Part 2
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.
[Illustration: _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. Will^{m.} Conq^r.;’ 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. Conq^r.’); and the sixth, of Lacy—‘Summa soror et heres Hugonis de Lacy, fundatoris de Lanthony in Wallia; Mater Gilberti de Lacy, temp. Will. Conq^r.’ 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.
[Illustration: _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—