■Mi:'- "' 
 
 5? 
 
& TO WE. 
 
 — — — 
 
 A 
 
 DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 HOUSE AND GARDENS 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MOST NOBLE AND PUISSAMT PRINCE, 
 
 RICHARD GRENVILLE NUGENT 
 CHANDOS TEMPLE, 
 
 BUCKINGHAM; 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY J. SEELEY : 
 
 SOLD ALSO BY L. B. SEELEY, 169, FLEET-STREET, LONDON. 
 
 * <»» — 
 J817. 
 
TO THE LATE EARL TEMPLE, 
 
 ON GARDENING. 
 
 J3y commerce, Albion, and by arms refin'd, 
 
 Sought for the charms of Art and Nature join'd ; 
 
 Along the banks of her own Thames she stray 'd, 
 
 Where the gay sisters of the waters play'd ; 
 
 In many a soft meander wildly rov'd, 
 
 And grac'd the meadows which their stream improv'd. 
 
 She mark'd romantic Windsor's warlike pride, 
 To Learning's peaceful seat so near ally'd ; 
 Where Temple's bosom early sigh'd for praise, 
 Struck with the inspiring fame of ancient days ; 
 She came where silver Thames and Isis bright, 
 Their friendly treasures in one stream unite : 
 Where princes, prelates, fir'd with patriot views, 
 By gen'rous gifts invited ev'ry muse ; 
 Where ev'ry muse her grateful tribute brought, 
 And Virtue practis'd what sound Learning taught : 
 At length her longing eyes and hallow'd feet 
 Reach'd verdant Stowe's magnificent retreat, 
 Where fame and truth had promis'd, she should find 
 Scenes to improve and please her curious mind : 
 Each step invention, elegance display'd, 
 Such, as when Churchill woes the Aonian maid, 
 And joins in easy graceful negligence, 
 Th' harmonious powers of verse, with sterling sense : 
 Such, as when Poussin's or Albano's hand, 
 On glowing canvass the rich landscape plann'd, 
 And classic genius strove by mimic art, 
 Thro' the admiring eye to reach the heart. 
 
iv 
 
 Amidst the wonders of each striking scene, 
 High on the summit of a sloping green, 
 A solemn Temple, in proportion true, 
 Magnificently simple, courts the view ; 
 Concord and Victory with pride proclaim 
 This mansion sacred to Britannia's fame, 
 Whose form * majestic from all hands receives 
 The various product ev'ry region gives ; 
 Pleas'd at her feet their choicest gifts to lay, 
 And homage to her power superior pay ; 
 The sculptur'd walls her glories past declare, 
 In proud memorials f of successful war ; 
 No factious sacrifice to France and Spain 
 These consecrated trophies can profane ; 
 For Public % Liberty her awful seat 
 Here fixing, here protects her last retreat; 
 Where to the great and good in every shade, 
 The fragrant tribute of just praise is paid; 
 Where the prime beauties, form'd by Nature's hand 
 Throughout her works in every distant land, 
 Transplanted, flourish in their native ease, 
 
 And, as by magic charm collected, please. 
 
 Here the fair queen of this heroic isle, 
 Imperial Albion, with a gracious smile 
 Confess'd, she lovely nature saw, at last, 
 Unite with art, and both improve by taste. 
 
 The Alto Relievo in the Pediment. 
 The Medallions of the Victories. 
 
 The Statue of Public Liberty placed in the middle niche of the Temple. 
 
V 
 
 LIST OF THE PRINTS OF STOWE, 
 
 Drawn and Engraved by Medland. 
 
 The Corinthian Arch, facing Page 1 
 
 One of the Pavillions at the Entrance, 2 
 
 An Artificial Piece of Ruins, . . . . • 3 
 
 The Temple of Venus, 3 
 
 The Statue of Queen Caroline, 3 
 
 The Boycott Pavillion, 4 
 
 The Gateway to the Park, 4 
 
 The Temple of Bacchus, . . 4 
 
 The Rotundo, 5 
 
 The Doric Arch, g 
 
 The Temple of Ancient Virtue, 6 
 
 Captain Grenville's Monument. 8 
 
 The Temple of British Worthies, 12 
 
 The Grotto, 16 
 
 The Temple of Concord and Victory, 17 
 
 An Obelisk to the Memory of General Wolfe, .... 19 
 
 Lord Cobham's Pillar, %q 
 
 The Queen's Building, 24 
 
 The Gothic Temple, . . 25 
 
 The Palladian Bridge, 26 
 
 The Temple of Friendship, .27 
 
 Congreve's Monument, . . . . • 27 
 
 The South or Garden Front of the Honse. 
 The North or Park Front of the House. 
 
 PLANS. 
 
 The Ground Plan of the Gardens. 
 The Ground Plan of the House. 
 
 Five Plates of Ground Plans of the Buildings in the Gardens. 
 
 \ 
 
vi 
 
 References to the Plan of the Gardens. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 1. The House and Offices. 
 
 2. Congreve's Monument. 
 
 3. Paviilions at the Entrance. 
 
 4. Late Octagon and River. 
 
 5. Temple of British Worthies. 
 
 6. Elysian Fields. 
 
 7. Amelian Arch. 
 
 8. Temple of Ancient Virtue. 
 
 9. Church. 
 
 10. Grotto. 
 
 11. Alder River. 
 
 13. Cascade and Rock. 
 
 14. Lake. 
 
 15. Hermitage. 
 
 16. Temple of Venus. 
 
 17. Late Queen's Pillar. 
 
 18. Boycott Pavillion. 
 
 19. Temple of Bacchus. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 20. Menagerie and Flower Garden. 
 
 21. Rotundo. 
 
 23. Parterre. 
 
 24. Pebble Alcove. 
 
 25. Temple of Friendship. 
 
 26. Palladian Bridge. 
 
 27. Captain Grenville's Monument. 
 
 28. Gothic Temple. 
 
 29. Gothic Walks. 
 
 30. Saxon Deities. 
 
 31. Lord Cobham's Pillar. 
 
 32. Lord Cobham's Walk. 
 33 Queen's Building. 
 
 34. Temple of Concord and Victory. 
 
 35. Circle of the Dancing Faun. 
 
 36. Fane of Pastoral Poetry. 
 
 37. Equestrian Statue of George I. 
 
 38. Captain Cook's Monument. 
 
 References to the Plans of the Buildings. 
 
 Fig. 
 
 1. The Temple of Concord and Victory. 
 
 2. The Gothic Temple 
 
 3. The Temple of British Worthies, 
 4 The Temple of Venus. 
 
 5. The Temple of Friendship. 
 
 6. The Temple of Ancient Virtue. 
 
 7. The Rotundo. 
 
 8. The Temple of Bacchus. 
 
 9 One of the Paviilions at the Entrance. 
 10. The Boycott Pavillion. 
 
 N. B.—The Scales are of Feet. 
 
IJescrtptton 
 
 OF 
 
 THE GARDENS. 
 
 WHERE Order in Variety we see, 
 
 And where, tho' all Things differ, all agree,— 
 
 Nature shall join you, Time shall make it grow, 
 
 A Work to wonder at,— perhaps a Stowe. Pope. 
 
