘Verdun fund: Cast: de Alveton, originalis
familiæ de Verdun, temp. Will. Conqr.’); and the sixth, of Lacy—‘Summa
soror et heres Hugonis de Lacy, fundatoris de Lanthony in Wallia; Mater
Gilberti de Lacy, temp. Will. Conqr.’ In this apartment, from which a
doorway leads to the billiard and other rooms, hang a number of funeral and
other banners of the house of Talbot, and at one end is the Earl’s banner as
Lord High Seneschal or Lord High Steward of Ireland—a blue banner
bearing the golden harp of ‘Old Ireland’ which was borne by the Earl of
Shrewsbury at the funeral of King William IV. In the palmy days of Alton
this apartment was filled with one of the most magnificent assemblages of
arms and armour ever got together, amongst which not the least noticeable
feature was a life-size equestrian figure of ‘the great Talbot’ in full armour,
and bearing on his head an antique coronet, in his hand a fac-simile of the
famous sword which he wielded so powerfully while living, bearing the
words—
‘Ego sum Talboti pro vincere inimicos meos

and on his shoulders his magnificent ‘Garter’ mantle, embroidered with
heraldic insignia. The horse was fully armed and caparisoned, the trappings
bearing the arms and insignia of its noble owner. The figure was placed on a
raised oak platform, richly carved; and on this, at the horse’s feet, lay the
fine war helmet of the grand old Earl. At the farther or west end of the
armoury, a pair of open screen-work doors of large size, formed of spears
and halberds, and surmounted by a portcullis—the whole being designed by
a former Countess of Shrewsbury—opens into—
“The Picture-Gallery.—This noble gallery, about 150 feet in length,
has a fine oak and glass ceiling, supported by a series of arches, which
spring from corbels formed of demi-talbots, holding in their paws shields
with the Talbot arms, while in each spandrel of the roof are also the same
arms. The room is lit with sumptuous chandeliers. In this gallery was
formerly a series of tables, containing articles of vertu and a large
assemblage of interesting objects, while the walls were literally covered
with paintings of every school, including the collection formed by Letitia
Buonaparte, which was purchased in Paris by Earl John. It is now entirely
denuded of this treasure of art. From the Picture-Gallery a pair of Gothic
screen-work oak and glass folding-doors, with side lights to correspond,
opens into—
“The Octagon (sometimes called the ‘Saloon,’ or ‘Sculpture-Gallery’),
an octagonal room designed to some extent from the splendid Chapter
House at Wells Cathedral. Like this it has a central pier, or clustered
column, of sixteen shafts, from the foliated capital of which the ribs of the
vaulted roof radiate. Other radiating ribs spring from shafts at the angles of
the room; and where the radiations meet and cross are sculptured bosses,
while a series of geometric cuspings fills in between the intersecting ribs at
the points of the arches. Around the base of the central column is an
octagonal seat, and stone benches are placed in some parts of the sides. It is
lit with pendant Gothic lanterns.
“The ‘Octagon’ opens on its east side into the ‘Picture-Gallery;’ on its
west into the ‘Talbot Gallery;’ and on its north into the ‘Conservatory.’ On
its south is a fine large window of Perpendicular tracery filled with stained
glass, while on the other four sides are small windows, diapered in diagonal
lines, with the motto, ‘Prest d’Accomplir,’ alternating with monograms and
heraldic devices of the family. Over the Picture-Gallery doorway the
following curious verses—a kind of paraphrase of the family motto, ‘Prest

d’Accomplir,’ which is everywhere inscribed—are painted in old English
characters on an illuminated scroll:—
“‘The redie minde regardeth never toyle,
But still is Prest t’accomplish heartes intent;
Abrode, at home, in every coste or soyle.
The dede is done, that inwardly is meante;
Which makes me saye to every vertuous dede,
I am still Prest t’accomplish what’s decreede.

“‘But byd to goe I redie am to roune,
But byd to roune I redie am to ride;
To goe, roune, ride, or what else to bee done.
Speke but the word, and sone it shall be tryde;
Tout prest je suis pour accomplix la chose,
Par tout labeur qui vous peut faire repose.

“‘Prest to accomplish what you shall commande,
Prest to accomplish what you shall desyre,
Prest to accomplish your desires demande,
Prest to accomplish heaven for happy hire;
Thus do I ende, and at your will I reste,
As you shall please, in every action Prest.’

“Above this, and other parts of the walls, are the emblazoned arms of
Talbot, Furnivall, De Verdun, Lacy, Raby, and the other alliances of the
family; while in the large stained-glass window on the south side are
splendid full-length figures of six archbishops and bishops of the Talbot
family, with their arms and those of the sees over which they presided.
Beneath this window are two beautiful models, full size, of ancient tombs
of the great Talbots of former days. One of these is the famous tomb, from
Whitchurch, of John, first Earl of Shrewsbury, who was killed in battle July
7, 1453. It bears a full-length effigy of the Earl in his Garter robes and
armour, and bears on its sides and ends a number of emblazoned shields of
the Talbot alliances, and the following inscription:—
“‘Orate pro anima prœnobilis domini, domini Johanis Talbot, Comitis Salopiæ, domini
Furnival, domini Verdun, domini Strange de Blackmere, et Mareschalli Franciæ; qui obiit,
in bello apud Burdeux vii Julii mccccliii.’

“It is related that when this noble warrior was slain, his herald passing
over the battle-field to seek the body, at length found it bleeding and
lifeless, when he kissed it, and broke out into these passionate and dutiful
expressions:—‘Alas! it is you: I pray God pardon all your misdoings. I have

been your officer of arms forty years or more. It is time I should surrender it
to you.’ And while the tears trickled plentifully down his cheek, he disrobed
himself of his coat of arms and flung it over his master’s body. This is the
knight of whom we read—
“‘Which Sir John Talbote, first Lord Fournivall,
Was most worthie warrior we read of all.
For by his knigh thode and his chivalrye
A Knight of the Garter first he was made;
And of King Henry, first Erle Scrovesberye.
To which Sir John, his sone succession hade,
And his noble successors now therto sade;
God give them goode speede in their progresse,
And Heaven at their ende, both more or lesse.
The live to report of this foresaid lorde
How manly hee was, and full chivalrose:
What deedes that he did I cannot by worde
Make rehersal, by meter ne prose;
How manly, how true, and how famose,
In Ireland, France, Normandy, Lyon, and Gascone
His pere so long renyng I rede of none.
* * * * * * *
Which while he reigned was most knight
That was in the realme here many yere,
Most dughty of hand and feresest in fight,
Most drede of all other with French men of werr
In Ireland, France, Gyon; whose soule God absolve
And bring to that Llyss that will not dissolve.’

“From the north side of the ‘Octagon’ a flight of stone steps leads up to
a glass doorway, which opens into a glass vestibule, forming a part of the
‘Conservatory,’ of which I shall speak a little later on. This conservatory
leads into the ‘Dining-room’ and the suite on the north side, and the view
along it from the Octagon is charming in the extreme, not the least striking
and sweetly appropriate matter being the motto painted above the flowers
and around the cornice of the vestibule:—
“‘The speech of flowers exceeds all flowers of speech.’

“On the west side a similar flight of steps and doorway open into
“The Talbot Gallery, a magnificent apartment of about the same size
and proportions as the ‘Picture-Gallery.’ It has a fine Gothic ceiling of oak
and glass, supported, like that of the Picture-Gallery, on arches springing
from demi-talbots bearing shields. The walls, to about two-thirds of their

height, are covered with a rich arabesque paper of excellent design, while
the upper part is painted throughout its entire surface in diagonal lines with
the Talbot motto ‘Prest d’Accomplir,’ alternating with the initials T. (Talbot)
and S. (Shrewsbury). On this diapered groundwork are painted, at regular
intervals, shields of arms, fully blazoned, with tablets beneath them
containing the names of their illustrious bearers. The series of arms on the
south side shows the descent of the Earl of Shrewsbury from the time of the
Conquest, while those on the north side exhibit the armorial bearings of the
alliances formed by the females of the House of Talbot. As these series are
of great importance, and have only heretofore been given in Mr. Jewitt’s
work upon Alton Towers, from which the whole of the description of the
interior here given is copied, I have carefully noted them for the reader’s
information. On the south side, commencing at the end next the ‘Octagon,’
the arms are as follows, the arms being all impaled:—
“William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders.
King Henry I. and Matilda of Scotland.
Geoffrey Plantagenet, Earl of Anjou, and Matilda, daughter of King Henry I.
King Henry II. and Eleanor of Aquitaine.
King John and Isabella d’Angoulême.
King Henry III. and Eleanor of Provence.
King Edward I. and Eleanor of Castile.
Humphrey Bohun, Earl of Hereford, and Elizabeth, daughter of King Edward I.
James Butler, Earl of Ormond, and Eleanor, daughter of the Earl of Hereford.
James, Earl of Ormond, and Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Kildare.
James, Earl of Ormond, and Anne, daughter of Baron Welles.
James, Earl of Ormond, and Joane, daughter of William de Beauchamp.
John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Ormond.
Sir Gilbert Talbot, Knight of the Garter, and Audrey Cotton.
Sir John Talbot and Ada Troutbecke.
Sir John Talbot and Frances Clifford.
John Talbot and Catherine Petre.
John Talbot and Eleanor Baskerville.
John, Earl of Shrewsbury, and Mary Fortescue.
Gilbert Talbot and June Flatsbury.
George, Earl of Shrewsbury, and Mary Fitzwilliam.
Charles Talbot and Mary Mostyn.
John Joseph Talbot and Mary Clifton.
‘John, now Earl of Shrewsbury, Waterford, and Wexford,’ and Maria Talbot.
Richard, Baron Talbot, ancestor of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and Elizabeth Cummin.
John, father of Elizabeth Cummin, and Joane de Valence.
William de Valletort, Earl of Pembroke, and Joane Mountchesney.
Hugh, Count de la Marche, and Isabel d’Angoulême.
Aymer, Count d’Angoulême, and Alice de Courteney.
Peter, fils de France, and the Heiress of Courteney.
Louis VI., King of Fiance, father of Peter de Courteney.

Richard Talbot and Eva, daughter of Gerrard de Gournay.
Hugh Talbot and Beatrix, daughter of William de Mandeville.
Richard Talbot and Maud, daughter of Stephen Bulmer.
Richard Talbot and Aliva, daughter of Alan Bassett.
William Talbot and Gwendiline, daughter of Rhys ap Griffith, Prince of Wales.
Richard Baron Talbot and Elizabeth Cummin.
John Cummin, grandfather of Elizabeth, and Margery Baliol.
John Baliol and Dorvegillia, Lady of Galloway.
David the First, King of Scotland, and the Lady of Galloway.

“On the north side, beginning at the west end, the arms of the female
alliances are as on the other side—impaled—and are as follows:—
“Joane Talbot, married to John Carew.
Joane Talbot to John de Dartmouth.
Elizabeth Talbot to Waren Archdekene.
Katherine Talbot to Sir Roger Chandos.
Phillippa Talbot to Sir Matthew Gournay.
Jane Talbot to Sir Nicholas Poynings.
Anne Talbot to Hugh, Earl of Devon.
Mary Talbot to Sir Thomas Greene.
Elizabeth Talbot to Sir Thomas Barre.
Jane Talbot to Hugh de Cokesay.
Elizabeth Talbot to Thomas Gray, Viscount Lisle.
Margaret Talbot to Sir George Vere.
Anne Talbot to Sir Henry Vernon.
Margaret Talbot to Thomas Chaworth.
Eleanor Talbot to Thomas, Baron Sudeley.
Margaret Talbot to Henry, Earl of Cumberland.
Mary Talbot to Henry, Earl of Northumberland.
Elizabeth Talbot to Lord Dacre of Gilsland.
Anne Talbot to Peter Compton.
Anne Talbot to William, Earl of Pembroke.
Anne Talbot to John, Baron Bray.
Anne Talbot to Thomas, Lord Wharton.
Catherine Talbot to Edward, Earl of Pembroke.
Mary Talbot to Sir George Saville.
Grace Talbot to Henry Cavendish.
Mary Talbot to William, Earl of Pembroke.
Elizabeth Talbot to Henry, Earl of Kent.
Alatheia Talbot to Thomas, Earl of Arundel.
Gertrude Talbot to Robert, Earl of Kingston.
Mary Talbot to Thomas Holcroft.
Mary Talbot to Sir William Airmine.
Margaret Talbot to Robert Dewport.
Elizabeth Talbot to Sir John Littleton.
Mary Talbot to Thomas Astley.
Joane Talbot to Sir George Bowes.
Mary Talbot to Mervin, Earl of Castlehaven.
Barbara Talbot to James, Lord Aston.

Mary Talbot to Charles, Baron Dormer.
Mary Alathea Beatrix Talbot to Prince Filippo Doria Pamfili.
Gwendaline Catherine Talbot to Prince Marc Antonio Borghese.

“On and over the doorway are the arms and quarterings of the Talbots,
and the sculptured stone chimney-pieces are of the most exquisite character,
having Talbots supporting enamelled banners of arms under Gothic
canopies, and shields on the cuspings. At the top also is a shield, supported
by two angels. The fire-place is open, and has fire-dogs; and the tiles are
decorated alternately with the letter S for Shrewsbury, and I T conjoined,
for John Talbot.
“At the west end is a splendid stained-glass window, exhibiting the
names, armorial bearings, and dates of Earl John and nine of his ancestors,
who have been Knights of the Garter—the garter encircling each of the
shields. The names are Gilbert, Lord Talbot, 19 Henry VI.; John, Earl of
Shrewsbury, 1460; George, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury; George Talbot; Francis,
5th Earl of Shrewsbury; Sir Gilbert Talbot, 1495; George, 6th Earl of
Shrewsbury; Gilbert, 7th Earl of Shrewsbury, 1592; Charles, Earl of
Shrewsbury, 1604; and John, Earl of Shrewsbury, 1840.
“In the palmy days of Alton Towers, this room, the Talbot Gallery,
contained a splendid collection of choice paintings, a fine assemblage of
rare china, some exquisite sculpture, and a large number of articles of vertu
of every imaginable class and character. From the north side a small door
opens into—
“The Oak Corridor, a narrow passage leading in a straight line to the
North Library, and having doorways opening on its left into both of the
state-rooms. The first of these rooms, after passing the ‘waiting-room’ or
‘ante-room,’ is—
“The State Boudoir, an octagonal apartment with a magnificent carved,
painted, and gilt Gothic ceiling. This, in former days, when it contained
some fine old cabinets, a service of regal Sèvres china, and some exquisite
portraits, and was filled with sumptuous furniture, was one of the most
charming rooms imaginable. Next to this is—
“The State Bed-room.—The ceiling is panelled, being divided by deep
ribs into squares, having the ground painted a pale blue; rich tracery of oak
and gold stretches toward the centre of each compartment, and terminates
with a gold leaf; the hollow mouldings of the ribs are crimson, studded with

gold; below is a deep cornice of vine-leaves and fruit picked out green and
gold; and the walls are hung with paper of an azure ground, relieved with
crimson and gold.

The Temple.

“The State Bed, which is about 18 feet in height and 9 feet in width, is a
sumptuous piece of massive Gothic furniture, all gilt in every part and
massively carved. Around the canopy hangs the most costly of bullion
fringe, and the hangings, as well as those of the windows and other
furniture, are of the richest possible golden Indian silk. This room formerly
contained a toilet service of gold, and the whole of the furniture and
decorations were of the grandest character. The chimney-piece is of white
marble, exquisitely carved, and bearing on the spandrels the Talbot arms—a
lion rampant within a bordure engrailed. The furniture is all gilt like the
bed, with which also the drapery is en suite. The windows, as do also those
of the boudoir, look out upon a perfect sea of magnificent rhododendrons.
One door opens into the Oak Corridor, and another into—
“The Dining-Room, from which, by a doorway, the Oak Corridor is also
entered, and from which, by a light staircase, access to the upper suite of
sleeping apartments, including the ‘Arragon room’ (and to the lower rooms)
is gained. From this ante-room—

“The West Library is entered. This apartment, a fine, sombre, quiet-
looking room, has a panelled ceiling, at the intersections of the ribs of
which are carved heraldic bosses. In the centre is a large and massive dark
oak table, and around the sides of the room are ranged fine old carved and
inlaid cabinets and presses for books. Over these presses, and in different
parts of this room and of the ‘North Library,’ are a number of well-chosen
mottoes, than which for a library nothing could well be more appropriate.
Thus, in these mottoes, among others we read—
“‘Study wisdom and make thy heart joyful.’
“‘The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the portion of fools.’
“‘They that be wise shall shine as the firmament.’
“‘Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and is rich in prudence.’
“‘The heart of the wise shall instruct his mouth and add grace to his lips.’
“‘Take hold on instruction; leave it not; keep it because it is thy life.’
“‘Knowledge is a fountain of life to him that possesseth it.’

“From this fine apartment the North Library is entered by two open
archways. This room is similar in its appointments to the West Library, and
with it forms one magnificent whole. At the north-west corner of this room
(in the tower) is a charming apartment, connected with the library by an
open archway, called—
“The Poet’s Bay or ‘Poet’s Corner,’ which is one of the most charming
of all imaginable retreats. The bay window overlooks the park and the
distant country for miles away, while the side windows overlook parts of
the grounds and buildings. The ceiling is of the most elaborate character,
covered with minute tracery and exquisite pendents picked out in gold and
colours. At the west end of the library is a stained-glass window with full-
length figures of ‘Gilbert Talbot’ and the ‘Lady Joan,’ with their arms under
Gothic canopies. From this room a door on the south side opens into the
‘Oak Corridor,’ while two open arches at the east end connect it with—
“The Music-Room, the ceiling of which is an elegant example of
flamboyant tracery, the ground being blue, and the raised tracery white and
gold. The chimney-piece of white marble is elaborately sculptured, and
from it rises a majestic pier-glass. On either side are portraits of Earl John
and his Countess, life-size, surmounted by their coronets. The furniture
which remains is of remarkably fine character, carved and gilt, and the
walls are here and there filled in with mirrors, which add much to the effect.
On the south side is a large and deeply-recessed bay window, like the rest,

of Gothic design, with stained glass in its upper portion, representing King
David playing on the harp, St. Cecilia, and angels with various musical
instruments. In front of this window is a beautiful parterre of flowers, the
Conservatory being to the left, and the state-rooms to the right. From the
‘Music-Room,’ glass doors, in a Gothic screen, open into a small library,
with Gothic presses and stained-glass window with Talbot arms, &c. From
this room another similar door opens into—
“The Drawing-Room, a remarkably fine and strikingly grand Gothic
apartment, with a ceiling of flamboyant tracery of very similar design to the
one already named. To the right, on entering, a central door of Gothic
screen-work and glass opens into the Conservatory, which, as I have before
said, connects this room and those on the north side with the Octagon and
those on the south side. The Conservatory is entirely of glass, both roof and
sides, and has a central transept. It is filled with the choicest plants, and in
every part, except the vestibule, the sweetly pretty and appropriate text,
‘Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they
spin, yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like unto one of these,’ is painted around the cornice. In the vestibule, as I
have said, the motto is, ‘The speech of flowers exceeds all flowers of
speech.’ Over the Conservatory door, in stained glass, are the arms of
Talbot, Verdun, &c.; the crowned rose and thistle; and other devices.
Opposite to the Conservatory, on the north side, is the ‘Saloon.’ The
furniture of the ‘Drawing-room,’ the chairs, couches, and seats, are all of
the most costly character, some of them draped with the arms, supporters,
&c., of the earl in gold and crimson damask. On a table in this room are
arranged the various addresses, in cabinets, &c., presented to the late Earl
of Shrewsbury on his accession to the earldom and estates after the trial in
1860, and a magnificent ancient casket, the outer glass case of which bears
the inscription—‘La casset Talbot presente par Jean, premier Comte de
Shreusburie, sur son mariage a Marguerite Beauclerc.’ On the walls, besides
other paintings, is a fine full-length seated figure of Queen Adelaide. The
ends of the room are Gothic screen-work, with doors and mirrors. One of
these, at the east end, leads into another small library, and so on by a small
gallery, denuded of its objects of interest, to the Chapel Corridor
(elaborately groined and panelled in oak), from which the private
apartments are gained, and which also leads direct to—

“The Chapel, which, although ruthlessly shorn of its relics, its paintings,
its altar, its shrines, and all its more interesting objects, is still one of the
most gorgeous and beautiful of rooms. It is enough to say that it is one of
Pugin’s masterpieces, and that the stained glass is perhaps the finest that
even Willement, by whom it was executed, ever produced. It is impossible
to conceive anything finer than was the effect of this chapel when it was in
perfect order.

The Conservatories.

“With the drawing-room, as I have said, an open archway connects
another magnificent apartment, the Saloon, which has a fine oak-groined
ceiling, with elegantly carved, gilt, and painted bosses. In the centre of the
west side is a fine stained-glass window, representing Edward, the Black
Prince, full length, in armour, and with his garter robes, painted by Muss;
and opposite to this a doorway opens into a corridor leading to the drawing
and other rooms. The view from the north end of the saloon, looking down

its full length, across the splendid drawing-room, down the long vista of the
conservatory, and into the octagon at the farthest end, is fine in the extreme,
and is indeed matchless.
“The Corridor, of which I have just spoken, is one of the most dainty
and minutely beautiful ‘bits’ of the whole building. It is of oak, the sides are
panelled and gilt, and from small clustered pilasters rises the elaborate oak
groining of the ceiling, the groining being what can only be expressed as
‘skeleton groining,’ the ribs alone being of oak, partly painted and gilt, and
the space between them being filled in with a minute geometric pattern in
stained glass. From this corridor a door in the north side opens into the—
“Small or Family Dining-Room, a fine sombre-looking apartment, about
25 feet square, and furnished with a magnificent central table, and every
accompaniment that wealth can desire. The ceiling is of oak, panelled, and
has a rich armorial cornice, with arms of Talbot, running around it. The
chimney-piece, of dark oak, is a splendid piece of ancient carving. From the
corridor another doorway leads to a staircase connecting other private
apartments above, while at its east end it opens into—
“The Grand Dining-Hall, near which are the kitchens. This hall, which
was being remodelled and altered by Pugin at the time of the Earl’s death,
remains to this day in an unfinished state, but shows how truly grand in
every way it would have been had it been completed. The roof is one of the
finest imaginable, and from its centre rises a majestic louvre, which at once
admits a subdued light and acts as a ventilator. It is of truly noble
proportions, and the fire-places and carved stone chimney-pieces are grand
in the extreme—the latter bearing the arms, crest, supporters, motto,
chapeau, &c., of the Earl of Shrewsbury. The sides of the room were
intended to be panelled, as was also the minstrels’ gallery, with carved oak,
and a part of this is already placed. At the north end is a fine large window,
the upper part of which is filled with armorial bearings, but the lower part
has never been completed, and is filled in with plain quarries. The arms in
this window are those of Talbot Earl of Shrewsbury, Clifford, Beauchamp,
De Valence, Comyn, Mountchesny, Nevile, Middleham, Clifford, Bohun,
Strange of Blackmere, Tailebot, Troutbeke, Claveringe, Buckley, Pembroke,
Borghese, Doria, Lovetoft, Mareschal, Strongbow, King Donald, Raby,
Lacy, De Verdun, Castile and Leon, D’Angoulême, William the Conqueror,
Bagot, Mexley, Aylmer, and others.

The Pagoda.

“From here a short corridor leads to a small vestibule, from which the
other private apartments extend. Of these the principal one is the Boudoir
of the Countess of Shrewsbury—a charming apartment, replete with every
luxury and with every appliance which taste and art can dictate. The ‘Doria’
and other apartments are reached from near this by a circular staircase.
From the vestibule the private entrance to the Towers is gained, and from it
is the private way across the entrance gateway into the grounds; and also
through the small tower and across the drawbridge the park is reached. The
drawbridge crosses the moat, and the entrance is fully guarded, and has all
the appliances of an old baronial castle.”[2]
And now let us speak briefly of the situation of Alton Towers, and of its
grounds of matchless charms. Situate almost in the centre of England—in

busy Staffordshire, but on the borders of picturesque Derbyshire—Alton
Towers is within easy reach of several populous cities and towns, the active
and laborious denizens of which frequently “breathe” in these always open
gardens and grounds the pure and fragrant air.
The roads to it are, moreover, full of interest and surpassing beauty;
approached from any side, the traveller passes through a country rich in the
picturesque. Those who reach it from thronged and toiling Manchester,
from active and energetic Derby, from the potteries of busy Staffordshire,
are regaled by Nature on their way, and are refreshed before they drink from
the full cup of loveliness with which the mansion and its grounds and
gardens supply them.
The route from Derby passes by way of Egginton; Tutbury, whose grand
old church and extensive ruins of the castle are seen to the left of the line;
Sudbury, where the seat of Lord Vernon (Sudbury Hall) will be noticed to
the right; Marchington, Scropton, and Uttoxeter. Here, at Uttoxeter
Junction, the passenger for Alton Towers will alight, and, entering another
carriage, proceed on his way, passing the town of Uttoxeter on his left, and
Doveridge Hall, the seat of Lord Waterpark, on his right, by way of
Rocester (where the branch line for Ashbourne and Dove-Dale joins in), to
the Alton Station. Arrived here, he will notice, a short distance to the left,
high up on a wooded cliff, the unfinished Roman Catholic Hospital of St.
John, and on the right, close to the station, the entrance lodge to the Towers.
From Manchester the visitor proceeds by way of Stockport and
Macclesfield to the North Rode Junction, and so on by Leek and Oakamoor,
&c., through the beautiful scenery of the Churnet valley, to Alton Station, as
before.
From the Staffordshire Potteries the visitor, after leaving Stoke-upon-
Trent, will pass through Longton, another of the pottery towns, Blythe
Bridge, Cresswell, and Leigh, to Uttoxeter, whence he will proceed in the
same manner as if travelling from Derby.
There are, besides others of less note, two principal entrances to the
park and grounds of Alton Towers. One of these, the “Quicksall” Lodge, is
on the Uttoxeter Road, about a quarter of a mile from Ellastone. By this the
“Earl’s Drive” is entered, and it is, for length and beauty, the most charming
of the roads to the house. The drive is about three miles in length from the
lodge to the house, and passes through some truly charming scenery along

the vale and on the heights of the Churnet valley—the river Churnet being
visible at intervals through the first part of its route. Within about half a
mile of the house, on the right, will be seen the conservatory, ornamented
with statues, busts, and vases, and on the left a lake of water. A little farther
on is the Gothic temple, close to the road-side. At this point Alton Towers
and the intervening gardens burst upon the eye in all their magnificence and
beauty. It is a peep into a terrestrial paradise. Proceeding onwards another
quarter of a mile through a plantation of pines, the noble mansion stands
before us in all the fulness of its splendour. The lake, the lawn, the arcade
bridge, the embattled terrace, the towers, and the surrounding foliage come
broadly and instantaneously upon the view—a splendid and imposing
picture—a place to be gazed on and wondered at. By this drive the Towers
are reached by way of the castellated stable-screen, and so on over the
bridge and the entrance to the gardens.
The other, and usual, lodge, is close by the Alton Station on the Churnet
Valley (North Staffordshire) Railway. This lodge, designed by Pugin, and
decorated with the sculptured arms of the family, is about a mile from the
house, and the carriage-drive up the wood is on the ascent all the way. A
path, called “the steps,” for foot passengers, turns off from the lodge, and
winds and “zig-zags” its way up, arriving at the house opposite to the Clock
Tower, and passing on its way some charming bits of rocky and wooded
scenery.

The Choragic Temple.

The gardens are entered from the park by a pair of gates (on either side
of which is a superb cedar) in an archway, under the “Earl’s Drive” Bridge.
Near this spot is the Choragic Temple, designed from the Choragic
monument of Lysicrates, at Athens; it contains a bust of Earl Charles, the
founder of the gardens, with the appropriate inscription—“He made the
desert smile.” From here the visitor then proceeds along a winding path
with an arcaded wall on one side, and the valley, from which come up the
music of the stream and the bubbling of the miniature fountains, on the
other. This passes between myriads of standard roses on either side, and
long continuous beds of “ribbon gardening,” or what, from its splendid
array of continuous lines of colours, may very appropriately be termed
“rainbow gardening,” and pathways winding about in every direction,
among roses, hollyhocks, and shrubs and flowers of divers kinds, to a
pleasant spot to the left, where is a terrace garden approached by steps with

pedestals bearing choice sculptures. In the centre is a sundial; behind this, a
fine group of sculpture, and behind this again a fountain, surmounted by a
lion. The wall is covered with luxuriant ivy, and headed by innumerable
vases of gay-coloured flowers, above which, a little to the back, rises one of
the many conservatories that are scattered over this portion of the grounds.
Passing onwards, the visitor soon afterwards reaches the Grand
Conservatories—a splendid pile of buildings on his left. These
conservatories are three hundred feet in length, and consist of a central
house for palm-trees, and other plants of a similar nature; two glass-roofed
open corridors filled with hardy plants, and decorated with gigantic vases
filled with flowers; and, at one end, a fine orangery, and at the other end a
similar house filled with different choice plants and trees. In front of the
Grand Conservatory the grounds are terraced to the bottom of the valley,
and immediately opposite, on the distant heights, is the “Harper’s Cottage.”
At the end of the broad terrace-walk, in front of the conservatory, is The
Temple—a semi-open temple, or alcove, of circular form, fitted with seats
and central table. From this charming spot, which the visitor will find too
tempting to pass by without a rest, a magnificent view of the grounds is
obtained. Immediately beneath are the terraces, with their parterres, ponds,
arcades, and fountains, receding gently from the view till they are lost in the
deep valley, beyond which rise the wooded heights, terrace on terrace, on
the other side, and terminated with tall trees and the buildings of the tower.
From the temple a broad pathway leads on to the Gothic Temple, and so to
the modern Stonehenge—an imitation Druidical circle—and other
interesting objects. Retracing his path, the visitor will do well to descend by
the steps to a lower terrace, where he will find an open alcove beneath the
temple. From here many paths diverge amid beds of the choicest flowers
laid out with the most exquisite taste, and of every variety of form, and
studded in all directions with vases and statuary.

Alton Towers, from the Lower Terrace.

Descending a flight of steps beneath a canopy of ivy, a rosery, arched
behind an open arcade of stone, is reached. This arcade is decorated with
gigantic vases and pedestals, and from here, arcade after arcade, terrace
after terrace, and flight of steps after flight of steps, lead down to the
bottom of the valley, where the “lower lake,” filled with water-lilies and
other aquatic plants, is found. In this lake stands the Pagoda, or Chinese
Temple. Before reaching this, about halfway down the hill-side, will be seen
the “upper lake,” a charming sheet of water, filled with water-lilies and
other plants, and containing, among its other beauties, a number of fish and
water-fowl. Over this lake is a prettily designed foot-bridge forming a part
of what is called “Jacob’s Ladder”—a sloping pathway with innumerable
turnings, and twinings, and flights of steps. Arrived at the Pagoda Fountain,

the visitor will choose between returning by the same route, or crossing or
going round the lake, and pursuing his way up the opposite side, by winding
and zig-zag pathways and small plateau, to the top of the heights.
The ornamental grounds are, as will have been gathered from this
description, a deep valley or ravine, which, made lovely in the highest and
wildest degree by nature, has been converted by man into a kind of earthly
paradise. The house stands at one end or edge of this ravine, and commands
a full view of the beauties with which it is studded. These garden grounds,
although only some fifty or sixty acres in extent, are, by their very
character, and by their innumerable winding pathways, and their diversified
scenery, made to appear of at least twice that extent. Both sides of the
ravine or gorge, are formed into a series of terraces, each of which is famed
for some special charm of natural or artificial scenery it contains or
commands; while temples, grottoes, fountains, rockeries, statues, vases,
conservatories, refuges, alcoves, steps, and a thousand-and-one other
beauties, seem to spring up everywhere and add their attractions to the
general scene. Without wearying the visitor by taking him along these
devious paths—which he will follow at will—a word or two on some of the
main features of the gardens, besides those of which we have already
spoken, will suffice. Some of these are:—
The Harper’s Cottage, in which the Welsh harper—a fine old remnant
of the bardic race of his country, and an esteemed retainer of the family—
resided, is near the summit of the heights opposite to the “Grand
Conservatories.” It is in the Swiss style, and commands one of the most
gorgeous views of the grounds and their surroundings. It was built from the
designs of Mr. Fradgley, who was employed during no less than twenty-two
years on works at Alton Towers.
The Corkscrew Fountain, standing in the midst of a pool filled with
aquatic plants, is a column of unequal thickness of five tiers, each of which
is fluted up its surface in a spiral direction, giving it a curious and pleasing
effect.
The Gothic Temple, at the summit of the heights, on the opposite side
from the “Harper’s Cottage,” and closely adjoining the “Earl’s Drive,” is a
light and picturesque building of four stories in height, with a spiral
staircase leading to the top. From it a magnificent view of the grounds, the
towers, and the surrounding country, is obtained.

The Refuge is a pretty little retreat—a recessed alcove with inner room
in fact—which the visitor, if weary with “sight-seeing,” or, for a time,
satiated with beauty, will find pleasant for a rest.

The Gothic Temple.

The Pagoda Fountain is built in form of a Chinese pagoda. It is placed
in the lower lake, and from its top rises a majestic jet of water which falls
down into the lake and adds much to the beauty of the place.
Stonehenge.—This is an imitation “Druidic Circle” formed of stones, of
about nine tons in weight each; it is highly picturesque, and forms a
pleasing feature. Near to it is the upper lake.

The Flag Tower, near the house, is a prospect-tower of six stories in
height. It is a massive square building with circular turrets at its angles. The
view from the top is one of the most beautiful and extensive which the
country can boast—embracing the house, gardens, grounds, and broad
domains of Alton Towers; the village of Alton with its church and
parsonage; the ruins of the old castle of the De Verduns; the new monastic
buildings—the Hospital of St. John, the Institution, the Nunnery, and the
Chapel; the valley of the Churnet; Toot Hill; and the distant country
stretching out for miles around.
Ina’s Rock is one of the many interesting spots in the grounds. It is
about three-quarters of a mile from the Towers, on what is called the “Rock
Walk.” It is said that after a great battle fought near the spot (on a place still
called the “battle-field”), between Ceolred and Ina, Kings of Mercia and
Wessex, the latter chieftain held a parliament at this rock; whence it takes
its names. We have thus guided the reader through the house and grounds of
Alton Towers.
The district around Alton Towers is rich in interesting places, and in
beautiful localities where the visitor may while away many an hour in
enjoyment. The monastic buildings, on the site of old Alton Castle, are
charmingly situated, and deserve a few words at our hands. These we quote
from Mr. Jewitt’s “Alton Towers:”—“The monastic buildings, which form
such a striking and picturesque object from the railway station, and indeed
from many points in the surrounding neighbourhood, were erected from the
designs, and under the immediate superintendence, of the late Mr. Pugin,
and are, for stern simplicity and picturesque arrangement, perhaps the most
successful of all his works. The buildings have never been—and probably
never will be—completed, and they remain a sad instance of the mutability
of human plans. Commenced at the suggestion, and carried out at the
expense, of a Roman Catholic nobleman; planned and erected by a Roman
Catholic architect; and intended as a permanent establishment for Roman
Catholic priests, &c., &c., the buildings rose in great pride and beauty, and
were continued with the utmost spirit, until the death of Earl Bertram,
when, after the trials I have recounted, the estates passed into Protestant
hands, the works were at once discontinued, and the buildings have since
been allowed, with the exception of the chapel and the apartments devoted
to the residence of a priest (and the school), to become dilapidated. The
castle grounds on which these buildings are erected are situated near the

church, the buildings forming three sides of a quadrangle—one being the
school and institution, and the others the cloisters, priest’s house, chapel,
and other buildings. From this the moat is crossed by a wooden bridge to
the ruins of the castle and the hospital of St. John. The buildings are
beautifully shown on the engraving on the next page.

Part of the Grounds.

“The erection of these Roman Catholic buildings gave rise to much
annoyance, and much ill-feeling was engendered in the neighbourhood; and
a hoax was played on Pugin, whose susceptibilities were strong and hasty. It
was as follows: One day—of all days ‘April fool day’—he received the
following letter:—

Alton—Hospital of St. John.

“‘Dear Sir—It is with deep sorrow that I venture to inform you of a
circumstance which has just come to my knowledge; and, though an entire
stranger, I take the liberty of addressing you, being aware of your zeal for
the honour and welfare of the Catholic Church. What, then, will be your
grief and indignation (if you have not already heard it) at being told that—
fearing the bazaar, in behalf of the Monastery of St. Bernard, may prove
unsuccessful—it has been thought that more people would be drawn to it
were the monks to hold the stalls! Was there ever such a scandal given to
our most holy religion? It may have been done ignorantly or innocently; but
it is enough to make a Catholic of feeling shudder! I am not in a situation to
have the slightest influence in putting an end to this most dreadful
proceeding; but knowing you to be well acquainted with the head of the
English Catholics—the good Earl of Shrewsbury—would you not write to
him, and request him to use his influence (which must be great) in stopping
the sacrilege, for such it really is? Think of your Holy Church thus
degraded and made a by-word in the mouths of Protestants! I know how
you love and venerate her. Aid her then now, and attempt to rescue her from
this calamity! Pray excuse the freedom with which I have written, and
believe me, dear sir, A Sincere Lover of my Church, but an Enemy to the
Protestant Principle of Bazaars.’
“Pugin wrote immediately to the earl in an impassioned strain, but, in
reference to this trick, when the light had at length dawned upon him, in
writing to Lord Shrewsbury, he says—‘I have found out at last that the
alarm about the monks at the bazaar was all a hoax; and rumour mentions

some ladies, not far distant from the Towers, as the authors. I must own it
was capitally done, and put me into a perfect fever for some days. I only
read the letter late in the day, and sent a person all the way to the General
Post Office to save the post. I never gave the day of the month a moment’s
consideration. I shall be better prepared for the next 1st of April.’
“The school, which was intended also as a literary institution, a hall, and
a lecture-room for Alton, will be seen to the right on entering the grounds;
the house, to the left, now occupied as a convent, being intended for a
residence of the schoolmaster. In the original design the cloistered part of
the establishment was intended to be the convent (the chapel being a nuns’
chapel), and the parish church of Alton was intended to be rebuilt in the
same style as the splendid church at Cheadle. The hospital was to be for
decayed priests. The chapel is a beautiful little building, highly decorated in
character, and remarkably pure and good in proportions. In it, to the north
of the altar, are buried Earl John and his Countess, and to the south Earl
Bertram. The following are the inscriptions on the brasses to their memory:
—
“‘Hic jacet corpus Johannis quondam Comitis Salopiæ XVI. qui hunc Sacellum et
hospitium construere fecit a.d. MDCCCXLIV. Orate pro anima misserimi peccatoris obiit
Neapoli die IX No MDCCCLII Ætatis suæ LXI.’
“‘In Memoriam Mariæ Teresiæ, Johannis Comitis Salopiæ Viduæ, Natæ Wexfordiæ
XXII Maii MDCCXCV. Parissis obiit IV Junii MDCCCLVI quorum animas Viventium
Amor Sanctissimus incor unum conflasse Videbatur corpora eodem sepulchro deposita
misericordiam ejusdem redemptoris expectant. R.I.P.’
“‘Orate pro anima Bertrami Artheri Talbot XVII Com: Salop: ob: die: 10º August 1856.
Requiescat in pace.’

“In the cloisters is another beautiful brass, on which is the following
inscription:—
“‘Good Christian people of your charity pray for the soul of Mistress Anne Talbot wife
of Willm Talbot Esquire of Castle Talbot Wexford who died on the V day of May a.d.
MDCCCXLIV. Also for the soul of the above named Willm Talbot Esqre who died the IInd
day of Augt MDCCCXLIX aged LXXXVI years. May they rest in peace.’

“On a slab on the floor:—

“‘Of your charity pray for the soul of Sister Mary Joseph Healy of the Order of Mercy.
Who died 4th August 1857 in the 31st year of her age, and the 5th of her Religious
Profession. R.I.P.’

“On a brass:—
“‘Orato pro anima Domini Caroli quondam Comitis Salopiæ qui obiit VI die Aprilis
anno domini MDCCCXXVII Ætatis suæ LXIV.’”[3]

Alton Church is also worthy of a visit, not because of any special
architectural features which it contains, but because of its commanding
situation and its near proximity to the Castle. It is of Norman foundation.
The village itself (visitors to the locality will be glad to learn that it contains
a very comfortable inn, the “Wheatsheaf”) is large and very picturesque,
and its immediate neighbourhood abounds in delightful walks and in
glorious “bits” of scenery.
Demon’s Dale—a haunted place concerning which many strange stories
are current—is also about a mile from Alton, and is highly picturesque.
Croxden Abbey (or Crokesden Abbey) is a grand old ruin, within an
easy walk of Alton. It was founded by Bertram de Verdun, owner of Alton
Castle, in 1176.
It will be readily understood that the renown of Alton Towers arises
principally from the garden and grounds by which the mansion is
environed. But if to nature it is indebted for its hills and dells, its steep
ascents and graceful undulations, art has done much to augment its
attractions. It may have been a “desert” when Earl Charles strove, and
successfully, to convert it into a paradise; but the rough material was ready
to his hand, and to taste, with judicious expenditure, the task was not
difficult to make it what it became, and now is—one of the most exquisitely
beautiful demesnes in the British dominions.

COBHAM HALL.

T HE county of Kent is one of the pleasantest of the
English shires; rich in cultivated and pictorial
beauty, it has been aptly and justly called “the
garden of England.” Patrician trees are found
everywhere: for centuries the hand of ruthless and
reckless war has never touched them; its chalky
soil is redolent of health; its pasture lands are
proverbially fertile; its gentle hills are nowhere
barren; in many parts it borders the sea; and to-
day, as it did ages ago,—
“It doth advance
A haughty brow against the coast of France;”

the men of Kent are, as they ever have been,
and by God’s blessing ever will be, the “vanguard
of liberty.” Moreover, it is rich, above all other
counties, in traditions and antiquities; some of its customs have continued
unchanged for centuries; its ecclesiastical pre-eminence is still retained;
while some of the noblest and most perfect of British baronial mansions are
to be found in the graciously endowed county that borders the metropolis.
Among the most perfect of its stately mansions is that to which we
introduce the reader—Cobham Hall, the seat of the Earl of Darnley, Baron
Clifton.[4] Its proximity to the metropolis—from which, if we measure

distances by time, it is separated by little more than an hour—would alone
supply a sufficient motive for its selection into this series. It is situated
about four miles south-east of Gravesend, nearly midway between that town
and Rochester, but a mile or so out of the direct road. The narrow coach-
paths which lead to it are shaded by pleasant hedgerows, and run between
lines of hop-gardens—the comely vineyards of England.

Cobham Hall.

The mansion stands in the midst of scenery of surpassing loveliness,
alternating hill and valley, rich in “patrician trees” and “plebeian
underwood,” dotted with pretty cottages, and interspersed with primitive
villages: while here and there are scattered “old houses” of red brick, with
their carved wooden gables and tall twisted chimneys; and glimpses are
caught occasionally of the all-glorious Thames. A visit to Cobham Hall,
therefore, furnishes a most refreshing and invigorating luxury to dwellers in
the metropolis; and the liberality of its noble owner adds to the rich banquet
of Nature as rare a treat as can be supplied by Art. The Hall, independent of
the interest it derives from its quaint architecture, its fine, although not
unmixed, remains of the Tudor style, contains a gallery of pictures, by the
best masters of the most famous schools, large in number and of rare value.

Before we commence our description of the Hall, the demesne, the
Church, the College, and the village of Cobham,[5] it is necessary that we
supply some information concerning the several families under whose
guardianship they have flourished.
Cobham Hall has not descended from sire to son through many
generations. Its present lord is in no way, or at least but remotely, connected
with the ancient family who for centuries governed the “men of Kent,” and
who, at one period, possessed power second only to that of the sovereign.
That race of bold barons has been long extinct, the last of them dying in
miserable poverty; and if their proud blood is still to be found within their
once princely barony, it runs, probably, through the veins of some tiller of
the soil.
The Cobhams had been famous from the earliest recorded times. In
Philipot’s “Survey of Kent”—1659—it is said that “Cobham afforded a seat
and a surname to that noble and splendid family; and certainly,” adds the
quaint old writer, “this place was the cradle or seminary of persons who, in
elder ages, were invested in places of as signall and principal a trust or
eminence, as they could move in, in the narrow orbe of a particular county.”
In the reign of King John, Henry de Cobham gave 1,000 marks to the king
for his favour. He left three sons, viz., John, who was Sheriff of Kent,
Justice of Common Pleas, and Judge Itinerant; Reginald, also Sheriff of
Kent, Constable of Dover Castle, and Warden of the Cinque Ports; and
William, also Justice Itinerant. The eldest, John de Cobham, was succeeded
by his son John, who in turn became Sheriff of Kent, one of the Justices of
King’s Bench and Common Pleas, and Baron of the Exchequer. His son
Henry de Cobham was Governor of Guernsey and Jersey, Constable of
Dover Castle, and Warden of the Cinque Ports; so was also, again, his son
Henry, who likewise was Governor of Tunbridge Castle, and was
summoned to Parliament 6 to 9 Edward III. He was succeeded by his son
John de Cobham, Admiral of the Fleet, Justice of Oyer and Terminer, and
Ambassador to France, who in “10 Richard II. was one of the thirteen
appointed by the predominant lords to govern the realm, but was after
impeached for treason, and had judgment pronounced against him, but
obtained pardon, being sent prisoner to the island of Jersey.” Dying in the
ninth year of Henry IV., he left his granddaughter, Joan, his heiress. This
lady married for her third husband Sir John Oldcastle, who assumed the title
of Lord Cobham. Reginald de Cobham, half brother to John, was Justice of

King’s Bench, an Admiral, an Ambassador to the Pope, and commander of
the van of the army at Crecy. He was succeeded by his son, Reginald de
Cobham, who likewise was succeeded by his son Reginald; he left an only
daughter as heir.
No less than four Kentish gentlemen of the name embarked with the
first Edward in his “victorious and triumphant expedition into Scotland,”
and were knighted for services rendered to that prince in his “successful and
auspicious siege of Caerlaverock.” With Reginald de Cobham, as has been
shown, the male line determined. Joan, his daughter, is said to have had five
husbands, by only one of whom, Sir Reginald Braybrooke, she left issue,
Joan, who being married to Sir Thomas Broke, of the county of Somerset,
Knight, “knitt Cobham, and a large income beside, to her husband’s
patrimony.”[6]
Their eldest son, Sir Edward Broke, was summoned to parliament, as
Baron Cobham, in the 23rd Henry VI. In 1559 Sir William Broke
entertained Queen Elizabeth at Cobham Hall, in the first year of her reign,
“with a noble welcome as she took her progress through the county of
Kent.” His son and successor, Henry, Lord Cobham, was Lord Warden of
the Cinque Ports; but “being too deeply concerned in the design of Sir
Walter Raleigh,” he was deprived of his estates, though not his life.[7]
His younger brother, George, was executed; but Cobham “lived many
years after in great misery and poverty,” dying in January, 1619; and
sharing the humble grave of some lowly peasant, apart from the
magnificent tombs which cover the remains of his great and gallant
ancestors. He is said, by Weldon, to have been reduced to such extreme
necessity, that “he had starved, but for a trencher-scraper, some time his
servant at court, who relieved him with scraps.”
A sister of Lord Cobham’s was married to Secretary Sir Robert Cecil:
his estimable and greatly beloved lady died in January, 1596-7. She was
also a kinswoman of Sir Walter Raleigh, and in one of his letters to Cecil he
says:—“It is trew that you have lost a good and vertuous wife and my sealf
an honorable frinde and kinswoman. Butt ther was a tyme when shee was
unknowne to you, for whom you then lamented not. Shee is now no more
your’s, nor of your acquayntance, butt immortall, and not needinge nor
knowynge your love or sorrow. Therfor you shall but greve for that which
now is as it was, when not your’s; only bettered by the differance in this,

that shee hath past the weresome jurney of this darke worlde, and hath
possession of her inheritance. Shee hath left behind her the frute of her love,
for whos sakes you ought to take care for your sealf, that you leve them not
without a gwyde, and not by grevinge to repine att His will that gave them
yow, or by sorrowing to dry upp your own tymes that ought to establish
them.” This lady was sister to two of the unhappy conspirators of 1603 and
kinswoman to the third, as well as being wife of the chief officer of state by
whom these conspiracies had to be brought to light. Well therefore was it,
for her, that her pure spirit had taken its flight before the time of attainder of
her brothers, Henry, Lord Cobham, and George Broke, and their baseness
by falsity and otherwise in leading the much-injured Raleigh to the scaffold.
“Whatever mysteries,” says Mr. Edwards, “may yet hang over the plots and
counterplots of 1603, it is certain that George Broke proved in the issue to
have been the instrument of the ruin alike of his brother Cobham and of
Raleigh. It is also certain that mere ‘credulity of the practices of malice and
envy’ could never have ripened, save in a very congenial soil, into the
consummate baseness displayed both in the examinations and in some of
the letters of George Broke after his arrest. In certain particulars his
baseness exceeded his brother Cobham’s, and that is saying not a little as to
its depth.” His estates, at the time of their confiscation, are estimated to
have been worth £7,000 per annum; and he possessed £30,000 in goods and
chattels. His nephew was restored in blood; but not to the title or property.
These were transferred—“the manor and seat of Cobham Hall, and the rest
of Lord Cobham’s lands”—by James I. to one of his kinsmen, Ludovick
Stuart, Duke of Lennox, whose male line became extinct in 1672.
The Lady Katherine, sister of the last Duke of Richmond and Lennox,
married into the princely family of the O’Briens of Thomond; but the Duke
“dying greatly in debt” the estates were sold. Cobham Hall was purchased
by the second husband of the Lady Katherine, Sir Joseph Williamson, who
resided there for some time.[8] In 1701 he died, bequeathing two-thirds of
his property to his widow. This proportion descended, on her demise, to
Edward Lord Clifton and Cornbury, afterwards Lord Clarendon, who had
married the sole child of this Lady Katherine, by her first husband, Henry
Lord O’Brien;[9] and on Lord Clarendon’s death without issue, in 1713, his
sister, Lady Theodosia Hyde, inherited; she married John Bligh, of the
kingdom of Ireland, Esq.; created, in 1721, an Irish peer by the title of Lord
Clifton of Rathmore, and, in 1725, Earl of Darnley in that kingdom.

