Part 1
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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.
ENGLAND 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.
[Illustration]
WE 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.
[Illustration: _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.
[Illustration: _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.
[Illustration: _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.
[Illustration: _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.