 IN the road from London to Stowe are the Towns of 
 Uxbridge, Chalfont, Amersham, Great Missenden, Wen- 
 dover, Aylesbury, Winslow, and Buckingham, which last is 
 distant from London 57, from Oxford 25 miles — The prin- 
 cipal Inn at Aylesbury is the George, and at Buckingham 
 the Cobham Arms.— A straight road, of two miles in length, 
 leads through an avenue of trees from Buckingham, through 
 two Lodges, to 
 
 A LARGE CORINTHIAN ARCH, OR GATE-WAY, 
 
 60 feet high, and 60 feet wide, from whence appears the 
 garden front of the House, proudly standing on the summit 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 of a verdant slope, and encompassed by the Garden and 
 Park.— The road turns to the right to the New Inn, where 
 Travellers are accommodated who come to see the place, 
 and to the entrance into the Gardens by which Strangers 
 are admitted.— The road to the House leads through the 
 Arch, (in which are dwelling rooms for the keeper,) into 
 the Park, and is beautifully diversified with hill, valley, 
 lawn, river, and a perpetual change of scene, arising from 
 the numerous buildings intermixed with wood, and " bosomed 
 high in tufted trees," which strike the eye with a most 
 
 picturesque and ever-varying magnificence. At the south 
 
 entrance of the Gardens are 
 
 TWO PAVILLIONS, 
 
 supported by Doric Pillars, originally designed by Kent, and 
 altered by Signor Borra, Architect to the late King of 
 Sardinia. 
 
 The view is very striking at first entrance, of the House, 
 crowning the brow of the opposite hill, and rising from 
 the woods which bound the two extremities of it ; of the 
 Gothic building placed on the summit of another hill on the 
 right hand, sloping to two rivers, which meeting in one 
 stream surround an Island, and form a bay or small lake 
 in front of the House. On the left hand is 
 
 A CASCADE, 
 
 which falls in three sheets from the upper water into the 
 Lake, on the bank of which is 
 

 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 © 
 
 H 
 
 
 1=3 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 
 E 
 
 
 S3 
 
s 
 
3 
 
 THE HERMITAGE, 
 
 designed by Kent, aud executed in rough unhewn Stone, 
 situated under a rising wood, and commanding a view of the 
 Rotundo placed on the opposite shore. 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF VENUS, 
 
 is a square Building, designed and executed by Kent, con- 
 nected by circular arcades to a Pavilion at each extremity; 
 the fronts of these Pavilions are rusticated : the centre is 
 marked by a large circular recess in which the door is 
 placed; it is decorated with Ionic Columns, and over the 
 entrance is this inscription : 
 
 Veneki Hobtensi. 
 
 Upoil the Frize is the following Motto from Catullus: 
 
 Nunc amet qui nondum amavit; 
 Quique amavit, nunc amet. 
 
 Let him love now, who never lov'd before: 
 Let him who always lov'd, now love the more. 
 
 QUEEN CAROLINE'S STATUE, 
 
 is erected on four Ionic Columns.— On the piedestal is this 
 inscription : 
 
 DlViE CaKOLINjE. 
 
 THE BOYCOTT PAVILLIONS, 
 designed by Vanbrugh, and altered by Borra. One of them 
 is made use of as a dwelling-house ; the other stands in the 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 garden: From hence there is a view of a Bridge, with a 
 Serpentine River. Upon the brow of the opposite hill is 
 
 THE GATE-WAY 
 
 through which the road from Oxfordshire leads over the 
 bridge to the House. The Gate-way was designed by Kent, 
 but it has been altered and extended by Signor Valdre. The 
 entrance is strikingly magnificent. Backed by wood, is 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF BACCHUS, 
 
 a stucco'd building of Sir John Vanbrugh's design, the inside 
 adorned with the Revels of Bacchus, painted by Nollikins. 
 In the centre is a large Vase or fountain of blue marble, 
 with vine leaves and lions heads,— This building commands 
 a view cross the lake, and a beautiful prospect over the 
 country. 
 
 Opposite the North front of the House is 
 
 THE EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF KING GEORGE I. 
 In Armour, with this Inscription: 
 
 In medio mihi Caesar erit, 
 
 Et viridi in campo signum de marmore ponam. 
 
 Cobham. 
 
 In this front are an Ionic Portico; two circular corridores, 
 with 27 Ionic columns and one pilaster on a side, adorned 
 with marble busts, the walls ornamented with niches and 
 pilasters; four gateways into the courts, two by Signer 
 Valdr6, two by Kent; and two into the Gardens by Leoni. 
 
Eh 
 
5 
 
 Opposite the South front is the Parterre, on the right hand 
 of which are the Flower Garden and Green House. In the 
 centre of the Flower Garden is a fountain on which stands a 
 figure of Narcissus in white marble. At the upper end of 
 it is a circular Room containing a Museum of Natural 
 History, with two semicircular colonnades used as conser- 
 vatories. 
 
 THE MARCHIONESS OF BUCKINGHAM'S SEAT 
 
 is a Grotto entirely executed by the late Marchioness, 
 mother of the present Marquess, and was her favourite seat. 
 It was named after her and dedicated to her memory by the 
 present Marquess. — On a plain stone of grey marble are 
 the following words — 
 
 Mater Amata Vale! Beloved Mother, Farewell! 
 
 THE ROTUNDO 
 
 is raised upon Ionic pillars, and ornamented with a Statue of 
 Bacchus. — The building, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh, 
 was altered by Borra. 
 
 In the adjoining wood on the other side of the Parterre, is 
 
 A DORIC ARCH, 
 
 leading into the Elysian Fields, built by Richard Earl 
 Temple in commemoration of the visit of the Princess Amelia 
 
 to Stowe. 
 
0 
 
 On the back front of the Attic is inscribed 
 Amelia Sophia Aug. 
 To Her Royal Highness the Princess Amelia Sophia. 
 
 MDCCLXV1I. 
 
 On the inside front of the Attic is a Medallion of Her 
 Royal Highness, with this exergue from Horace : 
 
 O colenda semper & culta ! 
 O thou worthy of ev'ry honour, and ever honoured ! 
 
 Through the Arch is seen the Palladian Bridge, and a 
 Castle on the opposite hill. A covered Walk leads to a 
 Scene planted entirely with Evergreens, in the midst of 
 which stands a Gothic Cross of artificial stone. 
 
 THE, TEMPLE OF ANCIENT VIRTUE 
 
 is a Rotundo of the Ionic order, by Mr. Kent; on the 
 outside, over each door, is this motto : 
 
 Prisce Virtuti. To Ancient Virtue. 
 
 And in four niches within, standing at full length, are the 
 Statues of Lycurgus, Socrates, Homer, and Epaminondas, 
 by Scheemaker ; under which, are the following Inscriptions : 
 
 UNDER LYCURGUS. 
 
 Qui summo cum consilio, inventis legibus, 
 Omnem.que contra corruptelam munitis optime, 
 Pater Patriae, 
 Libertatem firmissimam 
 Et mores sanctissimos, 
 Expulsa cum divitiis avaritia, luxuria, libidine, 
 in multa saecula, 
 Civibus suis instituit. 
 
7 
 
 Who having planned, with consummate wisdom, a system of laws firmly 
 secured against every encroachment of corruption ; and having, by the expul- 
 sion of riches, banished luxury, avarice, and intemperance ; established in the 
 state for many ages, perfect liberty and inviolable purity of manners. — The 
 Father of his Country. 
 
 UNDER SOCRATES. 
 
 Qui corruptissima in civitate innocens, 
 Bonorum hortator, unici cultor Dei, 
 Ab inutili otio, & vanis disputationibus 
 Ad officia vitae, & societatis commoda 
 Philosophiam avocavit, 
 Hominum sapientissimus. 
 