For some years the Cobham estate was in Chancery. After a tedious suit
it was purchased by Lord Darnley for the sum of £51,000, to the third part
of which a Mrs. Hornby became entitled, as relict of the gentleman to
whom Sir Joseph Williamson had devised one third part.[10]
The Blighs are an ancient family, connected with Devonshire and other
parts of the West of England as well as with Ireland. One of them, a
merchant of Plymouth, an ancestor of the present peer, married Catherine
Fuller, sister to William Fuller, Bishop of Limerick and Lincoln (1667-
1675). In 1721 John Bligh of Rathmore, in the kingdom of Ireland, Esquire,
who had married the Lady Theodosia Hyde, sister to Edward, Earl of
Clarendon (whose wife Catherine, daughter of Katherine Lady Thomond,
who had successfully claimed the barony of Clifton of Leighton
Bromswold, in the peerage of the United Kingdom, as being descended
from the first Lord Clifton, inherited the said barony from her mother),
from whom he inherited the title and the estates, was created Baron Clifton
of Rathmere, in the kingdom of Ireland, in 1721.

The Three Sisters.

In 1723 he was created Viscount Darnley of Athboy, and in 1725 Earl of
Darnley, both in the peerage of Ireland. He also succeeded to the title of
Baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold, in the peerage of the United
Kingdom, by which title he and his successors sit in the House of Lords.
His lordship was succeeded, as second Earl of Darnley, by his son, who was
again, on his death, succeeded by his son John, as third earl. This nobleman,
who was born in 1719, married in 1766 Mary, daughter and heiress of John
Stoyt, of Street, co. Westmeath, and by her, who died in 1803, had issue
John, afterwards fourth earl; Lady Mary, married to Sir Lawrence Palk,
Bart.; the Hon. Edward Bligh, a general in the army; Lady Theodosia,
married to her cousin, Thomas Cherbourgh Bligh; Lady Catherine, married
to Hon. Charles William Stewart, afterwards Marquis of Londonderry; and
the Hon. William, a colonel in the army. The Earl died in 1781, and was
succeeded by his son John, as fourth earl. He married, in 1791, Elizabeth,

daughter of the Right Hon. William Brownlow of Lurgan, and by her had
issue Edward, fifth earl; Lady Mary, married to Charles Brownlow, Esq.;
Hon. John Duncan Bligh, Secretary of Legation at St. Petersburgh; and the
Lady Elizabeth, married to the Rev. J. Brownlow. His lordship died in 1831,
and was succeeded by his son Edward, fifth earl, who (born in 1795),
married in 1825 Emma Jane, third daughter of Sir Henry Brooke Parnell,
Bart., M.P.,—who, having held office as Secretary at War, Paymaster-
General of the Forces, and Treasurer of the Navy and Ordnance, was
created Baron Congleton in 1841,—and sister to the present Lord
Congleton. By this lady, who is still living, his lordship had issue, John
Stuart Bligh, sixth and present earl of Darnley; the Hon. and Rev. Edward
Vesey Bligh; the Hon. and Rev. Henry Bligh; the Lady Elizabeth Caroline,
and the Lady Emma Bess, both of whom are married and bear the name of
Cust—the first being the wife of Reginald Cust, Esq., and the latter the wife
of the Rev. Arthur Perceval Purey-Cust. His lordship died in 1835, and was
succeeded by his eldest son, John Stuart Bligh, as sixth earl.
The present peer, John Stuart Bligh, sixth Earl of Darnley, Viscount
Darnley of Athboy, Baron Clifton of Leighton Bromswold, and Baron
Clifton of Rathmore, was born in 1827, and was educated at Eton and
Christ Church, Oxford, being B.A. in 1848, and M.A. in 1851. He married
in 1850 the Lady Harriet Mary Pelham, eldest daughter of the third Earl of
Chichester, and has by her issue, living, the Hon. Edward Henry Stuart
Bligh, Lord Clifton, who was born in 1851; the Hon. Ivo Francis Walter
Bligh, born 1859; the Hon. Arthur Frederick Pelham Bligh, born 1865; the
Lady Edith Louisa Mary, born 1853; the Lady Kathleen Susan Emma, born
1854; the Lady Alice Isabella Harriet, born 1860; the Lady Mary Rose
Florence, born 1868; and the Lady Constance Violet Lucy, born in 1869.
His lordship is a Deputy Lieutenant of the county of Kent; Hereditary High
Steward of Gravesend with Milton; and Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant
of the West Kent Yeomanry Cavalry. He is patron of the living of Cobham.
He has, besides Cobham Hall, a seat in Ireland, Clifton Lodge, Athboy, co.
Meath, and a town residence.
The arms of the Earl of Darnley are:—Azure, a griffin segreant, or,
between three crescents, argent. Crest:—A griffin’s head, erased, or,
Supporters:—Two griffins, wings elevated, or, ducally collared and
chained, azure. Motto:—“Finem Respice.”

Such is a brief history of the several noble families through whom the
mansion, demesne, and estates of Cobham have passed.

The Lodge.

The Hall is backed by a noble park, amply stocked with deer, and
containing trees of great variety and immense size, some of them measuring
above thirty feet in circumference. It comprises 1,800 acres, and encloses
an area of about seven miles. The old approach, long disused, was through
an avenue of lime trees, consisting of four rows, and extending more than
half a mile in length from the dependent village. The present entrance is
through a red-brick, turreted gateway, adjacent to which is the “Lodge.” On
nearing the house, the eye encounters a cedar of magnificent growth, and to
the left are the gardens, into which there are two terrace-walks—one from
the great gate, and another, at a considerable elevation, from the suite of
apartments which constitute the first floor. The view we have given is the
more ancient portion of the venerable edifice—the north wing, with which
the south wing mainly corresponds. They are, however, connected by a
centre, built by Inigo Jones; and this centre, which consists of a façade with
Corinthian pilasters, is out of keeping with the quaint gables, octagonal
turrets, ornamental doorways, carved cornices, projecting mullioned
windows, and elaborated chimneys, which distinguish the earlier dwelling

of the Cobhams. The structure thus assumes the form of a half H, the wings
being terminated by octagonal towers; a sunken wall in front encloses a
quadrangular lawn, ornamented with vases and statues. The wings exhibit
the dates 1582 and 1594, and retain all the characteristics of the later Tudor
style; although, as we have intimated, it has been materially corrupted by
the several alterations to which, from time to time, the mansion has been
subjected. The ordinary entrance is through a vaulted passage, “built in the
form of a Gothic cloister by James Wyatt,” which contains the arms of the
Cobhams, with the date 1587. This passage leads to the grand staircase, and
the several apartments on the ground-floor. The first to which strangers are
conducted is the dining-hall, which contains an elaborately carved black-
and-white marble chimney-piece, having quaint and curious figures and
buildings, and a series of portraits of rare excellence. The Music-room, one
of the suite added to the ancient building, affords a brilliant contrast to the
sombre and solid character of the dining-room. It contains but one picture—
full-length portraits of the Lords John and Bernard Stuart, sons of the Duke
of Lennox—a chef-d’œvre of Vandyke. The chimney-piece is formed of the
purest white marble, sculptured in bas-relief after Guido’s “Aurora,” by the
elder Westmacott, with fauns life-size, as supporters. The ceiling was
designed by Inigo Jones; it is divided into several square and circular
compartments, with a deep oval in the centre, “superbly gilt and enriched
by appropriate ornaments, among which are twelve pendant coronets.” The
apartment is in length 50 feet, in breadth 36 feet, and height 32 feet! and
although superbly ornamented and richly gilt—the pillars of the Composite
order, being of white marble, and the lining of scagliola—the whole is in
fine harmony with the grace and chasteness of the design. There are two
galleries, one of which contains an organ. The vestibule is a small chamber,
decorated with valuable vases of verd-antique. The Library contains a series
of portraits of eminent literary men—Bolingbroke, Sidney, Shakespere,
Swift, and others; none of them, however, advance strong claims to
originality. On the walls of the Great Staircase are hung several large
pictures, which may bear examination before the gallery is entered.
The grand staircase conducts, first to the Portrait Gallery, and next to
the Picture Gallery. The walls of the former are hung with portraits, among
which are many of exceeding interest, including those of heroes, statesmen,
kings and queens, church reformers, and poets, mingled without regard to
date or order. At the end of this gallery are, branching to the right and left,

the private apartments of the family; and in a room opening out of the west
end of the Picture Gallery, Queen Elizabeth is reported to have slept when
she honoured the Lord Cobham with a visit during her progress through
Kent. In the centre of the ancient ceiling are still preserved her arms, with
the date, 1599. The Picture Gallery is the great “show-room” of the house.
It is a noble apartment, the walls of which are covered with works of Art, of
rare value and unsurpassed excellence, the productions of nearly all the
great masters of Italy—including admirable examples of Guido, Titian,
Salvator Rosa, Rubens, Raphael, Spagnoletto, P. Veronese, Giorgione, N.
Poussin, and Guercino.
Every part of the venerable edifice contains, indeed, some object of
interest. The rooms, and halls, and galleries are thronged with rare and
beautiful works of Art; a series of perfect vases from Herculaneum lie on
the tables of the Picture Gallery; several antique busts and statues line the
hall; a magnificent bath, of red Egyptian granite, is placed in the entrance
passage; and the furniture and interior decorations are all of corresponding
excellence and beauty.
Although necessarily limited in our description of Cobham Hall, we
have sufficiently shown the rare treat a visit to it will afford those who, “in
populous city pent,” desire to convert occasional holidays into contributions
to intellectual enjoyment. The Hall and its contents will amply repay
examination; and the noble park is full of natural treasures—thronged with
deer, singularly abundant in singing birds, and containing trees unsurpassed
in magnificent size and graceful proportions. A group of these trees, known
as “the Three Sisters” (why we cannot say), we have engraved. One of the
walks conducts to a hillock, from the summit of which there is a splendid
prospect of the adjacent country, commanding views of the Thames and
Medway, and taking in the venerable castle, cathedral, and town of
Rochester, the dockyards at Sheerness, and the whole course of the great
English river to its mouth at the Nore. The pedestrian, pursuing this route,
will pass the Mausoleum, an elegant structure, built conformably with the
will of the third Earl of Darnley, and designed for the sepulture of his
family. It was never consecrated.
But Cobham has other objects of interest: the venerable Church, and no
less venerable “College.” The “Church,” dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen,
stands upon elevated ground at the entrance of the village. It consists of a
nave, aisles, and chancel, with an embattled tower, entered by an antique

porch. The tower is obviously of a more recent date than the chancel; the
former is very ancient. As in many of the Kentish churches, the walls were
formerly painted in fresco, of which evidence may be easily obtained by
those who examine them narrowly; the steps of the altar are paved with
encaustic tiles, of about the period of Edward III., of various patterns, but
most of them containing the fleur-de-lis. The whole aspect of the place
indeed supplies indubitable proof of very remote antiquity. It has been
recently restored, but with sound judgment and skill, by the accomplished
architect, Sir Gilbert Scott, R.A.

Interior of the Church.

The roof of huge oak rafters, the Gothic arches, the brasses, broken and
entire, which cover the floor, the quaint monuments let into the walls, the
delicately-sculptured piscina, the sedilia of carved stone, the singular font,
the rude vestry-room with its massive oak chest, the Scripture passages
painted on the walls, all bespeak the antiquity of the building.
“Nearly in the centre is the still beautiful tomb of Sir Thomas Broke, the
Lady Joan, and their ten sons and four daughters. It is of white marble, over
which, upon a black slab, lie the effigies of the knight and dame. On either
side are those of five of their sons, kneeling, and wearing tabards, with their
swords girded on. The figures of the four daughters are carved on the east

and west ends of the superb monument. It bears the date 1561, under the
arms of the Brokes quartered with those of the Cobhams.
“On the floor of the chancel are the famous ‘Cobham Brasses,’ the most
perfect and most numerous assemblage now existing in the kingdom. The
series consists of thirteen, recording the memory of the Cobhams and
Brokes, ‘lords and barons of this manor of Cobham, with many of their
kindred, who for many descents did flourish in honourable reputation.’ Of
the thirteen, eight are in honour of the knights, and five are memorials of
the dames. These brasses, one and all, deserve the most careful examination
and notice. The earliest is to the memory of John de Cobham, the first
Knight Banneret, and Constable of Rochester; he is dressed in a shirt of
mail: round his waist is a rich girdle, sustaining a long sword. Eight lines of
Norman French are inscribed round the verge of the slab. The others are to
Maude, Lady Cobham (1370), probably wife of Baron Cobham, who was
Warden of the Cinque Ports in the time of Edward III., who is represented
with a dog at her feet. Over her head are the words ‘Icy gist dame Maude de
Cobham.’ Maude, Lady Cobham (c. 1385) supposed to have been the wife
of Thomas de Cobham. She has a flounce of fur at the bottom of her dress.
There are the remains of a mutilated canopy over her, and a fragment of
inscription says, ‘Icy gist dame Maude de Cobehm qe....’ Margaret, Lady
Cobham (1385), wife of John de Cobham, the founder of Cobham College.
This is a remarkably beautiful canopied brass; the finial of the canopy
bearing a figure of the Virgin and Child. Around the brass is the inscription,
‘Isy gist dame Margarete de Cobeham, iadiis fille a noble en le Comte de
Deuenischire; feme le sire de Cobeham, foundour de ... morust le secounde
in dimoys D’agust lan de grace, mccclxxxv., lalme de qy deux eut mercy.
Amen.’ Joan, Lady Cobham (c. 1320), who was daughter of John, Lord
Beauchamp of Stoke-under-Hamden, and first wife of Sir John de Cobham.
The inscription, in Longobardic capitals, is:—
“‘Dame Jone de Kobeham gist isi
Deus de sa alme eit merci
Kike pur le Alme Priera
Quaraunte jours de pardoun avera.’”

Reginald de Cobham (c. 1420), an ecclesiastic, under a triple canopy, the
shaft and some other portions being lost. Sir Thomas de Cobham, a knight
in mixed armour, 1367.

The College Porch.

Ralph de Cobham, 1405, a semi-effigy in armour, holding in his hands a
tablet, bearing the inscription in old English characters. John de Cobham,
the founder of the College, bearing in his hands the model of a church. John
Broke and Lady Margaret his wife, under a rich canopy with pendants and
other ornaments, with triangular compartments, containing circles with
shields, one of which bears the crown of thorns, and the other the five
wounds; between the pinnacles, in the centre, is a curious representation of
the Trinity, in which the Deity is delineated with a triple crown, and the
Holy Spirit has a human face. The figure of the knight is gone, but that of
his lady remains; and beneath are groups of eight sons and ten daughters.
Sir Reginald Braybroke, the second husband of Joan, Lady Cobham. Sir
Nicholas Hauberk, her third husband. Joan de Cobham: she died, as
appears from the inscription, ‘on the day of St. Hilary the Bishop, a.d.
1433.’ At her feet are six sons and four daughters; and surrounding her, are
six escutcheons of the Cobham arms and alliances. Sir Thomas Broke and
one of his three wives. Below them are seven sons and five daughters. Sir
Thomas died 1529.”
“The College of Cobham” is now only a collection of almshouses, to
which presentations are made—of old people, without restriction to either
sex—as vacancies occur, by the parish and ten other parishes adjacent. It
lies immediately south of the church, and is entered by a small Gothic

gateway. Its occupants are twenty aged men and women, who have each a
little dwelling, with a neat garden and an allowance monthly, sufficient to
secure the necessaries of life. It is a quadrangular building, of stone,
measuring about 60 feet by 50; and contains a large hall, with painted
windows, a roof of blackened rafters, an old oak screen, and a fire-place of
cut stone. The history of the college is curious and interesting. A college or
chantry was originally founded here, about the year 1362, by John de
Cobham, thence called “the founder,” in the reign of Edward III. In the
Church is a brass to the memory of William Tanner, Master of the College,
who died in 1418. The brass consists of a half-length of the master, in
clerical costume, with the inscription in black letter:—“Hic jacet Willmus
Tannere qui prim obiit magister istuis Collegii xxii. die mensis Junii Anno
Dni. m°cccc°xviii. cujus anime propicietur deus Amen.” Towards the end of
the reign of Elizabeth it was rebuilt, as appears by a record—“finished in
September 1598”—inscribed over the south portal, under the arms and
alliances of the Brokes, Lords Cobham. The endowments of the old
foundation were ample, and were, with the college itself, bestowed by
Henry VIII., at the dissolution, upon George, Lord Cobham, who had the
“king’s roiall assent and licence by hys grace’s word, with any manner of
letters patent or other writings, to purchase and receyve to his heires for
ever, of the late master and brethren, of the college or chauntry of Cobham,
in the countie of Kent, now being utterly dissolved, the scite of the same
colledge or chauntry, and al and singular their heridaments and possessions,
as well temporall as ecclesiasticall, wheresoever they lay, or were, within
the realm of England.” The walls of the ancient college may be clearly
traced, and a small portion still endures, comparatively uninjured. It is a
gateway, surmounted by the arms of the Cobhams, luxuriantly overgrown
with ivy, forming a fine example of picturesque antiquity. The present
structure was erected pursuant to the will of Sir William Broke, Lord
Cobham, who devised “all those edifices, ruined buildings, soil and ground,
with the appurtenances which some time belonged to the late suppressed
college for the use of the ‘new’ college.” By an act of the 39th of Elizabeth,
the wardens of Rochester Bridge for the time being were made a body
corporate, and declared perpetual presidents of the new college, the
government of which they retain to this day.

The College.

The dependent village of Cobham is one of the neatest and most
pleasant of the fair villages of Kent. There are, no doubt, many nobler and
more perfect examples of the domestic architecture of “old” England than is
supplied by Cobham Hall, but it would be difficult to direct attention to any
that affords so rich a recompense at so small a cost; taking into account its
genuine remains of antiquity, the magnificent works of Art that decorate its
walls, its easy access from the metropolis, and the primitive character and
surpassing beauty of the locality in which it is situated.

MOUNT EDGCUMBE.

W E cannot say in what month these details will be
read, but they are written on a morning of May, in
one of the loveliest spots of the fairest of our
English shires: a mild and genial day of mid-
spring—
“The soote season that bud and blome forth brings;”

when the apple orchards—prides of Devon—are
in full blossom; the hawthorns have donned their
snow-white draperies; the gorse its garment of
gold; and every hedgerow is rich in the hundred
hues of flowers that herald summer: while all the
hill-slopes and meadows, “in verdure clad,” seem
rejoicing over the prospective abundance that
Nature promises to healthy toil. We have passed
through the fifty-three miles that separate Exeter
from Plymouth. It would be hard to find in any
part of the world, in equal space, a road so
lavishly endowed with gifts of the fertile and the beautiful. Part of the way
by the open sea, then by estuaries, then by the banks of broad rivers, then
by narrow and rapid streams, then under the shadows of tree-clad hills,
green from base to summit, with frequent views of prosperous towns and
happy villages, with venerable churches continually showing their tall

spires above the tree-tops—in thoroughly rural England, far from the tall
chimneys and dense atmosphere that betoken manufactures and their results
—the railway runs through many scenes of surpassing loveliness, any one
of which might tempt the traveller who is in search of either health or
pleasure, with assurance of an ample supply of both.
The Great Western conveys us from Paddington to Exeter. We leave
Exeter by the South Devon Railway (proverbially well managed, in all
respects): it may take us to Penzance; but its great station is midway, at
Plymouth, where has been recently erected for the especial accommodation
of railway travellers and tourists, an admirable hotel (the Duke of Cornwall
—there is none more comfortable in the kingdom).[11] Here we arrest the
tourist, in order to visit the promontory of Mount Edgcumbe, that occupies
one side of the famous harbour.
First, however, let us glance at the several points of interest that claim
our attention en route. Leaving Exeter and its many attractions other than its
renowned Cathedral, we first reach the marine village of Starcross, opposite
to which are old Topsham (full of memories of our own boyhood, when “a
stranger yet to pain”), and young Exmouth; stately villas and pretty cottages
occupy slopes of the hill range. Then, at Dawlish, a graceful village, we
front the sea, and pass some singular rocks of red sandstone, that stand like
sentinels along the shore—and here, it may be well to note, some
extraordinary inroads upon the sea-wall of the railway have lately been
made by the ocean—Teignmouth and Shaldon come next, towns on both
sides of the river Teign, connected by a narrow wooden bridge more than a
quarter of a mile in length. We next arrive at Newton Junction, where a
railway branch conducts to Torquay and Dartmouth; soon afterwards Totnes
is reached, an old town on the Dart, one of the most beautiful of all the
rivers in Devonshire, whence a steamboat issues daily to visit Dartmouth.
Here we have left the sea, and have only in view rich pasture land—ever
green, the hills tree-clad to their topmost heights. Passing Brent and
Kingsbridge Stations, Ivy Bridge next comes in sight, a deep dell, over
which a viaduct passes: a dell of singular beauty, one of the finest in all
Devonshire. Soon we pass Cornwood and Plympton,—the latter famous as
the birthplace of Sir Joshua Reynolds,—and, skirting the Plym, enter
Plymouth.

The eye is at once arrested by a sylvan spot, running out into the sea,
beyond the docks, and their manifold adjuncts; a mass of greenery,
unbroken except by trees of varied foliage, that rise continually in groups,
from all parts of the promontory that, thus seen, seems an island.
The admiral of the “Invincible” Armada had taste, at least, in fixing
upon Mount Edgcumbe as his dwelling-place, when settled in the country
he was “about” to conquer. God’s providence gave the invader a different
locality; and the beautiful domain continues to be, as it was then, the home
of the family of the Edgcumbes, now earls of “that ilk.”
Mount Edgcumbe is in Cornwall; but until recently it was a part of
Devonshire; the Act of Parliament that removed it from one county to the
other dating no further back than 1854. But Acts of Parliament have done
other wonders in this district, for it was only in 1824 that an act was passed
giving to the town of “Plymouth Dock,”—or, as it was then generally
called, “Dock,”—the new and more pretentious name which it now holds of
Devonport. The “Mount” is about half a mile across the bay which divides
it from the now “united” towns of Devonport, Stonehouse, and Plymouth,
which, together, contain a population of 150,000 “souls.” From any of the
adjacent heights, especially the Hoe at Plymouth, we obtain a glorious view
of the road-stead—fortified everywhere. In mid-distance is seen the
Breakwater, one of the marvels of engineering art; and far off, yet within
view, the famous lighthouse—the Eddystone, some fourteen miles from the
nearest shore. Between these objects and the port are, at all times, many
ships of the navy: they rule the waves of ocean in the seas that encircle
earth; and Plymouth will be especially glorified when the triumphs of
British sailors, from the admiral to the able seaman, supply subjects of
discourse.
The Breakwater, one of the most gigantic works in the kingdom, lies in
Plymouth Sound, where it forms a line between Bovisand Bay on the east,
and Cawsand Bay on the west. It is about three miles from Plymouth, and is
a mile in length. In form it is a straight line, with a kant or arm at each end,
branching off towards the shore. At its eastern end a clear passage between
it and the Bovisand shore of about a mile in width is left for ships, while at
the western end the passage is about a mile and a half in width. The idea of
the Breakwater originated with Earl St. Vincent in 1806, and Mr. Rennie
and Mr. Whidbey surveyed the Sound for the purpose. In 1811 the plan was
decided upon. The first stone was deposited on the birthday of the Prince

Regent (afterwards George IV.), 1812. In 1817, and again in 1824, much
damage was done to the progressing work. The quantity of stone used in its
formation is estimated at about four millions of tons, exclusive of about two
millions and a half of tons of granite and other stones used for paving,
facings, &c. At the east end is a beacon, and at the west end a lighthouse 60
feet high. The spirited engraving of this gigantic undertaking, which we
here give, is taken from Mr. Jewitt’s recently published “History of
Plymouth,” where it forms one of many illustrations. The view, as will be
seen, is a kind of bird’s-eye, and shows the form of the Breakwater, with its
new central fort and its lighthouse and beacon.

Plymouth Breakwater.

The Eddystone Lighthouse, in the English Channel, is fourteen miles
from Plymouth, from which town its light is distinctly visible under
favourable atmospheric circumstances. It is erected on one of the Eddystone
rocks, probably so called from the eddies, or whirls, which surround them.
The rocks themselves are completely covered at high tide. The first attempt
to erect a lighthouse on these rocks was made by Mr. Winstanley in 1696.
This was completed in about four years, but was washed away in a
hurricane. In 1706 a new lighthouse, for which an Act of Parliament had
been passed, was begun to be erected by Mr. John Rudyerd, silk mercer, of
London, who was of the famous family of Rudyerd, of Rudyerd, in the

county of Stafford, and a man of considerable engineering and architectural
skill. He, wishing to profit by experience, determined that as the former
lighthouse had been angular, his should be round, and that as it was mainly
of stone his should be of wood. In 1709 Rudyerd’s lighthouse was
completed, and gave promise of being a great success. Years passed on,
storms rose, the waves dashed over and around it wildly, but it remained
firm and unshaken even through the dreadful tempest of 1744. What wind
and water could not do, was, however, soon after fearfully accomplished by
fire—the lighthouse being burned down in 1755. Immediately after this Mr.
Smeaton undertook the task of erecting a new lighthouse of stone. This, the
present Eddystone Lighthouse, was commenced in 1756 and completed in
1759. In construction it is the most complete example of architectural and
engineering skill. The lower part is solid throughout, being literally as firm
as the rock itself, on which it is immovably and permanently fixed. The
stones are all dovetailed together, so that, in reality, it becomes but one
stone throughout. In the upper portion, which is equally strong, the rooms
and staircase take up the hollow centre. The lantern is octagonal. This
building, which has given to the name of Smeaton an imperishable fame,
bears on its granite cornice the truly appropriate inscription:—“Except the
Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Psalm cxxvii. 1;” and
over the lantern, “24th August, 1759. Laus Deo.” Of this we give an
engraving on our initial letter on page 54.
But we have a theme that demands all the space we can give—Mount
Edgcumbe, and that other seat of the ancient family, Cothele.
For Mount Edgcumbe art has done little; but it was here unnecessary for
art to do much: like some women, whose charms of expression and perfect
“loveliness” do not seem to require beauty, this delicious peninsula has
been so richly gifted by Nature, that, perhaps, efforts to enhance its
attractions might have lessened instead of augmenting them. Hill and dell,
heights and hollows, pasture slopes and rugged hillocks, succeed each other
with a delicious harmony we have rarely seen elsewhere. On one side of the
bay are the three busy towns, active with energetic life; on another are the
cultivated hill-sides of productive Devon; on another is the open sea, with
the two objects we have noted—the Breakwater and the marvellous
Eddystone. Everywhere Nature has had its own sweet will; even the laurel
hedges have risen thirty feet in height; the lime trees grow as if they had
never been trimmed; while the slopes, from the hill-heights to the sea-rocks,

appear as sheen as if the scythe had been perpetually smoothing them. Here
and there, pretty and pleasant shelters have been provided for visitors who
throng hither for health and relaxation;[12] “look out” seats are provided on
many of the hill-tops; and the deer and the rabbits have free pasturage in the
noble Park that occupies a space of many hundred acres between the
harbour and the sea. Nor may we forget the “defences” of the peninsula: the
battery that would here, as elsewhere, “keep the foreigner from fooling us,”
and that battery called “the Salute,” in which the huge “Armstrongs” are
hidden, but where may be seen, by all on-lookers, twenty-one mounted
cannon—“prizes” from ships of “the enemy” taken during the war with
France.

Mount Edgcumbe, from Stonehouse Pier.

All, therefore, is not left to Nature. Nor must we forget the gardens:
prettily laid out; enriched by rare trees, with vases and statues judiciously
intermixed; and, especially, a grove of orange trees, with several summer-
houses in pleasant nooks, where cedars, magnolias, cork trees, and other
trees, supply shade and shelter from rain and sun. Art has here been aiding
Nature, but its influence is felt rather than seen; those to whom the
“grounds” owe much seem to have been ever mindful that their profuse and
natural luxuriance needed few checks of the pruner and trainer. The name of

one of these benefactors is recorded—a votive urn contains a tablet to the
memory of that countess “whose taste embellished these retreats, herself
their brightest ornament”—Countess Sophia, who could not have found on
earth a home more lovely than that which, in 1806, she was called to leave
for one still more perfect and more beautiful.
The great charm of Mount Edgcumbe, however, consists in the five-
mile drive through the Park, along a road that everywhere skirts the harbour
or the sea. It is perpetual hill and dell; a mimic ruin, intended as a view
tower, and answering its purpose well, is the only object remarkable on the
higher grounds, if we except the church—Maker Church—neither
venerable nor picturesque, but containing many interesting memorials of
the Edgcumbe family;[13] but down in the dales (in nearly all of them) are
the pretty “lodges,” where the keepers and gardeners reside, and where
simple “refreshments” of milk and hot water are provided for the crowds
who are weekly visitors to the domain. One of these we have pictured on
page 64.
Lady Emma’s cottage—Lady Emma being the first Countess of Mount
Edgcumbe, wife of George, first Baron and Earl of that title—is charmingly
situated in one of the most lovely of the dells of this domain, surrounded by
soft grassy turf, and overhung by lofty trees; the cottage itself is completely
embosomed in creeping plants, and has a rustic verandah exquisitely
decorated with fir-cones and other natural productions, so disposed as to
give considerable richness to the effect of the building. The little valley in
which it stands, hollowed out with great regularity by Nature, and sloping
gently down towards the sea, is one of the sweetest spots on the whole
estate. The footway winds round the upper part of the valley, and at the
head of the dell is a spacious alcove composed of Gothic fragments, called
the “Ruined Chapel,” from which a glorious view is obtained.
In the grounds the most famous points for the attraction of visitors are
“Thomson’s Seat;” the “Temple of Milton;” a recess called the
“Amphitheatre;” a charming alcove, the “White Seat,” which commands a
splendid prospect; “the Arch,” which overlooks the Sound; and the “zig-zag
walks,” which lead down along the cliffs and through the woods, and are
the favourite resorts of visitors.

The Mansion.

The gardens are three in number, and called respectively the “Italian,”
the “French,” and the “English” gardens, in each of which the special
characteristics of planting and arrangement of those countries are carried
out—the conservatories, fountains, orangeries, terraces, etc., being, in each
instance, built in accordance with the tastes of the three kingdoms.
Indeed, it is difficult to convey an idea of the grandeur, beauty, and
interest of the views from every portion of the Park; they are perpetually
varied as the eye turns from sea to shore, and from shore to sea; each one of
them enhanced by ships at anchor or in full sail; while boats of all forms
and sizes are continually passing to and fro. One of the most prominent
objects from the park is Drake’s Island; an island in mid-channel between
Plymouth and Mount Edgcumbe; it appears on the map, however, as St.
Nicholas Island, its original name, but it has, in later times, been
occasionally called Drake’s Island, after the great admiral, Sir Francis
Drake—one of the many sea-heroes of whom Plymouth is justly proud.
This island is connected with the shore at Mount Edgcumbe by a submarine
ridge of rocks, called the “Bridge,” which renders the passage, on that side,
dangerous to ships of even moderate burthen. On the island was formerly an
ancient chapel, dedicated to St. Michael, which was converted in the
fifteenth century into a bulwark. The island contains about three acres of
land, and is strongly fortified.

We turn our backs on the Breakwater and distant Eddystone, to mark the
steamer passing under the most remarkable effort of engineering skill in
England—one of the legacies of Brunel—the “Albert Bridge” that crosses
the Tamar from Devonshire into Cornwall; and long to visit (which we may
easily do, for steam-boats run daily up it in summer) the beautiful river
Tamar and its grand tributary, the Tavy. A drive of a mile, and before us is a
continuation of the promontory, still charming; and a little farther on, but
across the river Lynher—and adjacent to the ancient borough of St.
Germans, with its venerable church, once the cathedral of the See of
Cornwall—is Port Eliot, the residence of the noble family of Eliot, Earls of
St. Germans. In a word, a hundred points of deep and exciting interest,
picturesquely beautiful and historically interesting, may be seen and “taken
note of,” from the several points to which a drive through the Park
conducts.
We give an engraving of the mansion. Parts of it are as old as the reign
of Henry VIII., but its outward signs of remote age are few; it seems built
for comfort; it is thoroughly a domestic house; the rooms are neither large,
lofty, nor stately; but all of them are made to live in—so many parts of a
home. We may except the Great Hall, however; that is “grand.” There is a
minstrels’ gallery, and it is often used for music. The house is square in
general form, and originally had a circular tower at each angle; these,
however, have been rebuilt of an octagonal form, and additions have been
carried in different directions. The front faces down a grassy slope to the
sea at Cremill, and thus a charming prospect is always before its windows;
the rooms are full of family and historic portraits: some of them by the great
old masters, many by Sir Joshua Reynolds, “dear Knight of Plympton,”
while ten or twelve Vanderveldes grace the several apartments. Of these
some are stated to have been painted by the artist, Vandervelde himself, at
Mount Edgcumbe. Of one, which formed the subject of correspondence
between Sir Richard Edgcumbe and the artist, the original and amended
sketches hang beside the picture. The portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds are
of individuals of three generations, and those by Lely are in his best style.
Among the national pictures are full-length and other portraits of Charles I.,
Charles II., James II., Prince Rupert, William III., the Duke of Monmouth,
and others.
It is needless to add that delicious views are obtained from the windows
of all the leading chambers, not only on the upper but on the ground floors,

as well as from the several terraces by which the dwelling is, on all sides,
environed—occupying as it does an elevation on the side of one of the hill
slopes.
Before we visit Cothele—the other mansion of the Mount-Edgcumbes
—we give some account of the ancient and long-honoured family, who
have been their lords for many hundred years.
The family of Edgcumbe, or Edgcomb, is one of the most ancient and
venerable in the county of Devon, the name being derived from their
original possession of Eggescomb, Egecomb, or Edgcombe (now called
Lower Edgcumbe), in the parish of Milton Abbots, in that county. From this
family and this place, the noble family of the Earls of Mount Edgcumbe is
descended as a younger branch.
In 1292 Richard Edgcumbe was Lord of Edgcumbe, in Milton Abbots,
and he was direct ancestor, both of the present representative of the main
line, who is twentieth in direct lineal descent, and of the present ennobled
family, as well as of the branches settled in Kent and elsewhere.
In the reign of Edward III., William de Eggescombe, or Edgcombe,
second son of the House of Edgcumbe, having married Hilaria, sole
daughter and heiress of William de Cothele, of Cothele, or Coteel, in the
parish of Calstock, in Cornwall, a fine old Cornish family, became
possessed of Cothele and the other estates, and removed into Cornwall.
Here, at Cothele, he and his descendants resided for several generations.
Richard Edgcumbe, great grandson of William de Edgcumbe and
Hilaria de Cothele, is said to have built the greater part of the grand old
residence of Cothele as it remains at the present day: of this singular
mansion we shall furnish some details. At Bosworth Richard Edgcumbe
received the honour of knighthood from his victorious leader, Henry VII.,
was made comptroller of his household, and one of his Privy Council, and
had the castle and lordship of Totnes, in Devonshire—forfeited to the crown
on the attainder of John Lord Zouch for high treason—conferred upon him
by that monarch, with many other honours and dignities, and large extents
of land, including those of Sir Henry Bodrugan, who had likewise been
attainted for high treason. He also held, as he had previously done, the
offices of Recorder, and Constable of the castle of Launceston, and
Constable of Hertford, &c. In 1488 Sir Richard was sent into Ireland, as
Lord Deputy, by his royal master, to take the oaths of allegiance of the Irish

people, embarking at Mounts Bay in the Anne of Fowey, and attended by
other ships, and a retinue of five hundred men. He died in 1489, at Morlaix,
while holding the appointment of ambassador to France. He married Joan,
daughter of Thomas Tremaine of Collacombe, by whom he had issue.

Lady Emma’s Cottage.

Of Sir Richard Edgcumbe, Fuller tells a romantic story. He says he was
“memorable in his generation for being zealous in the cause of Henry, Earl
of Richmond, afterwards King Henry VII. He was, in the time of Richard
III., so hotly pursued, and narrowly searched for, that he was forced to hide
himself in his wood, at his house, in Cuttail, in Cornwall. Here extremity
taught him a suddain policy, to put a stone in his capp and tumble the same
into the water, whilst these rangers were fast at his heels, who, looking
down after the noise, and seeing the cap swimming therein, supposed that
hee had desperately drowned himself, and deluded by this honest fraud,
gave over their further pursuit, leaving him at liberty to shift over into
Brittany. Nor was his gratitude less than his ingenuity, who, in remembranse
of his delivery, after his return built a chappel (which still remains) in the
plase where he lurked, and lived in great repute with prince and people.”
After thus cleverly misleading his pursuers, Richard Edgcumbe crossed the
Channel in a small ship, to the Earl of Richmond, in Brittany, with whom he

afterwards returned to England, and was engaged in the battle of Bosworth
Field, in Leicestershire, where King Richard was killed.

In the Gardens.

His son, Piers Edgcumbe, was Sheriff of the county of Devon, 9th, 10th,
and 13th Henry VII. and 2nd Henry VIII. “At the creation of Prince Arthur
he was one of the twenty individuals who were made Knights of the Cross
of St. Andrew.” He, with others, was “appointed to review and array all men
at arms, archers, and others, who were to accompany Sir Thomas D’Arcy in
his expedition against the Moors and infidels.” He was one of the
expedition into France, 5th Henry VIII., and for his distinguished gallantry
at the sieges of Tournay and Thurovenne, and at the battle of Spurs, he was
created a knight-banneret. Sir Piers Edgcumbe was married twice: first to
the daughter and heiress of Stephen Durnford, by his wife the heiress of
Rame; and, second, to Katherine, daughter of Sir John St. John, and widow
of Sir Griffith Ap Rys, by whom he had no issue. By the first of these
marriages, Sir Piers Edgcumbe acquired the manors and estates of the
Durnfords, including that of West Stonehouse (now Mount Edgcumbe). He
had issue by her, three sons, Richard, John, and James, and three daughters,
Elizabeth, Jane, and Agnes (or Anne). Sir Piers Edgcumbe died in 1539, and

was succeeded as heir by his eldest son, Richard Edgcumbe, who was
knighted in 1536.
This Sir Richard Edgcumbe built the present family mansion, on a part
of the estate which his father had acquired by marriage with the heiress of
the Durnfords (who had inherited it from the ancient family of Stonehouse
or Stenhouse), and gave to it the name of “Mount Edgcumbe.” He was
Sheriff of Devon 35th Henry VIII. and 1st Queen Mary. He married first a
daughter of Sir John Arundel, by whom he had no issue; and, second,
Winifred Essex, and by her had, besides other issue, a son, Piers, or Peter,
who succeeded him. Sir Richard Edgcumbe, who kept up a fine
establishment, and at one time entertained at Mount Edgcumbe the English,
Spanish, and Netherlands admirals, died in 1561. Piers (or Peter)
Edgcumbe, who was member of Parliament, and was also Sheriff of Devon
9th Elizabeth, married Margaret, daughter of Sir Andrew Lutterell, by
whom he had five sons and four daughters, and was succeeded by his eldest
son, Richard.
Piers Edgcumbe died in 1607, and on his tomb his honours are thus set
forth:—
“Lief Tenant to my Queen long Time
And often for my Shire and Knighte;
My merit did to Creddit clime,
Still bidinge in my Callinge righte;
By Loyalty my faith was tryede,
Peacefull I liv’d, hopeful I diede.”

His son, Sir Richard Edgcumbe, knighted by James I., was member of
Parliament for Totnes, for Grampound, and for Bossiney; he married Mary,
daughter and heiress of Sir Richard Coteele, or Cottle, of London, and by
her, who died eighteen years before him, had issue, two sons, Piers and
Richard, by the eldest of whom, Piers Edgcumbe, he was succeeded. This
gentleman distinguished himself by his devotion to the royal cause; he “was
a master of languages and sciences, a lover of the king and church, which
he endeavoured to support in the time of the civil wars to the utmost of his
power and fortune.” Sir Alexander Carew and Major Scawen, for holding
connection with Piers Edgcumbe, who held a colonel’s commission in the
king’s army, were beheaded. He married Mary, daughter of Sir John
Glanvil, and died in 1660, being succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Richard
Edgcumbe, who had been knighted during his father’s lifetime. He was also

a member of Parliament. He married Anne Montague, daughter of Edward,
Earl of Sandwich, by whom he had issue two sons, Piers, who died young
and unmarried, and Richard; and six daughters. He died in 1688.
To this time, for several generations, it will have been noticed, the
inheritors of the estate alternated, in name, between Piers (or Peter) and
Richard. This succession of name was now broken by the death of Piers, the
eldest son.
Richard Edgcumbe, soon after coming of age, was chosen M.P. for
Cornwall, and continued to sit for various places until 1742. In 1716 and
1720 he was one of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, and in 1724
was Vice-Treasurer, and Paymaster of the Taxes, &c. In 1742 he was
created Baron Edgcumbe of Mount Edgcumbe, and was afterwards made
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, one of the Privy Council, and Lord-
Lieutenant of Cornwall. His lordship, by his wife Matilda, daughter of Sir
Henry Furnese, had issue, three sons, Richard, Henry (who died an infant),
and George; he died in 1758, and was succeeded in his title and estates by
his eldest son, Richard, second Baron Edgcumbe, member of Parliament for
various places, one of the Lords of the Admiralty, and afterwards appointed
Comptroller of his Majesty’s Household. He was a man of great talent, and
is thus spoken of by Horace Walpole in his “Royal and Noble
Authors:”—“His lordship’s skill as a draughtsman is said to have been such
as might entitle him to a place in the ‘Anecdotes of English Painting,’
‘while the ease and harmony of his poetic compositions give him an
authorised introduction here.’ ... ‘a man of fine parts, great knowledge, and
original wit, who possessed a light and easy vein of poetry; who was
calculated by nature to serve the public, and to charm society; but who
unhappily was a man of pleasure, and left his gay associates a most
affecting example how health, fame, ambition, and everything that may be
laudable in principle or practice, are drawn into and absorbed by that most
destructive of all whirlpools—gaming.’”

The Ruin, the Sound, Drake’s Island, &c.

His lordship, dying unmarried in 1761, was succeeded by his brother
George as third baron. This nobleman, who had sat in several parliaments,
and held various public offices (among them the Lord-Lieutenancy of
Cornwall), and was Vice-Admiral of the Blue, married Emma, only
daughter and heiress of John Gilbert, Archbishop of York, by whom he had
issue an only son, who succeeded him. His lordship was, on the 17th
February, 1781, created in addition to his title of Baron Edgcumbe, Viscount
Mount Edgcumbe and Valletort; and in 1789 he was further advanced to the
dignity of an earl, by the title of Earl of Mount Edgcumbe. Dying in 1795,
he was succeeded by his only son, Richard, as second earl.

The Salute Battery.

This nobleman, who also held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of
Cornwall, married Lady Sophia Hobart, daughter of John, second Earl of
Buckinghamshire, and by her had issue, two sons, Ernest Augustus, and
George, and two daughters. His lordship died in 1839, and was succeeded
by his eldest son, Ernest Augustus, as third earl, who (born in 1797) was
Aide-de-Camp to the Queen and Colonel of the Cornwall militia. He
married, in 1831, Caroline Augusta, daughter of Rear-Admiral Charles
Feilding, who still survives him, and is an extra Lady of the Bed-chamber to
the Queen. By her his lordship had issue two sons: viz., William Henry and
Charles Ernest, and two daughters, of whom Ernestine Emma Horatia is
still living. The earl died in 1861, and was succeeded by his eldest son as
fourth earl.
The present nobleman, William Henry Edgcumbe, fourth Earl of Mount
Edgcumbe, Viscount Mount Edgcumbe and Valletort, and Baron Edgcumbe
of Mount Edgcumbe, the noble owner of Mount Edgcumbe and of the large
estates concentrated in the family, was born in 1832. He was educated at
Harrow, and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he became B.A. in 1856, and
sat as M.P. for the borough of Plymouth from 1859 to 1861, when, by the
death of his father, he entered the Upper House. His lordship is an extra
Lord of the Bed-chamber to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales; is Lieutenant-

Colonel of the 2nd battalion and Captain Commandant of the 16th corps of
Devon Rifle Volunteers; is a Special Deputy Warden of the Stannaries, &c.,
&c. He married in 1858 the Lady Katherine Elizabeth Hamilton, fourth
daughter of the first Duke of Abercorn, and has by her issue one son, Piers
Alexander Hamilton Edgcumbe Viscount Valletort (born 1865), and three
daughters, Victoria Frederica Caroline, born 1859, Albertha Louisa
Florence, born 1861, and Edith Hilaria, born 1862. His lordship is patron of
five livings; viz., Dittisham and Beer Ferrers, in Devonshire; and Landrake,
Rame, and Millbrook, in Cornwall. The arms of the Earl of Mount
Edgcumbe are—gules, on a bend ermines, cottised, or, three boars’ heads,
argent. Crest—a boar, statant, argent, gorged with a leaf of oak, vert,
fructed, or. Supporters—two greyhounds, argent, gutté de poix, and gorged
with a collar, dovetailed, gules.
From the ancient mansion at Mount Edgcumbe we proceed to that
which is still older and more venerable—
Cothele.—It is difficult to imagine a house continuing—and but little
changed—to be inhabited by the same family, or, indeed, inhabited at all,
during a period approaching three centuries; yet that is the case with
Cothele, pride of the beautiful river Tamar, and one of the “gems” of
Cornwall;[14] its gigantic oaks, and chestnuts are obviously so old; but it is
requisite to examine the exterior, and especially the interior, to obtain
conviction that the mansion dates from the reign of the seventh Henry;
while its present lord is the lineal representative of the knight who built it—
Sir Richard Edgcumbe—whose house it is we see, nearly as he left it:[15]
but, also, we may examine the armour he wore, for it still hangs in this hall;
the table at which he feasted (the worm of time only has touched it); the
chairs on which he and his dame sat, the very bed on which they slept,
while the tapestry, woven by fair hands that have been dust for three
centuries, still cover the old walls. Charles I. certainly slept in one of these
rooms, and it demands no great stretch of imagination to believe that the
illustrious Sir Walter Raleigh was often its honoured guest. We may have
been seated in the very chair in which the great knight recounted his
adventurous exploits against the hated Spaniards under his cousin’s roof-
tree. Memories haunt every room; every hole and corner, so to speak, has a
tale to tell of the long past.