 Who innocent in the midst of a most corrupted people ; the encourager of 
 the good ; a worshipper of the one God ; from useless speculations, and vain 
 disputes, restored Philosophy to the duties of life, and the benefit of Society. — 
 The wisest of men. 
 
 UNDER HOMER. 
 
 Qui poetaruni primus, idem & maximus, 
 Virtutis praeco, & immortalitatis largitor, 
 Divino carmine 
 Ad pulchre audendum, & patiendum fortiter, 
 Omnibus notus gentibus, omnes incitat. 
 
 The first and greatest of Poets ; the herald of virtue ; the giver of immor- 
 tality ; who, by his divine genius known to all nations, incites all, nobly to dare, 
 and to suffer firmly. 
 
 UNDER EPAMINONDAS. 
 
 Cujus a virtute, prudentia, verecundia, 
 Thebanorum respublica 
 Libertatem simul & imperium, 
 Disciplinam bellicam, civilem & domesticam 
 Accepit ; 
 Eoque amisso, perdidit. 
 
 By whose valour, prudence, and modesty, the Theban commonwealth 
 gained liberty and empire, military discipline, civil and domestic policy; all 
 which, by losing him, she lost. 
 
8 
 
 \ 
 
 OVER ONE DOOR. 
 
 Charum esse civera, bene de republica mereri, laudari, coli, diligi, gloriosum 
 est: metui vero, & in odio esse, invidiosum, detestabile, imbecillum, caducum. 
 
 To be dear to our country, to deserve well of the public, to be honoured, 
 reverenced, loved, is glorious ; but to be dreaded and hated, is odious, detest- 
 able, weak, ruinous. 
 
 OVER THE OTHER. 
 
 Justitiara cole & pietatem, quae cum sit magna in parentibus & propinquis, 
 turn in patria maxima est. Ea vita via est in caelum, & in hunc ccetum 
 eorum qui jam vixerunt. 
 
 Cultivate justice and benevolence, which in an eminent manner is due to rela- 
 tions and to friends, but in the highest degree to our country; this path leads 
 to the mansions of the blessed, and to this assembly of those wbo are now no 
 more. 
 
 From the doors of this Temple, and from the peristilium, 
 are seen the Statue of the late Queen; the Castle standing at 
 the end of a line in the Park three miles long ; the Temple 
 of the British Worthies; and the Palladian Bridge at a 
 distance ; as also 
 
 CAPTAIN GRENVILLE'S MONUMENT, 
 
 being a Naval monument erected by the late Lord Cobham, 
 in honour of Captain Grenville, upon the top of which Heroic 
 Poetry holds in her hand a Scroll with 
 
 Non nisi grandia Canto. 
 Heroic deeds alone my theme. 
 
 Upon the plinth and on the piedestal are the following 
 inscriptions : 
 
 Dignum laude virum musa vetat mori. 
 The muse forbids heroic worth to die. 
 
9 
 
 Sororis suae Filio, 
 
 THOM.ff: GRENVILLE, 
 
 Qui navis Praefectus regiae, 
 Ducente classem Britannicam Georgio Anson, 
 Dum contra Gallos fortissime pugnaret, 
 Dilaceratae navis ingenti fragmine, 
 Femore graviter percusso, 
 Perire, dixit moribundus, oranino satius esse, 
 Quam inertia? reum in judicio sisti ; 
 Columnam hanc rostratam 
 Laudans & mcerens posuit 
 Cobhani. 
 Insigne virtutis, eheu ! rarissimae 
 Exemplum habes ; 
 Ex quo discas, 
 Quid virum praefectura militari ornatum 
 Deceat, 
 
 MDCCXLVII. 
 
 To his Nephew, 
 
 THOMAS GRENVILLE, 
 
 Who, 
 
 Captain of a ship of war, 
 In the British fleet, 
 Commanded by Admiral Anson, 
 In an engagement with the French, 
 Being wounded mortally in the Thigh, 
 By a fragment of his shatter'd ship, 
 
 Expiring said, 
 " How much better is it thus to die, 
 " Than to stand arraigned 
 " Before a Court Martial." 
 This Naval column 
 was erected 
 By Richard Viscount Cobham, 
 As a monument of his applause and grief, 
 1747. 
 
 From this animating example, 
 Learn, 
 
 When honour'd with command, 
 What becomes 
 An Officer. 
 
 C 
 
10 
 
 Ye weeping muses, graces, virtues tell, 
 
 If, sinee your all-accomplish'd Sidney fell, 
 
 You, or afflicted Britain e'er deplor'd 
 
 A loss, like that these plaintive lays record ; 
 
 Such spotless honour, such ingenuous truth, 
 
 Such ripeu'd wisdom in the bloom of youth ! 
 
 So mild, so geutle, so compos' d a mind, 
 
 To such heroic warmth and courage join'd ! 
 
 He too, like Sidney, nurs'd in learning's arms, 
 
 For nobler war forsook her peaceful charms ; 
 
 Like him, possess'd of every pleasing art, 
 
 The secret wish of every virgin's heart : 
 
 Like him, cut orT in youthful glory's pride, 
 
 He, unrepining for his country dy'd. 
 
 GEORGE LORD LYTTELTON. 
 
 From this column, the Portico of the House is seen 
 obliquely ; together with the British Worthies, the Temple 
 of Ancient Virtue, and the Elysian Fields :— the freshness of 
 the verdure and of the foliage, the buildings and the water, 
 all unite to make this scene one of the gayest and most 
 cheerful in the Garden. 
 
 Two rustic Bridges over the Grotto River, conduct to 
 
 AN URN, 
 
 erected by the present Marquess of Buckingham, and dedi- 
 cated to his father. — Upon the Urn is the following in- 
 scription : 
 
 GJEORGIO M. DE BUCKINGHAM, 
 
 Patri amato, 
 Viro nobili, et clarissimo, 
 Hanc Urnam 
 Mcerens, venerans, et exempli memor 
 D. D. D. 
 
 RICHARDUS M. DE BUCKINGHAM, 
 A.S. 1814. 
 
11 
 
 TO GEORGE MARQUESS OF BUCKINGHAM, 
 
 A beloved Parent, 
 An illustrious and able Statesman, 
 This Urn is dedicated 
 
 by 
 
 RICHARD MARQUESS OF BUCKINGHAM, 
 
 Lamenting his loss, 
 Venerating his memory, 
 And anxious to emulate his example. 
 A.D. 1814. 
 
 Upon the Piedestal is the following quotation from Cicero. 
 
 Haec est mea, et fratris mei 
 Germana patria : 
 Hinc enim orti stirpe antiquissima : 
 Hie Sacra, hie gens, 
 Hie majorum multa vestigia. 
 Quid plura? 
 Hanc vides villam, 
 Ut nunc quidem est, 
 Lautius aedificatam 
 Patris nostri studio ; 
 Qui 
 
 Cum esset infirma valetudine, 
 Hie fere aetatem egit. 
 
 Cicero de legib. 1. 2. 
 
 To me, and to my Brother, 
 These scenes are endeared, 
 As those of the land that gave us birth ! 
 Sprung from an ancient race, 
 Here we see ourselves surrounded, 
 By all that hereditary recollection 
 Can render sacred to us, 
 As well as by the traces 
 Of those who are gone before us — 
 Can more be said 1 
 Behold this place, 
 Improved, extended, and adorned, 
 By the hand of 
 A beloved Father, 
 Who under these shades, 
 Passed his declining days ! 
 
 Cicero de legib. 1. 2. 
 
 C2 
 
12 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF BRITISH WORTHIES, 
 
 by Kent, is a building cut into niches, wherein are placed 
 the following bustos : 
 
 ALEXANDER POPE, 
 
 Who uniting the correctness of judgment to the fire of genius, 
 by the melody and power of his numbers, 
 gave sweetness to sense, and grace to philosophy. 
 He employed the pointed brilliancy of wit to chastise the vices, 
 and the eloquence of poetry to exalt the virtues of human nature, 
 and being without a rival in his own age, 
 imitated and translated, with a spirit equal to the originals, 
 the best Poets of antiquity. 
 
 SIR THOMAS GRESHAM, 
 
 Who by the honourable profession of a merchant, having enriched himself 
 and his country; for carrying on the commerce of the world, built the Royal 
 Exchange. 
 
 IGNATIUS JONES, 
 
 Who, to adorn his country, introduced and rivalled the Greek and Roman 
 Architecture. 
 
 JOHN MILTON, 
 
 Whose sublime and unbounded genius equalled a subject that carried him 
 beyond the limits of the world. 
 
 WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE, 
 
 Whose excellent genius opened to him the whole art of man, all the mines of 
 fancy, all the stores of nature; and gave him power, beyond all other 
 writers, to move, astonish, and delight mankind. 
 
 JOHN LOCKE, 
 
 Who, best of all Philosophers, understood the powers of the human mind ; 
 the nature, end, and bounds of civil government; and with equal sagacity, 
 refuted the slavish system of usurped authority over the rights, the con- 
 sciences, or the reason of mankind. 
 
13 
 
 SIR ISAAC NEWTON, 
 
 Whom the God of nature made to comprehend his works. 
 
 SIR FRANCIS BACON, LORD VERULAM. 
 
 Who, by the strength and light of superior genius, rejecting vain speculation 
 and fallacious theory, taught to pursue truth, and improve philosophy by 
 the certain method of experiment. 
 
 In the niche of a Pyramid is placed a Mercury, with these 
 words subscribed : 
 
 Campos ducit ad Elysios. Leads to the Elysian Fields. 
 
 And below this figure is fixed a square of black marble, 
 with the following lines : 
 
 Hie manus ob patriam pugnando vulnera passi, 
 Quique pii vates, aut Phoebo digna locuti, 
 Inventas aut qui vitam excoluere per artes, 
 Quique sui memores alios fecere merendo. 
 
 Here are the bands, who for their country bled, 
 And bards, whose pure and sacred verse is read : 
 Those who, by arts invented, life improv'd, 
 And by their merits, made their mem'ries lov'd. 
 
 KING ALFRED. 
 
 The mildest, justest, most beneficent of kings; who drove out the Danes, 
 secured the seas, protected learning, established juries, crushed corruption, 
 guarded liberty, and was the founder of the English constitution. 
 
 EDWARD, PRINCE OF WALES. 
 
 The terror of Europe, the delight of England ; who preserved unaltered, in 
 the height of glory and fortune, his natural gentleness and modesty. 
 
 QUEEN ELIZABETH, 
 
 Who confounded the projects, and destroyed the power that threatened to 
 
14 
 
 oppress the liberties of Europe ; shook off the yoke of ecclesiastical tyranny ; 
 restored religion from the corruptions of popery ; and by a wise, a moderate, 
 and a popular government, gave wealth, security, and respect to England. 
 
 KING WILLIAM III. 
 
 Who, by his virtue and constancy, having saved his country from a foreign 
 master ; by a bold and generous enterprize, preserved the liberty and religion 
 of Great Britain. 
 
 SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 
 
 A valiant Soldier, and an able Statesman; who endeavouring to rouse the 
 spirit of his master, for the honour of his country, against the ambition of 
 Spain, fell a sacrifice to the influence of that court, whose arms he had van- 
 quished, and whose designs he opposed. 
 
 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE, 
 
 Who, through many perils, was the first of Britons that ventured to sail round 
 the Globe; and carried into unknown Seas and Nations the knowledge and 
 glory of the English name. 
 
 JOHN HAMPDEN, 
 
 Who, with great spirit and consummate abilities, began a noble opposition to 
 an arbitrary court, in the defence of the liberties of his country ; supported 
 them in parliament, and died for them in the field*. 
 
 SIR JOHN BARNARD, 
 
 Who distinguished himself in Parliament by an active and firm opposition to 
 the pernicious and iniquitous practice of stock-jobbing: at the same time 
 exerting his utmost abilities to encrease the strength of his country, by reducing 
 the interest of the national debt; which he proposed to the House of Commons 
 in the year 1737, and with the assistance of Government, carried into effect in 
 the year 1750, on terms of equal justice to Particulars and to the State; 
 notwithstanding all the impediments which private interest could oppose to 
 public spirit. 
 
 In the Grotto River are several small Islands ; upon one 
 of them is 
 
15 
 
 A MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF CAPTAIN COOK. 
 
 It consists of an ancient Sarcophagus. In the die of the 
 piedestal is a medallion of Captain Cook in marble, and 
 under it, in a tablet, 
 
 JACOBO COOK, MDCCLXXV1II, 
 
 From a bench is seen 
 
 A FOUNTAIN 
 
 of white marble, from whence flows a Spring of the purest 
 water. On a tablet is placed the following inscription 
 from Thompson : 
 
 Here pause in silence, while beneath the shade 
 Of solemn Oaks, that tuft the swelling mounts, 
 You pensive listen to the plaint of rills, 
 That purling down their dewy murmurs shake 
 On the sooth'd ear. 
 
 The walk leads on to 
 
 THE GROTTO. 
 
 The trees which stretch across the water, together with 
 those which back it, and others which hang over the cavern 
 form a scene singularly perfect in its kind. The front of 
 it is composed of the roughest stones and spars. The inside 
 is finished with a variety of shells, spars, fossils, petrifac- 
 tions, and stalactites. At the upper end is a circular recess, 
 in which are two basons of white marble : in the upper is 
 placed a fine marble Statue of Venus rising from her bath, 
 
16 
 
 and from this the water falls into the lower bason, from 
 whence it is conveyed under the floor to the front, where 
 it falls into the river through the lower cavern. A tablet 
 of white marble contains the following lines from Milton : 
 
 Goddess of the silver wave, 
 
 To thy thick embower'd cave, 
 
 To arched walks, and twilight groves, 
 
 And shadows brown, which Sylvan loves 
 
 When the sun begins to fling 
 
 His flaring beams, me, goddess, bring. 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF CONCORD AND VICTORY, 
 
 is a large beautiful building, decorated with 28 fluted 
 Columns of the Ionic order, and one of the principal orna- 
 ments in the Garden.— It was originally designed by Kent, 
 from the measurements (which it nearly follows) of the 
 Maison Qnarree at Nismes, but it was unfinished, particu- 
 larly in the decorations, till the year 1763, when it was 
 completed under the orders of Signor Borra, and dedicated 
 by Lord Temple to Concord and Victory, as a monument 
 of the glories of the War, terminated by the peace of 
 Fontainebleau. 
 