The house is one of the finest remaining examples of the period to
which it belongs, and, with Haddon Hall, in Derbyshire, which it closely
resembles in general plan and in some of its details, is one of the best
existing specimens of mediæval domestic architecture in England.
Although, doubtless, the greater part of the building was erected by Sir
Richard Edgcumbe, it is evident that the whole was not built by him, but
that he added to, and enlarged the then family residence of the Cotheles,
many portions of which exist at the present time.[16] The buildings surround
two court-yards, or quadrangles, the entrance being surmounted by an
embattled tower; the main buildings and large tower are also embattled.
The banqueting-hall is a noble apartment, 42 feet long by 22 feet wide.
It has a remarkably fine timber roof, with intersecting arches in its
compartments. At the upper end, to the left, the lord’s table stood beneath
the bayed window, and opposite to it a doorway leads to the principal
staircase. At the bottom of the hall are three doorways, one of which led to
the great kitchen, and the other two to the buttery and the cellar. On the
walls are suits of armour, helmets, breastplates, warders’ horns, gauntlets,
matchlocks, cross-bows, shields, battle-axes, halberts, pikes, swords,
pistols, gisarmes, petronels, and two-handed swords and spears that may
have been
“Bathed in gore
On the plains of Azincourt.”

In the windows are the royal arms, the arms and impalements of Edgcumbe,
Cothele, Holland, Tremaine, Trenchard, Durnford, Rame, Cotterell, Raleigh
(for Sir Walter Raleigh’s grandmother was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir
Richard Edgcumbe of Cothele), Trevanion (Sir William Trevanion married
another daughter of Sir Richard Edgcumbe, and fought by his side at
Bosworth Field, and accompanied him in his pursuit of the mutual enemy,
Sir Henry Bodrugan), Carew, of Anthony (of the family of Carew the
historian), St. Maur, Courtenay, Bigbury, Fitzwalter, &c.
The dining-room is a charming tapestried apartment, with mullioned
windows and a fine old fire-place. The tapestry is highly interesting, one of
the subjects being the story of Eurydice, another Diana and Apollo, and the
others rural scenes, equestrian figures, &c.

Adjoining the dining-room is an ante-room of surpassing interest. “The
tapestry in this room represents the Sciences, and might be called the school
of Athens, from the similarity of the subject to the celebrated picture of
Raphael.” In this room, as in others, has been collected together a fine
assemblage of old earthenware and other interesting matters relating to the
life of the inmates in times of old.
The chapel, which is in the corner of the court-yard, contains a pretty
open-work oak screen, and an arched roof at the intersections of which are
carved bosses. The bowl of the original font is preserved. In the east
window, in stained glass, are considerable portions of full-length figures,
probably of saints, but the names do not appear, while in the upper light is
represented the Annunciation. The angel is red with green wings, and on a
label, in black letter, the words “Ave Maria gracia plena, D̄ ns tecum.” The
Virgin is on the other side, near a building resembling a church, with a label
also, on which once was “Ecce ancilla D̄ ni; fiat ̄mi s̄ cdm verbū-tuū.” In the
lower compartment of the window will be noticed three shields of arms: the
first being Edgcumbe, quartering Tremaine (or Trenchard); the second, first,
and fourth Edgcumbe, second Holland, third Tremaine, impaling first and
fourth Durnford, second Fitzwalter, and third, now blank but probably
originally containing Bigbury; and the third which contained Edgcumbe and
several quarterings, much injured. In the south window are two female
saints, St. Ann and St. Katherine. “An ancient altar-piece has the date 1589,
and in the centre the adoration of the Magi; while on one door is the portrait
of a man with ‘æt suæ 38,’ and on the other of a female, with ‘æt suæ 28,’
and on each door a shield with or, an arrow, sable.” The chapel is entered
from the dining-room as well as from the court-yard and domestic offices. It
has a small bell turret.
The bed-rooms—“the white room,” the “red room,” the “best room,”
“King Charles’s room,” and “Queen Anne’s room”—are all hung with fine
tapestry, and furnished in a style strictly in keeping with the place itself.
The ceiling of the first of these is of geometric design. The carved furniture
in these rooms is of the most interesting character, and among the
decorations are many shields of arms of the Edgcumbes and their alliances.
The tapestry is of the finest character, the furniture grand as old furniture
well can be, the hangings rich in material and hoary with age, and the
ornaments of the most veritable vertu character—each room in this grand
old mansion offers subject-matter enough for a separate volume.

The Mansion.

The drawing-room is also a fine tapestried apartment, furnished with
massive ebony chairs, ebony sofa, and ebony carved cabinet, and all the
appliances en suite. The kitchen and the other domestic offices are each and
all of the most interesting character, and convey to the mind a vivid picture
of the life of the inmates in days gone by. It is impossible, indeed, to
conceive anything better than Cothele as an illustration of the home-life of
our mediæval ancestors; for the building, the furniture, and the appliances,
as they are to-day, so were they three hundred years ago. As it was in the
days of Henry VII., so it is in those of Queen Victoria; and so, thanks to the
preserving spirit of the Edgcumbes, it is likely to remain for centuries to
come.
On some of the previous pages mention is made of Sir Richard
Edgcumbe’s escape from his pursuers, and of his founding a chapel on the
spot of his deliverance. This little chapel still stands to mark the spot, and to
bring back to the mind the circumstances of his escape, and of the
discomfiture of his pursuers. The chapel is built on the edge of the rock
overlooking the water, and from the east window the view is wonderfully
grand. In this east window is a figure of St. George in the centre, with the
Annunciation and the Crucifixion on either side. It also bears the arms of
Edgcumbe and Tremaine. In the other windows are also figures in stained

glass, and on the altar is a triptych. Among other interesting features in this
chapel—and they are many—is a fac-simile of the ancient tomb of Sir
Richard Edgcumbe, at Morlaix.
The grounds are charmingly wild, yet graceful. Nature is in a great
degree left to have her own way; the trees are of magnificent size (one of
them indeed measures 28 feet in girth), ferns and wild flowers grow in rich
luxuriance: every now and then glimpses are obtained of the beautiful river,
and, on the opposite side, of the hill-steeps and thick woods of Devonshire.
A pretty landing-place for boats is among the most picturesque points in the
landscape; a lesser river here flows into the Tamar; a waterfall adds to the
interest of the scene; and a neat little inn, close to the bank, gives
refreshment to the wayfarer; above all its attractions is to be counted this—
it is distant a dozen miles from a railway, and the shrill whistle never breaks
the harmony of the song-birds, who “cannot help but sing” in every bush,
brake, and tree of the demesne. The scenery on the river in the
neighbourhood of Cothele is extremely beautiful, and in many places
thickly overhung by skirting woods. Danescombe, a deep hollow in the
woods, is a charming spot, as are the Morwell rocks, and many other places.
We have directed attention to but one of a hundred attractions in
Devonshire and Cornwall: Devonshire is rich in the picturesque at all
seasons; and the wild grandeur of the Cornish coast has for centuries been a
theme of special laudation. Here and there, no doubt, other countries may
supply us with finer examples of the sublime and beautiful in scenery; but
they are to be reached only by sacrifices, such as the Home Tourist is not
called upon to make: our own Islands have been gifted by God with so
much that is refreshing as well as exciting to the eye and mind, that he or
she must be fastidious indeed who fails to be content with the beauties that
Nature presents so “near at hand”—accessible at comparatively easy cost of
time, toil, and money.

The Landing Place.

Between Exeter and Plymouth there may be a tour for every day of a
month.
Among the more delightful trips, where all is so beautiful, and where it
is impossible to turn in any direction without finding some delightful place
or some interesting object, may be named as especially within the reach of
visitors, those to Ivy Bridge, with its abundant charms of hill, dell, wood,
and river; to Saltram, the seat of the Earl of Morley, on the banks of the
Laira; to the Beacon and moors of Brent; to the picturesque and pleasant
dingles and combs of Cornwood; to Plympton, with its historic sites and its
pleasant associations; to Bickleigh and its poetical vale; to Dartmoor, with
its gloomy waste, its wild and romantic “breaks” of scenery, and its endless
antiquities; and to scores of other delicious spots. The trip up the river
Tamar to the Weir-head is one which ought to be taken by every visitor,
embracing, as it does, besides hundreds of other points of interest, the
dockyards, gun-wharf, Keyham steam-yard, Mount Edgcumbe, Torpoint,
Thanckes, Gravesend House, the mouth of the sweet river Lynher, by which
St. Germans is reached; Saltash, whose women are proverbial for their
dexterity and strength in aquatic exercises, and who often carry off regatta
prizes; St. Budeaux, with its conspicuous church; the junction of the Tavy
with the Tamar; Warleigh, Beer Ferris, and Maristow; Cargreen and

Landulph, in whose churchyard Theodore Palæologus, the last male
descendant of the Christian emperors of Greece, rests in peace; Pentillie
Castle, with its romantic love stories and tales of change of fortune;
Cothele, of which we have spoken; Calstock, with its fine old church
situated on a promontory; Harewood House, the seat of the Trelawneys, and
the scene, in Mason’s Elfrida, of the love of Ethelwold and of the
misfortunes consequent on his marriage with the daughter of Ordgar; and
the sublime and beautiful Morwell Rock.
Staddon Heights, Mount Batten, Penlee Point, Hooe, and many other
places, are within short distances of the Hoe, at Plymouth, and can be easily
reached. Trematon Castle and St. John’s are also near at hand, and pleasure
trips are frequently made in steam-boats round the Eddystone.
For those who make a longer stay in South Devon, visits may well be
made to Tavistock, to Totnes, to Berry Pomeroy Castle, to Torquay, with a
long et cetera.[17] Besides the trip up the Tamar, there are other rivers in
South Devon whose charms are of a totally different, but perhaps even more
exquisitely beautiful character. Thus the Dart, the Lynher, the Plym, the
Yealm, the Erme, and the Tavy, all present attractions to the tourist.
It cannot fail to augment the enjoyment of those who visit this beautiful
county—the fairest, the brightest, and the “greenest” of all our English
shires—to recall the many “worthies” to whom Devonshire and Cornwall
have given birth; men renowned in art, in science, and in letters: and the
gallant men, the “adventurers,” who carried the flag of England into every
country of the world, braving the battle and the breeze in all the seas that
surround earth in the four quarters of the globe. It is a long list—the names
of Drake, of Raleigh, and of Davy; of Reynolds, Northcote, Haydon, and
Eastlake; of Carew, of Hawkins, and of Gilbert; of Kitto, of Bryant, and of
Hawker, being not a tithe of the eminent men to which this district has
given birth—of whom the western shires are rightly and justly proud.
Shame be to those who seek in other lands the enjoyment they may find
so abundantly at home—who talk freely of the graces and grandeurs of far-
off countries, and do not blush to acknowledge entire ignorance of those
that bless and beautify their own.
England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, are, each and all, rich in “the
picturesque;” to the artist and art-lover they present attractions second to

none they will find in any country of the Continent: that is the truest
“patriotism,” which inculcates, as a first duty, a full appreciation of
“Our own, our native land!”

ALNWICK CASTLE.[18]

W ITH the single exception of Royal Windsor,
Alnwick Castle is second to none of the
mediæval British strongholds which, in our own
times, combine the characteristics of the early
fortress and the modern palace. With its
magnificent architectural features, all of them
deeply impressed with the attributes of a baronial
castle of the olden time, and placed in the midst
of that famous scene of long-continued strife, of
daring deeds, and of summary retribution, the
Northern Border, Alnwick may truly be said to be
an historical monument, standing upon historic
ground. The names of the great barons, in like
manner, who have successively been lords of
Alnwick, have been enrolled by English
chroniclers among the foremost ranks of their
countrymen, so that their own biographies,
interwoven with the history of their renowned
castle, are written in the annals of England. Then,
on the other hand, while in an extraordinary degree rich as well in relics as
in memories of the past, Alnwick still maintains the unclouded splendour of
its ancient dignity in its present capacity as the residence of an existing
ducal family. Thus, from whatever point of view it may be regarded,
Alnwick Castle must be esteemed as one of the finest and most interesting
of our national edifices, and it also always will establish its claim to a
foremost place among “the stately homes of England.”

When Nature declined to provide any one of her own emphatic
boundary-lines, such as a mountain-chain or a broad and deep river, to
determine the frontier which should divide England from Scotland, she left
a very delicate and difficult international question to be adjusted by the
rulers of the two adjacent realms, so long as this single island of Britain
should be divided into two distinct, and by no means necessarily friendly,
kingdoms. An artificial line of demarcation, accordingly, had to be drawn,
and was drawn, which was supposed to be accepted and recognised both to
the north and to the south of it. Here and there, as if to show in the clearest
manner possible the unsatisfactory character of a frontier such as this, to a
tract of country the ominous name of “Debateable Land” was assigned by
common consent. On either side of the frontier-line, again, and including all
the “Debateable Land,” the “Border” stretched far away to both the north
and the south; and, throughout its whole extent, it formed a decidedly
exceptional territory, in which there prevailed a system of wild laws that
were administered after a still wilder fashion: hence, whatever may have
been the state of things between England and Scotland, and between the
two sovereigns and the two nations, along the Border there flourished a
chronic local warfare, duly distinguished by gallant exploits, desperate
enterprises, and barbarous devastation, with the occasional variety of an
expedition of sufficient magnitude almost to constitute a regular campaign,
or the formal investment, and perhaps the storm and sack, of some
important fortified castle.[19]
The Borderers appear to have become so accustomed to this kind of life,
that they looked upon it as their proper lot, and after a manner even
regarded it with a kind of grim approval. Among them, doubtless, there
were but too many who were thoroughly in earnest in their devotion to what
may be styled the Border system—men
“Stout of heart and steady of hand,”

who, living in the constant expectation of some sudden assault, were both
“good at need,” and ready and resolute at all times to take advantage to the
utmost of every promising opportunity for successfully and profitably
assaulting their hostile neighbours. In order to keep a check upon this
predatory warfare, and to maintain something more than the semblance of a
supreme constituted authority, certain warlike barons, intrusted with high
powers as Lords Wardens, were established in fortified castles of great

strength along the line of the Border, and in those northern districts of
England which adjoined it. Of these early strongholds one of the proudest
and the sternest was the Castle of Alnwick.

Plan of Alnwick Castle.

Distant from London, north by west, 313 miles (by railway), Alnwick,
the county-town of Northumberland, is pleasantly situated on high ground,
rising about 200 feet above the sea-level, on the south bank of the river Aln.
From the name of this river, with the addition of wick, a place of human
habitation, Alnwick, always pronounced by its native inhabitants “Annick,”
is evidently derived.[20]

Alnwick Castle, from the River Aln.

Still remaining but little changed from what it was in times long passed
away, while from the humblest of origins other towns have grown up and
increased until they have attained to great magnitude and wealth and
importance, Alnwick derives its interest from its early association with our
national history—an association blended with the connection of the town
with its castle, and with the great barons, the lords of that castle. The site of
the castle and town of Alnwick is of a character which necessarily leads to
the conclusion, that it must have been occupied both by a settlement and by
some stronghold from a very remote period; and this opinion is confirmed
by the presence of numerous relics in the immediate neighbourhood, that
may be assigned without hesitation to ages anterior to the Roman settlement
in Britain: the authentic history of Alnwick, however, cannot be carried
back further than the era of the Norman Conquest, and even then for awhile
more than a little of uncertainty overshadows the earliest pages of the
chronicle. There exists no evidence to show that in the year 1066 any castle
was standing at Alnwick; nor have we any knowledge of what lords may
have held the high ground on the southern bank of the Aln during the
Anglo-Saxon rule.
On Alnwick Moor, and in many places in the neighbourhood, are some
remarkably interesting camps and other earth-works, and also some

barrows, in which various relics have been discovered. In one of these was
found a stone cist, containing a skeleton in the usual contracted position of
Celtic interments; and in another, in a similar cist, was found a fine food-
vessel, ornamented with a lozenge pattern. In other barrows Celtic remains,
including cinerary urns, drinking-cups, food-vessels, flints, celts, and other
implements of stone, bronze daggers, &c., have been found, and prove
incontestably the early occupation of the site of Alnwick. In the
neighbourhood, too, occur many of those curious remains of antiquity,
sculptured stones, bearing circles and other rude and singular characters,
which are supposed to be inscriptions.
It may be accepted as probable that the first Norman by whom this
barony was held was Gilbert Tyson, standard-bearer of the Conqueror, the
kind of personage who very naturally would be intrusted with the charge of
a remote and turbulent northern district. His descendants continued to hold
some estates under the lords of Alnwick in the reign of Edward III., but
there is no foundation for the legend that the barony of Alnwick passed to
Yvo de Vesci by his marriage with Alda, a granddaughter of Gilbert Tyson.
Still, by whatever means he may have acquired possession, Yvo de Vesci
was lord of Alnwick about the year 1096; and he also is the first Norman
baron of this barony whose history, scanty as it is, rises above doubt and
speculation. He died about the year 1134, leaving, without any male issue,
an only daughter, Beatrix, his sole heiress.
Before we pass on to trace the fortunes of the descendants of Yvo de
Vesci, a brief notice must be taken of a memorable incident which took
place in the immediate neighbourhood of Alnwick before Yvo himself had
become its lord. After the Norman Conquest many of the Anglo-Saxon
nobles found a sympathizing refuge to the north of the Border, under the
protection of Malcolm Caenmore, or “great head,” King of Scotland, whose
queen was an Anglo-Saxon princess, being sister to Edgar Atheling.
Malcolm, in his zeal for the fallen Anglo-Saxon dynasty, five times made
incursions into Northumberland, laid waste the country far and wide with
fire and sword, and carried away almost the entire adult population as
slaves into Scotland. This devastating warfare was suspended in
consequence of a treaty, during the concluding years of the reign of the
Conqueror; but it broke out afresh after the succession of Rufus, and
Malcolm, accompanied by Prince William, his eldest son, in person led an
expedition as far south as Alnwick; and there, on the 13th of November,

1093, the king himself fell in an ambuscade, his son at the same time was
mortally wounded, and the Scottish army was dispersed by Earl Robert de
Mowbray, the governor of Bamborough Castle. The body of Malcolm,
having rested about thirty years at Tynemouth, was removed and re-interred
at Dunfermline by his son Alexander. There still remain two fragments of a
rude memorial cross, which, from an early period, has marked the spot
assigned by tradition to the scene of Malcolm’s discomfiture and death;
and, in 1774, one of his descendants, Elizabeth, Duchess of
Northumberland, erected on the same spot another cross, designed in
accordance with the debased architectural taste of that period.

The Barbican.

The one circumstance connected with the career of Yvo de Vesci that
has come down to us is the fact that he began to build the earliest parts of
the existing castle of Alnwick. With the barony, the castle of Alnwick
passed to Eustace Fitz-John by his marriage with Beatrix, the heiress of Yvo
de Vesci. In the hands of this able baron, Alnwick Castle was “most
strongly fortified:” he also founded the monastery of Alnwick, and in 1157
was succeeded by his eldest son, William, who, in honour of his mother,
assumed the name of De Vesci. In the time of this baron, another King of
Scotland found that the neighbourhood of Alnwick Castle was no place of
safety. In the year 1174 William the Lion, while besieging the fortress of the
De Vescis, was taken prisoner, and the large army under his command was

completely routed, De Vesci himself taking an active part in the fierce
struggle. His descendant, John De Vesci, who died in 1288, leaving no
issue, founded and endowed Hulne Abbey; and he was the first baron of his
house who was summoned by the king to the parliament by writ, his
predecessors having been barons by tenure. William De Vesci III., one of
the claimants of the Scottish crown, was born in 1245, and succeeded to the
barony of Alnwick on the death of his brother. The last baron of Alnwick of
his race, he died in 1297, without legitimate issue, having infeoffed the
celebrated Anthony Bec, Bishop of Durham, with all his lands and his castle
of Alnwick, to hold them in trust for an illegitimate son. But in 1309 the
bishop sold the castle and barony of Alnwick to Henry de Percy; and this
conveyance was confirmed by Edward II. in 1310.
Deriving, as it would seem, their memorable name from that district in
Normandy in which from an early period, long before the Norman
Conquest of England, their family had been established, the Percies were
represented in the ranks of the Conqueror at Hastings by William de Percy,
who assumed the additional name of Le Gernons, or Algernon, as a
personal epithet denoting the mass of hair which he wore about his face.
About 1166, or almost an exact century after the battle of Hastings, the
wealth, dignities, and power of the Percies centred in an heiress who,
perhaps in 1168, married Josceline de Louvain, second son of the Duke of
Brabant, and half-brother to the second queen of Henry I. of England. A
legend has been preserved, which relates that on her marriage with
Josceline, Agnes de Percy stipulated that her husband, at his own option,
should assume either the arms or the name of Percy; and it is added that the
bridegroom elected to retain his own arms, the blue lion rampant of
Brabant, while he assumed the paternal surname of his bride. This legend,
however, must be regarded as the poetic offspring of a later age, since at the
time of the marriage of Agnes de Percy armorial insignia had neither
assumed any definite character, nor had any such insignia become
hereditary.

The Prudhoe Tower and Chapel.

There is nothing to show that Josceline de Louvain ever bore the name
of Percy; but it is certain that the surname of his mother was assumed and
borne by the second son of Josceline’s marriage with the Percy heiress,
Henry de Percy; and by his descendants and successors the same name was
regularly borne. It was Sir Henry de Percy, third of the name, who in 1309,
the second year of Edward II., when already he was possessed of vast
wealth, and great power, became the first Lord of Alnwick of the House of
Percy, by purchase from Bishop Anthony Bec. Having taken an active part
in the wars with Scotland and otherwise distinguished himself among the
foremost men of his time, Henry, first Baron Percy of Alnwick, died in
1315, and was buried at Fountains Abbey, to which institution he had been a
munificent benefactor. One of the powerful barons who signed the
memorable letter to Pope Boniface VIII., in which the peers of England
refused to recognise or allow the interference of Papal authority with the
independent sovereignty of this realm, he married Eleanor Fitz-Alan,
daughter of Richard, Earl of Arundel, by whom he had two sons, and of
these the elder, another Henry de Percy, succeeded his father as second
Baron Percy of Alnwick, to whom was granted by Edward III. the castle
and manor of Warkworth “for service in peace and war,” as appears from
the original grant now in the Duke of Northumberland’s possession. This
Lord Percy was interred at Alnwick Abbey, the only head of the family

buried in Northumberland. The history of the lords of Alnwick from this
period becomes so closely interwoven with the history of England, that it
would be superfluous in such a sketch as the present to attempt to introduce
even a slight outline of the career of each of those renowned barons; and,
indeed, if it were desirable, it would not be possible here to find space for
the very slightest outline of so comprehensive a subject. Accordingly, we
now are content to give but little more than the succession of the Percies
after they became lords of Alnwick.
Henry de Percy, eldest son of the first baron, succeeded his father as
second Baron Percy of Alnwick; he died in 1352, leaving, by his wife
Idonea de Clifford (whose magnificent monument, with its rich and
splendid architectural canopy, unsurpassed in England, and also without a
rival in its remarkable condition of preservation, is the pride of Beverley
Minster), four sons, of whom the eldest, Henry, succeeded as third Baron
Percy of Alnwick. This baron died in 1368; his eldest son, by Mary of
Lancaster, Henry de Percy, sixth of his name and fourth baron, was created
Earl of Northumberland by Richard II., and High Constable of England.
This great noble fell a victim to the tyranny of Henry IV., at Bramham
Moor, in 1409. He was thrice married: first to Elizabeth, heiress to the Earl
of Angus, by whom he acquired the barony of Prudhoe; secondly to
Margaret de Neville; and thirdly to Maud de Lucy, sister and heiress of
Lord Lucy, widow of Gilbert de Umfraville, and mother of her second
husband’s first wife: and by these alliances the barony of Prudhoe, with the
estates of the Lucys and the castle and honour of Cockermouth, became
annexed to the Percy earldom. Sir Henry de Percy, known by his surname
of Hotspur as well in song as in history,—
“Who was sweet Fortune’s minion and her pride,”

the earl’s eldest son, was killed near Shrewsbury in 1403. At Trotton, in
Sussex, a fine monumental brass commemorates Elizabeth de Mortimer,
wife of Hotspur, and afterwards of Lord Camoys.

The Keep.

After several years the fortified honours and estates of the Percies were
restored to Henry, the son of Hotspur, who thus became the second Earl of
Northumberland. This great earl was killed, fighting under the red-rose
banner, at St. Albans, in 1455; and was succeeded by his fourth surviving
son, by his marriage with Eleanor de Neville, another Henry, who, with one
of his brothers, fell at the disastrous rout of Towton, in 1461. Two other
brothers of this earl died in arms in the Lancastrian cause; one of them, Sir
Ralph de Percy, a few days before the final catastrophe at Hexham in 1464,
was killed fighting bravely on Hedgeley Moor, where a cross was erected as
a memorial of his valour and his fall: of this cross the shaft, adorned with
the heraldic insignia of Percy and Lucy, is still standing. Under the third
earl, who, by his marriage with Eleanor de Poynings, acquired the baronies
of Poynings, Fitzpayne, and Bryan, the estates attached to the earldom
reached their greatest territorial extent, and constituted a vast principality.
In 1469 the attainder of the third earl having been reversed, his only
son, Henry, became the fourth earl; he was killed in a popular tumult in
1489, when his eldest son, by his marriage with Maud de Herbert, Henry
Algernon, succeeded as fifth earl. Remarkable rather for an almost regal
state and magnificence than for the warlike qualities that before his time
had been hereditary in his house, he was the first Earl of Northumberland
who did not fall in battle or otherwise suffer a violent death. He died in
1527, having married Catherine Spense, or Spencer. The Household Book

of this earl, which has been published by Bishop Percy, is one of the most
remarkable and characteristic documents that illustrate the personal history
of the greatest English nobles in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. His
son, the sixth earl, a second Henry Algernon de Percy, the lover of Anne
Boleyn in her earlier and really happier days, married Mary Talbot,
daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury, but in 1537 died without issue, when
the grand Percy earldom became extinct.
Twenty years later, “in consideration of his noble descent, constancy,
virtue, and valour in deeds of arms, and other shining qualifications,” of
which last recommendations to royal favour the fact that he was a zealous
Roman Catholic certainly was not the least influential, Thomas de Percy,
eldest son of the second son of the fifth earl (Sir Thomas Percy), was
created by Queen Mary, Baron Percy, and also restored to the earldom of
Northumberland; but the tenure by which the restored earl was to hold his
dignities and lands restricted the succession absolutely to the heirs male of
his own body, and to those of his brother. This the seventh earl was
executed, as a traitor, at York, in 1572, leaving no surviving son.
Accordingly, his brother, Henry de Percy, became the eighth earl: he died in
1585, having been shot (it was said, but most doubtfully, by his own hand)
while a prisoner in the Tower. The eldest son of this earl, by Catherine de
Neville, Henry, succeeded as ninth earl: he was a learned, eccentric
personage, commonly known as “the Wizard,” and died, after an
imprisonment of fifteen years in the Tower, in 1632. He married Dorothy
Devereux, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Algernon, one of the
noblest of his race. This great earl died in 1668, having married, first, Anne
Cecil, and, secondly, Elizabeth Howard. His successor, his only son (by his
second marriage), Josceline de Percy, the eleventh and last earl of
Northumberland of the direct lineage of the Percies, died in 1670, leaving,
by his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Southampton, an only
child, a daughter, Elizabeth de Percy, four years old at the time of her
father’s death.
Here we pause, before we trace onwards the fortunes of the later lords
of Alnwick, that we may direct our attention to the history of their grandest
northern fortress-home, Alnwick Castle.

Norman Gateway in the Keep.

The plan of the castle, as it exists at the present time, is shown in our
engraving; and it will be seen that five distinct periods in the architectural
history are indicated by varieties of shading introduced into the outlines.
The extreme extent of the walls from east to west slightly exceeds 1,000
feet; while that from north to south is somewhat less than 600 feet. The
varied outline of the space enclosed within the walls, which in a great
measure has been determined by the nature of the ground, in an infinite
degree enhances the equally noble and picturesque aspect of the edifice.
The figures in the plan refer to the various parts of the castle in the manner
following:—1, is the Barbican; 2, the Gateway to the second Baly; 3, the
Octagonal Towers; 4, the Norman Gateway; 5, the Grand Staircase; 6, the
Guard Chamber; 7, the Principal Ante-Room; 8, the Library; 9, the Saloon;
10, the Drawing-Room; 11, the Dining Hall; 12, the Chapel; 13 and 14,
State Bed-Rooms, 15, Boudoir of the Duchess; 16, Kitchen; 17, Estate
Offices; 18, Laundry; 19, Guest-Hall; 20, Stables; 21, Riding-School; 22,
West Garret; 23, Abbot’s Tower; 24, Falconer’s Tower; 25, Postern Tower;
26, Constable’s Tower; 27, Ravine Tower; 28, East Garret; 29, Warder’s
Tower; 30, Auditor’s Tower; 31, Clock Tower; and 32, the Avener’s Tower.
Thus, the open ground within the circumvallation, as will be seen by the
plan, is divided into two irregular spaces, the outer and the inner Baly, the
outer being toward the west. Occupying a central position is the Keep, a

grand cluster of towers and curtain-walls, enclosing an open court-yard: of
these towers, the new Prudhoe Tower, within which is the Library (No. 8),
with its lofty banner-turret, is the most conspicuous. Running south,
commencing with No. 13 and extending to No. 2, a new range of buildings
connects the Keep with the early Percy gateway between the balies, and
with the main southern curtain. In this direction, all the buildings, from No.
29 to No. 17, and from thence (with the exception of No. 31, which is one
of the flanking towers of the main curtain) to No. 19 southward, and to No.
21 westward, are new, and they have been erected beyond and without the
limits of the proper fortification. In like manner, the whole line of curtain-
wall, from No. 24 to No. 25, is new. To the north of the Keep the ground
falls somewhat rapidly in the direction of the river; from the bridge which
here crosses the Aln, the view of The Castle, as its groups of towers and its
far-extending walls rise proudly above the encircling woods, is particularly
fine and impressive.
The principal approach and entrance to the castle are from the west.
Here, to the westward of the original outer face of the fosse, stands the
Barbican; an embattled outwork of equal strength and dignity, the work of
the first of the Percies, about a.d. 1310. The rounded arch of the entrance
gateway here is an example of a usage not very uncommon at the period
which has just been specified, and always present in the works of Lord
Henry de Perci. The Barbican, which covers an area of 55 feet in length by
32 feet in width, is a perfect example of the style of fortification that was
held to be essential for defence against assault in mediæval warfare. One
remarkable feature, which is repeated again and again in various parts of the
castle, cannot fail at once to attract attention when approaching the
Barbican; this is the array of tall figures representing armed warders of the
fourteenth century, sculptured in stone, which surmount the parapet, and
stand upon the merlons of the embattling, casting their long shadows upon
the grey masonry.

The Armourer’s Tower.

Having entered the Barbican, passed under the sculptured Percy lion
which keeps guard over the archway, and traversed the entrance tower, we
find ourselves within the enclosure of the first or outer baly; here, turning to
the left, we commence our survey of the castle within the lines of
circumvallation. The curtain-wall, extending from the entrance northwards
at a right angle to the Abbot’s Tower, and having midway a garret or wall-
tower (No. 22 in plan) built upon it, is part of the old Norman work of the
De Vescis, with evident tokens of important reparation a little before the
middle of the fifteenth century, by the father of Hotspur, the sixth lord of
Alnwick. The Armourer’s Tower (No. 23 in plan), which occupies the N.W.
angle of the enceinte, is a noble piece of Edwardian architecture; it consists
of a vaulted basement, with two stories above it, connected by a turret-stair:
and its external massive effectiveness is greatly enhanced by the square
turret at the N.W. angle of the tower, which rises boldly above the embattled
parapet, having its own merlons crowned with weather-beaten sculptured
warders. Now facing eastwards, and soon making a slight inclination
towards the east, again we follow the line of the Norman curtain-walls, until

we reach the new Falconer’s Tower (No. 24 in plan), which has been built
on the site of the razed early Armourer’s and Falconer’s Towers; the
original curtain apparently extended in a direct line from No. 24 to the
Keep. Passing onwards along the new curtain-wall due east from No. 24,
we follow the line of this wall as it turns towards the south, and at No. 25 in
the plan brings us to the Postern Tower, another massive relic of the first
Lord Percy, placed at the base of the eminence upon which the Keep stands;
this tower protects a postern or sally-port, and it has a curious staircase in
the thickness of its walls: it is now used as a museum for Roman and British
antiquities. Advancing still further eastwards, but with an inclination to the
north, and again following the course of De Vesci’s curtain, we reach the
Constable’s Tower (No. 26 in plan), of Edwardian architecture, to which
there are three external entrances, one in each floor: one chamber in this
tower is used as an armoury. Again, as we follow the guidance of the
curtain-wall towards the S.E., we have before us the Norman masonry, with
traces of Edwardian, or first Percy, reparation. Here, about midway between
Nos. 26 and 27 of the plan, an embattled projection from the line of the wall
has been entitled “Hotspur’s Chair,” and to the east of this projection a gap
in the curtain is filled up with eighteenth-century masonry; this gap a not
very well-supported tradition assigns to a fierce assault by some Scots, who
are said to have been so far successful as to beat down this portion of the
castle-wall, after which exploit the tradition adds that the assailants were
cut off to a man by the garrison. This tower, which is called both the Ravine
Tower and the Record Tower (No. 27 of plan), stands at the easternmost
extremity of the castle; with Edwardian remains in its walls, it was for the
most part rebuilt in the last century: on the ground-floor is the muniment-
room, in which the records are kept. From this point our course inclines in a
south-westerly direction, the curtain being eighteenth-century work, until
again, at No. 28 in the plan, we welcome traces of the early masonry: here
another garret occurs, with the junction of the Norman and modern
masonry; then yet another succeeds, as once more we follow an eighteenth-
century wall until we reach the new Lion or Garden Gatehouse, No. 29 in
the plan, through which a road leads to Barneyside, where are situated the
extensive and beautiful gardens of the castle.
From within this gateway, which is flanked by two octagonal towers,
one of them—the Warder’s Tower—larger and loftier than the other, the
curtain-wall of the first Lord Percy’s work leads in a direct line nearly due

west; we follow the course of this wall, we pass
through the middle gate-house, erected by the first of
the Percies, which both separates and connects the
inner and the outer baly; again, on our left, we have
early Norman masonry in the curtain, and then we
reach the Auditor’s Tower (No. 30 in plan), another
relic of the first Lord Percy: here was held the court
of the lord of the barony; here now is the private
Library of the Duke; and here also is the Museum of
Egyptian Antiquities, collected by Duke Algernon,
the last munificent restorer of Alnwick. Still
following the line of the curtain, we reach the Clock
Tower. From this tower, the curtain, built in the last
century, leads in a northerly direction to the entrance On the Barbican.
gateway connected with the Barbican, to which, thus
completing our entire circuit, we now return, having passed, since leaving
the Clock Tower, the Avener’s Tower or Garner (No. 32 of plan), like the
adjoining curtain, a modern work.
During our progress from the garden gate (No. 29 in plan) westward and
northward to the Barbican, we have passed the long ranges of new buildings
that either adjoin or actually abut upon the outer face of the curtain-walls
(Nos. 16 to 21 in plan), by no means unimportant parts of the latest
restoration, which comprise all the domestic offices and the whole stable
department of the castle. These buildings, which have been planned and
constructed with the highest architectural and engineering skill, are on a
scale of princely magnitude; and of them it may truly be said that they leave
nothing to be desired. Of one only of these new edifices is it necessary that
we should make particular mention; this is No. 19 on the plan, a noble
apartment, covered with an open timber hammer-beam roof. In
consequence of there being in the restored castle no such baronial hall as
invariably formed the principal feature in a great mediæval stronghold,
Duke Algernon built this Guest Hall in its stead, which might enable
himself and his successors to assemble his and their tenantry and friends to
partake of the always splendid hospitality of the Percies. This hall has also
been used for concerts and various other purposes.

The Well in the Keep.

From the Barbican we retrace our steps so far as to traverse the roadway
that leads to the inner Gate-House (No. 2 in plan), that we may explore the
magnificent Keep: this, however, is a duty we postpone; pausing for a
while, and resting beneath the tree that grows beside the Barbican.
Presently, we shall resume our biographical sketch, and observe by what
means an only daughter once again became the ancestress of a noble
lineage, and through them brought to the house and castle of the Percies a
still more exalted dignity and a still higher honour than ever before had
been attained by them.

The Constable’s Tower.

And we rejoice to know that the noble line of the Percies was not
destined finally to fail with a failure of a direct heir male; it also is a subject
for rejoicing that over the towers of Alnwick there still should wave a
banner, charged with the same quarterings that in the olden time were so
well known to the breezes of Northumberland. As it has been well said,
Alnwick Castle has ever been esteemed as the old head-quarters of border
chivalry; and, in truth, it is a subject for national pride to feel it has that
same aspect still. No one assuredly can “look upon this very ‘gudlye
howsse,’ as King Harry’s commissioners called it, or upon its grassy courts
fringed with ‘faire towres,’ its stately keep with its ‘marveylouse fare
vaulte’ ‘and tryme ladgings,’” as they are described about the middle of the
sixteenth century, in the survey made by Clarkson for the seventh earl,
“without feeling that he had seen the martial, social, and most knightly
centre of mediæval life in Northumberland.” And so also, in like manner, no
one now can visit Alnwick Castle, and not feel deeply impressed with the
conviction that the England, of which the past history possesses
monumental records and still living witnesses such as this, is a land rich as
well in the most precious elements of present strength as in the most
glorious of memories; and so, when her true sons look forward to the future
of England, they may do so in the spirit of the fine old motto of the Percies
—ESPERANCE.

The annals of the truly noble family of the
Percies, as we have seen, down to the death of
Josceline, the eleventh earl, in 1670, extend over five
centuries, during three hundred and sixty-one years
of which period, almost without interruption, the
family was intimately connected with Alnwick. By
the limitation of the patent of 1557, the youthful
daughter of Earl Josceline was incapable of inheriting
her father’s honours, and thus, at last, the Percies’
earldom again became extinct, when no
inconsiderable part of their immense possessions
lapsed to the crown: the great northern earldom,
however, was not permitted in this manner to pass
away without more than one fruitless effort on the
part of collateral descendants to establish a claim to
the succession.
Notwithstanding the alienation of some of the estates consequent upon
the extinction of the Earldom of Northumberland, Elizabeth Percy, the
daughter of the last earl, was the most wealthy heiress in the realm; and,
accordingly, it was considered to be a matter of the greatest importance that
a suitable alliance should be arranged for her with the least possible delay.
When but little more than a child, in 1679, she was married to Henry
Cavendish, Earl of Ogle, and heir to the Duke of Newcastle, who died in the
following year. Before another year had expired, the youthful widow was
again married to Thomas Thynn of Longleat; but once more the heiress
became a widow very shortly after her marriage. Her second husband was
murdered early in 1682, as he was passing in his coach along Pall Mall.
While she was still not more than fifteen years of age, within three months
after the tragedy in Pall Mall, Elizabeth Percy became the wife of Charles
Seymour, sixth Duke of Somerset, by whom only she had issue: she died in
1722, leaving, besides three daughters, one only surviving son, Algernon,
who in 1748 succeeded his father as seventh Duke of Somerset. In 1749 this
duke was created Baron of Warkworth and Earl of Northumberland, with
remainder of those dignities to the heirs male of his daughter, his only
surviving child, by her marriage with Sir Hugh Smithson. The duke died in
1750, when the Seymour dignities reverted to the male descendants of the
Protector Somerset by his first marriage. Thus, once more, an only

daughter, now bearing the paternal name of Seymour, was the heiress and
representative of the Percy lords of Alnwick: and thus, by reason of his
alliance with this lady, Sir Hugh Smithson became jure uxoris, by special
Act of Parliament, Earl of Northumberland; and he himself, his countess,
and their descendants, were empowered and authorised to take and use the
surname of Percy alone, and to bear and quarter all the armorial insignia of
that noble house.
The fortunate husband of this last heiress of the Percies, on the death of
his grandfather, Sir Hugh Smithson, in the year 1729, succeeded to the
baronetcy, which had been conferred by Charles II. in 1663 on that
grandfather’s grandfather, also a Hugh Smithson. A remarkably handsome
man, with a refined taste, and in many other respects well qualified for the
distinguished destiny which awaited him, Sir Hugh Smithson is said to have
been in no slight degree indebted for his eventual splendid matrimonial
success to a previous failure. He had attracted the attention of Lady Percy,
who, on hearing that some other lady had rejected the suit of Sir Hugh
Smithson, expressed her surprise that any lady should have refused to
accept such a man. The words of the fair and noble heiress reached the ears
of the disconsolate baronet, and they promptly wrought a marvellous
change in his views and aspirations. Upon the hint so given Sir Hugh spoke,
and—his words were not in vain. In nearly all the “Peerages,” borrowed
one from another, it is stated that this Sir Hugh Smithson early in life went
to London, where he established himself in business as an apothecary.
Although no slur would thus have been cast on the illustrious race, it is
simply untrue. The following statement, extracted from a “Baronetage”
published in 1727, may be accepted in proof:—
“The present Sir Hugh Smithson married a sister of the late Lord
Langdale, and had two sons, who lived to man’s estate. Hugh, the eldest,
died unmarried before his father; Langdale Smithson, the second son,
married Miss Revely, by whom he left only one son, Hugh—now a minor,
and a most hopeful young gentleman—so that there now remain only two
heirs to the title and estate—this young gentleman, Sir Hugh’s grandson,
and Hugh Smithson, of Tottenham, Esq., cousin of Sir Hugh.”

The East Garret.

The “young gentleman” in question succeeded his grandfather as Sir
Hugh Smithson, of Stanwick. There was no trace in any documents or
papers of his ever having been in any position but that of the acknowledged
heir to a considerable estate and to a baronetage, granted to his ancestor for
his loyalty and sacrifices in the royal cause during the civil wars of Charles
I.[21] He married Lady Percy on the 16th of July, 1740, when he became
Earl of Northumberland with all the territorial greatness attendant on that
earldom.

The Garden Gate, or Warder’s Tower.

In 1766 the earl was created Duke of Northumberland and Earl Percy,
with succession to his heirs male; and, finally, in 1784, the barony of
Lovaine was added to the duke’s accumulated dignities, with remainder to
the younger of his two sons. The duchess died in 1776, but the duke
survived till 1786: they had one daughter, who died unmarried, and two
sons, Hugh and Algernon, of whom the elder succeeded his father as second
Duke of Northumberland, a distinguished general officer in the first
American War. The second duke married, first, a daughter of the then Earl
of Bute; and, secondly, Frances Julia, third daughter of Peter Burrell,
Esquire, a Commissioner of the Excise, by whom he had a numerous
family: the duke died in 1817, and was succeeded by Hugh, his eldest son,
who thus became the third Duke of Northumberland, the princely
representative of George IV. at the coronation of Charles X. of France. This
third duke died, without issue, in 1847, having married Lady Charlotte
Florentia Clive, youngest daughter of Earl Powis: and thus the dukedom
passed to the third duke’s brother, the younger son of the second duke, who
at the time of his brother’s death bore the title of Baron Prudhoe—an
independent peerage to which he himself had been elevated in 1816, in
consideration of his services as an officer in the navy.
Algernon Percy, fourth Duke of Northumberland, was born in 1792; in
1842 he married the Lady Eleanor Grosvenor, daughter of the Marquis of

Westminster; in 1847 he succeeded to the honours and possessions of his
family; he was created a K.G. in 1852, when he also held the office of First
Lord of the Admiralty; and on February 12th, 1865, he died at Alnwick
Castle, and, as his brother and predecessor had died, without any issue. Like
the great soldier, with whose memory the dukedom of Wellington must ever
be directly associated, Sir Algernon Percy will long be remembered with
affectionate and grateful admiration as The Duke of Northumberland. A true
English sailor, a princely English Nobleman, an elegant scholar and an
accomplished gentleman, large of heart too and open of hand, with his
commanding presence Duke Algernon looked every inch a Percy; and, in
very deed, in his person were centred the brightest of the brilliant qualities
of his forefathers, in happy combination with those admirable endowments
that were peculiarly his own.
The two sons of the first duke (as we have seen) bore the same names as
the two sons of his successor the second duke—Hugh and Algernon Percy.
The two brothers, the sons of the first duke, married two sisters, daughters
of Mr. Burrell.[22] With Duke Algernon the line of Hugh, the elder of the
sons of the first duke, became extinct; and, consequently, the succession to
the dukedom passed to the descendants of that other Algernon who was the
younger son of the first duke. This Algernon, who on the death of his father
became Baron Lovaine, in 1798 was created Earl of Beverley: he died in
1830. George Percy, his son, then succeeded as Earl of Beverley; and
subsequently, in 1865, at that time being in the 87th year of his age, this
venerable nobleman became the fifth Duke of Northumberland. He died
August 21, 1867; and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son (by his
marriage with Louisa, daughter of the Hon. A. Stuart Wortley). The present
peer, Algernon George Percy, sixth Duke and eighteenth Earl of
Northumberland, Earl Percy, Earl of Beverley, Baron Warkworth, Baron
Lovaine of Alnwick, and a baronet, was born May 2nd, 1810, and was
educated at Eton. He entered the army in 1827, and retired in 1836. In 1858
he was a Lord of the Admiralty, in 1859 Vice-President of the Board of
Trade, and from 1831 to 1865 sat in Parliament, first for Beeralston and
afterwards for North Northumberland. He is Colonel of the Northumberland
Militia, Hon. Colonel of the Percy Northumberland Volunteer Artillery, and
President of the National Lifeboat Institution. In 1845 his grace married
Louisa, daughter of the late Henry Drummond, Esq., M.P., of Abury Park,
Surrey, by whom he has issue living two sons, viz., Henry George Percy,

Earl of Percy, married, in 1868, to Lady Edith Campbell, eldest daughter of
the Duke of Argyll, by whom he has issue; and Lord Algernon Malcolm
Arthur Percy. His grace is patron of twenty-two livings, nineteen of which
are in Northumberland and one each in Yorkshire, Dorsetshire, and Surrey.
The arms of the Duke of Northumberland are: Quarterly, 1st and 4th
Lovaine and Lucy quarterly (viz., 1st and 4th, or, a lion rampant, azure, for
Lovaine, 2nd and 3rd, gules, three luces or pikes, hauriant, for Lucy), 2nd
and 3rd, azure, five lozenges conjoined in fesse, or, for Percy. Crest: On a
chapeau, gules, turned up, ermine, a lion statant, tail extended, azure.
Supporters: Dexter, a lion, azure; sinister, a lion, guardant, or, gorged with a
collar compony, argent and azure.
His grace’s other seats are, Keilder, Prudhoe, and Warkworth castles, in
Northumberland; Sion House, Middlesex; Stanwick Park, Yorkshire; Albury
Park; and Northumberland House, Charing Cross.
Thus having brought down our sketch of the lords of Alnwick, from the
early days in English history that immediately followed the Norman
Conquest to the times now present, we return to their noble castle on the
banks of the Aln.
Within a few years of the Conquest, the Normans erected in various
parts of England important edifices, both military and ecclesiastical, in truly
astonishing numbers: and of these, in addition to the cathedrals and the
greater churches, there still exist many noble castellated relics, some of
them in a proximate degree retaining the leading features of their original
arrangement, form, and appearance. At the same time, even in the case of
the most perfect of the existing castles, many changes of grave importance
have been introduced as century has succeeded to century; so that now,
whenever any one early castle is examined with a view to trace out and to
determine both what it was at the first, and in what order and with what
motives certain palpable alterations and innovations have followed one
another, it always is highly satisfactory to feel that an unquestionable
general uniformity of plan and arrangement in all the early castles enables
each one of them that is still in being, in some degree at any rate, to
illustrate and explain every other. As a matter of course, whenever the
architectural features in any old castle are original, the great art of the
architect is able, unaided and beyond all controversy, to tell its own
historical tale: but, genuine original architectural features are not always

available to give their conclusive evidence; and, but too frequently, without
some external aid, it is not possible to follow the career of the two terrible
adversaries of early edifices (and particularly those of the noblest rank),
demolition and restoration—demolition, either wilful or the result of
accident and chance; and restoration, which always is wilful, though
happily not always equally destructive.
As it now stands, in every quality of high merit Alnwick Castle
certainly yields to no other restored edifice of a similar rank. Of the castle
of to-day it may truthfully be affirmed that, with a close approach to an
exact fidelity, in its prevailing external arrangements and its general
features it represents the grand old fortress of times long passed away. Time
had dealt somewhat hardly with the Percy stronghold, and injudicious
attempts to make good the ravages of the destroyer had aggravated the evil,
when the recent great work of restoration was taken in hand. Then every
vestige of the old structure was diligently and carefully examined, and
every available early document was critically studied; the remains also of
other castles then were investigated, and all that they could suggest was
applied by the restorers of Alnwick to the furtherance of their great project.
Hence the plan of Alnwick, as we now have it, while it can scarcely claim
to be absolutely identical with the original plan, may be accepted as not
greatly differing from it in any essential particulars. Whether Yvo de Vesci,
the undoubted founder of the castle, was enabled fully to carry out his own
original plans, we are not able at the present time accurately to determine;
but, still it may be assumed that the plans of De Vesci, to whatever degree
they may have been realised by himself, both in extent and in general
configuration closely resembled those which were worked out by the
Percies, when they had become lords Alnwick, as these, in their turn, were
afterwards followed as their guides by the recent restorers who were
employed by Duke Algernon.

Bond Gate: “Hotspur’s Gate.”

The great epochs in the architectural history of Alnwick Castle may be
thus distinguished.
I. De Vesci, about a.d. 1150: the original founding of the castle, and its
erection as an Anglo-Norman stronghold.
II. First Percy, from 1309 to 1315: the second founding and great
reparation of the castle, with either the complete rebuilding or the original
erection of many of its most important parts. At this period were erected the
Barbican, the Gate-House, the Western Garret; the Abbot’s, Falconer’s,
Armourer’s, Constable’s, and Auditor’s Towers; also the Postern and the
Ravine Towers, the Gateway between the first and second baly, with the
adjoining curtain-walls both east and west, a great portion of the east side of
the Keep, the Well, and the grand Baronial Hall.
III. Second Percy, from 1315 to 1352; the completion of portions of the
works of the preceding period, and the erection of the two flanking towers
(No. 8 in plan) in advance of the Norman entrance to the Keep: these towers
are represented in our engraving.
IV. Third Percy, ending in 1455: various important reparations and
additions, most of the latter having been removed by the first duke in the
next period.

V. First Duke of Northumberland, from 1750 to 1786: general
reparation, after a long period of neglect and ruin, including a material
transformation of the greater part of the castle. The Keep was almost
entirely demolished, and rebuilt after the manner that was called (and, in
one sense of that term, really was) “Gothic” in the eighteenth century in
England; and the towers and curtain of the circumvallation suffered in like
manner.
VI. Fourth Duke of Northumberland, from 1854 to 1865: complete
restoration of the entire castle. The important works erected by Duke
Algernon along the lines of the circumvallation, and to the south and the
south-west of these lines, have already been described; in addition to these,
the duke rebuilt the range of apartments extending from the Keep
southwards to the Edwardian Gateway from the first to the second baly; and
he built the noble Prudhoe Tower, with the chapel adjoining it, the Ante-
Room, the Guard Chamber, the present Dining-Hall, and the completion of
the Keep.
The governing idea of this restoration was really to restore, in all their
leading and most characteristic features, the mediæval arrangements and
aspect of Alnwick Castle so far as its exterior was concerned; while, at the
same time, the whole of the interior of the restored edifice was to be
planned, fitted, and adorned, in the most sumptuous style, after the manner
of a cinquecento Roman palace, and with all the luxurious splendour and
the various skilful contrivances required and suggested by the taste and the
usages of the present day. The only important deviation from the former
part of the duke’s plan, was the removal of the Edwardian Towers, and the
adjoining curtain-wall between the Abbot’s Tower and the Postern Tower, in
order to open the view from the windows of the new Prudhoe Tower
towards the north: but the Italian portion of the scheme was accomplished
in its integrity. The whole of the architectural restoration and rebuilding was
carried out with the most perfect success, under the direction of Mr. Salvin,
an architect eminently distinguished for his practical knowledge of the
Early Gothic of England in its military aspect, as also for both the
conscientious fidelity of his restorations and the judicious consistency of his
original designs. We can easily understand with what satisfaction Mr. Salvin
must have removed the Strawberry Hill pseudo-Gothic of the first duke, as
well as the far higher gratification which must have attended the
progressive realisation of his own truly admirable compositions.

Alnwick Abbey.

The project for causing the thoroughly English mediæval military-
Gothic casket of Mr. Salvin to enclose contents that should be in every
respect the very reverse of what is either English or mediæval or military or
Gothic, was discussed and finally adopted at a congress held in the castle
under the presidency of Algernon, Duke of Northumberland, and attended
by the English professors of classic architecture, Cockerell and Donaldson;
the Roman antiquary, the Commendatore Canina; and the Italian architect,
Signor Montiroli. It is to be regretted that such masters of Gothic Art as
Scott, Waterhouse, Street, and Burges had not also been present, who might
have saved the Border Castle of the Percies from the magnificent anomaly
of being externally English and internally Roman. The execution of the
whole of the interior can be described only in terms of the highest
commendation; and it is especially satisfactory to know that the profusion
of carved work in an Italian style which was required for the various
purposes of decoration, and which has been pronounced to be “a marvel of
delicacy and finish,” was produced under the direction of Signor Bulletti of
Florence, by a staff of English and Scottish carvers, who worked for several

years in a studio established for that particular purpose in the castle. There
also was a second studio, in which the more important of the decorations in
plaster were modelled and cast. It is scarcely necessary to add that in all the
minor details of furnishing, the grand original plan has been fully and
faithfully carried into effect. While we cordially recognise as well the
enlarged views and the princely munificence of the duke himself, as the
skill, the taste, and the ability of every individual who took part in his great
work of restoration, it is impossible not to regret that so glorious an
opportunity for vindicating the versatile and comprehensive powers of true
Gothic art should have been permitted to pass away. There can be no
question as to the capacity of the same great style to have rendered the
interior of Alnwick Castle a type of splendid, and yet agreeable,
magnificence, which on the exterior has displayed its structural resources in
a manner at once so noble and so consistent. But, as this was not to be, we
rejoice in knowing that what has been done within the Percy walls has been
done so well; and our gratification is the more sincere and the more hearty,
because at every point the Percy walls themselves, true to their grand
traditions, wear such an aspect as Hotspur might have recognised with an
approving smile, and the old Earls of Northumberland would have been
proud to accept as becoming their northern home.[23]

The Percy Cross.

And here we resume our survey of the castle, setting forth towards the
Keep from within the Gate-House, which is itself situated within the
Barbican. We proceed eastwards to the gateway (No. 2 in plan), which
admits us to the second or inner baly. From this we approach the entrance to
the Keep, and pass between the Edwardian flanking towers with their
octagonal fronts (No. 3 in the plan): thus we reach the grand old Norman
arch, De Vesci’s work, massive and deeply recessed, rich with zig-zags and
bands of sharp indentations, which forms the main entrance to the
innermost court or ward of the Keep itself. Immediately adjoining the
Norman archway is the draw-well constructed by the first Percy. Now we
have before us the new Corridor, carried round a part of the court on piers
and corbels. We pass the inner porches, and the entrance-halls, and reach
the Grand Staircase (No. 5 in plan), worthily so called, and we find that we
have entered such a palace as might overlook, not the Aln, but the Tiber. At

the head of the noble flight of steps, each one of them a single block of
white Rothbury stone, twelve feet in length, is the Guard-Chamber, with its
floor of rich Venetian mosaic, its panelled ceiling, and the deep frieze
reflecting the memories of Chevy Chase. Corridors lead to both the right
hand and the left from the Guard-Room; and it also gives access to a
gorgeous Ante-Room, placed between the great Library, 54 feet long, which
occupies the entire range of the Prudhoe Tower, and follows its contour; and
the Saloon, another magnificent apartment, in length 42 feet with a bay
formed by a circular tower. Next succeeds the State Drawing-Room, of
irregular form, its largest measurements being 46 by 34 feet. Then we enter
the grand Dining-Hall, 60 feet long, and in both width and height 24 feet,
which covers the site of the old baronial hall of the early Percies. The
Breakfast-Room adjoins this most princely hall, and, passing it, the
Corridor leads us in succession to the State Bed-Rooms and Dressing-
Rooms, and to the private apartments of the duke and duchess, together
with other staircases. Thus, on the principal floor there are two staircases
besides the grand staircase, and eighteen chambers, exclusive of the chapel.
The Chapel (No. 12 in plan), of which we give a view from the outer baly,
is a building of great beauty and interest, having a stone-vaulted ceiling
within a roof of a high pitch, a semi-octagonal apsidal end towards the
south-west, and lancet windows: its total length is 46 feet, and in the
interior it is enriched with Italian mosaic, after the manner of the Henry III.
work in the Confessor’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey. We must be content,
in a single brief sentence (the space at our disposal restricts us absolutely to
one such sentence), to state concerning every apartment in the grand range
of the entire circuit of the Keep, and also in the southern wing, which
extends to the Percy gateway, that the most gorgeous Art of the Italian
Renaissance, with all its manifold resources, has been taxed to the utmost in
order to produce a palace of the highest rank, pervaded throughout with
harmonious, yet ever-varied, magnificence.

Hulne Abbey: The Percy Tower.

On the ground-floor, which is on the same level with the entrance-hall,
are the various apartments, consistently grouped and classified, required by
the principal domestics of the household, together with the wine-cellars,
pantries, and such other chambers and appliances as would be necessary to
complete this department of the ducal establishment. Once more we return
to the Prudhoe Tower, and ascend above its two upper floors of bed and
dressing-rooms, to the Banner-turret, which rises to the height of two
additional floors; and here, having gained the leads, standing beneath the
proud insignia of the Percies, heavily blazoned upon their broad silken
banner, we lean over the embattled parapet, and look down upon the Keep,
and around upon the cordon of towers and walls, and the fair domains and
the silvery river beyond, and so we bid farewell to the lordly castle of
Alnwick.
Until the middle of the fifteenth century was near at hand the town of
Alnwick remained unprotected by a wall, and open consequently to all
perils incidental to its position on the Border. About the year 1433,
however, the good town was fortified with walls, and the four entrances
were defended each by its own strong tower-guarded gateway. One only of
these early gateways still remains in a fair condition of preservation; this,
the Bond Gate, sometimes (but without any other reason than a lingering

delight to associate any fine old relic at Alnwick with that name) is called
“Hotspur’s Gate.” It bears a badge of the second Percy lord of Alnwick, and
in all probability was erected by him; its outer face is represented in the
engraving.
The other gateways have disappeared;[24] and from the time that border-
strife passed into the domain of history, the walls of Alnwick gradually
ceased to exist, until now traces only of their former existence, and of these
“few and far between,” remain to attest the record of their having ever
existed. Devoutly it is to be hoped that the one relic of the town of the olden
time, the Bond Gate, will be cherished, simply because it is such a relic—
because it links the town to the castle, and the castle to the town, with the
strong tie of historical association. Again space, or rather the want of it,
constrains us to leave unnoticed the fine church of St. Michael, the church
of St. Paul, founded and erected by Duke Hugh, and the other public
buildings in Alnwick; and, with them, the privileges, usages, and the entire
local history of the town.[25]
Of the remains of the early edifices, both ecclesiastical and castellated,
which are closely associated with Alnwick Castle, all of them of great
interest, and all of them also no less worthy of detailed description than of
careful examination, we must be content briefly to notice two—Alnwick
Abbey, and Hulne, or Holn, Priory.

Hulne Abbey: The Church.

Built to the north of the Aln, at an easy distance from the castle, upon a
rich soil and in a scene of sequestered beauty, Alnwick Abbey, founded in
1147 by Eustace de Vesci for Premonstratensian Canons, was richly
endowed by the founder and also by his successor. The Percies, in like
manner, were in every respect as munificent as the earlier benefactors of the
abbey, so that it long occupied an honourable position among the religious
establishments of the country. The canons of Alnwick, however, did not rise
to distinction in consequence of any eminent attainments; but, on the other
hand, while in earlier times they were somewhat notorious for a turbulent
spirit, the report on their abbey made to Henry VIII. contains a truly
deplorable record of the degrading superstitions by means of which, in
common with but too many of their brethren, the monks imposed on the
people, and sometimes even succeeded in deceiving themselves. Of the
buildings of the abbey, which, without doubt, were worthy to take rank with
those of the castle, the sole relic that is still in existence is a turreted and
embattled gateway, a structure not earlier than the middle of the fifteenth
century. The eastern face of this gateway displays the quartered arms of
Percy and Lucy; on the other faces are the insignia of De Vesci. The other
buildings have altogether disappeared, except here and there some
sculptured stones which have found their way into the walls of houses
constructed by modern masons. The site of the abbey, with the
Northumberland estates once annexed to it, after various vicissitudes, has
become the property of the Dukes of Northumberland.
Distant from Alnwick Abbey about two miles along the northern bank
of the Aln, and like the abbey placed in the midst of the most lovely
scenery, the Priory of Hulne, or Holn, has so far been more fortunate than
its more dignified neighbour, that it yet possesses considerable remains of
its original buildings in a condition of picturesque ruin. A lofty wall still
encircles the entire area of the priory—a feature sufficiently significant of
the lawless character of early Border-life, and of the stern necessity which
constrained even a religious community to rely for security upon the
strength of its fortifications. In our engraving we show the present aspect of
the tower, built, as will be seen, with massive solidity, by Henry de Percy,
fourth Earl of Northumberland, in the year 1488; and in another engraving,

we give a general view of the ruins of the church, as they are seen from the
north-east. It is pleasant to be able to add that the remains of Hulne Priory
are carefully preserved and freely shown. The brethren, who for more than
three centuries found a secure dwelling-place surrounded with the most
beautiful scenery, were Carmelite or White Friars; and a romantic story (of
which several versions are in existence) is told concerning their order in
connection with the foundation of this priory. The site of the priory was
given by the second William de Vesci about 1240; but the chief endowment
came, between 1252 and 1289, from John de Vesci; the house itself,
however, appears to have been erected by Ralph Fulborne, a wealthy
landholder of Northumberland, who lived in the stirring times when the
lords of broad and fertile acres went armed to fight in the Holy Land against
the infidels.[26] In after times the Percies confirmed the grants of the earlier
benefactors of Hulne, and made to them some slight additions. The
Carmelites of Hulne were men who, according to the light of their times,
cultivated learning; this is shown by the still existing catalogue of the
numerous manuscripts that once formed their library. There has also been
preserved another equally curious and interesting document, formerly the
property of these Carmelite brethren; it is an inventory of their vestments
and of the fittings of their church, which must have been very costly as well
as numerous and splendid. Inventories and catalogues such as these possess
a peculiar value, as illustrations of the intellectual pursuits and character of
the monastic age, and also in consequence of the light they throw upon the
sentiments and usages that then were prevalent in our country.
Descending from the secluded hill-side where the ruins of Hulne Priory
nestle amidst the thick woods, and crossing both the vale below, and the
river beyond it, a roadway leads to the beautiful pleasure-grounds of Hulne
Park. Here on one of the highest of the many elevated points, and rising
above the surrounding trees, is the Tower on the Hill, or Brislee Tower,
erected by the first duke in 1781. This structure is a characteristic specimen
of the Gothesque architecture, of which so much was happily removed
during the recent restorations, from Alnwick Castle. From the upper
balcony of this tower, at a height of about 70 feet from the ground, the view
is singularly fine, and in its extent truly extraordinary. At different points of
the compass, and at varying distances, this panoramic view comprehends
the vale of Whittingham and the windings of the Aln; the range of the
Cheviots, with a glimpse of the hills of Teviotdale forty miles away; the

memorable high land of Flodden may also be distinguished; and, towards
the sea, are the castles of Warkworth, Bambro’, and Dunstanburgh; and
beyond them, in a fringe-like line, lies the sea itself.
It is needless to say that the hospitality for which the lords of Alnwick
have been renowned since the first stone of the castle was laid is still
maintained within its princely walls; its list of “visitors” during many
centuries past has contained the names of those who were not only the
loftiest in rank but the most eminent in Art, Science, and Letters.
Its park and grounds are among the most perfect in the kingdom;[27]
successive lords have laboured to make them beautiful, and Nature had
given auspicious ground on which to work—hill and dell alternate; a lovely
and rapid, though narrow, river runs through them; on either side are green
banks, in many places overhung by the rich foliage of varied trees; here and
there views are obtained of the distant hills—the Cheviots—with their
thousand traditions of times happily gone by, but which excite interest by
their associations with heroic deeds—and not unfrequently their
“opposites”—of which every spot is fertile on the border that separates
Scotland from England.

The Brislee Tower.

Happily, there is now no sensation of jealousy or envy, nothing that can
either humiliate or exasperate, when the Scottishman boasts of triumphs
over his southern neighbours; nor when he admits that, often, before the
bold men of Northumberland he shrunk back in mortal dread. The glories of
the one have long ceased to be the degradations of the other; and the spirit
of rivalry is only that which has for its aim and object the supremacy of the
country of both. Will the happy time ever arrive when the three kingdoms
shall be as essentially one as the two have been for centuries past?

HARDWICK HALL.

H ARDWICK HALL may take rank among the more
stately of the “homes of England.” Stately in its
outer aspect, stately in its antique furniture and its
interior fittings and appointments, and truly
stately in its associations, it is one of the most
historically interesting, and one of the most
singular and picturesque, of the many “homes”
whose countless stores of natural beauties and
acquired treasures are, through the kindness and
liberality of their owners, made accessible alike
to peer and peasant; while it is one of the fullest
in its historical associations, and in its power of
carrying the mind of the visitor back through a
long vista of years to those stirring times when
“Good Queen Bess,” the strong-minded and
strong-headed “master” of its noble owner, sate
on the throne of England. Hardwick and its
surroundings belong essentially to those times,
and to the people who moved prominently in
them: the very furniture we see to-day pertains to that eventful era—for not
only is the building itself of the period to which we refer, but so are even
the “fittings;” the beds—for here is the very bed used by Mary, Queen of
Scots, and covered with needlework, the work of her own fair hands; the

tables around and at which sate “Bess of Hardwick” with her historic family
and brilliant friends; the tapestry is that which then hung around them, and
on which the eyes of royalty and nobility have rested and “feasted with
admiration;” the screens, the chairs, the couches,—nay, almost all the
objects that meet the eye are of those stirring times, and have about them an
historic air which seems irresistibly to subdue the mind and to expand the
thoughts of the visitor.
Even a glance at the graces and beauties of Derbyshire would demand
far greater space than we can accord to them: for it is the shire of all the
English shires in which natural beauties are most happily combined with
cultivated graces; hill and dale alternate at every mile; rich valleys, through
which run fertilising rivers, shut in by mountain rocks, tree-clad from base
to summit; singular peaks, that seem as if not formed by Nature, but the
work of giant hands; delicious dells, where rivulets sing perpetually, and
myriad birds rejoice in spring or summer. Other counties may be more
sublimely grand, and others more abundantly fertile, but there is none so
truly rich in the picturesque; whether of distant views or of by-paths up hill-
sides, or through lanes clothed in perpetual verdure.
And then its history, a page of which may be read at every turn—the
Celt, the Roman, the Saxon, the Dane, the Norman, all the “peoples and
nations” that have made Britain their home, have left in this shire enduring
evidence of possession and progress; and many of its customs remain
unchanged, not only since the beacons were lit on Blakelow or on
Bruncliffe, but since the Baal fires were burning on Axe-Edge or
Chelmorton.
Proofs of a milder occupancy, too, are to be found in abundance.
Nowhere are peaceful “Halls” more numerous—remains of prosperous
epochs: Haddon, of an early date; Wingfield and Hardwick, of a later
period; Chatsworth, of a time comparatively recent; and Kedleston, of an
age scarce removed from living memory,—are but a few of the many that
glorify this beautiful shire. No wonder, therefore, that it is the county of all
others to which the tourist is most frequently attracted.
Surrounded on all sides by charming scenery, and the richest and most
abundant land, Hardwick stands in all its majesty and grace, and forms—
both in the distance, when a first glimpse of its bold outline is gained from
Brackenfield or other heights, or when viewed from nearer points—a

striking feature in the landscape. When approached from one of the great
centres for Derbyshire tourists, Matlock, the drive is of peculiar interest,
and may be, with profit to the future visitor, briefly described. Leaving
Matlock by way of Matlock Bridge, the road passes through what is called
Matlock Town, whose picturesque church is seen overtopping the rocks to
the right, where the graceful bend of the river Derwent adds its beauties to
the scene; thence passing along the roadway, Riber—an immense and very
steep hill—rises to the right, and will be noticed as surmounted by the
massive modern erection of Riber Castle, the residence of Mr. Smedley, the
hydropathist.

Hardwick Hall, with the Entrance Gateway.

The road continues by Tansley, with its church, its mills, and its pretty
dales; Tansley, or Dethick, Moor, a wild unreclaimed tract of moorland,
purple with heather and untrammelled with fences; Washington, with its
village-green, its stocks, and its duck-ponds; Higham, a picturesque village
with an ancient cross; Shirland, with its fine monuments, some of which are
of remarkable character and full of interest; Morton, with its pretty church
and charming cottages; for a short distance the coal district, with their pits
and shafts and ever-creaking engines; Pilsley and its pleasant lanes;
Hardstoft and Deeplane, to the lower entrance to the Park: through these
and other places of deep and varied interest we go, until we reach the

Hardwick Inn—a pretty house of entertainment close to the entrance to the
Park, from which a winding ascent of less than a mile leads to the Hall. By
this route some curious transitions from the lead-mining district to that of
coal, and from the limestone to the sandstone, with their varied scenery and
their diversified aspects, will be noticed; and Derbyshire, rich both in
minerals beneath the surface and in arable, meadow, and pasture land on its
face, as well as in rock, and tree, and wood, and hill, will be seen to great
advantage. From Chesterfield, too, the road is beautiful; and the visitor may
make a delightful “day’s round” by driving direct to Hardwick by way of
Temple Normanton; Heath, with its truly picturesque and interesting church
and parsonage; Ault Hucknall, in the church of which are many monuments
of the Cavendish family, and where lies buried that sometime “world’s
wonder,” “Hobbes of Malmesbury;” thence through the lodge-gates and
down the fine old deer-park to the Hall, and then returning by way of
Bolsover Castle, a magnificent old building, the former residence of the
Cavendishes, Earls and Dukes of Newcastle, and rendered famous in the
Duke of Newcastle’s work on horsemanship, 1658, and now for many years
the residence of Mrs. Hamilton Gray, the authoress of “Etruria.” But from
whatever side Hardwick is approached, the land is full of beauty, and rich in
the picturesque.
Hardwick Hall is one of the many princely seats—Chatsworth, Bolton
Abbey, Lismore Castle, Holker Hall, Compton Place, Eastbourne, and
Devonshire House, London, being among the others—of his Grace the
Duke of Devonshire, in which resides the duke’s eldest son and heir, the
Marquis of Hartington, M.P., at this time Her Majesty’s Secretary of State
for Ireland. It is distant from London about 140 miles, from Derby 20 miles,
from Chesterfield 9, and from Matlock 15 miles, and these are perhaps the
more general routes by which visitors will proceed. Whatever road is taken,
they will find natural beauties in abundance greeting the eye at every mile
of a delicious journey.
Before we describe the venerable Hall, we give a brief history of the
noble family to which it now belongs, reserving that of its predecessors for
a later page.
The family of Cavendish, of which his Grace the present Duke of
Devonshire, K.G., Lord Lieutenant of the county of Derby, is the
representative, traces back to the Conquest, when Robert de Gernon came
over with the Conqueror, and so distinguished himself in arms that he was

rewarded with considerable grants of land in Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire,
&c. His descendants held considerable land in Derbyshire; and Sir William
Gernon, who was one of the witnesses to a confirmation charter of Henry
III. to Basingdale Priory, obtained a grant of a fair at Bakewell, in that
county. He had two sons, Sir Ralph de Gernon, lord of Bakewell, and
Geoffrey de Gernon, of Moor Hall, near Bakewell. From the second of
these, Geoffrey de Gernon, the Cavendishes are descended. His son, Roger
de Gernon (who died 1334), married the heiress of John Potton, or Potkins,
Lord of the Manor of Cavendish, in Suffolk, and by her had issue, four
sons, who all assumed the name of Cavendish from their mother’s manor.
These were Sir John Cavendish, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, in the
time of Edward III., Chancellor of Cambridge, 4th of Richard II.; he was
beheaded by the insurgents of Suffolk in that reign; Roger Cavendish, from
whom descended the celebrated navigator, Sir Thomas Cavendish; Stephen
Cavendish, Lord Mayor, member of Parliament, and Sheriff of London; and
Richard Cavendish. Sir John married Alice, daughter of Sir John
Odyngseles, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, who brought to her husband
the manor of Cavendish Overhall, and by her, who died before him, had
issue, two sons, Andrew and John, and a daughter, Alice, married to
William Nell. Sir Andrew Cavendish, the eldest son, was Sheriff of Norfolk
and Suffolk. By his wife, Rose, he left issue, one son, William, from whom
the estates passed to his cousin. Sir Andrew was succeeded by his brother,
Sir John Cavendish, Esquire of the Body to Richard II. and Henry V., who,
for his gallant conduct in killing the rebel, Wat Tyler, in his conflict with Sir
William Walworth, was knighted by Richard II. in Smithfield, and an
annuity of £40 per annum granted to him and his sons for ever. He was also
made broiderer of the wardrobe to the king. He married Joan, daughter of
Sir William Clopton, of Clopton, in Suffolk; and by her had issue, three
sons, William, his successor; Robert, Serjeant-at-Law; and Walter. William
Cavendish, who was a citizen and mercer of London, and of Cavendish
Overhall, married Joan Staventon, by whom he had two sons, Thomas and
William. This Thomas Cavendish, who was of Cavendish and Pollingford,
in Suffolk, married Katherine Scudamore, and left by her, as son and heir,
Sir Thomas Cavendish, who, having studied the law, was employed by
Thomas, Earl of Surrey, Treasurer of the King’s Exchequer. He was also
Clerk of the Pipe in the Exchequer to Henry VIII.—the office of the Clerk
of the Pipe being to make out leases of Crown lands, accounts of the

sheriffs, &c. He married twice, and left, by his first wife, Alice, daughter
and co-heir of John Smith, of Podbrooke Hall, besides other issue, three
sons, George Cavendish, Sir William Cavendish, and Sir Thomas
Cavendish.
George Cavendish, the eldest of these three sons, was of Glemsford, and
Cavendish Overhall, and is said to have been the author of “Cavendish’s
Life of Wolsey,” although the authorship of that work is also attributed to
his brother Sir William Cavendish. He received a liberal education, and was
endowed by his father with considerable landed property in Suffolk. His
character and learning seem to have recommended him to the special notice
of Cardinal Wolsey, who “took him to be about his own person, as
gentleman usher of his chamber, and placed a special confidence in him.”
George Cavendish was succeeded by his son William; the latter was
succeeded by his son William, who passed away the manor of Cavendish
Overhall to William Downes.
Sir Thomas Cavendish was one of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem,
and died unmarried.
Sir William Cavendish, the second son of the first Sir Thomas, became
the founder of several noble families. He was married three times: first to a
daughter of Edward Bostock, of Whatcross in Cheshire; secondly, to a
daughter of Sir Thomas Conyngsby, and widow of William Paris; and
thirdly, to Elizabeth, daughter of John Hardwick, of Hardwick, and widow
of Robert Barley, of Barley. He was “a man of learning and business,” and
was much employed in important affairs by his sovereigns; filling the posts
of Treasurer of the Chamber and Privy Councillor to Henry VIII., Edward
VI., and Mary. At the suppression of the religious houses under Henry VIII.,
he was “appointed one of the Commissioners for visiting them, and
afterwards was made one of the auditors of the Court of Augmentation,”
which was instituted for the purpose of augmenting the revenues by the
suppression of the monasteries; for his services he received three valuable
manors in Hertfordshire which, later on, he exchanged for other lands, in
Derbyshire and other counties. He was also knighted by Henry VIII. By his
first wife he had issue, one son and two daughters who died young, and two
other daughters, one of whom, Catherine, married Sir Thomas Brooke, son
of Lord Cobham, and Anne, who married Sir Henry Baynton. By his second
wife he had three daughters, who all died young, and she herself died in
child-birth. By his third marriage, with “Bess of Hardwick,” he had a

numerous family, viz.:—Henry Cavendish, of Tutbury, Member of
Parliament for Derbyshire, who married Grace, daughter of George, Earl of
Shrewsbury, but died without lawful issue; Sir William Cavendish, created
Earl of Devonshire, of whom hereafter; Sir Charles Cavendish, of Bolsover
Castle and of Welbeck Abbey (whose son, William Cavendish, by his first
wife, was created Duke, Marquis, and Earl of Newcastle, Baron Ogle,
Baron Cavendish, of Bolsover, Viscount Mansfield, K.G., Commander-in-
Chief, &c., &c., and was the author of the splendid work on Horsemanship,
&c., and whose life was charmingly written by his wife, Margaret Lucas,
Maid of Honour to Queen Henrietta), ancestor of the Dukes of Newcastle,
Portland, &c.; Frances, married to Sir Henry Pierrepoint, ancestor to the
Dukes of Kingston; Elizabeth, married to Charles Stuart, Duke of Lennox
(younger brother of Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots,
and father of King James I.), the issue of which marriage was the sadly
unfortunate lady, Arabella Stuart; and Mary, married to Gilbert, Earl of
Shrewsbury.

The West Front.

Sir William Cavendish was created Baron Cavendish, of Hardwick, and
Earl of Devonshire, by King James I., “at which time of his creation, his
majesty stood under a cloth of state in the hall at Greenwich, accompanied

with the princes, his children, the Duke of Holstein, the Duke of Lennox,
and the greatest part of the nobility, both of England and Scotland.” His
lordship was one of the first adventurers who settled a colony and
plantation in Virginia, and on the discovery of the Bermuda Islands, he and
others had a grant of them from the king, one of the cantons being called
after him. He married twice—his first wife being Anne, daughter of Henry
Kighley, of Kighley, by whom he had issue, besides William, his successor,
Gilbert, who died without issue; Frances, wife of Lord Maynard; and three
others, who died in infancy: by his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir
Edward Boughton, and widow of Sir Richard Wortley, he had a son, Sir
John Cavendish. His lordship’s successor was his second son, Sir William
(who had been under the tuition of Thomas Hobbes, of whom more will be
said on subsequent pages); he married Christian, only daughter of Edward,
Lord Bruce, of Kinloss, a kinswoman of the king, “who gave her, with his
own hand, and made her fortune ten thousand pounds.” By her he had three
sons and one daughter, viz.:—William, his successor; Charles, who was
Lieutenant-General of Horse to his cousin the Earl of Newcastle, and was
slain at Gainsborough; Henry, who died young; and Anne, wife of Lord
Rich, eldest son of the Earl of Warwick.
William Cavendish, third Earl of Devonshire, was only ten years of age
when his father died, and he was placed, as we have just said, under the
care of Hobbes, who travelled and remained with him, and was, for the rest
of his life, supported by the earl’s family. The earl married Elizabeth Cecil,
daughter of the Earl of Salisbury, by whom he had two sons, William (who
succeeded him), Charles, and one daughter. William, fourth Earl of
Devonshire, before succeeding to the title, sat in the Long Parliament for
Derbyshire, and, as a youth, he was one of the train-bearers to the king at
his coronation. He was among the principal persons who brought about the
“Glorious Revolution” of 1688, and the placing of William III. on the
throne. He married Mary, daughter of the Duke of Ormonde, and had issue
by her, William, his successor; Henry, James, and Elizabeth. His lordship
was the rebuilder of Chatsworth, and was by William III. advanced to the
dignity of Marquis of Hartington and Duke of Devonshire. He was
succeeded in his titles and estates by his son. His Grace died in 1707, and
his funeral sermon, preached by White Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough,
has been many times printed, and is attached to the memoirs of the family
of Cavendish by that prelate.

William Cavendish, second Duke and fifth Earl of Devonshire, was
Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, and succeeded to all his father’s
appointments, among which were Lord Steward of the Household, Privy
Councillor, Lord Warden and Chief Justice in Eyre of all places north of the
Trent, Lord-Lieutenant, K.G.; he was also constituted one of the regents of
the kingdom. He married Rachel, daughter of William Lord Russell, and by
her had issue, with several others, his successor, William, who became third
Duke of Devonshire, and married Catherine, heiress of John Hoskins, by
whom he had a numerous family. His Grace held many important posts in
the State; among which were those of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord
Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, Lord Steward of
the Household, and Lord Justiceship for the administration of Government
during his Majesty’s absence. He was succeeded by his son—
William, fourth Duke of Devonshire, who was, during his father’s
lifetime, called to the Upper House by his title, hitherto of courtesy, of
Marquis of Hartington. He was appointed Master of the Horse and a Privy
Councillor. In 1754 he was one of the Lords of the Regency, and Governor
of the County of Cork; in the following year he was Lord High Treasurer of
Ireland; and in 1756 was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and First
Commissioner of the Treasury. In 1757 he was Chamberlain of the
Household to the king, and held, besides, many other offices. His Grace
married Charlotte, daughter, and ultimately heiress, of Richard Boyle, Earl
of Burlington and Cork, by which union—the lady being Baroness Clifford
in her own right—the Barony of Clifford came into the Cavendish family.
By this issue he had three sons and one daughter, viz.:—William, who
succeeded him; Richard, who died unmarried; George Augustus Henry,
created Earl of Burlington, from whom the present noble representative of
the House of Cavendish, the seventh Duke of Devonshire, is descended; and
Dorothy, married to the Duke of Portland.
William, fifth Duke of Devonshire, the eldest son of the last named
peer, was married twice: first, to the Lady Georgiana, daughter of Earl
Spencer, one of the most accomplished and elegant women of the time, and
who is perhaps better known as “The Beautiful Duchess” than by any other
name; and, secondly, to Lady Elizabeth Foster, daughter of the Earl of
Bristol, and widow of John Thomas Foster, Esq. By the “Beautiful
Duchess” his grace had issue, one son, William Spencer Cavendish, who
succeeded him, and two daughters: Georgiana, married to the Earl of

Carlisle; and Harriet Elizabeth, married to Earl Granville. On his death, in
1811, the title and estates passed to his only son—
William Spencer Cavendish, sixth Duke and ninth Earl of Devonshire,
one of the most liberal-minded of men and one of the most genuine patrons
of Art and Literature. His Grace, whose career earned for him the proud title
of “The good Duke”—a title which, with all his others, has descended to his
successor—was born in Paris in 1790, and besides holding office as Lord
High Chamberlain, &c., went in a style of more than princely splendour on
an embassy to Russia from the British Court, and so conducted that
important mission as to gain exceeding distinction and general applause.
His Grace, who never married, died in 1858, and was succeeded in his titles
and estates—with the exception of the Barony of Clidord, which fell in
abeyance between his sisters—by his second cousin, the present noble peer,
who, as we have said, was grandson to the first Earl of Burlington, brother
to the fifth duke.

The Great Hall.

The present peer, William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire, Marquis of
Hartington, Earl of Devonshire, Earl of Burlington, Baron Cavendish of
Hardwick, Baron Cavendish of Keighley, &c., &c., K.G., LL.D., F.R.S.,
Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of the County of Derby, Chancellor

of the University of Cambridge, Steward of the Borough of Derby, &c.,
&c., was born in 1808, and was educated at Eton, and at Trinity College,
Cambridge, where he graduated as M.A., and was Second Wrangler, Senior
Smith’s Prizeman, and in the first class of the Classical Tripos, 1829. In the
same year he became M.P. for the University of Cambridge, which he held
until 1831, when he was returned for Malton, and afterwards for North
Derbyshire, for which constituency he sat until he succeeded his father as
Earl of Burlington, in 1834. In 1856 he was made Lord Lieutenant of
Lancashire, a post he held until 1858, when, on attaining to the Dukedom of
Devonshire, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. From 1836 to
1856 he was Chancellor of the University of London, and he has held, and
still holds, several other important offices. In 1829 his Grace, then Mr.
Cavendish, married his cousin, the Lady Blanche Georgiana Howard, fourth
daughter of George, sixth Earl of Carlisle, by the Lady Georgiana Dorothy
Cavendish, daughter of the fifth Duke of Devonshire. By this truly
estimable lady, who died in 1840, his Grace had surviving issue, three sons
and one daughter, viz.:—Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquis of
Hartington; Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish, M.P. for the West Riding of
Yorkshire, Private Secretary to the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, married to
the Hon. Lucy Caroline, daughter of Baron Lyttelton; Lord Edward
Cavendish, late M.P. for East Sussex, married to Emma, daughter of the late
Hon. William Lascelles; and the Lady Louisa Cavendish, married to Rear-
Admiral the Hon. Francis Egerton, M.P. for East Derbyshire, brother to the
late, and uncle to the present, Earl of Ellesmere.
The Marquis of Hartington, the heir to the titles and estates, was born in
1833, and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated
as B.A. in 1852, M.A. in 1854, and LL.D. in 1862. He is a Privy Councillor,
and was Lord of the Admiralty in 1863, Undersecretary of State for War
from 1863 to 1866; Secretary of State for War in 1866; and Postmaster-
General from 1868 to 1871. He was attached to Lord Granville’s special
mission to Russia in 1856, and has filled many important posts. His
lordship, who is unmarried, is M.P. for Radnor, and is now Secretary of
State for Ireland.
Lord George Henry Cavendish, brother to the Duke of Devonshire, is
M.P. for North Derbyshire, which constituency he has represented since the
year 1834. He married in 1835 the Lady Louisa, daughter of the Earl of

Harewood. Lord Richard Cavendish, another brother of the duke, is
unmarried.
His Grace is patron of thirty-nine livings, and in Derbyshire alone is
Lord of the Manor of forty-six places.
The arms of the duke are—Sable, three harts’ heads, caboshed, argent,
attired or. Crest, a serpent, noued, proper. Supporters, two bucks, proper,
each wreathed round the neck with a chaplet of roses, alternately argent and
azure.
We now, for the present, leave the genealogical part of our story to turn
to the attractions of the interior of the Hall. Of the exterior and interior of
the old hall and their surroundings we shall speak later on.

The Grand Staircase.

Passing through the entrance gateway, shown in one of our illustrations,
the visitor to Hardwick will see before him, across the quadrangular space
laid out in magnificent flower-beds in the pure Elizabethan style—the most
striking feature of which are two immense beds, one on either side the
central pathway, formed in the shape of the letters E and S, the initials of
Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury—in all its grandeur, the principal front
of the Hall, which bears out to the full the truth of the common saying—

“Hardwick Hall,
More glass than wall.”

The house is in reality “all windows,” and has a peculiarity of appearance
possessed by no other existing mansion. Passing under the colonnade, seen
in the centre of the building in our illustration on page 122, the visitor
arrives at the entrance door, and will, before entering, do well to glance at
an inscription, now nearly defaced, on one of the pillars:—
“Hic locus est quem si verbis audacia detur
Haud meum magni dixisse palatia coeli,”

which may be thus freely rendered:—
“Could any adventurous muse these portals sing,
No more to Heaven’s gate her flight she’d wing.”

The Great Hall, which is first entered, is of considerable magnitude,
and very lofty, taking in the whole height of two stories of the noble
building. Its lower part is wainscoted; its upper, hung with fine Gobelins
tapestry. Along one side stands an enormous and massive oak table, and
carved chairs and seats in abundance are ranged around the room. Over the
entrance end a spacious gallery, supported on pillars, leads from the dining-
room to the drawing-room, on the first floor; and at the opposite end is a
charming piece of sculpture, a full-length statue of Mary, Queen of Scots,
by Westmacott, with the inscription—
“Maria Scotorum Regina
Nata 1542
A suis in exilium acta 1568
Ab hospita neci data 1587.”

On the wall over this is a large and very curious cartoon full-length figure
of Henry VIII. On the wainscot and in different parts of the hall are some
fine antlers, a series of helmets and breastplates, and other relics; while over
the fire-place, which is of great size and beauty, and has its original brass
fire-dogs, are the arms of the foundress of the house, Elizabeth (Hardwick),
Countess of Shrewsbury, of gigantic size, in raised plaster-work. Some
remarks here seem requisite concerning the heraldry of the place. The arms
represented in the great hall, and shown in our engraving of that splendid
apartment, are argent, a saltire, engrailed, azure; on a chief of the second

three cinquefoils of the field. These, which are in a lozenge-shaped shield,
are surmounted by an earl’s coronet, and have for supporters, two stags,
proper, each gorged with a chaplet of roses, argent, between two bars azure.
The arms are those of Hardwick of Hardwick, the maiden name of the
Countess; the supporters, which she had no right to assume, the family of
Hardwick not being entitled to any, were assumed from the crest of that
family, which, with a slight variation, formed those granted to her son, the
first Baron Cavendish, of Hardwick, and Earl of Devonshire. The coronet
is, of course, hers as Countess of Shrewsbury, the hall being built during the
latter part of the life of her fourth husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and in
the first nine years of her fourth widowhood. From the Great Hall a wide
passage to the right leads to the grand staircase, the muniment-room, the
sitting and other rooms, on the ground-floor, and, to the left, to the kitchens
and offices, and to another staircase. Ascending these massive stone stairs
hung with framed pieces of needlework and with curious old paintings,
some of which are dated 1576, and were principally brought from the old
hall, an open oak screen-work on the landing opens into

The Chapel.

The Chapel. In this truly interesting little room, the walls are notable for
being partly hung with painted tapestry of extremely good character, and

the only examples in the house. On the ceiling is a fine piece of tapestry,
representing our Lord, with two of His disciples, blessing the bread. The
pulpit is dressed with some of the earliest embroidery—portions of a cope,
&c.; and on the rails hangs a very rich and curious altar-cloth, 80 feet long,
with figures of saints under canopies, wrought in very rich and early
needlework. The chapel is shown in one of our illustrations. On the landing
hangs a remarkably curious lantern.
Opposite to the chapel, a doorway opens into the Dining-room, a noble
apartment, the lower part of the walls being wainscoted, and the upper hung
with a number of family portraits, amongst which are an interesting
painting of “Bess of Hardwick,” with this inscription upon it:—“Elizabeth
Hardwick, daughter and co-heir of John Hardwick, of Hardwick, in the
county of Derby. To her second husband, Sir William Cavendish, of
Chatsworth, in the same county. She settled her third son, Sir Charles
Cavendish, at Welbeck, in the county of Nottingham.” Other portraits are
those of her husband, Sir William Cavendish, at the age of forty-four; “the
Beautiful Duchess,” Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire; the late Duke of
Devonshire; Lord George Cavendish, second son of the third duke, known
as “Truth and Daylight,” &c., &c. Over the fire-place is a fine specimen of
parget-work, a kind of plaster-stone, with figures, &c., and in the centre the
inscription, “The conclusion of all things is to feare God and keepe his
Commaundementes,” and the conjoined initials E.S. with the date 1597.
The large recess of this room is converted into a billiard-room.
The Cut-Velvet Room, leading from the dining-room, is a noble
apartment, hung with tapestry, and containing a stately bed with plumes.
Over the fire-place, in parget-work, as in other rooms, is a series of armorial
bearings, among which again occur the arms of Hardwick, with supporters
and coronet. Adjoining this is a charming dressing-room, hung with the
most exquisite needlework in silk. Passing down the minstrels’ gallery from
the dining-room to the drawing-room, some fine specimens of needlework,
by the Countess of Shrewsbury, and by Mary, Queen of Scots, are carefully
preserved in frames.
The Drawing-Room is a large well-proportioned apartment, the lower
part of the walls wainscoted, and the upper hung with fine old tapestry,
representing the story of Esther and Ahasuerus. Over the fire-place are the
arms of Hardwick, with quarterings, in a lozenge shield, supporters, and
coronet. Among the paintings will be specially noticed a fine portrait of

Arabella Stuart, several portraits by Holbein, and others of Henry VII. and
VIII., Edward VI., &c., &c. There are, also, some curious pieces of
needlework, framed.

The Presence Chamber.

From the drawing-room the Duke’s Bed Room, and other apartments,
are reached. This room, so called because it is the room occupied by the late
Duke of Devonshire, and in which he died, is a splendid apartment, hung
with tapestry representing scriptural subjects. Over the fire-place, which has
large carved figures in stone on either side, is a fine piece of parget-work
surrounding a painting. On the bed a curious needlework counterpane
invites attention. The dressing-room adjoining is one of the most interesting
in the house. It is hung with silk needlework tapestry of the finest and most
choice character, one piece of which bears the date of 1574. There are also
paintings of the entombment of our Saviour, and of the Annunciation, with
the arms, in tapestry, of the Cavendishes, Talbots, and others. Near this
room is the bed-room occupied, on his occasional visits to Hardwick, by the
present duke, on the tapestry of which cupids are represented playing at
mall—the progenitor, apparently, of our modern croquet. Near this, too, is
the Marquis of Hartington’s room, in which are several interesting coats of
arms in parget-work, including the bearings of Hardwick, Cavendish,

Talbot, and others. Returning through the drawing-room, the visitor next
passes out to the Grand Staircase, of which we give an engraving. Near the
drawing-room door will be noticed a fine old chest, said to have belonged
to the Earl of Shrewsbury. The staircase is hung with some of the finest
tapestry which any house can boast. One portion represents a classical
story; the boar-hunts and similar subjects are fine, and powerful in the
extreme. On the second landing is an interesting inlaid table with the arms
of Hardwick impaling Talbot, and on the wall by it hangs some of the oldest
tapestry in the house. Continuing up the staircase, with tapestry on either
side, the state-rooms are approached. The entrance is by a doorway
surmounted by the Hardwick arms, over which is the most gorgeously fine
piece of tapestry, representing Juno. On the door a marvellously beautiful
lock is still preserved. It, with the arms of Hardwick, forms one of our
initial letters. This door opens into the
Presence-Chamber, State-Room, or Audience-Room, as it is variously
called. This splendid apartment, which is 65 feet long, 33 feet wide, and 26
feet in height, is one of the finest proportioned and most imposing in
appearance even in this perfect house. The upper portion of the walls of this
magnificent chamber is covered with parget-work in high coloured-relief,
representing hunting scenes, Orpheus, and the court of Diana. Below this,
for full 15 feet in height, the walls are hung with tapestry of the finest
character.
Over the fire-place of this room are the arms and supporters of Queen
Elizabeth, in coloured relief parget-work. The furniture is remarkably fine,
as will be seen from our engraving of this room. At the north end is a
majestic canopy, decorated in minute needlework with figures of the
cardinal virtues, “Verecundia,” “Prudentia,” “Sobrietas,” &c., alternating
with monograms and arms of the family. Under the canopy is a state-chair;
and in front, one of the most curious and interesting tables in existence. It is
of large size, and elaborately inlaid over the entire surface of its top with
musical instruments of various kinds, backgammon and chess boards, cards,
and various games, foliage and other devices. In its centre is a tablet with
the quaint inscription:—

THE REDOLENT SMLE
OF ÆGLENTYNE

WE STAGGES EXAVLT
TO THE DEVEYNE.