 It has six statues on the top, as large as life, and the front 
 pediment is adorned with a piece of Alto-relievo, by Mr. 
 Scheemaker, representing the four quarters of the world 
 bringing their various products to Britannia. — In the frize 
 of the Portico is this inscription : 
 
 Concordia & victoria. To Concord and Victory. 
 
t 
 
 17 
 
 On the walls of the Anti-Temple are two medallions 
 describing 
 
 concordia fqsderatorum : Concord of the Allies. 
 
 concordia civium : -National Concord. 
 
 Over the door is this inscription from Valerius Maximus : 
 
 loc?Zet q Cbar 1US e ° rUm ' 10 UUimaS angUStiaS deducta > ambitioni 
 
 The times with such alarming dangers fraught 
 Left not a hope for any factious thought. ' 
 
 In a niche of the Temple is placed the statue of Liberty • 
 with this inscription on the piedestal : 
 
 Placidam sub Libertate quietem. 
 Tranquillity secured by Liberty. 
 
 And on the pediment, 
 
 Anno Salutis mdcclxiii. 
 In the Year of Grace 1763. 
 
 Over this in a tablet, is the following inscription from 
 Valerius Maximus : 
 
 Candidis autem animis voluptatem prabuerint, in conspicuo nosira «„~ 
 cuique magmfica merito contigerunt. ^nspicuo posita, quae 
 
 A sweet sensation touches ev'ry breast 
 
 wl Cand ° Ur S S en ' rous sentiment possest; 
 When public services, with honour due, 
 Are gratefully mark'd out to public view. 
 D 
 
18 
 
 On the walls are fourteen medallions to represent the 
 taking of Martinique, &c ; Louisbourgh; Montreal; Naval 
 Victory off Belleisle; Felinghausen ; Crown Point, Niagara 
 and Fort du Quesne; Goree, and Senegal ; Havannah, and 
 Manilla; Beau Sejour, Cherbourgh, and Belleisle; Crevelt, 
 and Minden; Naval Victory ofT Lagos; Quebec; Guade- 
 loupe, &c; Pondicherry, &c.--executed from several of the 
 
 medals. 
 
 From this Portico is seen to great advantage the Grecian 
 Valley adorned with Statues, intermixed with clumps of the 
 finest trees, beautifully disposed; and 
 
 AN OBELISK 
 
 in the Park, above an hundred feet high, inscribed to Major 
 General Wolfe, with this inscription: 
 
 Ostendunt terris hunc tantum Fata— 
 The Fates but shew him to the world. 
 
 MDCCLIX. 
 
 This Obelisk stands upon a hill in the approach from 
 Northamptonshire, which is very magnificent: At the en- 
 trance from the Royal Forest of Whittlebury, of which the 
 Duke of Grafton is hereditary Ranger, are two Lodges, 
 from whence a very broad line of avenue, of three miles 
 in length, cut through extensive woods, is terminated by the 
 Obelisk.-In the other line from the Temple, is seen a lofty 
 fluted column, erected to the memory of the late Lord 
 Viscount Cobham. 
 
 / 
 
19 
 
 A gravel path leads by the Statue of Hercules and Antseus, 
 skirting the valley, to 
 
 THE FANE OF PASTORAL POETRY. 
 
 Here a most pleasing forest-scene presents itself, formed by 
 extensive lawns of the Park, bounded with old oaks. The 
 valley which is most magnificently terminated by the Temple 
 of Concord and Victory, crowning the ridge at the upper 
 end, leads to 
 
 LORD COBHAM'S PILLAR, 
 
 one hundred and fifteen feet high ; adorned on the summit 
 with a Statue of his Lordship, who originally laid out these 
 Gardens. 
 
 This Monument was designed by Gibbs, but the piedestal 
 has been altered by Signor Valdre, by being enlarged so as 
 to support four Lions on the four angles: On the four 
 principal faces are the following inscriptions : 
 
 ON A TABLET OVER THE DOOR. 
 
 Ricardo Vicecomiti de Cobham, 
 Exercitum Britannicorum Marescallo, 
 Qui in Castris, et in Negotiis 
 
 Rempublicara sustiuuit ; 
 Et elegantiori Hortorum cultu, 
 His primum in agris illustrato, 
 
 Patriani ornavit. 
 
 MDCCXLVII. 
 
 To Richard Lord Viscount Cobham, Field Marshal of the British Armies • 
 who served his country as well in the cabinet as the field; and who adorned 
 it by a more elegant system of modern gardening, first illustrated on this spot. 
 
 D 2 
 
20 
 
 ON A TABLET ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE. 
 
 L. Luculli summi viri Virtutes Quis ? Quam multi villarum magnificentiam 
 imitati sunt ! 
 
 tully's offices. 
 
 How many have imitated the magnificence of L. Lucullus's Villas 1 but how 
 few have aspired to emulate his virtues ! 
 
 ON A TABLET ON THE SOUTH SIDE. 
 
 And you, brave Cobham, to the latest breath, 
 Shall feel your ruling passion strong in death ; 
 Such in those moments, as in all the past, 
 Oh, Save my Country, Heaven ! shall be your last. 
 
 ' J A. POPE. 
 
 ON A TABLET ON THE NORTH SIDE. 
 
 Consult the genius of the place in all; 
 That bids the waters rise, or gently fall ; 
 That helps th' ambitious hill the heav'ns to scale, 
 Or scoops in circling theatres the vale ; 
 Calls in the country, catches op'ning glades, 
 Unites the woods, and varies shades from shades ; 
 Nature shall join you ; Time shall make it grow 
 A work to wonder at,— perhaps a Stowe. 
 
 A. POPE. 
 
 A circular stair-case leads up to the top, which commands 
 a view over great part of the counties of Buckingham, Ox- 
 ford, Northampton, Bedford, and Hertford. 
 
 In the Park to the westward is the 
 
 BOURBON TOWER, 
 
 A circular building of hewn stone, deriving its name from 
 the circumstance of the Clumps of Oaks which surround 
 
21 
 
 it being planted by the hands of H. M. C. Majesty Louis 
 XVIIIth, King of France and Navarre, and of the Princes 
 of his house, in commemoration of their visit to Stowe, A. D. 
 1808. The height of the tower is 65 feet, its circumference 
 110. Within it are apartments which are inhabited, and a 
 winding staircase to the top of the edifice. Four towers 
 are placed round it. Over the door, the following inscrip- 
 tion on a marble slab, placed by the late Marquess of Buck- 
 ingham, records the event from which the building derives 
 its name. 
 
 Quod 
 
 Tranquillitatem Europae, 
 Jura, et bonos Mores, 
 Regia Galliae Gens, 
 In Solium Avorum redux, 
 Stabiliat, et augeat, 
 Faxit Deus Optimus Maximus ! 
 
 Et ne obliviscatur, 
 Quod in jEdibus Grenvillianis, 
 BORBONIENSES, 
 'Virtute et Constants in Adversis 
 Illustriores, 
 Cominorari non dedignati sunt ; 
 
 HAS QUERCUS, 
 
 A Ludovico xviii. Francis et Navarree Rege, 
 A Carolo Philippo Regis Fratre, 
 A Ludovico Antonio Regis Nepote, 
 A Carolo Ferdinando Regis Nepote, 
 A Ludovico Philippo Duce Orleanense, 
 A Ludovico Carolo Comite Beaujoliense, 
 A Ludovico Josepho Principe Condeense, 
 A Ludovico Henrico Duce Borboniense, 
 xninio die Januarii anno mdcccviii, 
 Hie positas ; 
 Georgius Marchio de Buckingham 
 Posteris suis commendat. 
 