The “stagges” being, no doubt, the stags of the Hardwick arms. On each
side of the tablet are the arms of Hardwick and Talbot impaled, &c. From
this room a doorway in the tapestry opens into the picture-gallery, and
another at the north end leads into the Library, over the chimney-piece of
which is a splendid piece of sculpture, Apollo and the Muses; over the
figures on one side are the arms of Queen Elizabeth, and on the other her
initials, E. R., in a knot, and crowned. This fine group, found not many
years ago in a case in one of the servants’ rooms at Chatsworth, is supposed
to have been presented to the countess by Queen Elizabeth, and it has,
therefore, been most appropriately brought and placed in its present
position. In this room, among other interesting pictures, is a portrait of
James V. of Scotland, when very young. It belonged to Queen Mary, and
was taken with her from place to place. Passing through the library and the
Green Bed-Room, where the majestic state-bed and the tapestry are sure to
excite attention, one of the most interesting little rooms in the whole
building is gained:—

Mary Queen of Scots’ Room.

Mary Queen of Scots’ Room—a room which, it appears to us, the
Countess of Shrewsbury prepared expressly for the reception of the
furniture used by the truly unfortunate captive who had for so many years
been a prisoner in charge of her and her husband, and in which, when
finished, she placed her bed and other furniture, so as to preserve them as
precious relics. On the panels of the wainscoting of the room are the initials
of the countess, E.S., with the coronet and the date 1599; and on the door
the same date twice occurs. The woodwork is “tricked” in arabesque
patterns; over the door, on the interior side, are carved the royal arms of
Scotland, with the order of St. Andrew, supporters, crown, &c., and the
letters M. S., and the motto, in · my · de · fens. Around the whole is the
inscription, marie · stewart · par · la · grace · de · diev · royne · de ·
scosse · dovariere · de · france. Over the fire-place, in parget-work, are the
arms of Hardwick in lozenge, with coronet and supporters; the arms of
Hardwick impaling Leake; and those of Cavendish, with a crescent for
difference, impaling argent a fesse gules. The bed—the very one in which
the poor queen lay during a part of her captivity—is adorned with the work
of her own hands, bearing her monogram. The counterpane, too, is an
elaborate piece of needlework, said to be her own work; and some of the
furniture is of the same period. We have engraved this historically
interesting room as one of our illustrations.
Near this is the Blue Bed-Room, hung with tapestry, and containing a
noble bed, hung with blue, to which needlework by Christian Bruce,
Countess of Devonshire, has been transferred with much judgment and
care. Over the chimney-piece is the “Marriage of Tobias.” Other bed-rooms
adjoin, which it is not necessary to notice.
The Picture-Gallery, the “great glory” of Hardwick, occupies the
entire length of the building from north to south, on the upper floor of its
eastern front. Its length is 170 feet, and its width 40 feet, including the
recessed windows; its height being 26 feet. The walls of this superb gallery
are hung with the finest tapestry, almost hidden, however, by the
magnificent assemblage of portraits with which it is, as will be seen from
our engraving, literally covered. The tapestry here is, as has been said,
remarkably fine, and is very early, some of it bearing the date of 1478. It
was brought from the old mansion and from Chatsworth. The gallery is lit
by eighteen enormous windows, each 20 feet in height, on its eastern side,
which is deeply recessed. In the centre of this side is a gorgeous canopy

over the state seat, bearing the monogram of W.D., with a coronet; and on
the western side are two gigantic chimney-pieces, reaching from the floor to
the cornice, composed of Derbyshire black marble, alabaster, and other
marbles, one bearing in the centre of its upper height a finely sculptured
figure of Pity, and the other that of Justice. They are said to be the work of
“Stephens, a Flemish sculptor, or of Valerio Vicentino.” The ceiling is of
geometric design, in raised plaster-work; it gives that finish to the room
which is wanting in other of the apartments. The upper portion of the walls,
above the wainscoting and arras, is worked in panels and festoons.

The Picture-Gallery.

The furniture is of the most costly and curious character, and in perfect
preservation. Much of it, indeed, belongs to the time, or to a time not much
later, when the house was constructed, and indicates the artistic feeling and
manual dexterity of the foundress. Here are beds of state, with their curtains
of black and silver; Venetian velvets and damascenes; “cloth of Raynes to
slepe on softe,” and hangings “raied with gold;” hard cushions of blue
baudekyn; high-seated chairs, covered with samit and powdered with
flowers, yet most uncomfortable for use; screens of crimson velvet, covered
with patterns worked in silver wires; couches, every portion of which is
thickly overlaid with threads of silver and of gold; tables with legs twisted

and turned about in the most picturesque manner; fire-dogs of gorgeous
description; and a magnificent giant-glass, with the arms of Devonshire
impaling Ormonde—these are among the beauties which greet the eye at
every turn in its progress through Hardwick.
As we said at the commencement of this chapter, there is no place so
likely as Hardwick to carry the mind back to those times which we have
indicated and to which it belongs. One is unresistingly and forcibly carried
by the imagination back to the time of Elizabeth, and while pacing along
through these rooms, we are led, “in the mind’s eye,” to people them with
the forms of those who lived and moved and had their being within its
walls.
To the paintings in the picture-gallery and those scattered through the
several rooms, the dining-room more especially, we can but make slight
reference. They count some hundreds of the finest and most historically
interesting portraits of which any mansion can boast. To enumerate them
would occupy a dozen of our pages: we must, therefore, be content to say
that among them are original portraits of Queen Elizabeth; of Mary, Queen
of Scots; of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia; of Arabella Stuart; of the
foundress of the building, “Bess of Hardwick,” afterwards Countess of
Shrewsbury; of Kings Henry VII. and Henry VIII.; of Georgiana, the
“Beautiful Duchess” of Devonshire; of Robert Boyle, the philosopher; of
the seventh and unfortunate Earl of Derby; of Lord Treasurer Burleigh; of
Queen Mary; of Sir William St. Loe, third husband of “Bess of Hardwick;”
of George, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury; of Henry VII. and Henry VIII.,
cartoons by Holbein; of James V. of Scotland, and his queen; of Gilbert,
Earl of Shrewsbury; of Mary, Countess of Shrewsbury; of Lady Grace
Talbot; of several distinguished members of the Clifford family; of Queen
Catherine of Arragon; of Christian, Countess of Devonshire; of Lady Jane
Seymour; of Elizabeth, Countess of Devonshire; of the first Duke of
Ormond; of Rachel, Duchess of Devonshire; of Edward Russell, Duke of
Bedford; of John, first Duke of Rutland; of Henry Fitzalan, Earl of Arundel;
of William, Lord Russell; of the Marchioness of Hartington; of Queen
Anne; of Frederick, Prince of Wales; of King William III.; of King George
III.; of King James I.; of Sir Robert Walpole; of Francis Bacon, Lord
Verulam; of the Princess of Orange; and of most of the noted men of the
time; of numerous celebrities of the Cavendish family and their alliances;

and of Thomas Hobbes—“Leviathan Hobbes,” or “Hobbes of
Malmesbury,” as he is called.
From the leads of Hardwick Hall, which are gained by a spacious
staircase, the upper rooms of the towers are reached, and a magnificent
view of the surrounding country is obtained.
Having described Hardwick Hall as it
now exists, and given a brief history of the
noble family of Cavendish to whom it belongs,
we resume the subject, to speak of the older
mansion, now in ruins; of the Hardwicks to
whom it belonged; of the marvellous daughter
of that house, “Bess of Hardwick,” and her
alliances; and of Ault Hucknall, the parish
church, and its many monuments, among
which is that to the great philosopher, “Hobbes
of Malmesbury,” who lived and died at
Hardwick.
And, first, as to the family.
The family of Hardwick is one of
considerable antiquity in the county of Derby,
although now extinct, and was for several
generations settled at Hardwick, from which
place, indeed, it is probable the name was
assumed.
In 1203 the manor of Hardwick was granted by King John to Andrew de
Beauchamp, but in 1288 it was held of John le Savage—who owned the
neighbouring manor of Steynsby, and was probably of the same family as
the later Savages, of Castleton and other places—by William de Steynsby,
by the annual render of three pounds of cinnamon and one pound of pepper.
The grandson of William de Steynsby, John Steynsby, died seized of the
manor in 1330. It afterwards passed into the hands of the Hardwicks, and
was held by them until it passed to the Cavendishes by the marriage of the
heiress to Sir William Cavendish. The first of the Hardwick family known
was William, who married the daughter of Goushill, of Barlborough (which
family of Goushill, in the time of Henry III., married the heiress of
Hathersage, and whose heiress, in the sixteenth century, married Wingfield),

and by her had two sons, Roger and William, the latter of whom was living
in the thirty-second year of Henry VI. Roger Hardwick, of Hardwick,
married the daughter of Robert Barley, of Barley, and had issue by her,
John, who succeeded him. John Hardwick, of Hardwick, married Elizabeth,
daughter of Henry Bakewell, of Bakewell, one of the co-heiresses of which
family married Linacre before the year 1400. By her he had issue, a son,
John Hardwick, who, marrying Elizabeth, daughter of — Pinchbeck, of
Pinchbeck, was, in turn, succeeded by his son, John Hardwick, who married
Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Leake, of Hasland, a younger branch of the
Leakes, Earls of Scarsdale. By this lady John Hardwick, who died January
24, 1527, had issue, one son and four daughters, viz., John, Mary, Elizabeth,
Alice, and Jane. John Hardwick, the last male representative of the family,
who was only three years old at his father’s death, married Elizabeth,
daughter of Philip Draycott, of Paynsley, but died without issue, leaving his
sisters his co-heiresses. Of these, Mary married, first, Wingfield, and,
second, one of the Pollards, of Devonshire, who was Gentleman Usher to
the Queen; Alice married Francis Leech, of Chatsworth, and died without
issue; Jane married Godfrey Bosville of Gunthwaite; and Elizabeth (“Bess
of Hardwick”) married, first, Robert Barley, of Barley; second, Sir William
Cavendish; third, Sir William St. Loe; and fourth, Gilbert, Earl of
Shrewsbury. The Francis Leech just named, who married “Bess’s” sister
Alice, was the last of his family. He sold Chatsworth to Agard, who resold it
to the second husband of “Bess,” Sir William Cavendish, by whom it was
rebuilt in almost regal magnificence.
Elizabeth Hardwick was, it will have been seen, one of the co-heiresses
of her father, and ultimately heiress to her brother, from whom she inherited
Hardwick and other estates. She was a most remarkable, clever, and
accomplished woman, and one of the most successful, in her many
marriages, in her acquisition of property, in the alliances of her family, and
in the erection of magnificent mansions; and no account of Hardwick would
be complete without, at all events, a brief notice of her extraordinary and
brilliant career. When very young—indeed, it is said, when scarcely
fourteen years of age—Elizabeth Hardwick became the wife of Robert
Barley, of Barley (or Barlow), in the county of Derby, son of Arthur Barley,
of Barley-by-Dronfield, by his wife, Elizabeth Chaworth. This young
gentleman, who was devotedly attached to his young and charming wife,
died within a few months after their marriage, leaving his possessions to

her. By this short marriage there was no issue. Remaining a young, indeed
childlike, widow for some twelve years or thereabouts, she then married Sir
William Cavendish, as detailed in our former chapter, and so brought to him
the possessions of the Hardwicks, which she had inherited from her father
and brother, as well as those of the Barleys, acquired by her first marriage.
By Sir William Cavendish she had a family of three sons and three
daughters, viz., Henry Cavendish, of Tutbury, ancestor of the Barons
Waterpark; Sir William Cavendish, of Chatsworth, created Baron Cavendish
of Hardwick, and Earl of Devonshire, and ancestor of the present Ducal
house of Devonshire; Sir Charles Cavendish, of Bolsover Castle, ancestor
of the Barons Cavendish, Viscounts Mansfield, Earls, Marquises, and
Dukes of Newcastle; Frances, wife of the Duke of Kingston; Elizabeth, wife
of Charles Stuart, Duke of Lennox, and mother by him of Arabella Stuart;
and Mary, wife of Gilbert, seventh Earl of Shrewsbury.

Hardwick Hall, from the Park.

Sir William Cavendish died in 1557, and his lady was thus a second
time left a widow. A few years later she married her third husband, Sir
William St. Loe, Captain of the Guard to Queen Elizabeth, “owner of a
great estate, which,” as Bishop Kennett says, “in articles of marriage she
took care should be settled on her and her own heirs, in default of issue;

and, accordingly, having no child by him, she liv’d to enjoy his whole
estate, excluding his former daughters and brothers;” thus adding his
property to the already immense possessions she had acquired in her own
right and by her two former marriages. The death of Sir William left her for
the third time a widow; but she was soon after wooed and won by George,
sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, who had not long before lost his countess,
Gertrude Manners, daughter of the Earl of Rutland. Before she would
consent, however, to be united to the first peer of the realm, she stipulated
that he should give his daughter to her eldest son, and that Gilbert Talbot,
his second son (the eldest being already married) should espouse her
youngest daughter. These family nuptials were solemnised at Sheffield on
the 9th of February, 1567-8; her daughter being at the time not quite twelve
years old, and her husband being under fifteen. Gilbert Talbot became
seventh Earl of Shrewsbury.
The history of the events of her life while Countess of Shrewsbury is
that of the kingdom at large; for it was during this time, from 1568 to 1584,
that Mary, Queen of Scots, was confided to the care of the earl and his lady,
and by them was kept a close prisoner. Into these annals—known by every
student of English history—it is not our province now to enter. Suffice it to
say, that the wearisome task, imposed by a rigorous and arbitrary sovereign,
was executed with a zeal and with a diligence that were worthy a far better
cause. In 1568 the earl received from his royal mistress the intimation of the
trust she was about to confide to him, and on the 20th of the following
January, 1569, the order for removing Mary from Bolton to Tutbury was
made. Here the poor captive was received by the Earl and Countess of
Shrewsbury; and here, kept a close prisoner, she remained for several
months, passing her time as best she might in needlework. “I asked hir
grace,” says White, “sence the wether did cutt of all exercises abrode, howe
passed the tyme within? She sayd that all the day she wrought with hir
nydill, and that the diversitie of the colours made the worke seme lesse
tedious, and contynued so long at it till veray payn made hir to give over;
and with that layd hir hand upon hir left syde and complayned of an old
grief newely increased there.” In June the earl removed her to Wingfield
Manor, in Derbyshire, now, like Tutbury itself, a splendid ruin; and later on
in the same year back again to Tutbury. In 1570 Mary was removed to
Chatsworth, and from thence to Sheffield, also now a ruin. Here she
remained, occasionally staying at Chatsworth for some length of time. In

1584 she was again removed to Wingfield, in 1585 to Tutbury, and in the
following year to Chartley, to Fotheringhay, and that fatal block, which will
ever remain a dark blot on the escutcheon of “good Queen Bess.” It is a
somewhat remarkable circumstance, touching the captivity of Mary under
the constableship of the Earl of Shrewsbury, that the places belonging to
him where she was confined, Sheffield Castle and Manor, Tutbury Castle,
Wingfield Manor, and Chartley (as well as Fotheringhay, where she was
executed), have all fallen to ruin, while Chatsworth and other places which
belonged to the countess still flourish.
It is not certain, although there is every probability that such was the
case, that Mary was ever at Hardwick. There can be but little doubt she
spent, at all events, a few days there; but this would, of course, be at the old
Hall, as will be shown later on.
The Earl of Shrewsbury, about whom strange rumours regarding his
conduct and intentions towards his captive at the time of his discharge from
his trust were afloat, and over whom a female domestic, Eleanor Britton,
had gained an injurious ascendency, afterwards, in consequence, living a
not very happy life with his second countess, died in 1590; and thus “Bess
of Hardwick” became, for the fourth time, a widow. “A change of
conditions,” says Bishop Kennett, “that, perhaps, never fell to the lot of one
woman, to be four times a creditable and happy wife, to rise by every
husband into greater wealth and higher honours, to have a numerous issue
by one husband only; to have all those children live, and all, by her advice,
be creditably disposed of in her lifetime; and, after all, to live seventeen
years a widow in absolute power and plenty.”
The countess, besides being one of the most beautiful, accomplished,
and captivating women of her day, was, without exception, the most
energetic, business-like, and able of her sex. In architecture her conceptions
were grand; while in all matters pertaining to the Arts, and to comforts and
elegancies of life, she was unsurpassed. To the old Hall of her fathers,
where she was born and resided, she made vast additions—indeed, so much
so as almost to amount to a recreation of the place; and she entirely planned
and built three of the most gorgeous edifices of the time—Hardwick Hall,
Chatsworth, and Oldcotes—the first two of which were transmitted entire to
the first Duke of Devonshire. “At Hardwick she left the ancient seat of her
family standing, and at a small distance, still adjoining to her new fabric, as

if she had a mind to preserve her Cradle, and set it by her Bed of State,” as
Kennett so poetically expresses it.
Her “Bed of State”—the present Hall, erected by her—we have already
described. Her “Cradle”—the old Hall, wherein she was born and nursed,
but which is now in ruins—we shall describe presently.
The latter part of her long and busy life she occupied almost entirely in
building, and it is marvellous what an amount of real work—hard figures
and dry details—she got through; for it is a fact, abundantly evidenced by
the original accounts, remaining to this day, that not a penny was expended
on her buildings, and not a detail added or taken away, without her special
attention and personal supervision. Building was a passion with her, and she
indulged it wisely and well, sparing neither time, nor trouble, nor outlay, to
secure everything being done in the most admirable manner. It is said, and it
is so recorded by Walpole, that the countess had once been told by a gipsy
fortune-teller that she would never die so long as she continued building,
and she so implicitly believed this, that she never ceased planning and
contriving and adding to her erections; and it is said that at last she died in a
hard frost, which totally prevented the workmen from continuing their
labours, and so caused an unavoidable suspension of her works. Surely the
fortune-teller here was a “wise woman” in more senses than one; for it was
wise and cunning in her to instil such a belief into the countess’s mind, and
thus insure a continuance of the works by which so many workmen and
their families gained a livelihood, and by which later generations would
also benefit.

The Old Hall at Hardwick.

Besides Hardwick, Chatsworth (for which a good part of the old Hall at
Hardwick was, at a later period, removed), Oldcotes, and other places, the
countess founded and built the Devonshire Almshouses at Derby, and did
many other good and noble works. She died, full of years and full of
honours and riches, on the 23rd of February, 1607, and was buried in All
Saints’ Church, Derby, under a stately tomb which she had erected during
her lifetime, and on which a long Latin inscription is to be seen.
Of the countess—the “Bess of Hardwick,” who was one of the greatest
of the subjects of that other “Bess” who sat on the throne of England—
portraits are still preserved at Hardwick, and show that she must have been,
as Dugdale says of her, “faire and beautiful.” Whatever faults of temper or
of disposition she had—and she is said to have had plenty of both—she had
good qualities which, perhaps, outbalanced them; and she, at all events,
founded one of the most brilliant houses—that of Cavendish—which this
nation has ever produced.
The old Hall at Hardwick, of the ruins of which we give an engraving,
was, in its palmy days, a place of considerable extent and beauty, and from
its charming situation—being built on the edge of a rocky eminence
overlooking an immense tract of country—must have been a most desirable
residence. In it a long line of the ancestors of the countess were born, and

lived, and died; and in it she too was born and lived, as maiden, as four
times wife, and four times widow. In it, if Mary, Queen of Scots, was ever
at Hardwick, she must have been received, and in it the larger part of the
great works of its remarkable owner must have been planned. It was her
“home,” and her favourite residence; and it is said that when she began to
build the new Hall—which, as we have said, closely adjoins the old one—
she still intended making the older building her abode, and keeping the new
one for state receptions and purposes of hospitality. This plan, however, if
ever laid down, was ultimately discarded, and the old mansion, after all the
improvements which had been made in it, was in great measure stripped
and dismantled for the requirements of the new Hall, and of Chatsworth.
A tolerably good idea of the extent of the ruins of the old Hall will be
gained from our engraving, which shows, perhaps, its most imposing side,
with the green sward in front. In its interior, several rooms, in a more or less
state of dilapidation, still remain, and can be seen by the visitor. The
kitchens, with their wide chimneys, and the domestic offices on the ground-
floor, amply testify to the almost regal hospitality which must at one time
have characterized the place; while the chambers, the state-rooms, and the
other apartments for the family, testify to the magnificence of its
appointments.
The principal remaining apartment—and of this we give an illustration
—is at the top of that portion of the building which overlooks the valley. It
is called the “Giants’ Chamber,” taking its name from the two colossal
figures in Roman armour, which they term Gog and Magog, in raised
plaster-work over the fire-place. This pargetting is bold in the extreme, and
in very high relief, and the two figures, between which is a remarkably free
and artistic winged figure with a bow, must have had a wondrous effect as
they frowned down upon the gay throng assembled in olden times on the
rush-strewn floors. The room, which has been wainscoted, is 55 feet 6
inches in length, 30 feet 6 inches in width, and 24 feet 6 inches in height;
and of it Bishop Kennett thus speaks: “That old house has one room in it of
such exact proportion, and such convenient lights, that it has been thought
fit for a pattern of measure and contrivance to the most noble Blenheim.”

Interior of the Old Hall.

In other apartments, pargetting of the same general character as
distinguishes the rooms in Hardwick Hall itself is to be seen over the fire-
places. In one place a figure or two; in another, animals of the chase; in a
third, a moated and fortified building; in another, armorial bearings; and in
yet another, the same motto—now from the dangerous state of the walls and
floors not discernible—which occurs on the fine old table described in our
last—
“The redolent smell of eglantyne
We stagges exault to the devyne”—

will be noticed, and all of the highest order of workmanship. Of the
moated and fortified building just alluded to, we give an engraving on our
initial letter, and beneath it, we have added the arms of the present noble
house of Cavendish.
We have, on a previous page, spoken of the marvellous aptitude for
business, and the careful attention to even the minutest details of
expenditure, &c., evinced by the Countess of Shrewsbury, and we purpose
now to make this a little more evident by giving some particulars of the
erection of Hardwick Hall built by her.

The Hall, as it now stands—for it is, in every essential part, just as the
countess left it—was, it is thought, commenced about the year 1576, and
finished in 1599. The book of accounts of the wages paid is very curious
and interesting, and gives the names of all the various wallers, ditchers,
stone breakers, labourers, &c., with the gardeners, thatchers, moss-getters,
&c., employed by the countess between January, 1576, and December,
1580. The accounts are made up every fortnight during that time, and all the
items are carefully ticked off with a cross by the countess, and each
fortnight’s accounts signed by her. Of one of the signatures we have
engraved a fac-simile: it reads—“thre ponde hyght pence. E. Shrouesbury.”

Of the items of which this fortnight’s accounts, amounting only to £3 0s.
8d. are composed, we copy the following:—
“This fortnight work begane one Munday beinge the xxjth of January, viz.:—

George Hickete xj days vs. vjd.
his mane xj days iijs.. viijd.
and his boy xj days iijs. viijd.
Robert bucknail vj days ijs.
his mane vj days xviijd.”

In the park are some remarkably fine old oak and other forest trees,
round which almost countless herds of deer may be seen browsing. Some of
these trees are of gigantic size, of considerable girth, and of great beauty.
Our engraving on page 139 gives a distant view of the Hall, with some of
these fine trees in the foreground.

Hault Hucknall Church.

Hault Hucknall (Haute Hucknall, as it is called in the early registers,
and Ault Hucknall, as it is now not unfrequently spelt) is the parish in which
Hardwick Hall stands; and it is therefore necessary, especially as the two
places are intimately connected in more ways than one, to say a few words
about its church and monuments. The church, which is dedicated to St. John
the Baptist, formerly belonged to the Abbey of Beauchief, but was, with the
impropriate rectory, granted in 1544 to Francis Leake, from whom it passed
to the Cavendishes, and now belongs to the Marquis of Hartington. The
church contains some interesting remains of Norman and of Early English
work, among which are the aisle under the tower, the window in the west
end of the north aisle, and the old plain font,—the font now in use having
been brought here from Bamford Church in the same county. In the south
wall of the chancel is a pretty little piscina, and there are aumbries in the
north aisle and in the Hardwick Chapel. At these places it is supposed altars
formerly stood, and one of the altar-stones, with the five crosses
emblematic of the five wounds of our Saviour, may be seen forming one of
the paving-stones of the floor near the altar-rails. The porch has a vaulted
stone-roof, and in the nave are remains of wall-paintings.
Some portions of an elegant carved-oak screen which formerly
separated the Hardwick Chapel from the south aisle are still preserved, as
are also several of the original massive oak benches. In the east window of

the Hardwick Chapel, as shown in our engraving, the stained glass
represents our Saviour on the cross, with the figures of the Virgin Mary and
of St. John, &c. There are also some kneeling figures, and the arms of
Hardwick and of Savage.
Among the monuments in this interesting church are some deserving
especial attention. In the floor of the chancel is a monumental brass, the
figure belonging to which is unfortunately lost, commemorative of Richard
Pawson, 1536, sometime vicar of the parish, bearing the following
inscription in black letter:—
“Orate pro aia domini Ricardi Pawson Vicarii Istius qui obiit die qua
Vocavit eū d̄ ns post an̄ m d̄ ni millesimum quingentesimū tricesimū
sextum cujus aiē ppicietur deus. A.”

At the east end of the Hardwick Chapel, beneath the window, as shown
in the engraving on the next page, is an elegant tomb, of Derbyshire marble,
to the memory of Anne, daughter and co-heiress of Henry Kighley, of
Kighley, in Yorkshire, and first wife of the second Sir William Cavendish,
created, after her death, Baron Cavendish of Hardwick, and Earl of
Devonshire. She was the mother of William, second Earl of Devonshire,
and Gilbert Cavendish, author of “Horæ Subsecivæ,” Frances, wife of Lord
Maynard, and James, Mary, and Elizabeth, who all died young.
The most interesting tomb, however, in this pretty church, is that of
Thomas Hobbes, who is best known as “Hobbes, of Malmesbury,” or as
“Leviathan Hobbes.”

The Grave of Hobbes of Malmesbury in Hault Hucknall Church.

The monument to this great “philosopher” and free-thinker is a plain
slab of stone in the Hardwick Chapel—the raised slab shown on the floor in
this engraving—which bears the following inscription:—

CONDITA HIC SUNT OSSA
THOMÆ HOBBES,
MALMESBURIENSIS,
QVI PER MULTOS ANNOS SERVIVIT
DUOBUS DEVONIÆ COMITIBUS
PATRI ET FILIO
VIR PROBUS, ET FAMA ERUDITIONIS
DOMI FORISQUE BENE COGNITUS

OBIIT ANNo DOMINI 1679,
MENSIS DECEMBRIS DIE 4º
ÆTATIS SUÆ 91.

Before speaking of Hobbes and his connection with Hardwick, where he
died, it will be well to note that the parish registers of Hault Hucknall
commence in the year 1662, and that the entry regarding the burial of
Hobbes, for the copy of which we have to express our thanks to the Rev.
Henry Cottingham, the respected vicar of the parish, is as follows:—

“Anno Regni
Caroli Sucund } 31 Law. Waine,
Vicar. { James Hardwick,
Thomas Whitehead,
Anno dom. 1679. Churchwardens.
“Hardwick | Thomas Hobbs Magnus Philosophus, Sepul. fuit
et affidavit in Lana Sepoliendo exhibit. Decem.
6” (or 8).

Thomas Hobbes[28] was born at Malmesbury on Good Friday, 1588, in
the year of “the Spanish Armada,” and it is said that his birth was hastened
by his mother’s terror of the enemy’s fleet, and that a timidity with which
through life he was afflicted was thus induced. He and fear, he was wont to
say, “were born together.” His being born on Good Friday has also been
turned to account in the way of accounting for his wonderful precocity as a
child, and his subsequent intellectual progress. At the age of fifteen he was
sent to Oxford, and there made such progress that before he was twenty
years old he was taken into the service of Sir William Cavendish, who had a
few years before been created Baron Cavendish of Hardwick, as tutor to his
sons, Gilbert, who died before attaining his majority, and William, who
became second Earl of Devonshire. With the latter young nobleman, who
married, as already narrated, Christian, daughter of Lord Bruce, of Kinloss,
Hobbes travelled through France and Italy. At his death he left, besides
other issue, William, Lord Cavendish, who succeeded him as Earl of
Devonshire, and who, at that time, was only in the tenth year of his age.
This Lord Hardwick was, as his father had been before him, placed under
the tuition of Hobbes, “who instructed him in the family for three years, and
then, about 1634, travelled with him as his governor into France and Italy,
with the longest stay in Paris for all the politer parts of breeding. He
returned in 1637, and, when he soon after came of age, his mother

(Christian, Countess of Devonshire), delivered up to him his great houses in
Derbyshire all ready furnished.”
With this nobleman (who married Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of
Salisbury, and was succeeded by his son, afterwards created Duke of
Devonshire) Thomas Hobbes remained for the rest of his life. “The earl for
his whole life entertained Mr. Hobbes in his family as his old tutor rather
than as his friend or confidant; he let him live under his roof in ease and
plenty and his own way, without making use of him in any publick or so
much as domestick affairs. He would often express an abhorrence of some
of his principles in policy and religion; and both he and his lady would
frequently put off the mention of his name and say ‘He was an humourist,
and that nobody could account for him.’”
Of Hobbes’s works—of his “De Cive,” his “Leviathan,” his “Elémens
Philosophiques de Citoyen,” his “Behemoth,” or his hundred other writings
—it is, of course, not here our province to speak; but one of his smaller
productions, because of its connection with the family of his noble patron,
his “De Mirabilibus Pecci,” may claim a passing word. This is a Latin poem
descriptive of the “Wonders of the Peak, in Derbyshire”—the same subject
which Charles Cotton, later on, wrote upon in his “Wonders of the Peak”—
wherein Hobbes describes a tour which he, with a friend, took on
horseback, starting from Chatsworth, where he was residing, and visiting
Pilsley, Hassop, Hope, Castleton, Peak Forest, Eldon Hole, the Ebbing and
Flowing Well, Buxton, Poole’s Hole, Chelmorton, Sheldon, Ashford, and so
back to Chatsworth, quaintly describing all he saw on his journey.
If the earl was attached to Hobbes, he was at least amply repaid by the
devotion and fondness his old tutor showed to him and to his family.
Indeed, so intimate was the old man with the family of his patron, that
whenever the earl removed from one of his houses to another, Hobbes
accompanied them, even to the last of his long life. “There is a tradition in
the family,” said Bishop Kennett, in 1707, “of the manners and customs of
Mr. Hobbes somewhat observable. His professed rule of health was to
dedicate the morning to his health and the afternoon to his studies. And
therefore at his first rising he walk’d out and climb’d any hill within his
reach; or, if the weather was not dry, he fatigued himself within doors by
some exercise or other to be in a sweat; recommending that practice upon
this opinion, that an old man had more moisture than heat, and therefore by
such motion heat was to be acquired and moisture expelled. After this he

took a comfortable breakfast, and then went round the lodgings to wait
upon the earl, the countess, and the children, and any considerable
strangers, paying some short address to all of them.” ... “Towards the end of
his life he had very few books, and those he read but very little, thinking he
was now only to digest what formerly he had fed upon. If company came to
visit him, he would be free in discourse till he was pressed or contradicted,
and then he had the infirmities of being short and peevish, and referring to
his writings for better satisfaction. His friends, who had the liberty of
introducing strangers to him, made these terms with them before their
admission—that they should not dispute with the old man, nor contradict
him.”
Thus lived Hobbes, whether at Hardwick or at Chatsworth, and thus
were all his foibles kindly looked upon and administered to, and his life
made happy by allowing him in everything—even his attendance on
worship in the private chapel, and his leaving before the sermon—to have,
literally, “his own way.” In December, 1679, the earl and countess went
from Chatsworth to Hardwick Hall, probably with the intention of keeping
up their Christmas festivities there, and even at that time the old man—for
he was ninety-one years of age—would accompany them. “He could not
endure to be left in an empty house, and whenever the earl removed he
would go along with him, even to his last stage from Chatsworth to
Hardwick; when in a very weak condition he dared not be left behind, but
made his way upon a feather bed in a coach, though he survived the journey
but a few days. He could not bear any discourse of death, and seemed to
cast off all thoughts of it. He delighted to reckon upon long life. The winter
before he died he had made a warmer coat, which he said must last him
three years, and then he would have such another. In his last sickness his
frequent questions were whether his disease was curable; and when
intimations were given that he might have ease, but no remedy, he used this
expression:—‘I shall be glad then to find a hole to creep out of the world
at;’ which are reported to have been his last sensible words, and his lying
some days following in a silent stupefaction did seem owing to his mind
more than to his body. The only thought of death that he appeared to
entertain in time of health was to take care of some inscription on his grave.
He would suffer some friends to dictate an epitaph, among which he was
best pleased with this honour, ‘This is the true philosopher’s stone;’ which,

indeed,” adds the bishop, “would have had as much religion in it as that
which now remains,” and of which we have just given a copy.
As we have already remarked, it is not our business to discuss the
political or philosophical principles which Hobbes expressed in his
writings: these, both in and after his time, were the subject of much
controversy. We may, however, remark that it was well for those who were
committed to his tutelage and close companionship, that their minds do not
seem to have been corrupted by his avowed rejection, not only of the
Christian faith, but apparently of any faith at all in the existence of a Deity.
Nowhere—and he had abundance of opportunity in some, at least, of his
voluminous writings—does he show any glimmering even of religious
belief; and the history of his latest years, and the last expression which
proceeded from his mouth, testify to his fear of death, and his dislike to
have the subject mentioned in his hearing. A mere materialist would not
thus have been “subject to bondage,” inasmuch as the conviction of utter
annihilation must remove all ground of apprehension regarding the
“something after death.” Hobbes closed his eyes a resolute doubter, if not
an actual disbeliever; and no ray of comfort or of hope came to brighten his
last moments as he passed into the world of spirits to exchange uncertainty
for certainty, the mortal for the immortal.
The late Sir William Molesworth endeavoured to rekindle some interest
in Hobbes’s writings by republishing an edition of his works: happily, the
attempt was a failure, so far, we believe, as to any extensive sale of the
poison contained in them.
Externally, Hault Hucknall Church, although highly picturesque and
venerable in appearance, presents not many striking features. The tower,
which stands between nave and chancel, was probably terminated by a spire
—the upper remaining part being of much later date than the lower.
We have thus described the seat, next in importance to that of
Chatsworth, of the long-descended and long-ennobled family of Cavendish.
Their principal residence, Chatsworth, we describe and illustrate in another
part of this volume.

ARUNDEL CASTLE.

A RUNDEL castle takes high rank among the
“Stately Homes of England.” Some of its more
prominent features we present to our readers. Of
very remote antiquity—for it traces back to a
period long anterior to the Conquest; deeply
interesting in its historical associations—for it
has played a leading part in the principal events
of the kingdom; and of great importance in its
family connections—for a long line of noble and
illustrious names, from the reign of Alfred the
Great to our own time, are associated with its
history—Arundel stands, a proud monument of
England’s greatness, and of the beauty of
England’s fair domains.
The manor of Arundel was, it is stated, given
in the will of Alfred the Great (“Æthelme mines
brother suna thone ham æt Ealdingburnam, & æt
Cumtune, & æt Crundellan, & æt Beadingum, &
æt Beadingahamme, & æt Burnham, & æt
Thunresfelda, & æt Æscengum”) to his nephew,
Æthelm, the son of his brother. To Earl Godwine,
and to King Harold, it is also stated successively
to have passed. At the time of the Norman Conquest the possessions and the

earldoms of Arundel, Chichester, and Shrewsbury, were given to Roger de
Montgomery, a relative of the Conqueror, and “one of the council which
formed the invasion of England, leading the centre of the army in that
famous battle of Battle Abbey, wherein the crown accrued to the Norman.”
He commanded the entire army of archers and light infantry in the decisive
battle; and to his superior skill in military tactics was principally owing the
successful issue. To requite him for his valuable services, and place him in a
position of advantage, the Conqueror established him at Arundel in all the
magnificence of the age. Of his immense possessions, those by which he
was immediately surrounded constituted three lordships, ten hundreds and
their courts and suits of service, eighteen parks, and seventy-seven manors.
He took a prominent part in affairs of state, both in the reign of the
Conqueror and in that of William Rufus, and at last entered the monastery
at Shrewsbury, which he had founded, and where he died. He was
succeeded in his possessions in Normandy by his eldest son, Robert, Comte
de Belesme, and in his English earldoms and possessions by his youngest
son, Hugh, who led a turbulent life, and met with a premature death at
Anglesey, in repulsing the descent made by Magnus, King of Norway, on
that island; he was shot from his horse by an arrow, which pierced through
his brain.
On the death of Hugh, his elder brother, Robert, came over from
Normandy to claim the earldoms and inheritance, to which, on paying a
heavy fine, he succeeded. “He was a cruel, crafty, and subtle man, but
powerful in arms, and eloquent in speech, and for fifteen years seldom out
of rebellion; till at length peace being made between the king and his
competitor, he was called to account for all his actions, but shifted away and
fortified his castles, which the king (Henry I.) besieged, and forced him to
sue for clemency, which was granted; but all his possessions were seized,
and himself banished.” He ultimately died in Warwick Castle—the
earldoms reverting to the crown.
Before tracing the descent to a later time, a word on the derivation of
the name Arundel may not be out of place. It has been conjectured to be
derived from various sources. Thus, Hirundelle, from Hirundo, a swallow;
from the name of a famous horse, Hirondelle, which was the favourite of its
owner, one Sir Bevis, who is said to have been warder or constable of the
castle; from Arundo, a reed, which grows in the river; from Portus Adurni;

and from Arun, the name of the river, and dell, from the valley along which
it flows; as well as from araf and del, and other sources.[29]
The estates and earldom having reverted to the crown under Henry I.,
were settled upon that monarch’s second wife, Adeliza, daughter of the
Duke of Lorraine, who married, for her second husband, William de Albini
(son of William de Albini, surnamed Pincerna, who came over with the
Conqueror), who is said to have been called “William of the Stronghand,”
because, when cast into a lion’s den—so the story goes, in consequence of
his refusal to marry the Queen of France—he seized the lion, thrust his
hand into its mouth, and down his throat, and tore out its heart! He was
Lord of Buckenham, and one of the most powerful of the barons. In the
troublous reign of Stephen, Albini and his royal wife lived at Arundel
Castle, and here received the Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I. by his
first wife, and mother of Henry II., who, with her half-brother, Robert of
Gloucester, and a retinue of knights and retainers, remained there for some
time. Stephen, on news reaching him of the presence of his rival, the
Empress, drew his forces to Arundel, and laid close siege to the castle.
Albini, however, not only preserved his royal guest from violence, but by
good generalship or caution, secured for her a safe conduct to Bristol, from
which she took ship, and returned to the Continent. Albini was,
subsequently, the meditator between Stephen and the son of Queen Matilda,
Henry, afterwards Henry II., by which the crown was secured to that prince
and his heirs, and so brought about a happy peace. For his loyalty and good
services he was, by Henry II., confirmed in the estates and titles he had
enjoyed through his wife Queen Adeliza, and was, in addition to the
earldoms of Arundel and Chichester, created Earl of Sussex. Besides taking
a very prominent part in most affairs of the nation, Albini was one of the
deputation to the Pope in the matter of the king’s dispute with A’Beckett;
was sent to conduct the daughter of Matilda into Germany on her marriage
with the Duke of Saxony; was one of the king’s trustees to the treaty of the
marriage of Prince John to the daughter of the Count of Savoy; and
commanded the royal forces against the rebellious princes, taking prisoners
the Earl of Leicester, and his countess, and all the retinue of knights. He and
his wife founded the Priory of Calceto, near Arundel; built the Abbey of
Buckenham; endowed prebends in Winchester; founded the Priory of
Pynham, near Arundel; and the Chapel of St. Thomas at Wymondham. This
earl having, in conjunction with his wife, founded the Priory of Calceto,

near Arundel, granted its priors many privileges: among which were an
annual allowance of timber for the repairs of the bridge, and a right of
pasturage for cattle in common with the burgesses of Arundel. At the
dissolution of the monasteries, the office of bridge-warden, previously held
by the friars, devolved on the Mayor of Arundel, who still continues the
office. The meadows were retained in the possession of the burgesses, and
are still held by them. He died in 1176, and was succeeded by his eldest son
(or grandson), William de Albini, who married Maud, widow of the Earl of
Clare, by whom he had issue, two sons, William and Hugh, and six
daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest son, William, who, dying
without issue, was succeeded by his brother, Hugh de Albini, the youngest
son, who married Isabel, daughter to the Earl of Warren and Surrey, but
died without issue. The estates then passed to his sisters and co-heiresses;
that of Arundel descending to John Fitzalan, son of the second sister of
Hugh de Albini, by her husband, John Fitzalan, Baron of Clun and
Oswestry.

The Quadrangle, Arundel Castle.

He was succeeded in the earldom and estates by his son, John, who
dying two years afterwards, was succeeded by his son, Richard, then only
five years of age. That nobleman greatly improved the Castle of Arundel,
and is thus described in “the Siege of Caerlaverock:”—

“Richard, the Earl of Arundel,
A well-beloved and handsome knight,
In crimson surcoat marked, and well
With gold and rampant lion dight.”

In 1302 King Edward I. was the guest of the earl, at Arundel, and at that
time created Arundel a borough, and granted the earl certain privileges, of
taxes, &c., for the purpose of fortifying it. He was succeeded by his son,
Edmund Fitzalan, who, being taken prisoner by Mortimer, was beheaded at
Hereford. He was succeeded by his son, Richard Fitzalan, to whom Arundel
Castle, which had, on the execution of the last earl, been giving to the Earl
of Kent, was restored, as were also the baronies of Fitzalan, Clun, and
Oswestry. He led an active and useful life, and distinguished himself at
Crescy, Vannes, Thouars, and other places, and founded a chantry of six
priests at Arundel. He was succeeded by his son, Richard, in his titles and
estates; he died on the scaffold, in Cheapside, in 1397, the king, Richard II.,
being present at the execution. Ten days afterwards, “it being bruited abroad
for a miracle that his head should be grown to his bodye againe,” the king
sent, secretly, by night, “certaine nobilitye to see his bodie taken up, that he
might be certified of the truth, which done, and perceiving that it was a
fable,” he had the grave closed up again. Through this attainder Arundel
reverted to the crown, and was given to the Duke of Exeter.
The earl was succeeded by his son, Thomas Fitzalan, who was, by
Henry IV., restored both in blood and in all his possessions and titles. He
held, among other important offices, those of Warden of the Cinque Ports,
Constable of Dover Castle, and Lord High Treasurer of England. He
married, in the presence of the king and queen, Beatrix, daughter of John,
King of Portugal, but died without issue, when the Arundel estate passed,
by entail, to his cousin, Sir John Fitzalan (or Arundel, as he called himself),
Lord Maltravers. His son, John, succeeded him as Baron Maltravers and
Earl of Arundel, and was created Duke of Touraine, but being wounded
before Beavois, was carried prisoner to that place, where he died, and was
succeeded by his son, Humphrey, who died a minor. The title and estates
then passed to the brother of Earl John, William Fitzalan, who, in his turn,
was succeeded by his son, Thomas, who again was succeeded by his son,
William, who died in 1543. This nobleman was succeeded in his titles and
estates by his son, Henry Fitzalan, who in the four reigns of Henry VIII.,
Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, led a most eventful life, holding many

important offices, and acquitted himself nobly in all. He left issue, two
daughters (his only son having died a minor in his father’s lifetime), Joan,
married to Lord Lumley, and Mary, married to Thomas Howard, Duke of
Norfolk. But the latter lady having died after giving birth to a son, Philip
Howard, and the other, Lady Lumley, having been married twenty years
without issue, the earl entailed the estates, &c., on Lord and Lady Lumley
for their lives, and then to Philip Howard, the son of his sister Mary. Thus
ended the Fitzalan family, and from that time the titles and estates have
belonged to the ducal family of Howard.

Entrance Gate—from the Interior.

Philip Howard, so christened after Philip I., of Spain, one of his
godfathers, was only son by his first wife, Mary, daughter of the Earl of
Arundel, of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, who was beheaded for high
treason in 1572. The title of Duke of Norfolk being lost by his attainder,
Philip Howard did not enjoy it, but was Earl of Arundel and Surrey. He was
also unjustly attainted, was tried for high treason, sentenced for execution,
but ultimately died, during his imprisonment, in the Tower. This ill-fated
young nobleman had married Anne, daughter and heiress of Lord Dacres of
Gillesland, by whom he had an only child, born after he was cast into
prison, and who succeeded him. This was Thomas Howard, the celebrated

Earl of Arundel and Surrey (and afterwards Earl of Norfolk), whose
brilliant career and high attainments are matters of history. His lordship,
who is so well known as the founder of the collection of marbles, &c.,
married the Lady Alathea Talbot, daughter and one of the co-heiresses of
Gilbert Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, by whom he had issue, Henry Frederick,
Lord Mowbray and Maltravers (who succeeded him), Sir William Howard,
ancestor of the Earls of Stafford, and James, Thomas, Gilbert, and Charles,
who all died unmarried.
Henry Frederick, the eldest son, who, during his father’s lifetime, had
been called to the Upper House by the title of Baron Mowbray and
Maltravers, married the Lady Elizabeth Stuart, eldest daughter of the Duke
of Lennox, of the blood royal, for which, for a time, he incurred the
displeasure of his Majesty, and, with his lady, was placed in confinement.
He had issue, ten sons and three daughters. These sons were, Thomas, who
succeeded him; Henry; Philip, who became a cardinal, and was variously
styled Cardinal of Norfolk and Cardinal of England; Charles, who married
Mary Tattershall and founded the Greystocke line; Talbot, Edward, and
Francis, who died unmarried; Bernard, who married Catherine Tattershall;
and two others.
Thomas Howard, who succeeded his father as Earl of Arundel, Surrey,
and Norfolk, &c., had restored to him, and to the heirs male of himself and
his father, the dukedom of Norfolk and all the honours belonging to that
title. He thus became fifth Duke of Norfolk, a title which has continued
without further interruption till the present time. He died unmarried in 1677,
when the title and estates passed to his brother Henry, sixth Duke of
Norfolk, who had been previously created a peer by the title of Baron
Howard of Castle Rising, Earl of Norwich, and Earl Marshal of England.
He married, first, Lady Anne Somerset, daughter of the Marquis of
Worcester, and by her had issue, two sons and three daughters; and
secondly, Grace Bickerton, by whom he had three sons and three daughters.
Dying in 1684, he was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry Howard (who
had been summoned to Parliament in his father’s lifetime as Baron
Mowbray), as seventh Duke of Norfolk, who was one of the supporters of
the Prince of Orange. He married the Lady Mary Mordaunt, daughter of the
Earl of Peterborough, from whom he was divorced in 1700, but died
without issue in 1701, when the title and estates passed to his nephew—

Thomas, eighth Duke of Norfolk, who married Mary, daughter of Sir
Nicholas Sherburn, by whom he had no issue; and dying in 1732, was
succeeded, as ninth Duke of Norfolk, by his brother Edward, who married,
in 1727, Mary Blount, but died without issue in 1777, at the age of ninety-
one. The titles and estates then passed to a distant member of the family, his
third cousin, Charles Howard, of the Greystocke family, who thus became
tenth Duke of Norfolk. He married Catherine, daughter of John Brocholes,
Esq., and by her had issue, besides a daughter who died young, one son,
Charles, who succeeded him, as eleventh Duke of Norfolk, in 1786.

The Keep.

This nobleman, who was the restorer, or rebuilder, of Arundel Castle—a
man of considerable literary and scientific attainments—married, first,
Mary Anne Copinger, and second, Frances Scudamore, but had no issue by
either. He was succeeded by his relative, Bernard Edward Howard, as
twelfth Duke of Norfolk, who, marrying the Lady Elizabeth Belasyse,
daughter of Earl Faulconberg (from whom he was divorced), had an only
son, Henry Charles, who succeeded him in 1842.
Henry Charles, thirteenth duke, who was born in 1791, married, in
1814, the Lady Charlotte Leveson Gower, daughter of the Duke of
Sutherland (she is still living), by whom he had issue, Henry Granville, Earl

of Surrey, who succeeded him; Lord Edward George Fitzalan Howard, of
Glossop Hall, Derbyshire, created, 1869, “Baron Howard, of Glossop;”
Lord Bernard Thomas; and the Ladies Mary Charlotte and Adeliza Matilda.
His Grace died in 1856, and was succeeded as fourteenth duke by his eldest
son, Henry Granville Fitzalan-Howard (who had assumed, by royal sign-
manual, in 1842, the surname of Fitzalan before that of Howard). He
married, in 1839, Augusta Mary Minna Catherine, daughter of the first
Baron Lyons (she still survives), by whom he had issue, two sons, viz.,
Henry Fitzalan-Howard, the present Duke of Norfolk, and Lord Edward
Bernard Fitzalan-Howard; and seven daughters, viz., the Lady Victoria
Alexandrina, born 1840, and married in 1861 to James Robert Hope-Scott,
Esq., Q.C.; the Lady Minna Charlotte, born 1843; the Lady Mary Adeliza,
born 1845; the Lady Ethelreda, born 1849; the Lady Philippa, born 1852;
the Lady Anne, born 1857; and the Lady Margaret, born 1860. During the
life of this nobleman, who was universally beloved and respected, her
Majesty Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort paid a visit of three days to
Arundel Castle, where the reception was kept up with regal magnificence.
His Grace died in 1860, and was succeeded by his eldest son, then in his
thirteenth year.
The present peer, his Grace Henry Fitzalan-Howard, fifteenth Duke of
Norfolk, Earl of Arundel, Earl of Surrey, Earl of Norfolk, Baron Maltravers,
Baron Fitzalan, Baron Clun, Baron Oswestry, Premier Duke and Earl next
to the blood royal, Hereditary Earl Marshal, and Chief Butler of England,
was born on the 27th of December, 1847, and attained his majority in 1868.
His grace is unmarried. He is the patron of seven livings; but, “being a
Roman Catholic, cannot present.”
The arms of the Duke of Norfolk are—Quarterly: first, gules, on a bend
between six cross-crosslets, fitchée, argent, an escutcheon, or, charged with
a demi-lion rampant, pierced through the mouth with an arrow, within a
double tressure, flory counter-flory, all gules, for Howard; second, the arms
of England (gules, three lions passant guardant, or), charged with a label of
three points, argent, for difference, for Plantagenet; third, chequy, or and
azure, for Warren; fourth, gules, a lion rampant, argent, for Mowbray. Crest,
on a chapeau gules, turned up, ermine, a lion statant-guardant, or ducally
gorged, argent. Behind the arms two marshal’s staves in saltire, or,
enamelled at each end, sable. Supporters:—on the dexter side a lion, argent,

and on the sinister, a horse of the same, holding in his mouth a slip of oak,
fructed, proper. The motto is “Sola Virtus Invicta.”
Thus having briefly traced the history of the house of Howard, so far as
the main line connected with Arundel Castle is concerned, we turn our
attention to some of the many beauties and attractions of the domain of
Arundel.
In situation, as a fortress, few sites were so well chosen as that of
Arundel Castle. At the southern extremity of the elevated platform on which
it stands a strong wall enclosed the inner court, containing upwards of five
acres; on the north-east and south-east a precipitous dip of the hill to ninety
feet, rendered the castle inaccessible. On the remaining sides a deep fosse,
protected on the north by a double vallation, and cutting off all external
communication in that direction, secured the garrison from any sudden
incursion or surprise. In the centre rose the Donjon, or Keep, circular in
form, enormous in strength, crowning a lofty artificial mound, and
commanding a wide and uninterrupted view of all the neighbouring
approaches. “The walls, from eight to ten feet in thickness, enclosed a
nearly circular space of more than sixty feet in diameter, and of great height
—the apartments being all lit from the central well-staircase, and there
being no loopholes in the walls. This Keep—which still stands in all its
venerable and hoary age—is supposed to have been built by Alfred the
Great, and to have been recased in Norman times, when the present
doorway was made. To the same period belongs a portion of the tower near
it, and which is connected with the Keep by a covered passage carried
across the moat. The Barbican, or Bevis’s Tower, occupying the north-west
side of the ditch surrounding the Keep, has also some good Norman
features, and it, as well as the Keep covered with luxuriant ivy, and the old
entrance, built by Fitzalan, form the most interesting and picturesque
portions of the venerable place.”
The entrance to the castle at the present time is at the top of High Street.
The approach is enclosed by embattled walls with turrets, and the entrance
gateway, surmounted by a portcullis and the arms of Howard, is between
two massive embattled towers: of this gateway we give an engraving, taken
from the interior. Following the carriage-way, the visitor arrives at the
entrance to the grand quadrangle, a massive and lofty arched gateway
flanked by two towers. Passing through this gateway the appearance of the
castle is grand and imposing. On the right of the gateway is the Chapel, and

adjoining it is the Baron’s Hall, or Banqueting Chamber; on the south side
is the grand, or state entrance; and in the north-east wing is the Library, &c.
None of these buildings, however, are of ancient times.

The Library.

One of the first objects that will be noticed by the visitor is a bas-relief,
which occupies a large space in the front wall of the Alfred Saloon, next to
the Great Library. It represents Alfred the Great instituting, or founding,
trial by jury—the king himself standing in the centre surrounded by his
nobles and people, and delivering a scroll, which he holds in his hand,
bearing the words, in Saxon characters, “That man fiœbe gemot on cum
Wapentace” (That man, in every hundred (Wapentake), shall find twelve
jury). It was designed by Rossi, a sculptor of modern time.
The castle is entered from this quadrangle or court-yard, by the grand
entrance, or state entrance, as it is called. This is a fine modern doorway, of
Norman design, in a machicolated central tower of three stories in height.
Over the doorway is a large central window, on each side of which is a
colossal figure of Hospitality and Liberty respectively. Over this again are
the arms of the Howards, sculptured, and these again are surmounted by the
machicolations, parapet, &c. Immediately on entering this splendid ducal

residence, the visitor reaches the Grand-staircase leading to its various
apartments.
The Baron’s Hall, or Banqueting Chamber, is a remarkably fine, and
even gorgeous, apartment. “Its architecture, like that of the chapel, is in the
style of the fourteenth century. It is 71 feet in length, by 35 in breadth, lofty
in proportion, and, as a whole, produces a striking effect on the spectator.”
The roof is of Spanish chestnut, elaborately carved, and the sculptures
around the walls and on the windows are of elegant design. The stained-
glass windows are, however, “the grand attraction, for in these the story of
English freedom is brilliantly told. They are thirteen in number. The great
window illustrates the ratification of the great charter by King John, who
seems to pause in the act of affixing his signature to the instrument.”
Behind him are several prelates, while to his right are the Pope’s Legate and
the Archbishop of Dublin, and, to his left, Cardinal Langton. There are also
Baron Fitzwalter, the Master of the Knights Templars, the Lord Mayor, and
others. In the other windows, which were superbly executed by Eginton,
one of the best of our artists in stained glass, are full-length figures of eight
barons of the Norfolk family, who aided in procuring the charter—the
heads, however, as well as those in the large window, being portraits of
members of the Howard family of the beginning of the present century, at
which time the windows were executed. On the walls are several fine suits
of armour, &c. This magnificent hall was first opened on the 15th of June,
1815, being the 600th anniversary of the signing of the charter.
The Great Drawing-Room is a noble apartment, commanding a
magnificent and extensive view of the valley of the Arun, and the
surrounding country. In it is a large collection of family portraits, among
which are Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey, vindicating himself (“Sire, he
was my crowned king. If the authority of Parliament had placed the crown
on that stake, I would have fought for it. Let it place it on your head and
you will find me as ready in your defence”) before Henry VII. for the part
he took at the battle of Bosworth field; John, Duke of Norfolk, who fell at
Bosworth, and who is generally known as “Jocky of Norfolk,” from the
rude couplet:—
“Jocky of Norfolk, be not too bold,
For Dickon thy master is bought and sold”—

which was found written on his gate, as a warning, on the morning
when he set out on his fatal expedition; Henry, Earl of Surrey, the great poet
of his age, “who was not only the ornament of the court of Henry VIII.,
which he attended in the capacity of companion to the Duke of Richmond,
but of the still more brilliant and chivalrous court of Francis I. His travels
on the Continent were those of a scholar and knight-errant; and the vision
which he had in Agrippa’s magic mirror of his lady-love, the ‘Fair
Geraldine,’ whom he has so nobly perpetuated in verse, excited in him such
a transport of enthusiasm, that, at a tournament in Florence, he challenged
all who could handle a lance—Turk, Saracen, or cannibal—to dispute
against him her claims to the supremacy of beauty, and came off victorious:
but the well-known hatred of the tyrant Henry to all the Howards
prematurely extinguished this bright promise of excellence, and Surrey, the
last victim of the royal murderer, perished on the scaffold at the early age of
twenty-seven:”—
“Who has not heard of Surrey’s fame?
His was the hero’s soul of fire,
And his the bard’s immortal name.”

In 1547, he was beheaded on Tower Hill. One of the dark blots on
British history, was the execution of this true hero of the pen and sword.
The portraits also include those of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk (by Holbein),
who was beheaded, and his wife, Mary Fitzalan; Henry Fitzalan; Cardinal
Howard; “Belted Will Howard,” of whom we shall speak in our account of
Castle Howard; and various other members of this distinguished family.
The Dining-Room, formed out of the ancient family chapel, is
principally remarkable for its large stained-glass window, the subject of
which is the meeting of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba—the heads
being portraits of the twelfth duke and his duchess. On each side is
respectively the mercy-seat in the tabernacle, and the interior of the
tabernacle.
The Library, the building of which was commenced in 1801, is an
apartment of much magnificence. The book-cases and reading-galleries are
supported by fifteen columns, wrought out of the richest Spanish
mahogany; while the spidered roof displays a beauty of workmanship and
delicacy of carving, enriched with fruit-foliage, which have seldom been

surpassed. It is divided into several compartments for reading recesses, and
communicates with the Alfred Saloon by folded doors.
The Chapel adjoins the Baron’s Hall, and is a chaste and beautiful
apartment.
It is not necessary further to describe the interior of the castle; but it will
be well to note that a chamber over the inner gateway enjoys the
traditionary fame of having been the sleeping-place of the Empress Matilda.
It is a low square apartment, and contains a bedstead which the queen is
said to have occupied; but, unfortunately for the charm of the tradition, it is
some centuries later in date than the time in which she lived.
Under the east end of the castle is a large vault, upwards of 60 feet in
length, the massive walls of which are formed of blocks of chalk,
strengthened with ribs of stone, and are of about 7 feet in thickness. This
vault was used, of course, as a place of safety for prisoners, and a curious
instance of escape from it is recorded. It seems that in the year 1404 one
John Mot was here confined on a charge of robbery, but contrived to make
his escape. Before he could get clear away, his flight was discovered, and he
was followed. Finding himself closely pursued, he suddenly turned to the
College of the Holy Trinity, and seizing the ring attached to the gate just as
his captors were about to lay hands on him, claimed the right of sanctuary.
He was, however, forcibly seized, and carried back to prison. Knowledge of
the affair reaching the ears of the priests, two of the parties who assisted the
constable in making the seizure of Mot were summoned before the bishop,
found guilty, and “ordered to make a pilgrimage on foot to the shrine of St.
Richard at Chichester, to present an offering there according to their ability,
to be cudgelled (fustigati) five times through the church of Arundel, and
five times to recite the paternoster, ave, and creed, upon their knees before
the crucifix of the high altar.” Before the sentence, however, could be
carried into execution, the prisoner was wisely restored to the church, the
cudgelling was remitted, and offerings of burning tapers were substituted.
A word may be said about the fine old horned owls that at one time gave
renown to the Keep—owls of a peculiar breed, and about whom many
curious anecdotes have been related. At present, however, they greet the
visitors under glass, in cases; but it is understood that some of their progeny
are preparing to take the places in life of the old denizens of the time-
honoured ruin.

It will be seen that all the inhabited portions of Arundel Castle are of
comparatively recent date; they are fitted up with much judgment and taste,
but by no means gorgeously. In one of the lesser chambers are hung some
modern drawings of great merit and value, by Prout, Hunt, Copley Fielding,
David Cox, and other artists of the best days of the British school.[30]
The Keep is the great attraction of the castle and domain of Arundel.
Though now but a picturesque ruin, it has been prominent in all the internal
contests of the kingdom, from the days of Alfred the Great to the reign of
the third William. To this relic of a remote age the public are freely
admitted; and a courteous custodier is always at hand to detail its history,
and conduct through its winding and tortuous paths from base to summit.
Dating from a time certainly anterior to the Conquest, before the
application of “villainous saltpetre,” it must have been impregnable—
commanding the adjacent country on all sides, and rendering the Arun a
mere tributary to the will of its lords; it had a large share in controlling the
destinies of the kingdom during the several civil wars to which it had been
subjected. It remains one of the most picturesque of the ruins that in
England recall the memories of battles lost and won, of glories continually
claimed and resigned by rival competitors, and of heroes whose mortal
parts have been dust from ages so remote that their records are read only in
“the dim twilight of tradition.”
The historian, Tierney, states that the Keep probably comprised the
principal feature of the Saxon stronghold. It is of a circular formation, and
of immense strength. The height from the bottom of the fosse, on the
external side, was 70 feet; on the internal, 69; which, with walls and
battlements, produced an elevation altogether of 96 feet on the east; 103 on
the west. The walls varied from 8 to 10 feet, strengthened by ribs and
buttresses. The inner space, which is circular, afforded accommodation to
the garrison; in extent it varied from 59 to 67 feet in diameter. In the interior
were several chambers, converging towards a subterraneous room in the
centre. Differing from other Keeps, it contained no openings or loopholes
from which the enemy could be annoyed, and it was only from the ramparts
and battlements that the garrison could repel the assaults of the assailant.
No traces can be seen of the original Saxon entrance.
Connected with the Keep is, of course, the Well-tower. Bevis’s Tower,
the Barbican, is seen immediately underneath, while, at a short distance, is

“the Chapel of St. Mary, over the gate.”
The square building, known as the Clock Tower (introduced in the
engraving), and through which a vaulted Norman passage leads to the Keep,
dates from a period not long after the Conquest; parts of it bear unequivocal
marks of so early an origin. The upper portion of the building has been
renovated; but the lower portion remains almost as perfect as when
completed, as it is said to have been, by the first Earl of Arundel. “The
passage abutted to the fosse, and was defended by a portcullis and
drawbridge.” A window is pointed out from which, a.d. 1139, the Empress
Maud, it is said, “scolded” the King, Stephen, who besieged the castle in
which she was a guest.
The Church of St. Martin forms a portion of the Keep, and some relics
of the ancient and venerable structure yet endure. It was the oratory of the
garrison, and is “mentioned in Domesday Book as enjoying an annual rent
of twelve pence, payable by one of the burgesses of Arundel.” From a
window of an early date is obtained a view of the castle immediately
beneath; but the prospect of the adjacent country is very beautiful, not only
of the fertile land and bountiful river, but of the far-off sea; and hours may
be pleasantly and profitably spent on this mount that time has hallowed. In
bidding the pleasant theme farewell, we cannot do better than quote the old
rhyme:—
“Since William rose, and Harold fell,
There have been counts of Arundel;
And earls old Arundel shall have,
While rivers flow and forests wave.”

It is scarcely necessary to add that the grounds and park are worthy of
the castle; they are especially beautiful, varied in hill and dale—the free
river at their base—full of magnificently grown trees, and comprise eleven
hundred acres, well stocked with deer.
In the park, which was originally the hunting forest of the old Earls of
Arundel, will be noticed Hiorn’s Tower—a triangular, turreted building, of
about 50 feet in height, and designed as a prospect tower by the architect
whose name it bears. Near to it is Pugh-Dean, where, it is said, Bevis, the
Great Castellan of Arundel, and his famous horse, “Hirondelle,” are buried.
A mound, covered with a clump of Scotch fir-trees, is pointed out as his

burial-place. Near this place, too, is the site of the old chapel and hermitage
of St. James.
The old bridge over the river Arun was situated a short distance below
the present structure. It is first mentioned in the charter which Queen
Adeliza granted to the monks of the Priory de Calceto, in which lands for
their support, and an allowance of timber for repairs of the bridge, were
granted. It was entirely rebuilt in 1724, principally of stone taken from the
ruins of the adjoining hospital. In 1831 it was widened and improved.

Church of the Holy Trinity, Arundel.

The Church of the Holy Trinity. All that remains of this once famous
establishment is a square building “enclosing a square yard, partly occupied
by cloisters, and partly devoted to other purposes of a monastic
establishment.” In it are some splendid monuments to members of the noble
families who have owned the place. One of the principal is that of Thomas,

Earl of Arundel, and his countess, Beatrix, daughter of John, King of
Portugal; and another striking feature is a canopied tomb near the altar.
The Church possesses many highly interesting features, and forms a
pleasing object in the landscape, from whichever side it is seen. It is
cruciform, and consists of a nave with side aisles, a chancel, and transept;
and in the centre rises a low tower, surmounted by a diminutive spire.
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 or four monks, who continued to conduct the establishment for nearly
three centuries, until the third year of the reign of Richard II., when Richard
Fitzalan obtained a licence 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 Church of the Holy Trinity.”
At the suppression, it was endowed with a yearly revenue of £263 14s. 9d.
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 Fitzalan, 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, and 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 Fitzalans; and at those of his 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. Other stately tombs are erected to the memory of John
Fitzalan and his wife, and Thomas Arundel and his wife, “one of the eyres
of Richard Woodevyle, Earl Rivers, sister to Elizabeth, Queen of England,
sometime wife to King Edward IV.”
The chapel which contains these monuments is still in a dilapidated
state, as was the whole church—“ruinated” during the temporary possession
of the Iconoclasts of the Commonwealth—until Henry Charles, Duke of
Norfolk, restored it, and put upon it a roof, which it had long been without.
Visitors to Arundel will note near the bridge some ancient ruins.
According to the historian, Tierney, they are the remains of the Maison
Dieu, that owed its origin to the same munificence as the collegiate chapel

and church. It formed a quadrangle, which was occupied by the chapel,
refectory, and its offices, and the various chambers. There was a cloister
round the court-yard. Quoting the statutes, “the establishment,” says Mr.
Tierney, “was to consist of twenty poor men, either unmarried or widowers,
who, from age, sickness or infirmity, were unable to provide for their own
sustenance. They were to be selected from among the most deserving of the
surrounding neighbourhood, giving the preference only to the servants or
tenants of the founder and his heirs; they were to be men of moral lives and
edifying conversation, and were required, as a qualification for their
admission, to know the ‘Pater Noster,’ the ‘Ave-Maria,’ and the ‘Credo,’ in
Latin.”

Tombs of Thomas Fitzalan and Lady Beatrix, Arundel Church.

These buildings were dismantled at the time of the dissolution of the
monasteries, and no doubt suffered much at the time of the siege and sack
of Arundel, during the Civil War, by the Parliamentarians under the
command of Sir William Waller; in 1724 a large quantity of the materials
was used in the building of the bridge, that portion only being rescued
which is now seen, and which has been preserved by the Duke of Norfolk
because of the interest attached to the once sacred structure.

Arundel, with its many attractions, is barely two hours distant from
London, and within half an hour of populous Brighton; yet visits of
strangers to the old town and venerable castle are comparatively few.

PENSHURST.

P ENSHURST—the “Home” of the Sidneys—the
stately Sidneys: stately in their character, in their
careers, in their patriotism, in their heroism, in
their rectitude, and in their verse—is surely one
of the best of the Stately Homes of England to be
included in our series. The very name of
Penshurst seems to call up associations of no
ordinary character connected with that heroic
race, and with many of the most stirring incidents
of British history. With Penshurst every great
name memorable in the Augustan age of England
is linked for ever; while its venerable aspect, the
solemnity of the surrounding shades, the
primitive character of its vicinity, together with its isolated position—away
from the haunts of busy men—are in harmony with the memories it
awakens.
Here lived the earliest and bravest of the Anglo-Norman knights. Here
dwelt the ill-fated Bohuns—the three unhappy Dukes of Buckingham, who
perished in succession, one in the field and two on the scaffold. And here
flourished the Sidneys! Here, during his few brief years of absence from
turmoil in the turbulent countries of Ireland and Wales, resided the elder
Sidney, Sir Henry, who, although his fame has been eclipsed by the more
dazzling reputation of his gallant son, was in all respects good as well as

great—a good soldier, a good subject, a good master, and a good counsellor
and actor under circumstances peculiarly perilous. This is the birthplace of
“the darling of his time,” the “chiefest jewel of a crown,” the “diamond of
the court of Queen Elizabeth.” Here, too, was born—and here was interred
the mutilated body of—the “later Sidney:” he who had “set up Marcus
Brutus for his pattern,” and perished on the scaffold—a martyr for the
“good old cause,” one of the many victims of the meanest and most
worthless of his race. With the memories of these three marvellous men—
the Sidneys, Henry, Philip, and Algernon—are closely blended those of the
worthies of the two most remarkable eras in English history. Who can speak
of Penshurst without thinking of Spenser,
(“For Sidney heard him sing, and knew his voice,”)

of Shakspere, of Ben Jonson—the laureate of the place—of Raleigh, the
“friend and frequent guest” of Broke, whose proudest boast is recorded on
his tomb, that he was “the servant of Queen Elizabeth, the counsellor of
King James, and THE FRIEND of Sir Philip Sidney”—of the many other
immortal men who made the reign of Elizabeth the glory of all time?
Reverting to a period less remote, who can think of Penshurst without
speaking of the high spirits of a troubled age—
“The later Sidney, Marvel, Harrington,
Young Vane, and others, who called Milton—friend.”

Although its glory is of the past, and nearly two centuries have
intervened between the latest record of its greatness and its present state;
although it has been silent all that time—a solemn silence, broken only by
the false love-note of an unworthy minstrel, for the names of “Waller” and
“Sacharissa” discredit rather than glorify its grey walls—who does not turn
to Penshurst as to a refreshing fountain by the wayside of wearying history?

Penshurst, from the President’s Court.

The history of the descent of Penshurst to the Sidneys may be summed
up in few words—that of the Sidneys themselves will require greater space.
It was “the ancient seat of the Pencestres, or Penchesters, who settled here
in Norman times,[31] and one of whom was Sir Stephen, that famous Lord
Warden of the Five Ports, and Constable of Dover Castle, who flourished in
the reigns of Henry III. and Edward I., and who was a very learned man,
and ordered all the muniments, grants, &c., relating to Dover Castle to be
written in a fair book, which he called Castelli Feodarium, and out of which
Darell composed the history of that fortress.” Dying without male issue, his
estates were divided between his two daughters and co-heiresses, Joan, wife
of Henry Cobham, and Alice, wife of John de Columbers, to the latter of
whom fell Penshurst, &c., which was soon afterwards conveyed to Sir John
de Poultney, who (15th Edward II.) had license to embattle his mansion
houses at Penshurst and elsewhere. He was four times Lord Mayor of
London, and, dying, his widow “married Lovaines, and conveyed these
estates into that family with consent of her first husband’s immediate heirs;”
and they afterwards passed, by an heiress, to Sir Philip St. Clere, whose son
sold them to the Regent Duke of Bedford. On his decease in Paris in the
reign of Henry VI., Penshurst and other manors passed to his next brother,
Humphrey, the “good Duke of Gloucester,” after whose sad death, in 1447,

they reverted to the crown, and were, in that same year, granted to the
Staffords. On the attainder of Edward, Duke of Buckingham, Penshurst
reverted to the Crown.
That brilliant nobleman—whose principal crimes were his wealth, his
open, manly, and generous nature, and his wise criticisms of the ruinous
expenditure on the “field of the cloth of gold”—was treacherously invited
to court by the king, and, suspecting no mischief, he obeyed the summons,
and set out on his journey from Thornbury, not observing for some time that
he was closely followed by three knights of the king’s body-guard, “and a
secret power of servants-at-arms.” His suspicions were first awakened at
Windsor, where he lodged for the night, “the same three knights lying close
by,” and where he was treated with marked disrespect by the king’s
gentleman harbinger. From Windsor, Buckingham rode on to Westminster,
and then took his barge to row down to Greenwich, where the court then
was, calling, however, on his way, at York House, to see Cardinal Wolsey,
who was denied to him. “Well, yet will I drink of my lord cardinal’s wine as
I pass,” said the duke: “and then a gentleman of my lord cardinal’s brought
the duke with much reverence into the cellar, where the duke drank; but
when he saw and perceived no cheer to him was made, he changed colour,
and departed.” Passing forward down the Thames, as he neared the City, his
barge was hailed and boarded by Sir Henry Marney, captain of the body-
guard, who, in the king’s name, attached him as a traitor. He was at once
carried on shore and taken through Thames Street to the Tower, “to the
great astonishment and regret of the people, to whom he was justly
endeared.” This was on the 16th of April, 1521. On the 13th of May he was
put on his mock trial and was condemned. “I shall never sue the king for
life,” said he; and he kept his word. On the 17th he was executed, without
having once supplicated his brutal king to spare the life he was unjustly
taking away. “He was as undaunted in sight of the block as he had been
before his judges; and he died as brave men die—firmly and meekly, and
without bravado.” His death was the grief of the people. “God have mercy
on his soul, for he was a most wise and noble prince, and the mirrour of all
courtesie”—that was written of him at the time.
By this detestable piece of royal treachery Henry became possessed of
the estates of the duke, and held them in his own hands for several years,
enlarging Penshurst Park, and reaping benefit from his unhallowed
acquisitions. By Edward VI., Penshurst, with its appurtenances, was

“granted to Sir Ralph Fane, who, within two years, was executed as an
accomplice of the Protector Somerset.”
Soon after this, the young monarch gave Penshurst, with other adjoining
estates, to Sir William Sidney, one of the heroes of Flodden Field, “who had
been his tutor, chamberlain, and steward of his household from his birth to
his coronation.” Thus Penshurst came into the family of the Sidneys,
concerning whom we will proceed to give some particulars.
The earliest member of the family of whom aught authentic is known is
Sir William Sidney, who lived in the reign of Stephen. His son, Sir Simon
(1213), married Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas Delamere; and their son
again, Sir Roger (1239), married Eleanor, daughter of Sir John Sopham, by
whom he had issue two sons, Sir Henry (1268), who succeeded him, and
Simon; and a daughter, married to Sir John Wales. Sir Henry Sidney
married Maud, daughter of Robert d’Abernon, and granddaughter of Sir
John d’Abernon. By her he had issue four sons and two daughters, and was
succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Henry Sidney, who, marrying a daughter of
Sir Ralph Hussey, died in 1306, and was succeeded by his son, Sir William
Sidney, who took to wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Richard Ashburnham,
by whom he had three sons, viz.: William, who married a daughter of John
de Altaripa, but died without heirs male; John, who died young; and another
John, who succeeded him, and marrying Helen, daughter of Robert
Batisford, was the father, by her, of Sir William Sidney. This Sir William
took to wife Joanna, daughter of William Brokhull, who married, first,
Margaret Orre, and second, Isabell. By his first wife he had issue two sons,
John, who succeeded him, and William (of whom presently). This John
Sidney had a son John, who married Isabell Payteuine, by whom he had an
only daughter and heiress Johanna, who married William Appesley. William
Sydney, by his wife, Alicia, daughter and heiress of John Clumford, had one
son, William, and four daughters. This William Sidney married Cicely,
daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Michell, and Margaret, his wife, who
was daughter and heiress of Matham. He was succeeded by his son,
William Sidney, who married twice. By his first wife, Isabell St. John, he
had a son, William, whose line ended in co-heiresses, married to William
Vuedall and John Hampden; and by his second wife, Thomasen, daughter
and heiress of John Barrington, and widow of Lonsford (and who, after
Sidney’s death, became wife of Lord Hopton), he had issue a son, Nicholas

Sidney, who married Anne, cousin and co-heiress of Charles Brandon, Duke
of Suffolk.

North and West Fronts.

By her he had a son, Sir William Sidney, who married Anne, daughter
of Hugh Pagenham, and by her had, besides Sir Henry, who succeeded him,
four daughters, viz.: Frances, who became Countess of Sussex by her
marriage to Thomas Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex, Viscount Fitzwalter, Lord
Egremont and Burnell, Lord Chamberlain, Knight of the Garter, and one of
the Privy Council; Mary, married to Sir William Dormer; Lucy, married to
Sir James Harrington; and Anne, married to Sir William Fitzwilliam. This
Sir William Sidney was made a knight, 3rd Henry VIII., at the burning of
Conquest, and a banneret on Flodden Field, 5th Henry VIII. He was
chamberlain to Prince Edward (afterwards Edward VI.), and also steward of
his household; and his wife was “governesse of the sayd prince while he
was in his nurse’s handes.” To him it was that Penshurst was given by
Edward VI. as a mark of affectionate regard. Dying in 1553, he was
succeeded by his son, Sir Henry Sidney, who was a Knight of the Garter,
Lord President of Wales, and one of the Privy Council; he married Lady
Mary, eldest daughter of John, Duke of Northumberland, and by her had
issue “the incomparable” Sir Philip, and two other sons, Robert and

Thomas, and a daughter, Mary, married to Henry Herbert, Earl of
Pembroke. This Henry Sidney was knighted, 3rd Edward VI., and was,
when only twenty-two years of age, sent by that amiable young monarch as
ambassador to the French court. Under Queen Mary he was Lord Treasurer
of Ireland, and Lord Chief Justice, and under Elizabeth was, in 1564, made
Lord President of the Council in the Marches of Wales; Knight of the Garter
in 1564; and was twice Lord Deputy of Ireland and Lord President of
Wales.
Sir Henry Sidney had been brought up and educated with Edward VI.,
“being companion and many times the bedfellow of the prince;” and that
young king died in his arms. This death so affected Sir Henry, “that he
returned to Penshurst to indulge his melancholy. Here he soon afterwards
sheltered the ruined family of his father-in-law, the Duke of
Northumberland, in whose fall he would in all probability have been
implicated but for his retirement.” He died at Ludlow, the seat of his
government, in 1586—his heart being there buried, but his body was
interred with great solemnity, by the queen’s order, at Penshurst. The
concurring testimony of all historians and biographers, such as Camden, Sir
Richard Cox, Campian (in his “History of Ireland”), Hollinshed, Anthony-
à-Wood, and Lloyd (in his “State Worthies”), proves the extraordinary
courage, abilities, and virtue of Sir Henry Sidney. These qualities made him
the most direct and clear politician. He seems to have been incapable of
intrigue and the supple arts of the court. “His dispatches are full, open, and
manly; and Ireland, and perhaps Wales, to this day experience the good
effects of his wise government.”
“As the father was, so was the son;” the son being Sir Philip Sidney, to
whom we have alluded. Sir Philip was born at Penshurst, November 29th,
1554. His life was one scene of romance from its commencement to its
close. His early years were spent in travel; and on his return he was married
to the daughter of Sir Francis Walsingham, a lady of many
accomplishments, and of “extraordinary handsomeness,” but his heart was
given to another. The Lady Penelope Devereux won it, and kept it till he fell
on the field of Zutphen. Family regards had forbidden their marriage, but
she was united to the immortal part of him, and that contract has not yet
been dissolved. She is still the Philoclea of the “Arcadia,” and Stella in the
poems of “Astrophel.” It is unnecessary to follow in detail the course of Sir

Philip Sidney’s life. There is no strange inconsistency to reason off, no stain
to clear, no blame to talk away.

View from the Garden.

We describe it when we name his accomplishments; we remember it as
we would a dream of uninterrupted glory. His learning, his beauty, his
chivalry, his grace, shed a lustre on the most glorious reign recorded in the
English annals. England herself, “by reason of the widespread fame of Sir
Philip Sidney,” rose exalted in the eyes of foreign nations—he was the idol,
the darling of his own. For with every sort of power at his command, it was
his creed to think all vain but affection and honour, and to hold the simplest
and cheapest pleasures the truest and most precious. The only displeasure
he ever incurred at court was when he vindicated the rights and
independence of English commoners in his own gallant person against the
arrogance of English nobles in the person of the Earl of Oxford. For a time,
then, he retired from the court, and sought rest in his loved simplicity. He
went to Wilton; and there, for the amusement of his dear sister, Mary,
Countess of Pembroke, he wrote, between the years 1579 and 1581, the
“Arcadia,” a work whose strange fortune it has been to be too highly valued
in one age, and far too underrated in another. Immediately after its
publication it was received with unbounded applause. “From it was taken

the language of compliment and love; it gave a tinge of similitude to the
colloquial and courtly dialect of the time; and from thence its influence was
communicated to the lucubrations of the poet, the historian, and the divine.”
The book is a mixture of what has been termed the heroic and the pastoral
romance, interspersed with interludes and episodes, and details the various
and marvellous adventures of two friends, Musidorus and Pyrocles. It was
not intended to be published to the world, but was written merely to
pleasure the Countess of Pembroke—“a principal ornament to the family of
the Sidneys.” The famous epitaph, usually ascribed to the pen of Ben
Jonson, though in reality, it appears, written by William Browne, the author
of “Britannia’s Pastorals,” and preserved in a MS. volume of his poems in
the Lansdowne Collection in the British Museum, although so well known,
will bear repeating here:—
“Underneath this sable hearse
Lies the subject of all verse,
Sidney’s sister! Pembroke’s mother
Death, ere thou hast slain another
Fair, and learn’d, and good as she,
Time shall throw a dart at thee!
Marble piles let no man raise
To her name for after-days;
Some kind woman, born as she,
Reading this, like Niobe,
Shall turn marble, and become
Both her mourner and her tomb.”

Again, however, Sidney returned to court, and his queen seized every
opportunity to do him honour. He received her smiles with the same high
and manly gallantry, the same plain and simple boldness, with which he had
taken her frowns. In the end, Elizabeth, who, to preserve this “jewel of her
crown,” had forcibly laid hands on him when he projected a voyage to
America with Sir Francis Drake, and placed her veto on his quitting
England when he was offered the crown of Poland, could not restrain his
bravery in battle when circumstances called him there. At Zutphen, on the
22nd of September, 1586, he received a mortal wound; and here occurred
the touching incident to which, perhaps, more than to any other
circumstance, Sir Philip is indebted for his heroic fame. It is thus related by
his friend and biographer, Fulke Greville, Lord Broke:—“In his sad
progress, passing along by the rest of the army, where his uncle, the general,
was, and being thirsty from excess of bleeding, he called for drink, which

was presently brought him; but, as he was putting the bottle to his mouth,
he saw a poor soldier carried along, who had been wounded at the same
time, ghastly, casting up his eyes at the bottle; which Sir Philip perceiving,
took it from his head before he drank, and delivered to the poor man with
these words: ‘Thy necessity is yet greater than mine.’ He lived in great pain
for many days after he was wounded, and died on the 17th of October,
1586.” The close of his life affords a beautiful lesson. “Calmly and steadily
he awaited the approach of death. His prayers were long and fervent; his
bearing was indeed that of a Christian hero.” He had a noble funeral; kings
clad themselves in garments of grief: a whole people grieved for the loss of
the most accomplished scholar, the most graceful courtier, the best soldier,
and the worthiest man of the country and the age. He was buried in state, in
the old Cathedral of St. Paul, on the 16th of February. Both Universities
composed verses to his memory, and so general was the mourning for him,
that, “for many months after his death, it was accounted indecent for any
gentleman of quality to appear at court or in the city in any light or gaudy
apparel.”
We may place implicit faith in the testimony of the contemporaries of
Sir Philip Sidney; and by all of them he is described as very near perfection.
Their praises must have been as sincere as they were hearty; for his fortune
was too poor to furnish him with the means to purchase them with other
than gifts of kindly zeal, affectionate sympathy, cordial advice, and
generous recommendations to more prosperous men. From Spenser himself
we learn that Sidney
“First did lift my muse out of the floor.”

In his dedication of the “Ruins of Time” to Sidney’s sister, he speaks of
her brother as “the hope of all learned men, and the patron of my young
muse.” “He was,” writes Camden, “the great glory of his family, the great
hope of mankind, the most lively pattern of virtue, and the darling of the
learned world.”

The Baron’s Court.

Sir Philip, dying without issue, was succeeded by his brother, Sir Robert
Sidney, who was created Lord Sidney of Penshurst, and afterwards Viscount
Lisle and Earl of Leicester, and a Knight of the Garter, by James I. He died
at Penshurst in July, 1626, and was succeeded in his title and estates by his
son, Robert, as second Earl of Leicester. This nobleman was “several times
ambassador to foreign courts, and in 1641 was appointed Lord-Lieutenant
of Ireland, but, through some unfounded aspersions cast against his fidelity
and honour, he was never permitted to seat himself in his new station, and
was ultimately dispossessed of it.” He retired in disgust to Penshurst, where
he spent his time in literary retirement, for he was well read in the classics,
and spoke Latin, French, Italian, and Spanish, and purchased most of the
curious books in those languages, “and several learned men made him
presents of their works.” He remained in retirement at Penshurst during the
domination of the Parliament and the rule of the Protector, and died there in
November, 1677, in the eighty-second year of his age. His lordship, who
married the Lady Dorothea Percy, had fourteen children, six sons and eight
daughters. His eldest son, Philip, succeeded to the title and estates, and
lived in troubled times the life of an easy gentleman. Not so the second son,
Algernon, the famous scion of the Sidneys, whose name is scarcely less
renowned in history than that of his great-uncle, Sir Philip. Of the
daughters, Lady Dorothea became Countess of Sunderland, and she was the

famous “Sacharissa” of the poet Waller. Waller wooed her in vain; she
estimated the frivolous poet at his true value. He called her “Sacharissa—a
name, as he used to say pleasantly, derived from saccharum, sugar.”
Sacharissa and her lover met long after the spring of life, and on her asking
him “when he would write such fine verses on her again?” the poet
ungallantly replied, “Oh, madam, when you are as young again!” Algernon
Sidney was born at Penshurst, in 1621. He had scarcely reached the age of
manhood when he was called upon to play his part in the mighty drama
then acting before the world. He joined the Parliament, and became a busy
soldier—serving with repute in Ireland, where he was “some time
Lieutenant-General of the Horse and Governor of Dublin,” until Cromwell
assumed the position of a sovereign, when Sidney retired in disgust to the
family seat in Kent, and began to write his celebrated “Discourses on
Government.” At the Restoration he was abroad, and “being so noted a
republican,” thought it unsafe to return to England; for seventeen years after
this event he was a wanderer throughout Europe, suffering severe
privations, “exposed (according to his own words) to all those troubles,
inconveniences, and mischiefs into which they are liable who have nothing
to subsist upon, in a place farre from home, wheare no assistance can
possibly be expected, and wheare I am known to be of a quality which
makes all lowe and meane wayes of living shamefull and detestible.” The
school of adversity failed to subdue the proud spirit of the republican; and
on his return to his native country, 1677, at the entreaty of his father, “who
desired to see him before he died,” the “later Sidney” became a marked
man, whom the depraved Charles and his minions were resolved to
sacrifice. He was accused of high treason, implicated in the notorious Rye
House Plot, carried through a form of trial on the 21st of November, and
beheaded on Tower Hill on the 8th of December, 1683. His execution was a
judicial murder.
Philip, third earl, lived to a great age, eighty-two, and dying in 1696,
was succeeded by his grandson, John, who, dying unmarried, was
succeeded successively by two of his brothers; the last earl, Jocelyn, died in
1748, without any legitimate issue. He, however, left a natural daughter,
afterwards married to Mr. Streatfield, to whom he devised the whole of his
estates. His next elder brother, Colonel Thomas Sidney, who died before
him, had, however, left two daughters, to whom the estate properly
devolved as co-heiresses; and after a long course of litigation their right was

established, and the guardians of the young lady found it necessary to
consent to a compromise (sanctioned by Act of Parliament) with the
husbands of the two co-heiresses. In the division of the property, Penshurst
passed to the younger of the co-heiresses, Elizabeth, wife of William Perry,
Esq. (who assumed the name of Sidney), of Turville Park,
Buckinghamshire, who repaired the mansion, and added to its collection of
pictures. He died in 1757, and his widow, Mrs. Perry-Sidney, was left in
sole possession. This lady, after the death of her elder sister, Lady Sherrard,
purchased most of the family estates which had fallen to that lady’s share. A
claim to the estates and title of Earl of Leicester was made by a son of the
countess of the last earl (Jocelyn), born after her separation from her
husband, but was unsuccessful.
Mrs. Perry-Sidney had an only son, Algernon Perry-Sidney, who died
during her lifetime, but left two daughters, his and her co-heiresses, to the
elder of whom, Elizabeth, who was married to Bysshe Shelley, Esq.,
Penshurst passed. Their son, Sir John Shelley Sidney, Bart., inherited
Penshurst and the manors and estates in Kent; he was created a baronet in
1818. He was succeeded as second baronet by his son, Sir Philip Charles
Sidney, D.C.L., G.C.H., &c., who was an equerry to the king. He was born
in 1800, and in 1825 married the Lady Sophia Fitzclarence, one of the
daughters of his Majesty King William IV. and Mrs. Jordan, and sister to the
Earl of Munster. In 1835 he was raised to the peerage by William IV., by the
title of Baron de L’Isle and Dudley. By his wife, the Lady Sophia
Fitzclarence (who died in 1837), his lordship had issue one son, the present
peer, and three daughters, the Honourable Adelaide Augusta Wilhelmina,
married to her cousin, the Honourable Frederick Charles George
Fitzclarence (who has assumed the name of Hunlocke), son of the first Earl
of Munster; the Honourable Ernestine Wellington, married to Philip
Percival, Esq.; and the Honourable Sophia Philippa.
The present noble owner of Penshurst, Philip Sidney, second Baron de
L’Isle and Dudley, and a baronet, was born in 1828. He was educated at
Eton, and was an officer in the Royal Horse Guards. He is a Deputy-
Lieutenant of Kent and of Yorkshire, and Hereditary Visitor of Sidney-
Sussex College, Cambridge. His lordship, who succeeded his father in
1851, married, in 1850, Mary, only daughter of Sir William Foulis, Bart., of
Ingleby Manor, and has issue living, by her, four sons, the Honourable
Philip, the heir-presumptive to the title, born 1853; the Honourable

Algernon, born 1854: the Honourable Henry, born 1858; and the
Honourable William, born 1859; and one daughter, the Honourable Mary
Sophia, born 1851.
The arms of Lord de L’Isle and Dudley are, quarterly, first and fourth,
or, a phoon, azure, for Sidney; second and third, sable, on a fesse engrailed,
between three whelk shells, or, a mullet for difference, for Shelley. Crests,
first, a porcupine, statant, azure, quills collar and chain, or, for Sidney;
second, a griffin’s head erased, argent, ducally gorged, or, for Shelley.
Supporters, dexter, a porcupine, azure, quills collar and chain, or; sinister, a
lion, queue fourchée, vert. Motto: “Quo Fata Vocant.”

The Village and Entrance to Churchyard.

Penshurst, or, as it is called, Penshurst House, or Castle, or Place, “the
seat of the Sidneys,” adjoins the village to which it gives a name. It is
situated in the weald of Kent, nearly six miles south-west of Tunbridge, and
about thirty miles from London. The neighbourhood is remarkably
primitive. As an example of the prevailing character of the houses, we have
copied a group that stands at the entrance of the churchyard—a small
cluster of quiet cottages (recently, however, rebuilt upon the old model),
behind which repose the rude forefathers of the hamlet, with brave knights
of imperishable renown, and near which is an elm of prodigious size and

age, that has seen generations after generations flourish and decay. The
sluggish Medway creeps lazily round the park, which consists of about 400
acres, finely wooded, and happily diversified with hill and dale. A double
row of beech-trees of some extent preserves the name of “Sacharissa’s
Walk,” and a venerable oak, called “Sidney’s Oak,” the trunk of which is
hollowed by time, is pointed out as the veritable tree that was planted on the
day of Sir Philip’s birth; of which Rare Ben Jonson thus writes:—
“That taller tree of which a nut we set
At his great birth when all the muses met;”—

to which Waller makes reference as “the sacred mark of noble Sidney’s
birth;” concerning which Southey also has some lines; and from which a
host of lesser poets have drawn inspiration.

The Record Tower and the Church, from the Garden.

Until within the last thirty or forty years Penshurst House was in a sadly
dilapidated state. Its utter ruin, indeed, appeared a settled thing, until Lord
de L’Isle set himself to the task of its restoration, and under his admirable
direction it rapidly assumed its ancient character—a combination of several
styles of architecture, in which the Tudor predominated. One of our views is
of the mansion, from the principal approach through the park. In another

view the west front is shown, the north front being seen in short
perspective; on the left is “Sir Henry’s Tower,” containing his arms, and an
inscription stating that he was “Lord Deputie General of the Realm of
Ireland in 1579.” This tower terminates the north wing, in which is the
principal entrance, by an ancient gateway, leading through one of the
smaller courts to the great hall. Over this gateway is an antique slab, setting
forth that “The most religious and renowned Prince, Edward the Sixt, Kinge
of England, France, and Ireland, gave this house of Pencestre with the
manors, landes and appurtenaynces thereunto belonginge to, unto his
trustye and well-beloved servant, Syr William Sidney, Knight Banneret.”
We cannot do better than ask our readers to accompany Mr. Parker in
his tour through the house. Ascending the staircase on one side of the hall,
the company passed through the solar or lord’s chamber, at one end of
which Mr. Parker thought the chapel had been originally screened off, and
that it was changed into a ball-room in the reign of Queen Anne. The
Buckingham Building, which was next visited, was found to have been
admirably restored, although it had fallen into a sad state of ruin. Fragments
of one of the old windows, however, were discovered, and these enabled the
architect to restore it completely. Mr. Parker considered it to be one of the
most beautiful instances of restoration he had seen. It gave a most vivid
idea of its original state. The company then descended into the lower
chamber or parlour of the house of the time of Edward III., which was
perfectly preserved, and an excellent example of a mediæval vaulted
substructure. Passing to the Elizabethan house, the company entered a suite
of rooms elegantly furnished, and containing many exceedingly interesting
objects. The chairs were of the time of Charles II., of English manufacture,
and the best specimens of that date that could be found. There were also a
couch of the same period, and an Augsburg clock of the seventeenth
century, some very old and valuable paintings, and choice cabinets of
carved ebony. Among other curiosities was an illustration of the funeral
procession of Sir Philip Sidney. Mr. Parker then drew attention to the
exterior architectural style of the Buckingham Building, added in the time
of Richard II., and admirably restored by the architect. The recent
restoration of the Elizabethan Building had also been ably done. The
windows were especially noticeable, by the skilful manner in which the
work had been executed after the style of fragments of the old work. The

Elizabethan front was also an object of much interest. The exterior
architecture in the servants’ court was a noble composition, full of interest.