22 
 
 That the Restoration 
 Of the Royal Family of France, 
 To its Honours 
 And 
 
 The Throne of its Ancestors, 
 
 May establish and secure 
 The tranquillity of Europe, 
 The blessings of a rightful Government, 
 And the maintenance 
 Of Social and Religious Order, 
 May God in his mercy grant. 
 
 To perpetuate the Recollection 
 
 Of the period 
 During which the Members of the 
 ROYAL HOUSE OF BOURBON, 
 Illustrious by their Constancy under Adversity, 
 Condescended to reside under the Roof 
 Of the Grenville Family, 
 
 THESE OAKS, 
 Planted by the hands of 
 Louis xviii, King of France and Navarre, 
 Charles Philip, the King's Brother, 
 Lewis Anthony, the King's Nephew, 
 Charles Ferdinand, the King's Nephew, 
 Lewis Philip, Duke of Orleans, 
 Lewis Charles, Count Beaujolie, 
 Lewis Joseph, Prince of Conde, 
 Lewis Henry, Duke of Bourbon, 
 On the 13th of January, mdcccviii, 
 Are recommended 
 To the care of his Descendants, 
 
 By 
 
 George Marquess of Buckingham. 
 
 In another part of the tower is another slab of marble, 
 bearing the following inscription, placed by the present 
 Marquess of Buckingham. 
 
 Ludovico Redito 
 Hanc tabulam 
 Posuit 
 
 Richardus Marchio de Buckingham, 
 a. s. 1816. 
 
23 
 
 LEWIS RESTORED, 
 
 This Tablet 
 was placed 
 by 
 
 Richard Marouess of Buckingham, 
 . A.S. 1816. 
 
 Near Lord Cobham's Pillar is 
 
 THE QUEEN'S BUILDING, 
 
 Dedicated by George Marquess of Buckingham to Her 
 present Majesty, originally designed by Kent. It has been 
 altered, by the addition of a Corinthian Portico standing on 
 an elevated basement story, with a flight of steps in front, 
 which lead to the interior apartment, decorated in 1790. 
 The room is ornamented with Scaiola columns and pilas- 
 ters, supporting a trunk ceiling, taken from the design of 
 the Temple of the Sun and Moon at Rome : at the West 
 end is a Medallion of Britannia dejected, and with her spear 
 reversed, and on the tablet the following inscription : 
 
 Desideriis icta fidelibus 
 Quaeret Patria Caesarem. 
 
 For Caesar's life, with anxious hopes and fears, 
 Britannia lifts to Heav'n a nation's tears. 
 
 On the East end is a Medallion of Britannia with a palm, 
 and sacrificing to Esculapius, on the recovery of the King 
 from his illness in 1789 ; and on the tablet the following 
 inscription : 
 
24 
 
 O Sol pulcher ! o laudande, canam 
 recepto Caesare felix ! 
 
 O happy day ! with rapture Britons sing 
 
 The day when Heav'n restored their fav'rite King ! 
 
 In the centre of this apartment is a sitting figure of 
 Britannia supporting a Medallion of the Queen. — The figure 
 is as large as life, and is placed on a fluted piedestal, on 
 which is the following inscription : 
 
 Charlottae Sophiae Augustas, 
 Pietate erga Regem, erga Rempublicam 
 
 Virtute & constantia, 
 In difficilirais tetnporibus spectatissimae 
 D. D. D. 
 Georgius M. de Buckingham. 
 
 MDCCLXXXIX. 
 
 To the Queen, 
 Conspicuous for her conduct in a moment of the greatest difficulty, 
 For her duty to the King, 
 And for her attachment to the interests of her country, 
 George M. of Buckingham dedicates this Monument. 
 
 On the walls of the centre compartment of this building 
 are four Medallions, representing 
 
 1. Trophies of Religion, Justice, and Mercy. 
 
 2. Trophies of Agriculture and Manufacture. 
 
 3. Trophies of Navigation and Commerce. 
 
 4. Trophies of War. 
 
 From this Portico the ground falls very rapidly, and on 
 the crest of the opposite hill is 
 
f 
 
25 
 
 THE GOTHIC TEMPLE, 
 
 a large building of yellow stone, 70 feet high, adorned in 
 the Gothic style with carved work, and a collection of old 
 painted glass, consisting of sacred subjects, and of great 
 variety of armorial bearings; some of which are very finely 
 executed. The disposition within is very beautiful: the 
 principal room is circular, the arches and dome of which 
 are ornamented with the descents and inter-marriages of 
 the Grenville and Temple family, in a regular series of 
 armorial bearings from the Saxon Earls of Leicester to the 
 late Lord Viscount Cobham, and to his sister and heiress 
 Hester, Countess Temple. — On each side is a small circular 
 chapel, with painted glass of armorial bearings of different 
 families ; and at the upper end a circular stair-case leads 
 to a gallery on the second story, where there are likewise 
 two other chapels with the arms of the Saxon Heptarchy.— 
 The tower affords a very extensive view round the country. 
 
 In a circular recess, near this Temple, embowered in 
 ancient oaks, are placed some very good Statues in stone, 
 by Rysbrack, of the seven Saxon Deities, who gave names 
 to the days of the week : The inscriptions upon them are 
 in that language. 
 
 Through the valley below this building flows a piece of 
 water, over which is 
 
 THE PALLADIAN BRIDGE, 
 
 the roof supported by Ionic pillars, and the whole finished 
 
 E 
 
26 
 
 after the bridge at Wilton, designed by Inigo Jones. It 
 leads to 
 
 THE TEMPLE OF FRIENDSHIP, 
 
 a large Structure of the Tuscan order: on the outside of 
 which is this motto : 
 
 AmicitI-K S. Sacred to Friendship. 
 
 MDCCXXXIX. 
 
 The inside is furnished with Busts in white marble, of 
 the late Viscount Cobham and his political friends, viz. 
 Frederick, Prince of Wales; the Earls of Chesterfield, 
 Westmoreland, and Marchmont; the Lords Cobham, Gower, 
 and Bathurst; Richard Grenville, late Earl Temple; William 
 Pitt, late Earl of Chatham; and George Lyttelton, late 
 Lord Lyttelton. 
 
 From thence the walk conducts to 
 
 THE PEBBLE ALCOVE, 
 
 ■■< ; ' f- ,*?*"-♦• \ ■ ■ • and : - ' ■. •■ '• ' '■■>$ 
 
 CONGREVE'S MONUMENT, by Kent. 
 
 The embellishments round the latter are designed to express 
 the Poet's genius in the dramatic line ; upon the top sits a 
 monkey viewing himself in a mirror, with this inscription : 
 
 Vita? imitatio 
 Consuetudinis speculum 
 Comcedia. 
 
 Comedy is the imitation of life, and the mirror of fashion. 
 
27 
 
 The poet's effigies lies in a careless posture on one side, 
 and on the other is placed this epitaph : 
 
 Ingenio 
 Acri, faceto, expolito, 
 Moribusque 
 Urbanis, candidis, facillimis, 
 
 GULIELMI CONGREVE; 
 
 Hoc 
 
 Qualecunque desiderii sui 
 Solamen simul ac 
 
 Monumentum 
 Posuit Cobham. 
 
 MDCCXXXVI. 
 
 To the sprightly, entertaining, elegant 
 Wit, 
 
 and the polished, candid, easy 
 
 Manners, 
 Of William Congreve; 
 This, 
 
 in some sort a consolation, 
 and a memorial of his affectionate regret, 
 was erected by 
 Cobham. 
 