The Hall and Minstrels’ Gallery.

Thus the “restorations” have been made in good taste and with sound
judgment; and the seat of the Sidneys has regained its rank as one of the
finest and most extensive edifices in the county of Kent.
In the interior the “Hall” is remarkably fine and interesting, with good
architectural features. The pointed timber roof, upon which the slates are
laid, is supported by a series of grotesque life-size corbels; and the screen of
the gallery is richly carved and panelled. The gallery—“The Minstrels’
Gallery”—fills the side opposite the dais, and the Gothic windows are
narrow and lofty. Every object, indeed, calls to mind and illustrates the age
of feudalism. The oak tables, on which retainers feasted, still occupy the
hall, and in its centre are the huge dogs in an octagonal enclosure, beneath
the louvre, or lanthorn, in the roof, which formerly permitted egress to the
smoke.
“On each side of the hall,” writes Mr. Parker, “were two tables and
benches, which, if not actually contemporaneous with it, were certainly
among the earliest pieces of furniture remaining in England. There was no

doubt a similar—or probably a more ornamental—one on the daïs at the
upper end of the hall where the Elizabethan table now stood, which was
used by the lord and his more honoured guests, the side tables in the lower
part of the hall being for the domestics and retainers, and guests of that
class. One end of the daïs had been altered, so that the original arrangement
could not be seen; but there would necessarily be at one end the sideboard,
or buffet, filled with plate, arranged on shelves to be well displayed, whilst
it also formed a sort of cupboard, with doors which could be closed and
locked. This piece of furniture was usually placed in the recess formed by a
bay window in halls of the fifteenth century, but it was doubtful whether the
bay window was in use as early as the fourteenth. At the opposite end of the
daïs was the door to the staircase of the solar or upper chamber, used as the
withdrawing-room for the ladies after dinner; and by its side there was
another door leading to the cellar. This was originally the lower chamber
under the solar, but afterwards there was often a short passage to the cellar,
which was sometimes underground, and the original cellar, or lower
chamber, became the parlour. But there were always two chambers, one
over the other, behind the daïs, the two together often not reaching so high
as the roof of the hall. The upper room was the lord’s chamber, from which
there was usually a look-out into the hall, as a check to the more riotous
proceedings after the lord and his family or his guests had retired; or for the
lords to see that the guests were assembled before descending with his
family into the hall. In the centre of the hall was the original hearth or
reredos, almost the only one, he believed, remaining. By the side of it were
the andirons, or fire-dogs, for arranging logs of wood upon the hearth, and
over it was an opening in the roof, with a small ornamented turret to cover
it, called a smoke-louvre, which unfortunately had been removed, after
having been previously Italianised and spoilt. The custom of having a large
fire of logs of wood in the hall continued long after fire-places and
chimneys were used in the other chambers; and it was a mistake to suppose
that they were unknown in this country until the fifteenth century. There
were many fire-places and chimneys of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
in the chambers, but it was not customary to use them in the hall before the
fifteenth. In spite of all the modern contrivances for warming rooms, it
might be doubted whether for warming a large and lofty hall it was possible
to obtain more heat from the same quantity of fuel than was obtained from
the open fire, and where the space was so large and the roof so high that no

practical inconvenience could be felt from the smoke, which naturally
ascended and escaped by the louvre.”
Leaving the hall, the Ball-room is entered; it is long and narrow, the
walls being covered with family portraits—some original, some copies.
Queen Elizabeth’s room succeeds: it contains much of the furniture,
tapestry-covered, that was placed there when the virgin queen visited the
mansion. In one corner is an ancient mandoline; some portraits of the chiefs
of the heroic race are here; and here is a singular picture, representing
Queen Elizabeth dancing with the Earl of Leicester. The family portraits are
gathered in the “Picture Gallery;” it contains no others; none but a member
of it has been admitted with one exception—that of Edward VI., who gave
the estate to the Sidneys. Among them are several of Sir Philip and
Algernon Sidney, one of Sir Philip’s sister, the Countess of Pembroke, to
whom he addressed the “Arcadia,” and who is immortalised in the epitaph
we have just given, and one by Lely of the “Sacharissa” of the muse of
Waller. A small chamber in the mansion contains, however, a few treasures
of rarer value than all its copies of “fair women and brave men.” Among
some curious family relics and records is a lock of Sir Philip Sidney’s hair;
it is of a pale auburn. A lock of the hair of the ill-fated Algernon is also with
it, and in tint nearly resembles that of his illustrious great-uncle.
There are many other relics of interest and value scattered throughout
the mansion, but towards the close of the last century a grand collection of
ancient armour, worn by generations of the Sidneys, richly emblazoned and
inlaid, was sold as old iron that cumbered one of the rooms of the house;
while MSS. of inestimable worth, including correspondence with the
leading worthies of many centuries, mysteriously disappeared, and were
probably consumed as waste paper, useful only for lighting fires.
The church at Penshurst is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It
immediately adjoins the park, and is connected, by a private walk, with the
gardens of the mansion. It is an ancient and very venerable structure,
containing many monuments to the Sidneys, and to members of the families
of Dragnowt, Cambridge, Egerton, Head, Darkenol, Pawle, and Yden. The
most interesting and beautifully wrought of the tombs is to the memory of
Sir William Sidney, Knight Banneret, Chamberlain and Steward to Edward
VI., and Lord of the Manor of Penshurst, who died in 1553. It stands in a
small chapel at the west end of the chancel, and at the foot of the tomb is a
very antique figure, carved in marble, supposed to be a memorial to Sir

Stephen de Pencestre. Below is the vault which contains the dust of
generations of the Sidneys. Sir William Sidney’s monument is a fine
example of art, elaborately and delicately sculptured; it contains a long
inscription, engraved on a brass tablet, the lettering in which is as clear and
as sharp as if it were the work of yesterday. The roof of this chapel is
peculiarly light and elegant. In both exterior and interior it is highly
picturesque. The oak gallery is one of the earliest erections of the kind that
followed the Reformation. Mr. Parker, in his address to the Archæological
Society, thus spoke of the church:—“It exhibited specimens of the
architecture of various periods, and is interesting as the burial-place of the
ancient families that inhabited the mansion. The north side was of the time
of Henry III., and was probably built by Sir Stephen Penchester; the south
side in the time of Edward III. The chancel chapel at the end of the south
aisle was the burial-place of the Pulteney family. There were also two
chantry chapels on the north side, one of the time of Edward I., and the
other of the time of Henry VI. Amongst the other interesting monuments
and tablets there is one commemorative of the late illustrious Lord
Hardinge.”
In all respects, therefore, a visit to Penshurst—now by railroad within
an hour’s distance of the metropolis—may be described as a rare
intellectual treat, opening a full and brilliant page of history, abundant in
sources of profitable enjoyment to the antiquary, affording a large
recompense to the lover or the professor of Art, and exhibiting nature under
a vast variety of aspects.[32]

WARWICK CASTLE.

W ARWICK CASTLE holds foremost rank among
the Stately Homes of England, both from its
historical associations, and the important
positions which, in every age, its lords have
occupied in the annals of our country. Situated in
one of the most romantic and beautiful districts of
a fertile and productive shire, overlooking the
“sweet-flowing Avon,” and retaining all its
characteristics of former strength and grandeur,
Warwick Castle is renowned among the most
interesting remains of which the kingdom can
boast. Of its original foundation, like that of other
of our older strongholds, nothing is really known,
although much is surmised. It is said to have been
a Celtic settlement, converted into a fortress by
the Roman invaders. However this may be—and
there were several ancient British and Roman
roads and stations in the county—it is not our
purpose to inquire. It will suffice to say that at the
time of the Roman conquest of Warwickshire,
which is said to have occurred about the year 50,
the county was occupied by two tribes of ancient
Britons, the Cornavii and Dobuni, the boundary between these territories

being, it would seem, the river Avon. Near the Avon, relics of frontier
fortresses on either side have—as at Brownsover, Brailes, Burton Dassett,
Brinklow, &c.,—been found; the principal British and Roman roads being
the Icknield Street, the Fosse Way, and Watling Street. Warwick is believed,
and not without reason, to have been one of these frontier fortresses; its
situation would seem to lend strength to the supposition. In Anglo-Saxon
times, Warwick formed a part of the kingdom of Mercia, the capital of
which was at Repton, in the neighbouring county of Derby. At that period it
“fell under the dominion of Warremund, who rebuilt it, and called it
Warrewyke, after his own name.” Having been taken and destroyed by the
Danes, it “so rested,” says Dugdale, “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
dungeon, for resistance of the enemy, upon a hill of earth, artificially raised
near the river side;” and this formed the nucleus of the present building. In
1016 it is stated to have again suffered from an attack by the Danes, who
nearly demolished the fortifications of the castle and did great damage to
the town. At the time of making the Domesday survey, Warwick was a royal
burgh, and “contained 261 houses, and with its castle was regarded as a
place of much consequence; for orders were issued by the Conqueror to
Turchel to repair and fortify the town and castle of Warwick. This was
carried into effect, by surrounding the town with a strong wall and ditch,
and by enlarging the castle and strengthening its fortifications.”
In 1172 (19th Henry II.), Warwick Castle was provisioned and
garrisoned at an expense of £10 (which would be equivalent to about £200
of our present money), on behalf of the king; and during those troublous
times it remained about three years in his hands. In 1173 a sum equal to
about £500 of our money was paid to the soldiers in the castle; and in the
following year, the building requiring considerable repair, about £50 was
laid out upon it, and a considerable sum was paid to the soldiers who
defended it for the king. In 1191 it was again repaired, and also in the reign
of King John. In the 48th of Henry III. (1263), William Mauduit, Earl of
Warwick, was surprised by the adherents of Simon de Montfort, then
holding Kenilworth, and the walls of the castle were completely destroyed;
indeed, so complete was the devastation, that in 1315 “it was returned in an
inquisition as worth nothing excepting the herbage in the ditches, valued at

6s. 8d.” In 1337 (12th Edward III.) a new building was commenced, and in
that year a royal licence was granted for the founding of a chantry chapel in
the castle. The building was commenced by Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of
Warwick, whose monument is preserved in the Beauchamp Chapel. In 1394
(17th Richard II.) Guy’s Tower is said to have been completed by Thomas
Beauchamp, second son of the last named Thomas, at a cost of £395 5s. 2d.,
and by him to have been named “Guy’s Tower.” In the reign of James I. a
sum of about £20,000 was expended by the then owner of the castle, Fulke
Greville, Lord Broke, “in making it habitable and restoring it to its former
importance.” From this time downwards, the castle has undergone many
alterations, and so-called “beautifyings,” at the hands of its different
owners; but, despite all, it retained its ancient grandeur and its most
interesting features, and was, as Sir Walter Scott has said, “the fairest
monument of ancient and chivalrous splendour which remains uninjured by
time.”

The Castle, from the Temple Field.

And now as to its long line of illustrious and valiant owners.
Passing over the whimsical list of earls, &c., in Rous’s Roll, beginning
with “King Guthelyne, about the sixth of Kinge Alexander the greate

conqueror,” and “Kinge Gwydered, who began to reigne the 4th yere from
the birth of our Lord,” reminding one very forcibly of the “Promptuaire des
Medalles,” which commences the series with those of “Adam” and of
“Heva vx Adam,”—the first we need even hint at, so obscure is the matter,
is Rohan de Arden, who is stated to have married a daughter and heiress of
“Æneas, Earl of Warwick, in the time of the Saxons,” and to have
succeeded to that title and estates. Rohan de Arden is said to have lived in
the reigns of Alfred and Edward the Elder, and to have been succeeded by
the “renowned Guy,” Earl of Warwick (the legend connected with him will
be noticed on subsequent pages), who had married his only daughter and
heiress, Felicia. This Sir Guy “is said to have been son of Syward, Lord of
Wallingford, which possession Guy also enjoyed.” “He was often in
conflicts with the Danes in defence of his country; did many brave exploits;
and, lastly, as the story goes, after his return from the Holy Land, retired
from the world, and turn’d hermit, and lived in an adjacent cave, now called
‘Guy’s Cliff,’ wherein he died, and was buried in a chapel there, anno 929,
aged about seventy years, leaving issue, by Felicia his wife, Reynborne,”
who succeeded him, and “married Leonora, or Leoneta, daughter to King
Athelstan.” From him the descent is said to have been continued in regular
succession through father and son (Wegeat or Weyth, Wygod, Alcuin or
Aylwin, &c.) to Turchel, who was earl at the time of the Norman Conquest,
and who was allowed by that monarch to retain possession of the estates,
but was ultimately deprived of both them and of the earldom.
The castle having been strengthened and enlarged, its custody was given
to Henry de Newburgh, a Norman, who had accompanied the Conqueror,
and to him was afterwards granted all the possessions of Turchel de
Warwick, and he was made Earl of Warwick. By some he is said to have
married the daughter of Turchel, but he is also stated to have married three
other ladies. He was succeeded by his son, Roger Newburgh, as second Earl
of Warwick, who married Gundred, daughter of the second Earl Warren, by
whom he had a son, William, who succeeded him as third earl, and dying
without issue, was succeeded by his brother Walleran as fourth earl, who
married twice—first, Margaret de Bohun, and second, Alice de Harcourt.
By his first wife he had two sons, Henry, who succeeded him, and Walleran.
Henry de Newburgh, fifth Earl of Warwick, was a minor at his father’s
death in 1205, and was placed under Thomas Bassett, of Headington, near
Oxford. In the thirteenth year of King John, he was certified as holding 107

knights’ fees of the king in capite. Having led an active military life, and
married two wives—Margaret D’Oyley and Philippa Bassett—he died
1229, and was succeeded as sixth earl by his son, Thomas de Newburgh.

The Keep, from the Inner Court.

This nobleman married a daughter of the Earl of Salisbury, but died
without issue. His sister and heiress, Margery, who was married to John de
Mareschal, brother to the Earl of Pembroke, succeeded to the estates, and
her husband became seventh earl. This honour he did not enjoy long, but
died without issue “within about half a year of his brother-in-law the late
earl.” The widow then, by special arrangement of Henry III., married John
de Placetis, or Plessitis, a Norman by birth, and a great favourite of the

king. By the Countess of Warwick he had no issue, and therefore at her
death the estates passed to her cousin, William Mauduit, Baron of Hanslape,
who died without issue. The title and estates then at his death passed to his
sister, Isabel Mauduit, wife of William de Beauchamp, heir of Walter de
Beauchamp, Baron of Elmley, who thus through her became heir to the title,
which however,—she having entered a nunnery,—was not claimed, but
passed, in the person of their son William, into the powerful family of
Beauchamp. By Isabel Mauduit William de Beauchamp the elder had four
sons—William, who succeeded him; John, whose grandson was created
Baron Beauchamp; Walter, ancestor of Fulke Greville, Lord Broke; and
Thomas, who died unmarried. William de Beauchamp, who bore the title of
Earl of Warwick during his father’s lifetime, married Maud, one of the co-
heiresses of Richard Fitzjohn, by whom he had issue with others, Guy de
Beauchamp, who succeeded him as Earl of Warwick. This Guy, so called,
no doubt, after the “renowned Guy,” attended the king into Scotland, and
for his valour at the battle of Falkirk, had granted to him all the lands of
Geoffrey de Mowbray in that kingdom, with the exception of Okeford, and
all the lands of John de Strivelin, with the castle of Amesfield, and the lands
of Drungery. He was one of the noblemen who seized Piers Gaveston,—
against whom he held a mortal hatred for having called him “the black
hound of Arden,”—whom he conveyed to Warwick Castle, from whence he
was removed to Blacklow Hill, near Warwick, and beheaded. This Guy
married Alice, sister and heiress to Robert de Toni, Baron of Flamstead, and
widow of Thomas de Leybourne, and by her had issue two sons and five
daughters. He died (it was suspected by poison) in 1315, and was succeeded
by his eldest son, Thomas de Beauchamp, who married Catherine Mortimer,
daughter of the Earl of March, by whom he had issue seven sons and ten
daughters. The sons were—Sir Guy, “a stout soldier,” who died in his
father’s lifetime, leaving three daughters, all nuns, at Shouldham; Thomas,
his successor; Reynbourne, so called in memory of the son of the
“renowned Guy;” William, who became Lord Abergavenny; Roger, John,
and Jerome.

Thomas Beauchamp, the eldest son, who succeeded to the honours, was
knighted in the lifetime of his father. He, like his predecessor, made many
additions to the castle, the principal of which was the building of Guy’s
Tower. Having passed a troublous life, being at one time confined and
condemned in the Tower of London, he died in 1401, leaving by his wife
Margaret, daughter of Lord Ferrars of Groby, two daughters, nuns, and one
son, Richard Beauchamp, who succeeded him. This Richard, Earl of
Warwick, is said to “have surpassed even the great valour and reputation of
his ancestors;” and, indeed, his career seems altogether to have been one of
the most brilliant and successful on record; and besides having a special
herald of his own, “Warwick Herald,” he was styled the “Father of
Courtesye.” “He founded the Chantry of Guy’s Cliff, where before this
foundation were Guy’s Chappel and Cottage.” In this he placed the statue of
Guy (still seen, though much defaced), made several pious donations, and
died at Roan in the 17th of Henry VI. There is extant a very remarkable and
curious MS. Life of this renowned warrior; it is preserved in the British
Museum (Julius, E. IV.). In it the illuminations are very spirited, and are
highly valuable as examples of armour, &c., of the time, no less than as
genuine representations of various valiant deeds in which he was engaged.

Three of these we give. Our first shows the figures of the Earl of
Warwick and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, from a picture of the fight
with Philip, Duke of Burgundy, before Calais. The next represents “how a
mighty duke challenged Erle Richard (Beauchamp) for his lady sake, and in
justyng slewe the Duke, and then the Empresse toke the Erle’s staff and
bear from a knight’s shouldre, and for great love and favour she sett it on
her shouldre. Then Erle Richard made one of perle and precious stones, and
offered her that, and she gladly and lovynglee reseaved it.” The engraving
shows the Earl vanquishing the Duke—his lance has run through his body
—and the heralds proclaiming his victory. Behind are the Emperor
Sigismund and his Empress, the latter of whom is taking, as recounted, the
Earl’s badge of the bear and ragged staff from the shoulders of the knight to
place upon her own. On the Earl’s helmet will be seen his crest of the bear
and ragged staff.

In the third engraving we see the Earl of Warwick setting out in his own
ship, on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He is dressed in pilgrim guise, and,
staff in hand, is just stepping into the boat to be conveyed to the ship, his
attendants and luggage following him. The ship is sumptuously fitted with
castle and state apartments, and has the sail emblazoned with the
Beauchamp arms, and the pennon, besides the St. George’s cross of
England, bears the bear and ragged staff many times repeated. This badge
will be best understood by the accompanying engraving. The Earl had two
wives; first, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of Thomas, Lord Berkley; and
second, Isabel, daughter of Thomas le Despencer, Earl of Gloucester. He
was succeeded by his son Henry, who was then barely fourteen years old.

This Henry de Beauchamp—who
had during his father’s lifetime been
called De Spencer, through his mother’s
possessions—when only nineteen years
of age tendered his services to Henry VI.
for the defence of Acquitane, for which
the king created him Premier Earl of
England, with leave to distinguish
himself and his heirs male by wearing in
his presence a gold coronet.
Three days later, he was created
Duke of Warwick, with precedence next
to the Duke of Norfolk. After this, he
had granted to him, in reversion, the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Sark,
Erme, and Alderney, which he was to hold for the yearly tribute of a rose.
He was also by his sovereign crowned King of the Isle of Wight, his
Majesty himself placing the crown upon his head. This young nobleman,
however, with all his honours thick upon him, lived but a short life of
greatness, and died at Warwick at the early age of twenty-two, in 1445. He
married Cicely, daughter of Richard Nevil, Earl of Salisbury, by whom he
had an only child, Anne, Countess of Warwick, who died when only six
years of age, leaving her aunt Anne, wife of Richard Nevil, Earl of
Salisbury, heir to the titles and estates, and thus they passed to the family of
Nevil.
This Richard Nevil, then Earl of Warwick, is the one so well known in
English history as “the stout Earl of Warwick, the king-
maker,”—“peremptory Warwick,” the “wind-changing Warwick,” of
Shakspere—who, “finding himself strong enough to hold the balance
between the families of York and Lancaster, rendered England during the
reign of his power a scene of bloodshed and confusion; and made or
unmade kings of this or that house as best suited his passions, pleasures, or
interests. His life was passed in wars and broils, destructive to his country
and his family.” He was killed at the battle of Barnet in 1471. He left issue
two daughters, Isabel, married to George, Duke of Clarence and brother to
Edward IV.; and Anne, married first to Edward, Prince of Wales, and
secondly, to his murderer, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, subsequently King
Richard III. To the eldest of these daughters, Isabel, came the Warwick

estates; and her husband, George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, was, by
his brother Edward IV., created Earl of Warwick and Salisbury. That ill-
fated and indiscreet nobleman, however, did not live to carry out
improvements he had commenced at Warwick. His wife was poisoned; and
he himself, later on, was attainted of high treason, and was drowned in a
butt of Malmsey wine in the Tower, by order of his brother, the Duke of
Gloucester.
During all this time, Anne, Countess of
Warwick, widow of Richard Nevil, had
undergone great privations—her possessions
being taken from her for her daughters’
husbands—and had been living in obscurity;
by Act 3rd Henry VII. she was recalled from
such obscurity to be restored to the possessions
of her family; “but that was a refinement of
cruelty, for shortly after obtaining possession
she was forced” to surrender to the king all
these immense possessions. After her death,
Edward Plantagenet, eldest son of George,
Duke of Clarence, assumed the title of Earl of
Warwick, but was beheaded on Tower Hill. On
his death the title was held in abeyance, and
Cæsar’s Tower. was, after a time, granted to John Dudley,
Viscount Lisle, who was descended in the
female line from the old Earls of Warwick. This John Dudley, Earl of
Warwick, and Viscount Lisle, was made Lord High Chamberlain, a Knight
of the Garter, Lord Warden of the North, and Earl Marshal: and was created
Duke of Northumberland, but was attainted for the part he took relating to
Lady Jane Grey, and beheaded on Tower Hill in 1553. He married Jane,
daughter of Sir Edward Guildford, by whom he had a large family, of whom
the eldest, Henry, was killed at the siege of Boulogne; the second, John, was
called Earl of Warwick during his father’s lifetime; Ambrose, who was
created Earl of Warwick; Guildford, who was beheaded with his father;
Robert, who was created Earl of Leicester, and others. In 1557 Ambrose
Dudley, the third son, having obtained a reversion of the attainder, had the
estates restored to him, and was re-created Earl of Warwick. He married

three wives, but had no issue by either, and dying in 1589, the title became
extinct.

The Castle, from the Bridge.

In 1618 the title of Earl of Warwick was conferred by James I. on
Robert, Lord Rich, but, not being descended from the former earls, the
estates did not fall into his hands. Dying in a few months after his creation,
he was succeeded by his son, Robert Rich, Lord High Admiral for the Long
Parliament, whose son (afterwards Earl of Warwick) married Frances, the
youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell. After passing through five other
members of this family, the title again became extinct, on the death of the
last earl of that name, Edward Rich, in 1759.
In November of that year (1759) the title was conferred upon Francis
Greville, Lord Brooke, of the long and illustrious line of the Grevilles, and
a descendant of Fulke Greville, the “servaunt to Quene Elizabeth, Concellor
to King James, and Frend to Sir Philip Sidney,” to whom we have alluded
in our account of Penshurst. Francis, Lord Brooke, succeeded his father in
the barony, when only eight years of age. In 1746 he was raised to the
dignity of Earl Brooke, of Warwick Castle; and in 1759 was created Earl of
Warwick, with patent to bear the ancient crest of the earls—the bear and
ragged staff. He married a daughter of Lord Archibald Hamilton, by whom,

besides others, he had a son, George Greville, who succeeded him as
second earl of that line. His lordship married, first, Georgiana, only
daughter of Lord Selsey, who died soon after the birth of her only child, a
year after marriage; the child, a son, living to the age of fourteen. He
married, secondly, Henrietta, daughter of R. Vernon, Esq., and his wife, the
Countess of Ossory, and sister of the Marquis of Stafford. By that lady he
had three sons and six daughters. Dying in 1816, he was succeeded by his
eldest son, Henry Richard Greville, as Earl Brooke, Earl of Warwick, &c.,
who, in 1816, married Lady Sarah Elizabeth Saville, daughter of the Earl of
Mexborough, and widow of Lord Monson: she died in 1851. By this lady
his lordship (who died in 1853) had an only son, the present peer.
George Guy Greville, Earl Brooke, Earl of Warwick, and Baron Brooke
of Beauchamp’s Court, all in the peerage of the United Kingdom, was born
in March, 1818, and was educated at St. John’s College, Cambridge, where
he took his degrees. In 1853 he succeeded his father as fourth Earl of
Warwick, of that line, and in the previous year (1852) married the Lady Ann
Charteris, eldest daughter of the Earl of Wemyss, by whom he has issue
living, four sons and one daughter, viz.:—the Hon. Francis Richard Charles
Guy Greville (Lord Brooke), born in 1853, his heir-presumptive; the Hon.
Alwyn Henry Fulke Greville, born in 1854; the Hon. Louis George
Greville, born in 1856; the Hon. Sidney Robert Greville, born in 1866; and
the Hon. Eva Sarah Louisa Greville, born in 1860. His lordship, who sat in
Parliament for South Warwickshire from 1846 to the time of succeeding to
the title in 1853, is Lieutenant-Colonel of the Warwickshire Yeomanry, a
Trustee of Rugby School, and is patron of five livings.
The arms of the present peer are—sable, on a cross within a bordure, all
engrailed, or, five pellets. Crests—first, out of a ducal coronet, gules, a
demi-swan with wings expanded and elevated, argent, for Brooke; second,
a bear sejant, supporting a ragged staff, argent, muzzled, gules, for
Beauchamp, &c. Supporters—two swans, wings inverted, argent, ducally
gorged, gules. Motto, “Vix ea nostra voco.”

The Castle, from the Island.

Having thus glanced at the history of the place, and spoken of the long
line of noble and illustrious owners, both of the estates and the title, let us
turn to the castle itself, as it stood and was furnished, at the time of our
visit. Alas! that we should have to write this in a past sense, and say “stood”
in place of “stands.” Alas! that within a few short weeks of our visit, and of
our writing these notes, a great part of the building was “gutted” by fire,
and many of its most important and interesting features destroyed. It is,
however, being rapidly and wisely restored, and doubtless will, ere long,
rise “phœnix-like” from the ashes, with renewed beauty. We give our notes
as we wrote them before this calamity occurred.

HE Castle occupies the summit of a steep hill, which must greatly have aided
its artificial defences in the “olden time.” The present approach to it is by a
narrow passage cut through the solid rock, and extending from the main
entrance to the porter’s lodge fronting the road to Leamington. Passing
through this lodge, the visitor, after proceeding some distance along the
rocky passages, enters the outer court-yard, “where the stupendous line of
fortifications breaks suddenly upon the sight in all its bold magnificence.”
Of the two famous towers that of Guy is on the right, while that of Cæsar is
on 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 a disused moat, with
an arch thrown over it at the gateway, where was
once a drawbridge.” 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.
Uninjured by time, and unaltered in appearance
by modern improvements, except in being surrounded and made
picturesque by trees and shrubs, it still stands, as of old, on the top of its
mound. The “Bear Tower,” with a flight of steps descending to a
subterranean passage, leading no one knows whither, will be noticed, as
also will “Guy’s Tower.”
From the inner court a flight of stone steps leads to the entrance to the
Great Hall, which is of large size; its walls are decorated with arms and
armour of various periods and descriptions, and with antlers and other
appropriate objects. On one side of this hall are the state rooms, and on the
other the domestic apartments, forming a line of 333 feet in length. The
Hall, and indeed the whole of the interior, have been “subjected to the
deleterious influence of the upholsterer,” and are made gorgeous and
beautiful in accordance with modern taste, while they have lost their
original features and interesting characteristics. This work was, however,
done some time ago, and it must remain as it is: comfort and convenience
have been studied certainly; but all associations with the glory of ancient
Warwick were rejected by the modern architect in his restoration of the
apartments of the venerable castle. In the hall, however, there are many
objects of rare interest; among others the helmet studded with brass worn
by the Protector Cromwell; the suit of armour worn by Montrose; the
doublet, “blood-spotted,” in which Lord Broke was slain at Lichfield, in
1643; and the warder’s horn, the history of which is told in this inscription:
—

Phil · Thomassinus · Fec · et · excud · cum · privil · summi · Pontifices ·
et · superior : Licentia · Romæ · Floruit · 1598.

There is also a breech-loading revolving musket, some hundreds of years
old probably, which, but for the evidence of Time, might seem a direct
plagiarism on the revolver of Colonel Colt. The roof of the hall was
designed by the architect Poynter.

The Red Drawing-Room contains many fine paintings and several
articles of vertu.
The Cedar Drawing-Room is a remarkably elegant apartment,
sumptuously furnished, and having a magnificent and, said to be, unique
chimney piece. In this room are many remarkably fine paintings, including
“Charles I.,” by Vandyck; “Circe,” by Guido; the “Family of Charles I.,”
&c.; and some highly interesting bronzes, Etruscan vases, &c. The main
feature of—
The Gilt Drawing-Room is its superb geometric ceiling, which is richly
painted and gilt—the walls being decorated in a corresponding manner.
Among the paintings in this room may be noted the “Earl of Strafford,” by
Vandyck; “Algernon Percy,” by Dodson; “Charles I.,” “Henrietta Maria,”
and “Prince Rupert,” by Vandyck; “Ignatius Loyola,” by Rubens; “Robert
Bertie, Earl of Lindsay,” by Cornelius Jansen; “Robert Rich, Earl of
Warwick,” after Vandyck; a “Young Girl,” by Murillo; “Robert Dudley, Earl
of Leicester,” and many others.

The State Bed-Room. The bed and furniture in this room are said
originally to have belonged to Queen Anne, and were presented to the
Warwick family by King George III. The walls are hung with Brussels
tapestry of the date of 1604. The bed and hangings are of crimson velvet.
Over the chimney-piece is a fine full-length portrait of Queen Anne by Sir
Godfrey Kneller; the room also contains other interesting paintings and
ornaments.
The Boudoir is a lovely little room, forming the extreme west end of the
suite of rooms. The ceiling is enriched with the family crest and coronets,
and there are among the paintings a portrait of Henry VIII. by Holbein;[33]
of the Duchess of Cleveland, Barbara Villiers, by Lely; “A Dead Christ,” by
Carracci; “A Boar Hunt,” by Rubens; “Martin Luther,” by Holbein; “A
Sketch of the Evangelists,” by Rubens; and examples of Gerard Dow,
Teniers, Salvator Rosa, Hayter, Vandyck, Holbein (Anne Boleyn and Mary
Boleyn being especially interesting), Andrea del Sarto, &c., &c.
The Compass-Room contains many fine old paintings and much among
its articles of vertu that will interest the visitor. In—
The Chapel Passage, too, are highly interesting paintings; and in the
Chapel are some stained glass and interesting local relics.
The Great Dining-Room, built by Francis, Earl of Warwick, is a noble
room, decorated with some fine antique busts and paintings. Among the
latter will be specially noticed portraits of “Sir Philip Sidney,” considered
the best in existence, and bearing in the corner the words, “The Original of
Sir Philip Sidney;” “Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester;” “Frederick, Prince
of Wales;” “The Princess of Wales and George III. when an Infant;” and
many family portraits. At the east end is the celebrated “Kenilworth
Buffet,” manufactured by Cookes of Warwick, from an oak-tree on the
Kenilworth estate, and representing in its panels various incidents
connected with Queen Elizabeth’s visit to that venerable pile, and presented
to the present earl, on his marriage, by the town and county of Warwick.

The Castle, from the Outer Court.

The private apartments of the Castle consist of a remarkably elegant
suite of rooms, which are, of course, not shown to visitors. Of these,
therefore, only a few words need be said. The Armoury Passage and the
Armoury contain a rare assemblage of arms and armour of various ages and
descriptions, and many antiquities and “curiosities,” as well as
mineralogical, geological, and other collections of great interest. In the
Billiard-Room, the Oak Sitting-Room, the Earl’s Room, and all the
remaining apartments, are many remarkably fine paintings.
Throughout the state apartments, as well as the private rooms, is
distributed a marvellous collection of treasures of art—“superb garde-robes,
encoigneurs, cabinets, and tables of buhl and marqueterie of the most costly
finish; splendid cups, flasks, and vases in ormolu, crystal, china, and lava;
Etruscan vases, marble and pietra dura tables; bronzes and busts displaying
the utmost efforts of art; costly bijouteries, and rare antiques;” more
especially a large collection of Limousin enamels are among the treasures
which meet the eye at every turn in the interior of Warwick Castle.
It will be readily understood that the prospect from any of the windows
is singularly beautiful; so beautiful, indeed, that if the stately castle lacked
all other interest, a look over these grand woods, a fair stream consecrated
by the bard of Avon, richly cultivated gardens, and rare trees of prodigious
size, would amply compensate the visitor.

In the grounds are many charming objects and delicious spots,
concerning some of which the visitor, naturally, will desire information. Of
these, Cæsar’s Tower is one of the most sadly interesting, from the fact that
beneath it is a dark and damp dungeon, in which many a sad heart has died
out in solitude. On the walls are some touching inscriptions and rude
carvings done by the miserable beings who have been incarcerated there.
Among these the following is specially curious:—
MaʃTER : Iohn : Smyth : Gvner : to : his :
Maiestye : highnes : was : a prisner in this
place : and : lay here from 1642 tell th
william Sidiate rot this same
and if my Pin had Bin beter for
his sake I wovld have mended
everri letter.

That was the last person known to have been confined in the dungeon.
Besides this, there are crosses, crucifixes, cross-bows, and other objects and
inscriptions traceable on the walls.
Guy’s Tower (to which we have alluded, and which forms our initial
letter on page 206) contains several rooms appropriated to various purposes.
Its summit is reached by a flight of 133 steps—a most fatiguing ascent, but
amply repaid by the magnificent panoramic view obtained from the
battlements. Hence “are seen the spires of the Coventry churches, the Castle
of Kenilworth, Guy’s Cliff, and Blacklow Hill; Grove Park, the seat of Lord
Dormer; Shuckburgh and the Shropshire Hills; the Saxon Tower on the
Broadway Hills; the fashionable spa of Leamington, which appears almost
lying underneath the feet, and the wide-extended park; while village
churches, lifting up their venerable heads from amidst embowering trees,
fill up a picture pleasing, grand, and interesting. In the various rooms will
be noticed carvings and inscriptions which possess interest. From the Bear
Court a portcullised doorway in the north wall opens to the moat, across
which is a bridge leading to the pleasure-grounds and Conservatory. In this
is placed one of the wonders of the “Stately Home”—the celebrated
Warwick Vase, rescued from the bottom of a lake at Adrian’s Villa, near
Tivoli, by Sir William Hamilton, from whom it was obtained by the late
Earl of Warwick.

The Inner Court, from the Keep.

It has been copied a hundred times, and its form and character are
known to every reader. It stands on a pedestal formed for its reception, on
which is this inscription:—

HOC PRISTINÆ ARTIS
ROMANÆ Q. MAGNIFICENTIÆ MONUMENTUM
RUDERIBUS VILLÆ TIBURTINÆ
HADRIANO AUG. IN DELICIIS HABITÆ EFFOSSUM
RESTITUTI CURAVIT
EQUES GULIELMUS HAMILTON
A GEORGIO III., MAG. BRIT. REX
AD SICIL REGEM FERDINANDUM IV. LEGATUS
ET IN PATRIAM TRANSMISSUM
PATRIO BONARUM ARTIUM GENIO DICAVIT
AN. AC. N. CIC. DCCLXXIV.

From the conservatory, after crossing the lawn, the banks of the river
are gained, and after passing the Pavilion, the visitor reaches a spot from
which the immense height of the castle on its rocky base is best seen.
Returning to the Hill Tower, the magnificent cedars of Lebanon and
chestnuts will strike the eye; but the visitor will pass on to the top of the

mount on which, in Saxon times, the stronghold of Ethelfleda was erected,
and he will then find much for his mind to dwell upon.

Guy’s and the Clock Tower, from the Keep.

In the Porter’s Lodge are preserved a number of relics, said to have
belonged to the “Renowned Guy”—but, as they represent so many periods,
they must have appertained to “Many Guys.” The articles shown are “Guy’s
Porridge-pot;” “Guy’s Sword,” for taking care of which William Hoggeson,
Yeoman of the Buttery, had a salary of 2d. a day, temp. H. VIII.; parts of his
armour, of which the “bascinet is of the time of Edward III.; and a
breastplate partly of the fifteenth century, and partly of the time of James I.;
the sword of the reign of Henry VIII.; the staff, an ancient tilting lance;” the
horse armour of the fifteenth century; the “flesh fork;” and other articles,
among which are his fair “Felicia’s slippers,” which are a pair of footed
stirrup-irons of the fifteenth century. The “rib of the dun cow,” and a joint
of the spine of the same, as well as the tusk and blade bone of a wild boar,
are also shown, and are still looked upon with wonder, as belonging to
veritable animals slain by Guy. There are also other “curiosities” shown in
this lodge, and visitors eagerly inspect them, often as greater attractions
than matters more worthy. Into the wild old legend connected with Guy,
Earl of Warwick, it is not necessary here to enter at length. It was a popular

legend in the Middle Ages, and his encounter with the Danish champion,
Colbrand, as well as his victory over the dun cow, was a 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 year three 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 is 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 upon 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 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 Castle, from the banks of the Avon.

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 scarcely 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.[34] 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 valour,
slew a mighty gyant in a single duell, which gyant encountered him with a
young tree pulled up by the root, the boughs being nog’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.”
Other stories are the combat and overcoming of the famous dun cow, the
slaying of a ferocious lion, and “the greatest boar that man e’er saw,” the
killing of “the mighty dragon in Northumberland that destroyed men,
women, and children,” and the killing of the fifteen armed knights. Such

were the old fables with which our ancient family histories were obscured,
or rendered romantic and wonderful to the subordinate classes.
Intimately connected with Warwick Castle and its former lords, is the
Beauchamp Chapel attached to St. Mary’s Church. The chapel is one of the
most exquisitely beautiful buildings remaining in this country, and ought to
be seen by every visitor to Warwick. It is placed on the south side of the
choir of the church, from which it is entered by a descent of several steps
beneath a doorway said to have been carved by a mason of Warwick in
1704, but probably being only a freshening and touching up, or restoration,
of the original design. The size of the chapel is 58 feet in length, 25 in
breadth, and 32 in height, and its design and finish are of the most chaste
and beautiful and elaborate character. It was built in the reign of Henry VI.,
in accordance with the will of its founder, Richard Beauchamp, Earl of
Warwick, who died in 1439. The foundation was laid in 1443, and in 1475
the chapel was consecrated, and the body of its founder with much
solemnity laid therein. It is stated to have cost £2,481 4s. 7d., an enormous
sum in those days, when the value of a fat ox was only 13s. 4d.: and the
contracts for some of the work are still preserved. In the chapel is the
monument of the founder, which is, with only one exception, the most
splendid monument of its kind in the kingdom. 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 griffin. The tomb is surmounted by one of the few “hearses” that
yet remain in our churches. It consists of six hoops of brass, 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 the weepers are smaller niches,
raised upon pillars, containing whole-length figures of angels holding
scrolls, inscribed “Sit deo laus in gloria, defunctis misericordia.” The effigy
of the earl is the finest of its class, and it is a perfect figure, the armour on
the back, and all the details being as highly and carefully finished as those
on the front of the figure. For this effigy in brass, William Austen was paid
(exclusive of cost of workmen, carriage, &c.) £40, and the goldsmith,
Bartholomew Lambespring, was paid £13 for gilding it; the “weepers” cost
in brass, 13s. 4d. each, and the angels 5s. each; and the gilding of these, and

preparing them for gilding, cost also a considerable sum—the contracts
being of the highest interest, and very minute in every particular.

The Beauchamp Chapel, monument of the founder.

In the same chapel are monuments, &c., to Robert Dudley, Earl of
Leicester, and his Countess Lettice, 1588; to Ambrose Dudley, Earl of
Warwick, 1589; to Robert Dudley, Lord Denbigh, 1584; to Lady Katherine
Leveson, and others.
The windows were filled with stained glass, for which the contract with
John Prudde of Westminster is preserved; but it has undergone much change
and mutilation: it still, however, especially that of the east window, is of
great beauty.[35] Adjoining the chapel is an exquisite little oratory, with a
confessional near; of these we give engravings.

The Confessional.

The Church of St. Mary is of considerable antiquity, and is mentioned in
Domesday Book. The Norman Earl, Henry de Newburgh, formed the
intention of uniting the endowments of St. Nicholas within the Castle with
St. Mary’s, which was carried out by his son, whose grant of incorporation
was executed in 1123. Probably the church was built about that time, as the
crypt is of Norman character. In the reign of Edward III., Thomas
Beauchamp ordained by his will in 1369, that a choir should be erected; and
many alterations have at one time or other been made. A great part of the
church was burnt down in 1694, and rebuilt at a cost of £5,000, to which
Queen Anne contributed £1,000. In the crypt is preserved the ducking stool.

The Oratory.

It is desirable to add a word or two concerning “Guy’s Cave” and the
“Statue of Guy” at Guy’s Cliff, to which the visitor ought by all means to
“wend his way.” Indeed, the town of Warwick, and the whole of the
neighbourhood by which it is surrounded, is one grand assemblage of
interesting objects, of which the mind cannot tire or become satiated. To all
we have described—the towers, the lodges, the several apartments of the
castle, and to the gardens and grounds—the publicly is freely, graciously,
and generously admitted: a boon for which we are sure every visitor will be
grateful.
One of the few remaining “antiques” that yet endure to the town we
have selected for engraving—the East Gate; but, as will be seen, the base
only can be considered ancient; it has been “transmogrified,” yet is still
striking and interesting. The Earl of Leicester’s Hospital, founded by Robert
Dudley in 1586, is a singularly beautiful and perfect specimen of the half-

timber houses; it escaped the great fire that nearly destroyed the town in
1694. There are not many other ancient edifices in the venerable town.

Warwick: the East Gate.

Thus, it will be readily understood that a day at Warwick supplies a rare
treat; not only to the antiquary, and the historian, but to the lover of nature.
The best views of the Castle are obtained from the opposite side of the
Avon, near a narrow stream crossed by a bridge, which is part of the main
road;[36] of the old bridge there are some remains, rendered highly
picturesque by ivy and lichens that grow in profusion there, and near the old
mill, the date of which is coeval with that of the Castle. Superb trees grow
in the immediate grounds, huge chestnuts and gigantic cedars, that have
sheltered the stout earls time out of mind: the walls are grey with age; but it

is a sober livery that well suits the stronghold of the bold barons, and
suggests the tranquillity of repose after the fever of battles, sieges, and
deeds that cannot fail to be summoned from history as one looks from the
filled-up moat to the towers and battlements that still smile or frown upon
the environing town they controlled or protected.
It demands but little imagination to carry the visitor of to-day back
through long-past centuries, from the moment we enter the picturesque yet
gloomy passage cut through the rock, covered with ivy, lichens, and wild
flowers in rich abundance, and pass under the portcullis that yet frowns
above the porter’s lodge: the whole seems so little changed by time, that
one might wait for the king-maker and his mighty host to issue through the
gateway, and watch the red rose or the white rose on the helmets of
attendant knights; by no great stretch of fancy one might see the trembling
Gaveston, the petted minion of a weak monarch, dragged forth to death: a
hundred events or incidents are associated with these courts and towers,
inseparably linked with British history; and it is impossible to resist a
feeling of reverence approaching awe while pacing peacefully among them.
The “frowning keep,” nearly hidden by the green foliage of surrounding
trees, may be accepted as an emblem of the Castle; where tranquillity and
peace are in the stead of fierceness and broil. Warwick, while it has lost
little of its grandeur, has obtained much of grace from time; Time which
“Moulders into beauty many a tower,
That when it frowned with all its battlements
Was only terrible.”

HADDON HALL.

H ADDON HALL is, perhaps, the most
interesting, and is certainly the most attractive,
of all the ancient mansions of England: and
none have been so fertile of material to Artists.
Situate in one of the most picturesque, if not
the most beautiful, of our English shires,
absolutely perfect as an example of the
Baronial Halls of our ancestors, and easily
accessible by charming routes from populous
towns, it is not surprising that it should be
visited annually by tens of thousands; and that
in America it is regarded as one of the places in
the “Old Country,” which no visitors, even of a
week, to the classic land of their History,
should neglect to see, examine, and describe.
Haddon Hall is distant fourteen miles
from Buxton; perhaps the most fashionable, as
it certainly is one of the most cheerful, and, we
believe, the most healthful of all the Baths of
Dorothy Vernon’s Door. England. Its waters are as efficacious, in
certain ailments, as are those of Southern
Germany; while the surrounding district is so grand and beautiful, so

happily mingling the sublime and the graceful, as to compete, and by no
means unfavourably, with the hills and valleys that border the distant Rhine.
The poet, the novelist, the traveller, the naturalist, the sportsman, and
the antiquary have found appropriate themes in Derbyshire, in its massive
rocks—“Tors”—and deep dells; its pasture-lands on mountain-slopes; its
rapid, yet never broad, rivers—delights of the angler; its crags and caves; its
rugged and ragged or wooded steeps; above all, its relics of the earlier days
when Briton, Roman, Saxon, and Norman, held alternate sway over the rich
lands and prolific mines of this lavishly endowed county; and of a later
time, when shrewd monks planted themselves beside the clear streams and
rich meadows, to which they bequeathed magnificent ruins to tell of
intellectual and material power in the time of their vigorous and prosperous
strength.
Unequivocal evidence exists that the Romans knew the curative
properties of the Baths at Buxton; and it is almost certain, from the many
Celtic barrows and stone circles found in the neighbourhood, that a still
earlier race was acquainted with them. Probably, therefore, for more than a
thousand years Buxton has been one of the principal “health-resorts” of this
island. Yet few remains of antiquity exist in the town. The dwelling—in
which was lodged Mary, Queen of Scots, on her several visits, while in
custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and to which “good Queen Bess,” while
sojourning at Kenilworth, sent the Earl of Leicester, that he might drink of
the healing waters, “twenty days together”—was removed just a century
ago: a handsome and very commodious hotel occupies the site: it is still
called the “Old Hall;” and immediately behind it are the two springs—the
Saline and the Iron—the Chalybeate and the Tonic. On a window-pane of
one of the rooms in this Old Hall, Mary, Queen of Scots, is said to have
scratched the following touching and kindly farewell—the pane of glass
having been preserved until recent years:—
“Buxtona, quæ calidæ celebrare nomine lymphæ,
Forte mihi posthac non adeunda vale!”

Cheerfulness is the handmaid of health: and, although there are many
patients in and about Buxton, they do not seem to suffer much: there are
more smiles than moans in the pump-room; and rheumatism is not a disease
that makes much outer show of anguish.

It would be difficult to find in any part of the British dominions a drive
so grandly beautiful as that between Buxton and Haddon. Within half a mile
of its centre is “the Duke’s Drive” (formed in 1795 by the then Duke of
Devonshire): it runs through Ashwood Dale, Miller’s Dale, and Monsal
Dale, passing “the Lover’s Leap” and “Chee Tor”—stupendous crags, from
the crevices of which grow small trees, partially crowned and covered with
ivy, ferns, and lichens, groups of varied foliage intervening; with here and
there umbrageous woods; and the river Wye—not the “sylvan Wye, thou
wanderer through the woods,” of Wordsworth, but its namesake of lesser
fame, that has its source a mile or two north of Buxton—journeying all the
way, until at Rowsley it joins the Derwent (not the Derwent of the English
lakes), from whence the blended waters, running by Matlock, Belper, and
Derby, flow into the Trent, and so make their way to the sea.