 Opposite to this Monument a spring flows from a marble 
 Vase into the Lake. 
 
 The Gardens contain above five hundred Acres. 
 
 E 2 
 
Inscription 
 
 OF 
 
 THE HOUSE. 
 
 A GREAT flight of 31 steps, adorned with two Lions on 
 the piedestals, taken from those in the Garden Vestibule 
 of the Villa Medici at Rome, leads up to the Portico or 
 Loggia. 
 
 In the semicircles over the Ionic Entablature of the centre 
 building are two medallions representing the four seasons; — 
 there are likewise three other medallions, in the same 
 position, on each pavillion, viz. Venus and Adonis, and two 
 sacrifices; — over the centre of the east pavillion, the Statues 
 of Peace and Plenty; over the west, those of Religion and 
 Liberty ; betwixt the statues, in a pannel at the top of the 
 west pavillion, is the following Latin inscription : 
 
 Richardus Comes Temple F. By Richard Earl Temple. 
 
 AT THE EAST END. 
 
 Anno Salutis, mdcclxxv. In the Year of Grace, 1775. 
 
30 
 
 THE LOGGIA, 
 
 is formed by six Corinthian columns and two pilasters, 3 
 feet 7 inches diameter; — over the great door and niches is a 
 Bass-relief representing a sacrifice to Bacchus, which fills 
 the whole space from pilaster to pilaster: In the Loggia are 
 placed four female colossal figures. 
 
 In the inter-columniations on the sides are two fine 
 groupes of the Labours of Hercules, viz. Hercules and 
 Antaeus. Hercules and Cacus. 
 
 In the recesses are two fine antique sitting statues, viz. 
 a Cybele, and a Juno, in white marble. 
 
 The ceiling is divided into three compartments taken from 
 the designs of Palmyra. 
 
 A very rich door-case carved in stone, from the same 
 designs, leads into 
 
 THE SALOON. 
 
 An oval, lighted by a central opening in a dome. The 
 ceiling is divided into compartments which diminish towards 
 the centre, each compartment containing pannels richly de- 
 corated. The oval light is ornamented with scroll work, 
 and circular pannels; at each end of it are female figures 
 terminating in the same scroll work, and supporting the 
 arms of the first Earl Temple, and of the late Marquess of 
 Buckingham. 
 
 The cornice is of the Doric order, and is adorned with 
 masks of Bacchantes and Satyrs; above is an attic sup- 
 porting a most magnificent alto-relievo, consisting of above 
 
31 
 
 three hundred figures, designed and executed by Signor 
 Valdre. They are disposed so as to fill the whole circle, 
 and compose a triumph and a sacrifice : many of them are 
 collected from the pillars of Trajan, and of Antonine, from 
 the arches of Severus, Titus, and Constantine, and from 
 others of the noblest monuments of the Roman grandeur; 
 they are in general near four feet high, and are blended with 
 various trophies, spoils and animals ; over the Loggia door 
 is the Temple to which the procession leads ; over the Hall 
 door is the triumphal arch from which it proceeds. The 
 cornice is supported by sixteen columns executed in Scaiola, 
 representing Sicilian jasper, by Signor Dominico Bartoli, and 
 finished with a lustre superior to the finest marbles: the 
 bases and capitals of them are white. 
 
 In the walls are sixteen compartments or pannels, filled 
 up with trophies in the richest and boldest relievo; and 
 below them are the four doors, and twelve niches : in eight 
 of them are white marble antique figures, some of them of 
 the finest Greek or Roman sculpture, viz. Meleager, (very 
 fine;) Augustus, (very fine;) a Muse, (very fine ;) Agrippina; 
 Diana ; Venus ; Antinous, (very fine ;) and Hygeia : in the 
 others are Candelabra, six feet high, executed with the 
 utmost taste, and richly bronzed and gilt. 
 
 From the soffite hang, by chains of gilt bronze, sixteen 
 glass lights, decorated with festoons of cut chrystal, and 
 containing lamps. 
 
 The pavement is of the finest marble from Massa Carrara, 
 in squares of four feet : scarlet draperies hang over the 
 doors. 
 
32 
 
 THE HALL, 
 Designed and painted by Kent. 
 
 The ceiling is adorned with the seven planets ; the ruling 
 one, that of Mars, in the likeness of King William, presents 
 a Sword to the late Field Marshal Viscount Cobham, in 
 allusion to that Prince having given him a Regiment, at his 
 first entrance into the army. 
 
 Over the chimney is an Alto-relievo, by Banks, of Carac- 
 tacus before the throne of Claudius. 
 
 Opposite to it is another of Darius's tent by a French 
 Artist. On each side of the fire-place are two valuable 
 antique busts of white marble, the one of Nero, purchased 
 in Rome, by the late Marquess of Buckingham ; the other of 
 Tiberius, found amongst the ruins of his palace in the Island 
 of Capri. 
 
 Upon a Piedestal is a fine antique figure, in white marble, 
 of Paris holding out the apple. This was discovered by 
 Mr. Gavin Hamilton adjacent to the ruins of the ancient 
 JLanuvium, between Albano and Velletri, in the Year 
 1771, and purchased of him by the late Marquess of 
 Buckingham. 
 
 In the Hall, and the adjoining Passages, is a valuable 
 collection of original portraits. The following is a catalogue 
 of them, beginning from the N. E. angle, the spectator 
 fronting the Statue of Paris. 
 
 Charles II. (original) given by him to Sir Richard Temple; 
 whole length. 
 
33 
 
 Louis XVI. King of France. 
 
 Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. 
 
 General Monk, Duke of Albemarle. 
 
 Gaston d'Orleans, brother to Louis XIV. 
 
 James, Duke of York, whole length. 
 
 Thomas Howard, Earl of Arundel. 
 
 Henry de Lorrain, Duke of Guise. 
 ^ The Marquess de Vieuville, Ambassador from France to 
 Charles I. and killed at the battle of Auborn-Chase, (see 
 Clarendon,) by Vandyke.— This is a first-rate picture. 
 
 Anna Maria, Countess of Shrewsbury. — See Memoires 
 de Grammont. 
 
 George, Lord Cobham. 
 
 Lady Grey, Wife of Lord Grey.— See State Trials. 
 Prince Maurice of Nassau. 
 
 Count Gondemar, by Velasquez, a full length Picture- 
 capital. 
 
 Oliver Cromwell, by old Richardson. The boy who is 
 tying his scarf, is Sir Peter Temple, of Stanton-Bury, in the 
 County of Bucks, who was his Page, and who gave this 
 Picture to Lord Cobham in 1685. 
 
 Ben Johnson. 
 
 Nell Gwyn, by Sir Peter Lely, whole length. 
 
 Ford, Lord Grey. 
 
 Admiral Russel, Earl of Orford. 
 
 Old Richard Desborough and his Wife, sister to Oliver 
 Cromwell, painted by Dobson in his highest style. 
 
 Between the two last-mentioned is a picture of Mary, 
 Queen of Scots. 
 
 F 
 
34 
 
 Colonel James Stanyan, by Dobson. 
 Cosmo, third Duke of Tuscany. 
 
 Duchess of Richmond, (La Belle Stewart of Grammontj 
 a whole length, by Sir Peter Lely. 
 Mr. Locke. 
 
 Mr. Pope, given by him to Secretary Craggs, (original,) 
 by Hudson. 
 
 THE PASSAGE WEST OF THE HALL. 
 