Haddon, from the Meadows on the Bakewell Road.

To give a list of the several objects that delight the eye and mind during
this comparatively short drive, would fill more pages than we have at our
disposal. The lowest part of the town of Buxton is one thousand feet above
the level of the sea; the naturalist, the botanist, and the geologist will find
treasure-troves in any of the surrounding hills and valleys: while natural
marvels abound, within a few miles, in all directions—such as Poole’s

Hole, the Blue-John Mine, the Ebbing and Flowing Well, and the Peak
Cavern, with its summit crowned by the fine old castle of “Peveril of the
Peak.” Majestic Chatsworth—to which, on certain days, the people are
admitted, the park being at all times freely open to all comers—is distant
about three miles from Haddon, across Manners Wood and intervening
hills: in short, there are a hundred places of deep interest within a drive of
Buxton, and, if it be a long drive, Dovedale—the loveliest dale in England
—is easily reached; so, indeed, is far-famed Alton Towers.
From Manchester and Buxton the way to Haddon is through the ancient
town of Bakewell, to the venerable parish church of which we shall, in due
course, conduct the reader—for it contains the monuments of the Vernons.
But before entering the old Hall, we must ask the reader to glance at another
route to Haddon—that which he will probably take if his tour be made
direct from London.
No doubt many visitors to Haddon will start from Derby; and if the road
from Buxton is charming, so also is that from the capital of the shire: it is
more open; the vales are wider; the views are more extensive; there are the
same attractions of hill and dell and rock and river; cottages embosomed in
foliage; church steeples seen among richly-clad trees; clean and happy-
looking villages; and distant towns, never indicated, except in one case—
that of Belper—by the chimneys and sullen shadows of manufactories. For
more than twenty miles there is an unbroken continuation of scenic
loveliness, such as, in its calm and quiet charm, its simple grace, and all the
attractions of home nature, can be found nowhere else in the wide world.
Leaving Derby, and passing by the famous “Boar’s Head” cotton
manufactory of Messrs. Evans on the left, and Breadsall on the right, the
first station arrived at is Duffield, a delightful village, where was once the
castle of the Peverels, and so on to Belper, famous for its cotton mills of the
Messrs. Strutt; thence through a delightful country to the pleasant Junction
of Ambergate, from whence the railway runs by the picturesque village of
Cromford, the creation of one great man, Sir Richard Arkwright; Matlock
Bath, the most popular and beautiful of inland watering-places, whose villa
residences peep out from the heights in every direction, and whose “High
Tor” frowns down upon the railway beneath; Matlock Bridge, whose hill-
side of Matlock Bank is studded with famous hydropathic establishments;
and Darley Dale, with its fine old church, and grand old yew tree, the
largest in the kingdom, until the train stops at Rowsley. Here the passenger

for Haddon, or Chatsworth, will alight, and here he will find conveyances,
should he care to ride on. Here too he will find a pleasant hostel, “The
Peacock,” in which to refresh the inner man.

The Peacock at Rowsley.

“The Peacock” at Rowsley is one of the prettiest and pleasantest inns in
“all England:” it has ever been in high favour with “brethren of the
angle”—long before the neat and graceful railway station stood so near it
that the whistle of the train is audible a dozen times a day, and twice or
thrice at night. The fine old bridge close at hand throws its arches across the
Derwent; neatly and gracefully trimmed gardens skirt the banks of that clear
and bright river, into which flows the Wye about a furlong off; and rivers,
meadows, rocks and dells, and hills and valleys “all round about,” exhibit to
perfection the peculiarities of the vale, so rich in the beautiful and the
picturesque. “The Peacock” is the nearest inn to Haddon; and here hundreds
of travellers from all parts of the world have found not only a tranquil
resting-place, but a cheerful home.[37] We have thought it well to picture it,
and have placed at its doors one of the waggonettes that drive hither and
thither from Buxton and other places; and the tourist may rest assured that
this pretty inn is indeed a place at which he may “rest, and be thankful.”

Haddon, from the Rowsley Road.

At Rowsley the tourist is but three miles from Chatsworth, and two
miles from Haddon. A pleasant walk through the valley brings him in sight
of Haddon Hall; and from this road he obtains, perhaps, the best view of it.
Partly hidden, as it is, by tall and full-leaved trees, its grandeur is not at
once apparent; but the impression deepens as he ascends the steep pathway
and pauses before the nail-studded door that opens into the court-yard.
Before we proceed to describe the Hall, however, we shall give some
accounts of its earlier owners—the Vernons—reserving for an after-part the
history of their successors, the illustrious family of Manners, from their
origin, as knights, to the period of their high elevation, as Earls and Dukes
of Rutland, and so down to the present time.
The history of Haddon, unlike that of most of our ancient baronial
residences, has always been one of peace and hospitality, not of war and
feud and oppression; and however much its owners may, at one period or
other, have been mixed up in the stirring events of the ages in which they
lived, Haddon itself has taken no part in the turmoils. It has literally been a
stronghold: but it has been the stronghold of home and domestic life, not of
armed strife.

H ADDON, at the time of taking the Domesday
survey, when the manor of Bakewell
belonged to, and was held by, the king, was a
berewite of the manor; and there one
carucate of land was claimed by Henry de
Ferrars. Over-Haddon, a village two or three
miles off, on the hills, was also another
berewite of the same manor. To whom
Haddon belonged in the Saxon period is not
clear; the first owner of which there is any
distinct knowledge is this Henry de Ferrars,
who held it in 1086, and who, by grant of the
Conqueror, had no less than 114 manors in
Derbyshire alone; he built Duffield Castle,
and founded the Church of the Holy Trinity,
near the Castle of Tutbury.
Haddon was at a very early period held, it
is said, by tenure of knight’s service, by
William Avenell, who resided there, and was
possessed of much land in the
neighbourhood. Soon after the foundation of
Roche Abbey, in 1147, William de Avenell,
Arms of Vernon quartering Lord of Haddon, gave to that establishment
Avenell. the grange of Oneash and its appurtenances.
One of the daughters and co-heiresses of
William de Avenell, Elizabeth, married Simon Bassett, of the fine old
family of Bassett, owners of much property in this and the neighbouring
counties; the other married Richard de Vernon; and thus Haddon passed into
that noted family, of which we proceed to give some particulars.
The House of Vernon is of very considerable antiquity, and derives its
name, as do many others in the Baronage of England, from its primitive
domicile in Normandy—the Châtellenie of Vernon, forming one of the
territorial subdivisions of that country: the castle, with its hereditary lords,
is recorded in the Anglo-Norman chronicles. According to the present
territorial division of France, Vernon is a commune in the Département de
l’Eure and Arrondissement d’Evreux; and as being the chef-lieu, gives name
to the canton in which it is situate. From this locality, one of the most

picturesque and luxuriant of the vine districts, the family of Vernon takes its
origin; and also the ancient family of De Redvers—the two families,
indeed, being originally identical, the name of De Redvers having been
assumed by a Vernon in the eleventh century, from the place of his
residence, Révière, in Normandy: his family were “Comtes de Révières and
Vernon, and Barons de Néhou;” both families tracing from the d’Ivry stock.
Mauriscus d’Ivry (father of Robert d’Ivry), who was father of Alselin Goël
—the names of whose sons, Roger Pincerna, surnamed “the stammerer,”
Lord of the Castle of Grossœuvre; William Lupellus (Lovel), who acquired
the castle of Ivry on the death of his elder brother; and Robert Goël—are
well known in history; the one as holding the Honour of Ivry in right of his
descent from Count Ralph, uterine-brother of Richard I., Duke of
Normandy; another as the founder of the family of Lovel; and the third as
having held his castle of Grossœuvre against King Stephen; he had a son,
Baldwin, who took the surname of De Revers from the place of his
residence: and two generations later, William, the son of Richard, assumed
the name of Vernon, from the Châtellenie of that name which he held. His
son, Hugh de Revers, or Vernon, usually called Hugh de Monachus, had a
son, William de Vernon, Lord of Vernon, who founded the Abbey of
Montebourg. By his wife Emma he had issue two sons, Walter and Richard:
the latter of whom, Richard de Redvers (as the name became afterwards
spelled), or Vernon, came over at the Conquest, and was created Baron of
Shipbroke in Cheshire. He married Adeliza, daughter of William Peverel of
Nottingham, and received with her in frank-marriage—that is, a free gift of
an estate given with a wife on her marriage, and descendable to their joint
heirs—the manor of Wolleigh, Buckinghamshire. One of these sons,
Baldwin de Redvers, was created Earl of Devon, and from him descended
the line of earls of that name; while William de Redvers, who inherited the
Norman baronies of Vernon, Révières, and Néhou, re-assumed the surname
of Vernon from those possessions. He had an only son and heir, Hugh de
Vernon, Baron of Shipbroke, who married a daughter of Raynold Badgioll,
Lord of Erdiswicke and Holgrave. By this lady he had a numerous issue:
the eldest, Warin, continuing the barony of Shipbroke; Matthew, inheriting
the lordships of Erdeswicke and Holgrave, who was ancestor of the Vernons
of those places, and Richard, already alluded to. This Richard de Vernon
married Avice, the daughter and co-heiress of William de Avenell, Lord of
Haddon; his other daughter and co-heiress marrying Sir Simon Bassett. By

marriage with this lady Richard de Vernon acquired Haddon and other
estates, and thus became settled at Haddon Hall. He had issue, an only
daughter and heiress, who married Gilbert le Francis; and their son, Richard
le Francis, took the name of Vernon, on coming into the property, and
settled at Haddon. He married Mary, daughter of Robert, Baron of
Stockport. His descendant, Sir Richard Vernon, Lord of Haddon and of
Appleby, &c., married Maude, daughter and co-heiress of William de
Camville, by whom he had an only son and heir, William Vernon, who was
only ten years of age at his father’s death in 1422, when he was found heir
to his grandfather. In 1330 he obtained a grant of free warren, or the
exclusive right of killing beasts and birds of warren within prescribed limits
in the royal forests, &c., from the king. He married Joan, daughter of Rhee,
or Rhis, ap Griffith, and heiress of Richard Stackpole, and had issue by her
Sir Richard Vernon, Knt., of Pembrugge (sometimes called Sir Richard de
Pembrugge), Lord of Haddon and Tonge, which latter lordship he acquired
by his marriage with the sister and heiress of Sir Fulke de Pembrugge, or
Pembridge, Lord of Tonge in Shropshire. Their son, Richard Vernon, was
father of Richard Vernon, Treasurer of Calais, Captain of Rouen, and
Speaker in the Parliament at Leicester in 1426. By his wife, Benedict,
daughter of St. John Ludlow of Hodnet, he had issue, with others, Sir
William Vernon, Knt., who, marrying Margaret, daughter of Sir Robert
Pype of Spernore, acquired that manor and lordship. He was buried at
Tonge, where a monument was placed to his memory.
His son, or grandson, Sir Henry Vernon, was made governor to Prince
Arthur by King Henry VII., with whom he was a great favourite. He
married Anne, daughter of John, second Earl of Shrewsbury, by Elizabeth
Butler, daughter of James, Earl of Ormond. By this marriage he had issue,
Sir Henry Vernon, who was made High Steward of the King’s Forest in the
Peak by Henry VIII., and held many other posts. He had issue, two sons, Sir
George Vernon and Sir John Vernon. Sir Henry died in 1515, and was
succeeded by his oldest son, Sir George, “the King of the Peak,” who
succeeded to the Haddon and other estates, as will presently be shown.
Sir John Vernon, Knt., married Helen, daughter and co-heiress of John
Montgomery, of Sudbury, in Derbyshire, with whom he received the
Sudbury and other estates, and thus founded the family of Lords Vernon. He
was one of the King’s Council in Wales, and Custos Rotulorum of
Derbyshire, and dying in 1540, was buried at Clifton Camville. He was

succeeded by his son, Henry Vernon, who, in
his turn, was succeeded by his son, John
Vernon, who married Mary, widow of Walter
Vernon, of Houndhill, and daughter of Sir
Edward Littleton, of Pillaton Hall, by whom,
however, he had no issue. On his death in
1600, the estates passed to his stepson, Edward
Vernon, the eldest son of his wife by her
Arms of Lord Vernon. former husband, the family consisting of three
surviving sons—Edward, Thomas, and Walter
—and four daughters. By this lady, while a second time a widow, Sudbury
Hall is said to have been erected. Edward Vernon was succeeded by his son,
Henry Vernon, who married the sole daughter of Sir George Vernon, of
Haslington, in Cheshire, and by her had issue a son, George, who succeeded
him. This George Vernon was thrice married: first to Margaret, daughter of
Edward Onely, by whom he had no issue; and, third, to Catherine, daughter
of Sir Thomas Vernon, Knt., merchant, of London. By this lady he had a
numerous family, and was succeeded by his eldest and sole-surviving son
and heir, Henry Vernon, who married, first, Anne, sole daughter of Thomas
Pigott, Esq., and heiress of her mother, who was sister and sole heiress of
Peter Venables, last Baron Kinderton; and, second, Matilda, daughter of
Thomas Wright, Esq., of Longston. Henry Vernon, who thus inherited the
estates of the Venables, assumed that surname in addition to his own. He
had issue by his first wife, among others, a son, George Venables-Vernon,
by whom he was succeeded. George Venables-Vernon married three times.
By his first wife, the Hon. Mary Howard, daughter and co-heiress of
Thomas Howard, sixth Lord Howard of Effingham, he had issue a son, the
second Lord Vernon, and a daughter, Mary, married to George Anson, of
Orgrave, the father of the first Viscount Anson. By his second wife, Anne,
daughter of Sir Thomas Lee, he had no issue; but by his third wife, Martha,
sister to Simon Harcourt, first Earl Harcourt, he had a numerous family, as
will be shown. This George Venables-Vernon was created Baron Vernon of
Kinderton in 1762, and at his death was succeeded in his titles and estates
by the eldest son of his first marriage, George Venables-Vernon, as second
Lord Vernon, who married, first, the Hon. Louisa Barbarina, daughter of
Bussey, Lord Mansell, by whom he had an only daughter, who died
unmarried; and, second, to Georgiana, daughter of William Fanquier, Esq.,

by whom he had also an only daughter, Georgiana, married to Lord
Suffield. His lordship was succeeded in title and estates by his brother, the
Hon. Henry Vernon, as third Lord Vernon. This nobleman—whose brother
Edward took the surname of Harcourt, and became Archbishop of York, and
one of whose sisters, as has been shown, married the father of the first
Viscount Anson, and another, Elizabeth, became the wife of George Simon,
second Lord Harcourt—married twice. By his first wife, Elizabeth Rebecca
Anne, daughter of Charles Sedley, Esq., of Nuttall, his lordship had issue
two daughters (one of whom the Hon. Catherine, died unmarried; and the
other, the Hon. Louisa Henrietta, married the Rev. Brooke Boothby,
Prebendary of Southwell) and one son, George Charles Venables-Vernon,
who succeeded him as fourth Lord Vernon. This nobleman married, in
1802, Frances Maria, daughter and heiress of Sir John Borlase Warren,
Bart., K.B., of Stapleford, by whom he had issue the Hon. George John
Venables-Vernon, fifth Lord Vernon, who assumed the surname of Warren
by sign manual in 1837, for himself and the children only who should be
born after that date. His lordship married twice: first to Isabella Caroline,
eldest daughter of Cuthbert Ellison, Esq., M.P., by whom he had issue the
present Lord Vernon, and the Hon. William John Borlase Warren Venables-
Vernon (who assumed the additional surname of Warren), and three
daughters; and second, in 1859, his cousin, Frances Maria Emma, daughter
of the Rev. Brooke Boothby, who still survives him, without issue. Lord
Vernon, as the Hon. George John Vernon, was M.P. for Derbyshire from
1830 until, on the death of his father, he entered the Upper House. He was
one of the most energetic supporters of the rifle movement, being himself
the most skilful rifle-shooter of his day, carrying off the principal prizes at
the various Swiss Tirs, as well as elsewhere. As a scholar his lordship
ranked very high, and the “Dante,” edited by him, is the most sumptuous
work of its kind ever attempted. Lord Vernon died in 1866, and was
succeeded by his eldest son, the Hon. Augustus Henry Venables-Vernon, as
sixth Lord Vernon, the present peer, who was born in Rome in 1829, and
was Captain in the Scots Fusilier Guards, and Captain Commandant of the
Second Battalion of Derbyshire Rifle Volunteers. His lordship married, in
1851, Lady Hariet Anson, daughter of the Earl of Lichfield, by whom he
has issue two sons and four daughters.
Having now shown the descent of the Lords Vernon from the old lords
of Haddon, we return to the “King of the Peak”—Sir George Vernon—and

his heiresses. He, as has been stated, succeeded to the estates in 1515, and
at the time of his death, in 1567, was possessed of no fewer than thirty
manors in Derbyshire alone. He was married twice: first, to Margaret,
daughter of Sir Gilbert Taylebois, Knt.; and, secondly, to Maude, daughter
of Sir Ralph Langford. He had issue, two daughters, his co-heiresses,
Margaret and Dorothy, whose husbands inherited his immense possessions.
Margaret Vernon married Sir Thomas Stanley, Knt., of Winwick, in
Lancashire, second son of Edward Stanley, third Earl of Derby; and
Dorothy Vernon, whose name has become “a household word” in this
locality, married Sir John Manners, Knt., second son of Thomas Manners,
first Earl of Rutland, and direct ancestor of the present Duke of Rutland. To
this branch we shall presently have to refer at greater length.
Sir George Vernon lived at Haddon in such a style of princely
magnificence and hospitality as to earn for himself the title of “King of the
Peak.” It is said that he was generous and hospitable, as well one of as just
and strict, of men, although given perhaps to undue severity and to an
indulgence in “Lynch law;” and that he lived and died in the “good esteem”
of all men.
One tradition, briefly told, will sufficiently illustrate the firmness and
decision of his character, and the power he held over the actions and even
the lives of the people around him. It is related that a pedlar who had been
hawking his wares in the neighbourhood was found murdered in a lonely
spot. He had been seen the evening before to enter a cottage, and never
afterwards seen alive. As soon as Sir George became aware of the fact of
the crime having been committed, he had the body of the pedlar removed to
Haddon, laid in the hall, and covered with a sheet. He then sent for the
cottager to come immediately, and, on his arrival, at once questioned him as
to where the pedlar was who was seen to enter his house the night before.
The man denied having seen him or knowing anything about him; when Sir
George uncovered the body before him, ordering that all persons present
should touch the body in succession, at the same time declaring their
innocence of the murder. The suspected man, when his turn came, declined
to touch the body, and instantly rushed out of the Hall, and made his way,
“as fast as his legs could carry him,” through Bakewell and towards
Ashford. Sir George instantly ordered his men to mount and follow him,
and to hang him wherever they caught him. The murderer was caught in a
field opposite the present toll-bar at Ashford, and at once hanged, and the

field still bears the name of the “Gallows Acre,” or “Galley Acre.” Sir
George is said to have been cited to London for this extraordinary piece of
Lynch law, and when he appeared in court he was summoned twice to
surrender as “the King of the Peak.” To these he made no reply, and the
third time he was called on as Sir George Vernon, when he stepped forward
and acknowledged himself—“Here am I!” Having been summoned as “the
King of the Peak,” the indictment fell through, and Sir George was
admonished and discharged. Sir George Vernon is buried in Bakewell
Church, where a remarkably fine and well-preserved altar-tomb bears the
recumbent effigies of himself and his two wives.
Dorothy Vernon, the youngest daughter and co-heiress of Sir George,
and over whom such “a halo of romantic interest” rests, is said to have been
one of the most beautiful of all beautiful women, and possessed of so sweet
a temper, that she was idolised by all who knew her. If it were so, however,
the monument at Bakewell does not fairly represent her, for it exhibits her
with an expression of countenance far from either amiable or attractive. The
story of her life, according to popular belief, is that, while her elder sister,
fortunate in an open attachment to Sir Thomas Stanley, the son of the Earl
of Derby, and his affianced bride, was petted and “made much of,” she, the
younger, was kept in the background, having formed a secret attachment to
John Manners, son of the Earl of Rutland—an attachment which was
opposed by her father, sister, and stepmother; she was, therefore, closely
watched, and kept almost a prisoner. Her lover is said to have disguised
himself as a woodman, or forester, and to have remained in hiding in the
woods around Haddon for several weeks, in order to obtain stolen glances
of, and occasional brief meetings with, Dorothy. At length, on a festive
night at Haddon—tradition states it to have been on one of the “merry
meetings,” consequent on the marriage of her sister Margaret—Dorothy is
said to have stolen away unobserved in the midst of the merriment in the
ball-room, and to have quietly passed out of the door of the adjoining ante-
room on to the terrace, which she crossed, and having ascended the steps on
the other side, her lover’s arms received her; horses were in waiting, and
they rode off in the moonlight all through the night, and were married in
Leicestershire the next morning. The door through which the heiress eloped
is always pointed out to visitors as “Dorothy Vernon’s Door.”
Thus the Derbyshire estates of Sir George Vernon passed to John
Manners, and thus it was the noble house of Rutland became connected

with Haddon and the county of Derby.

Haddon: from the Meadows.

John Manners, the husband of Dorothy Vernon, was knighted shortly
after his marriage. They had issue three sons: Sir George Manners, who
succeeded to the estates; John Manners, who died in 1590, aged 14; and Sir
Roger Manners of Whitwell, who died in 1650; also one daughter, Grace,
who became the wife of Sir Francis Fortescue. Dorothy died in 1584, and
her husband in 1611. They were both buried in Bakewell Church, where
their monument will no doubt be looked upon with interest by all visitors to
the district.
Haddon continued to be one of the residences of this branch of the
Manners family, ennobled in 1641 by the inheritance of the Rutland
peerage, until they quitted it in the early part of the last century for Belvoir
Castle, of which we shall, on a future occasion, take note.

The Main Entrance.

The Hall stands on a natural elevation—a platform of limestone—
above the eastern bank of the Wye: the river is crossed by a pretty, yet
venerable, bridge, passing which, we are at the foot of the rock,
immediately fronting the charming cottage which is the lodge of the
custodian who keeps the keys. In the garden we make our first acquaintance
with the boar’s head and the peacock—shaped from growing yew-trees—
the crests of the families whose dwelling we are about to enter. This cottage
adjoins the old stables; their antiquity is denoted by several sturdy
buttresses. To the right of the great entrance-door are the steps—placed
there long ago—to assist ladies in mounting their steeds, when ladies used
to travel sitting on a pillion behind the rider: the custom is altogether gone
out; but in our younger days, not only did the farmer’s wife thus journey to
market, but dames of distinction often availed themselves of that mode of
visiting, carrying hood and farthingale, and hoop also, in leathern panniers
at their sides, and jewels for ornament in caskets on their laps.
The visitor now stands before the old gateway, with its massive nail-
studded door, and will note the noble flight of freestone steps, where time
and use have left the marks of frequent footsteps. Indeed, the top step—just
opposite the small entrance wicket in the larger door—is actually worn
through in the shape of a human foot. He will also notice the extreme
beauty and elegance of design of the Gothic architecture of this part of the

building, and the heraldic bearings with which it is decorated. Beneath the
entrance archway on the right is the guard-room of the “sturdy porter” of
old times: his “peep-hole” is still there, the framework of his bedstead, and
the fire-place that gave him comfort when keeping watch and ward.
After mounting the inner steps, the visitor passes
into the first court-yard, and will not fail to notice the
remarkable character of the splaying and chamfering
of the building in the angle over the inner archway.
This is one of the most remarkable features of the
building. Its strange character is to some extent
occasioned by the winding of a double spiral stone
staircase, leading to the tower over the entrance
archway. The inside of this gateway, with the
enormous hoop, said to have been the hoop of a
mash-tub, hanging on the wall, is shown in our
vignette.
We are now in the lower court-yard, and at once perceive that Haddon
consists of two court-yards, or quadrangles, with buildings surrounding
each. Immediately opposite the gateway are the stone steps that lead to the
state apartments; to the right is the chapel, and to the left, the Hall proper,
with its minstrels’ gallery and other objects of curious—some of unique
interest. The general arrangement will be best understood by the ground-
plan, which, however, requires some explanation.

On account of the abruptness of the slope on which Haddon is built, it
stands so unevenly, that a horizontal line drawn from the ground in the
archway under the Peverel Tower would pass over the entrance archway.
Consequently, that archway, the porter’s lodge, and entrance to the spiral
staircase on its right hand, and on the left the two rooms entered from the
walk behind the partition wall, and before mounting the steps, form what

may, looking at it in that light, be called a basement story, to which also
belongs the cellar, entered by a flight of fourteen steps descending from the
buttery. Lysons, in his “Magna Britannia,” vol. v., engraves—first, a
basement plan, comprising the entrance archway and the low rooms above
alluded to; second, a ground plan; third, a plan of the upper floor, including
the ball-room and other state rooms; and the numerous bed-rooms and other
apartments on the north and west sides. These plans are extremely correct
and minute: it transpires from letters in the Lysons’ correspondence (Addit.
MS. 9,423, British Museum), that they were made by the surveyor of the
then duke, to illustrate a little privately printed account of Haddon, written
by himself, and were lent to Lysons for his work by D’Ewes Coke, Esq.,
barrister-at-law, then steward to the duke. The designations given by Lysons
to the apartments are therefore probably correct. From his lists, and a
curious catalogue of the apartments at Haddon, date 1666, we gather the
general inference that the rooms on the west side of the lower court were, in
the latter days of its occupation, occupied by the officials of the household;
those on the entire south side were the state rooms; those on the east side of
the upper court were the family apartments—the bed-rooms extending
down to the intersection of the lower court; those over the front archway,
&c., were the nursery apartments; and the library is believed to have
occupied the rooms between these and the entrance tower.
There are second-floor apartments, not planned in Lysons, over the
Peverel Tower and its adjoining rooms, and over one half of the north side,
from that tower to the junction of the courts. Also solitary second-floor
rooms in the Entrance Tower, Central Tower, and over the staircase leading
to the ball-room. There is but one third-floor room, it is in the Eagle Tower,
and is the highest apartment in the Hall.
The plan we engrave will be found the most useful to visitors. It gives
the ground-plan irrespective of levels (which would only be bewildering to
the visitor), with the exception of the slightly elevated ball-room and state-
rooms in the upper court-yard. In fact, from even these being entered from
the terrace, the whole of the plan we have prepared may, for general
purposes, be said to be that of the ground-floor.
On the east side there are but slight differences between the ground-
floor and first-floor rooms, excepting those over the kitchen and adjoining
offices, and over the central archway. On the south side the differences are
material. The ball-room covers six ground-floor cellar rooms. The drawing-

room is over the dining-room; and the earl’s bed-chamber and other rooms
are over the long narrow ground-floor passages between that and the
chapel. On the west side also the arrangement differs considerably.

The first Court-yard.

Some portions of the building are of undoubted Norman origin, and it is
not unlikely that even they were grafted on a Saxon erection. Norman
remains will be noticed in the chapel, and, therefore, it is certain that that
portion of the building, as well as others which could be pointed out, are the
same as when the place was owned by the Peverels and Avenells. Before the
year 1199, John, Earl of Morteigne, afterwards King John, by writ directed
to his justices, sheriffs, bailiffs, ministers, and all his lieges, granted a
licence to Richard de Vernon to fortify his house of Haddon with a wall to
the height of twelve feet, without kernel (or crenelle, which was an open
parapet or battlement with embrasures or loopholes to shoot through), and
forbidding his being disturbed in so doing. This interesting licence, now in
possession of the Duke of Rutland, is as follows:—“Johannes com. Moret.
justic. vice-com. baillivis, ministris, et omnibus fidelibus suis salutem.
Sciatis me concessisse et licenciam dedisse Ric. de Vern. firmandi domum
suum de Heddon, muro exaltato xij pedibus sine kernello, et idem prohibeo

nequis vestrum eum inde disturbet. Test. Rob. de Mara apud Clipeston.” It
is endorsed “Breve patens Com. Johannis.”

Gateway under the Eagle Tower.

The earliest portions of the buildings of Haddon now remaining appear
to be a part of the chapel, and lower portions of the walls of the south front
and of the north-east tower. To the next period, from 1300 to about 1380
(according to Duesbury), belong the hall-porch, the magnificent kitchen and
adjoining offices, the great or banqueting hall, the lower west window of
the chapel, part of the north-east tower, and part of the cellarage under the
long gallery. In the third period, from about 1380 to 1470, were added the
east, and part of the west end of the chapel, and the remaining buildings on
the east side of the upper court-yard. The fourth period, from 1470 to 1530,
comprises the fittings and interior finishings of the dining-room, the

western range of buildings in the lower court, and the west end of the north
range. The fifth period, from about 1530 to 1624, seems to comprise
alterations in the upper court-yard, the long gallery, and terrace and
gardens; the pulpit, desk, and pews in the chapel; and the barn and bowling-
green. The juxtaposition of the kitchen and great hall show that they belong
to the same period. The alterations since that period appear mainly to have
been necessary repairs.

The Chaplain’s Room.

The principal apartments of Haddon Hall are the Chapel, the Great, or
Banqueting-Hall, with the Minstrels’ Gallery occupying two sides of it; the
Dining-room; the Drawing-room; the earl’s Bed-room and adjoining suite
of rooms; the Ball-room, or Long Gallery; the Ante-room, from which
Dorothy Vernon’s door opens on to the terrace; the State Bed-room; the
Ancient State Room, or Page’s Room; the Kitchens; and the Eagle, or
Peverel, or King John’s Tower. The entrance in this latter was the principal
entrance to the Hall, and communicated with Rowsley and Bakewell by an
old road which still exists. It was the only entrance by which horsemen or
carriages could enter the Hall. The gateway by which visitors now enter,
being intended only for foot-approach, mounted guests had to leave their
horses at the gate. Passing in by this gateway, the visitor enters the first, or

lower court-yard, and sees around him the chief features of this once gay,
but now deserted mansion, grand in its solitude and attractive in its
loneliness.

The Chapel.

The first room usually shown to visitors is the so-called Chaplain’s
Room, the first door on the right, after mounting the steps into the lower
court. In this small room, and in the closet attached to it, several objects of
interest are preserved. Among these are a pair of remarkably fine fire-dogs,
a warder’s horn, gigantic jack-Boots, a thick leathern doublet, some
matchlocks and some pewter dishes. In this room, a few years ago, a
remarkably curious and interesting washing-tally, engraved and described in

the “Reliquary,” was found behind the wainscoting. The articles enumerated
on this curious relic are “ruffes,” “bandes,” “cuffes,” “handkercher,”
“capps,” “shirtes,” “halfshirts,” “boote hose,” “topps,” “sockes,” “sheetes,”
“pillowberes,” “tableclothes,” “napkins,” and “towells.” It is in the
possession of the Duke of Rutland.
The Chapel, which, after the so-called Chaplain’s Room, is the first part
of the interior of Haddon Hall shown to visitors, is, as will be seen by
reference to the ground-plan, at the south-east corner of the building. It
consists, at present, of a nave with side aisle and a chancel, and is entered
from the court-yard by an arched doorway opening into a small ante-chapel,
or vestibule, through which the visitor passes. At the entrance is a stoup, or
holy-water basin, and from the ante-chapel a staircase leads up to the turret.
The arches and pillars of the nave are Norman; but the arches have been cut
from their original semicircular to their present arched form, and the pillars
cut and “shaved down,” and their capitals altered in character. Sufficient of
these capitals, however, remains to show what was their original design. At
the west end of the nave is a remarkably fine and large vestment chest of
very thick timber, having carved on its front two shields of arms. At the
opposite (east) end of the nave is a carved corbel, and, on the floor, is the
fine old altar-table of stone bearing the usual five incised crosses pattée,
emblematical of the five wounds of our blessed Saviour.
Against one of the pillars is a massive circular Norman font, on which is
a curiously constructed cover. This font is engraved on the next page, but
unfortunately the artist has omitted the cover. The chancel is raised a little
above the nave; and on each side is a large high pew, with open railings in
their upper portions, which have been used for the noble families who have
inhabited the place; and the carved panels, and the traces of gilding and
colour they contain, show, along with the remains of paintings on the walls,
how magnificent must have been this place of worship in its palmy days.
The chapel consists of a nave with two aisles of unequal width, and a
chancel. The entire length of the chapel is 49 feet, the chancel being 28 feet
long, and the nave 21 feet. Each aisle has an arcade of two pointed arches.

Norman Font in the Chapel.

The entrance to the chapel is on the north side, near to the west end. The
different parts of the chapel appear to be of about the following dates, viz.:
—
The south aisle, and centre circular column of its arcade, a.d. 1160. The
five windows of this aisle are each of a single light and pointed. The capital
of the circular column of the arcade has been cut so as to fit the arches
subsequently erected over it. The lower west window, and the north aisle
(except the doorway), and the north arcade, are about A.D. 1310. A window
of this aisle formerly existed to the east of the doorway, but was blocked up
when a staircase was made in the vestibule of the chapel, to give access to a
small room. The chancel, the clerestory of the nave, and the south arcade,
except the circular column, are of about 1425, at which time the glass of the
east window was put in by Richard Vernon, as recorded in an inscription on
the window itself. The bell-turret is supposed to have been erected by
William, son of Richard Vernon, about 1455. The letter W, supposed to be

his initial, is carved on the outside of its wall, towards the court-yard. The
blocking up of the window of the north aisle, and the construction of the
entrance doorway, may be of the same date. William Vernon married
Margaret de Pype; and the Pype arms are on one of the south windows of
the chancel.
The partial removal of the whitewash of the chapel walls, in 1858, led to
several discoveries of the former arrangements of the building, and of the
coloured decorations of the walls; and, were it desirable, a complete
restoration of the interior to its former state would not be difficult.
There were two altars in the chapel—one at the east end, as usual, and
one under the east window of the south aisle. This latter was, no doubt, a
chantry. The stone slabs which formed the tops of the altars still exist, and
are raised, to the extent of their thickness, above the floor: the east altar-
stone is 8 feet by 3 feet, and is 8 inches thick, the edge being a fillet of 3
inches, and a chamfer; the surface is so decayed that only one of its original
five crosses pattée now remains.
The altar-stone of the south aisle is 5 feet 6 inches by 2 feet 6 inches,
the edge showing a fillet and chamfer. The five crosses pattée on it are still
perfect. The piscina in the chancel still remains, recessed in a fenestella.
The sill of the south window, near the altar, is low, so as to form a
sedilia bench. In the middle of the sloping sill of the east window a step has
been cut, no doubt for the crucifix to stand on; and on each side of it is a
similar step, probably for candlesticks. On the east wall, on each side of the
window, is a stone bracket, probably to support an image.
On the east wall of the south aisle there is a bracket with a grotesque
head, which was probably intended to support a figure. There are signs of a
large bracket having existed on the north side of the altar; and the base-
mould of a small column, which possibly supported its front edge, may be
seen on a block of stone rising above the pavement.
A very remarkable squint was discovered and reopened in 1859 in the
south-west angle of the chancel, through which a view of the priest
officiating at the chantry altar could be obtained from the rood-loft above.
In the wall, opposite to this squint, is a doorway, which gave passage
from the bell-turret to the rood-loft. The sill of this doorway is 13 feet 9
inches above the chapel floor. The bell itself is now (1871) in use at the new
church at Rowsley. It had been taken down from the turret many years ago.

Two fragments of the open-work of the rood-screen may be seen in the
west ends of the chancel pews. They are carved in oak.
The font, which is round and perfectly plain, is of the Norman period,
and probably of the same date as the early part of the chapel. It is not in its
original position. The stoup for holy water is near the entrance door of the
chapel.
The windows are not architecturally remarkable, but the glass is
deserving of careful attention. It gives an excellent example of very good
effect produced by very simple means, and excluding very little light from
the interior. Each principal light in the east window, and each light in the
head, has a single figure. The drawing, both in expression and in the grace
of the drapery, is often very good. Yellow stain is extensively employed, but
otherwise colour is sparingly, though very effectively used. There are no
canopies, or other architectural accessories. The quarries, forming the
groundwork of the windows, come close up to the figures. There are eight
patterns of quarries remaining, besides six birds, each of a different form.
Most of these patterns are good, and the whole of them may be found in the
east window, except one which is in the south-west window of the chancel.
The east window has five lights. Much of the glass has been destroyed;
what remains was re-leaded in 1858, and arranged according to the original
design. No new coloured glass was introduced, but some old quarries were
collected from other windows of the chapel, and placed in the east window
to complete the groundwork. In the centre light the figure of our Saviour on
the cross is nearly perfect. In the next light, on either side, is a figure more
or less mutilated, and each has lost the head. One of them represents the
Virgin; the other appears to be St. John, though, apparently through some
mistake of the artist, he has the emblems of St. John the Baptist. The figures
of the two outer lights are entirely gone. The emblems of two of the
evangelists remain. In the lights of the head are figures of saints, generally
well drawn. Below the principal figures of this window are three shields of
arms, supported by angels, gracefully drawn. These arms are, argent, a lion
rampant gules, ducally crowned, or; argent, fretty, sable, a canton of the
first; and another shield, the bearing on which has been lost. At the bottom
of the window are the remains of an inscription to Sir Richard Vernon and
Benedict Ludlow his wife, as follows:—Orate pro āiābus Ricardi Vernon et
Benedicite uxoris eius qui fecerunt anō d̄ ni milesimo ccccxxvii. This Sir
Richard Vernon, who was born in 1391, and succeeded his father in 1401,

married Benedict, daughter of Sir John Ludlow of Hodnet, and died in
1451. He was “Treasurer of Calais, Captain of Rouen, and Speaker of the
Parliament of Leicester, in the fourth year of Henry VI. in 1426.” Above the
crucifix are the royal arms, quarterly, first and fourth France, second and
third England. In the outer lights are a knight kneeling at a table, and
fragments of an ecclesiastic.
The flat-headed windows on each side of the altar, in the north and
south sides of the chancel, have each three principal lights, and six lights in
the heads, each containing the figure of an apostle, effectively drawn.
The centre light of the north window has a figure of the Virgin being
taught to read by St. Anne. To the right of this, as we face the window, is the
figure of St. George slaying the dragon, and in the other light is the figure
of St. Michael trampling on a six-headed dragon. Beneath, there are three
mutilated shields of arms of Vernon, &c., and in the bottom of the window
are the remains of a candlestick or hour-glass stand. In the south window
are the arms of Pype, azure, crucilly of cross-crosslets and two pipes in
pale, or; and those of Vernon, argent, fretty, sable, on the dexter side of an
impaled shield, the impalement on which is lost. Over the arms of Pype is
the fragment of the original inscription, reading “Margareta Pype, vxo.”
The mural decorations, of which traces have been found, are of various
character and of much interest. The oldest fragments are two running
patterns of good design. One is on the arches of the north arcade, and of the
same date as the stonework on which it appears, viz., about 1310. The other,
which seems to be of the same age, is on one of the jambs of the east
window of the south aisle, over the altar. In this window there are traces of
a figure, now almost entirely destroyed. Over the arches of the nave there
are traces of two different designs, one on each wall. Both are much
defaced. On the west wall of the nave there is a design consisting of a
running pattern of rose branches and leaves, with red flowers of five petals.
The stems and leaves are shaded grey and black. Traces of the same design
have been found on the walls of the south aisle, and on the jambs of its west
window. The date of this rose pattern is probably about 1427, when the
glass of the east window of the chancel was put in.
There is a pattern of green and dull red on the east wall of the chancel,
and on the south wall is a very similar pattern, which enclosed four groups
of figures, two on each side of the window over the sedilia bench. There is

no border surrounding each group, but merely the diaper pattern. They are
probably of the same date as the glass in the east window. The figures of
these groups are generally effectively drawn, though with occasional
exaggeration and distortion. They are in distemper on the plaster, and are
black, with the exception of some dresses, which are green. There are
scrolls to each group, corresponding with the number of figures, but without
any name. These groups had been much injured before they were covered
with whitewash, and the injury appears as if partially intentional. The
groups form a series of subjects, and commence with the upper group on
the east side of the window. The subject is the presentation of the Virgin in
the Temple by Joachim and Anna. The three figures remain. Below this is a
group, much injured, apparently Anna teaching the Virgin to read, whilst
Joachim stands by. Two of these groups, for which we are indebted to the
“Reliquary,” are here shown.

Wall-paintings in the Chapel.

The upper group on the west is a Holy Family. The Virgin holds the
infant Jesus in her arms; St. Joseph stands by; St. John the Baptist raises his
hands and eyes towards the infant Saviour.
Below this is a group, much injured, with four scrolls, and apparently
four figures. A female figure, probably the Virgin, seems to be carrying a
child, whilst a male figure follows behind. There seem to be indications of a

fourth and small figure. The subject appears to be the flight into Egypt,
with, contrary to custom, the figure of St. John introduced.
Traces of colour are found on the fenestella of the piscina, on the
circular columns of the south arcade, and on the brackets near the altar.

Steps to State Apartments.

Leaving the chapel, the visitor will cross the court-yard to the
Banqueting-Hall; but he will notice on his way a flight of stone steps
leading from the court-yard, near the doorway of the ante-chapel, up to the
state apartments, so that the family could attend the chapel without passing
through the hall, and could also, with their guests, be admitted at other
times to their suite of rooms.
In this first court-yard he will also do well to take especial notice of the
beautiful and intricate designs on the lead-work of the heads of the spouts—

many of which are filled with delicate Gothic tracery—and the gargoyles,
or water-spouts, some of which are grotesquely carved in figures of curious
character, and some of them of uncouth shape. One or two of these we have
engraved on another page.
Entering the open doorway of the advanced porch, which, with a wide
passage adjoining, forms the way through to the inner, or second court-yard,
the visitor will notice, standing on the stone bench on his left hand, a fine
Roman altar which, many years ago, was dug up in the grounds. It bears the
inscription,—
DEO
MARTI
BRACIACÆ
OSITTIVS
CAECILIANS
PRAEFECT
COH I AQVITANO
V S

which may be rendered, “To the God Mars,
Braciaca, Osittius, Caecilianus, Prefect of the
first Cohort of the Aquitani, in performance
of a vow”—the term Braciacæ: as applied to
Mars being singular.
To the left of the passage four arched
doorways conduct respectively to the buttery,
the great kitchen, and other domestic offices,
Roman Altar, Haddon Hall
and to a staircase leading to the long suite of
chambers on the north side, and also communicating, by means of a gallery
in the Banqueting-Hall, with all the other apartments of the building. To the
right is a massive and time-worn oak screen, with two open doorways,
which divides the Banqueting-Hall from the passage. Entering by the first
of these openings in the screen, the visitor will not fail to notice a
suspicious-looking little iron bracket with ring attached, high above his
head. This, tradition says, was an instrument of punishment for enforcing
the observance of laws of conviviality. For it is said, if, in the days of
feasting and merriment in the “good old times,” a man should fail to drink
up his quota of liquor, he was fastened up by the wrist to this ring, and the
liquor poured down his sleeve so as gradually to trickle down him on to the

floor; or, if guilty of any other breach of the law or decorum of the board,
he was similarly tied up, and compelled so to remain during the carousal,
and was treated now and then not only with a stream of cold water poured
down his sleeve, but by other indignities forced upon him.

The Banqueting-Hall: with the Minstrels’ Gallery.

The Banqueting-Hall, or Great Hall, as it is sometimes called,
measures, within the screen, about 35 feet in length, and about 25 in width,
and it is of the full height of the building, with an open timber roof. It is
entered, as has just been stated, by two open doorways in the screen which
separates it from the passage. The screen also forms the front of the
Minstrels’ Gallery over the passage. The screen is beautifully panelled,
each panel being headed with cinquefoil cusps, above which is other Gothic
tracery of elegant design. At the opposite end from this screen is the raised
daïs for the lord and his family and honoured guests, where still stands the
grand old table on which so many of the good things of this life have been
spread in ages long since passed away.

Old Oak Table in the Banqueting Hall.

This table is one of the finest examples of its kind yet remaining
anywhere in existence—it is now worm-eaten and decayed, like those who
once feasted around it; but still it stands, a proud monument of those
ancient times so long gone by. Over the daïs a modern window has been
inserted, and formerly a doorway, to the left of the lord as he sat in the
centre of the large table, opened into what is now the dining-room, but in
those days was the withdrawing-room.

The Hand-lock in the Banqueting-Hall.

To the right hand, on entering, is the gigantic fire-place with its huge
open chimney; and on the opposite side, at the end next the high table, a
flight of steps leads up to the state apartments; and close by, through a
corner partitioned off by the oak wainscoting, another door leads to the
private dining-room and to the grounds. On the walls of the Banqueting-
Hall are some magnificent stags’ heads and antlers, which bear evidence not
only of extremely fine growth, but of great age, since they fell to the lord of
the chase. There are also several pieces of old furniture: and on the walls
are oil-paintings of Martin Middleton of Hazelbadge, and of an old and
favourite huntsman and gamekeeper—honoured and respected retainers of
the family.

Staircase to Minstrels’ Gallery.

The galleried passage, of a later date, to the Minstrels’ Gallery, occupies
one side, and the “Minstrels’ Gallery” itself one end, of the Banqueting-Hall
—that portion of the gallery along the side forming a passage from the
drawing-room and state apartments on one side to the range of rooms on the
other. The portion of the gallery over the end of the hall is considerably
wider than the other, and would hold a goodly company of minstrels, or of
guests, to look down on the “lord of misrule” and other revels below. In one
of our engravings we show the panelled front of the Minstrels’ Gallery, and
on the preceding page we give a vignette of the entrance to the gallery from
the drawing room.
Passing out from the Banqueting-Hall, the visitor should next enter the
Dining-room, which is one of the most charming, and certainly one of the
most interesting, apartments in the whole building. The end opposite to the

entrance doorway is entirely taken up by a Gothic window of eight lights,
filled with glass disposed in an elaborate geometric pattern. In some of the
lights are shields of arms in stained glass, one of which displays the arms of
Vernon with its quarterings of Avenell, Pype, &c., &c.; another, Vernon
only; and another, Vernon impaled. This room is wainscoted, the upper row
of panels throughout being filled in with exquisitely-carved Gothic tracery
and with heraldic bearings, &c.
Over the centre of the fire-place are the royal arms of England
(quarterly France and England) with the supporters, a greyhound and a
griffin, and on the one side a shield bearing the three feathers of the Prince
of Wales, with the initials E. P., and on the other the arms of Vernon with its
quarterings, and supported by a lion and a boar. Below these is the motto,
“drede god and honor the kyng,” carved in Gothic capitals. Near this also
is the carved inscription, “Anno Dni 1545. Monseigneir de Vernon,” and,
with arms, the initials “G. V.,” and “M. V.” The remainder of this fine old
heraldic frieze contains a large number of shields bearing the arms of the
Vernons and of the various families allied with them, interspersed with the
Vernon crest, &c. At the end of the room next the fire-place is a small, but
exquisitely beautiful, recessed or oriel window, with seats on all sides, and
forming one of the most delicious little retirements imaginable—
overlooking, as it does, the lawns and terraces, and the romantic grounds
and winding river, of Haddon. This recess is panelled in the same elaborate
heraldic and Gothic manner as the room itself, and, besides the coats of
arms and crests, bears on one of its panels a grotesque head of a court fool,
or jester, traditionally said to have been intended as a portrait of Will
Somers, jester to the “merry monarch” and to his predecessor; and on two
others the heads of Henry VII. and his Queen, Elizabeth of York.
The ceiling of the dining-room is divided into compartments by
transverse beams, and has been elaborately painted and decorated. In the
large window will be noticed a fine old wine-cooler of bronze, and the fire-
place and fire-dogs are also very curious and interesting.