 Dr. Swift, by Samuel Bindon, sent to Earl Nugent, with 
 a copy of verses, by Dr. Dunkin. 
 
 The Lord Marquess of Northampton. 
 
 Anne Hyde, Duchess of York. 
 
 Monsieur Clynton, Grand Admiral. 
 
 Right Honourable Joseph Addison. 
 
 Sir Peter Leveson Gower, by Vandyke. 
 
 Dr. Morecroft, one of the early Reformers. He is repre- 
 sented holding in his hand an ornamented Bible, now in the 
 Library at Stowe. 
 
 King William III. when young. 
 
 Anne Hyde, Duchess of York. 
 
 Baron Cominn. 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, daughter to James I. by 
 Vandyke. 
 
 Mr. Quin, the Comedian, by Gainsborough. 
 Sir Francis Bacon. 
 
 Jphn, Duke, of Marlborough, given by him to Mr. Secretary 
 Craggs. 
 
35 
 
 William Camden. 
 
 Frederick, king of Bohemia, by Vandyke. 
 
 PASSAGE EAST OF THE HALL. 
 Lord Strafford and his Secretary. 
 
 Marquess of Granby, a fine whole length, by Sir J. 
 Reynolds. 
 
 Prince Eugene of Savoy, given by him to Mr. Craggs. 
 Count Witgenstein. 
 
 Louis (le grand Dauphin) son to Louis XIV. 
 
 Henry, Prince of Wales, son of James I. whole length. 
 
 General Lambert, by Lely. 
 
 Duchess of Portsmouth, by Lely. 
 
 Lord Treasurer Southampton, by Vandyke. 
 
 Duchess of Montagu, daughter of John, Duke of Marl- 
 borough, whole length. 
 
 JefFery Hudson, Dwarf to Charles 1. on horseback, by 
 Vandyke. 
 
 Edward VI. 
 
 The Lord Vaux. 
 
 General Michael Richards, and his brother General John 
 Richards, with a view of the Siege of Belgrade, in 1688. 
 General John Richards was afterwards Governor of Alicant, 
 and, refusing to capitulate, was blown up 3d of March, 
 1709. 
 
 Andrew Borde, Physician to Henry VIII. (original) by 
 Holbein. 
 
 Edward VI. small whole length. 
 
 F 2 
 
36 
 
 Prince of Orange, by Miervelt. 
 
 John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, whole length, given 
 by him to Secretary Craggs. 
 
 De Mesmes Comte d' Avaux, Ambassador in Holland. 
 James Craggs, Secretary of State. 
 King George II. a small whole length. 
 Lady Jane Grey, (original.) 
 
 Le Due de Longueville, brother-in-law of the great 
 Conde. 
 
 King James I. a curious picture. 
 
 Mary Curzon, Countess of Dorset, whole length, by Van- 
 dyke. 
 
 Duchess of Cleveland, by Sir P. Lely. 
 
 Upon piedestals of white marble, are two very fine antique 
 vases, found in the Villa Adriana, and engraved by Piranesi ; 
 the one is decorated with young Bacchanals and foliages, 
 the other is divided into compartments containing figures 
 of Bacchantes. The mouldings are very rich, and the 
 decoration of one of them, in which four serpents form 
 the handles, is very bold and curious. 
 
 Opposite to them and on each side of the door leading 
 into the Saloon, are two white marble groupes, viz. Venus 
 and Adonis by Scheemaker, and Vertumnus and Pomona by 
 Delvaux, formerly at Canons. 
 
 Upon a white marble piedestal in the passage-end of the 
 Hall, stands an ancient white marble Sarcophagus, found 
 on the road to Tivoli, and engraved by Piranesi. It was 
 brought from Rome by George Marquess of Buckingham. 
 It is a Chest of marble about three feet long, by twenty 
 
37 
 
 inches high, the covering to it is a mattress or bed, upon 
 which lies a snake, within the folds of which is a human 
 figure recumbent, of very capital workmanship. — At one 
 end is the following inscription, viz. 
 
 D. M. Antonia Pacuvio filia fecit sibi et Erennio filio suo piissimo, Impe- 
 ratoris Trajani Caesaris Augusti Germanici servo dispensatori Montaniano. 
 
 A stair-case of stone, inclosed by an iron balustrade, winds 
 from the North Hall round the Statue of Paris, and leads 
 to the 
 
 EGYPTIAN HALL, 
 
 which forms the winter, or covered entrance, under the North 
 Portico and from the Park. On each side of the lowest 
 steps are two Sphinxes of stone. The Egyptian Hall is 
 fitted up from Denon's designs of remains in the interior of 
 one of the small temples of Tintyra. The ceiling is vaulted, 
 and ornamented with the celebrated Egyptian Zodiac found 
 in the ceiling of that temple. The walls are decorated with 
 hieroglyphics and various designs, correctly copied from the 
 Temples and Sepulchres of Tintyra and Thebes. The 
 Cornice is relieved by the Egyptian emblems of the Egg 
 and the Serpent. 
 
 In a recess at the upper end, opposite to the staircase, 
 stands a stone Sarcophagus, which contains a Stove, and 
 supports an ancient Cinerary Urn of white marble, orna- 
 mented in alto relievo. This recess is separated off by two 
 fluted pillars, taken from Tintyra. Over the door is a lamp 
 in the form of a globe, winged. 
 
38 
 
 THE NORTH PORTICO, 
 
 is formed by four Ionic columns two feet ten inches and 
 half diameter, and two pilasters ; on each side of the steps 
 is the figure of a lion couchant. 
 
 On one side of the Hall are a bed room and two dressing 
 rooms, fitted up with a magnificent Bed, occupied by His 
 Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, when the Prince of 
 Wales visited Stowe in the year 1805. On the toilet is a 
 splendid service of Silver dressing plate. 
 
 On the other side of the Hall are two dressing rooms and 
 a bed chamber hung with white damask. There is like- 
 wise a little dressing closet belonging to this apartment, 
 which opens into the North-west Corridore. 
 
 Over these two apartments are two others, one hung with 
 green damask, the other with tapestry of the four elements ; 
 each apartment consisting of a bed chamber and two dres- 
 sing rooms. 
 
 THE CIRCULAR CORRIDORES, 
 
 are formed by twenty-seven Ionic columns two feet diameter, 
 and one pilaster, adorned with antique busts, of marble, 
 some of them remarkably fine. 
 
 THE GRAND STAIR-CASE, 
 
 adorned with paintings by Jones — leads to the Bed Rooms 
 in the upper story. 
 
 AN ANTI-ROOM, 
 the walls are ornamented with original designs of Scenery in 
 
39 
 
 the Island of St. Vincent's, and of the Charaib tribes of 
 Indians, painted by Brunyas, and supported by Scaiola 
 Columns, imitating verde antique marble. This leads to a 
 passage which forms a degagement to all the principal 
 rooms. 
 
 THE CHAPEL, 
 
 wainscoted throughout with cedar, adorned with carvings, 
 with a gallery of the same, hung with crimson velvet, under 
 which are seats for the servants. 
 
 In the Gallery hang the Colours of the First Provisional 
 Battalion of Militia, which, under the command of the 
 present Marquess of Buckingham, volunteered for Foreign 
 Service, and joined the British Army in France under the 
 Duke (then Marquess) of Wellington.— As a tribute due to 
 the Officers and Men who followed him upon this Service, 
 the Marquess of Buckingham has put up, under the King's 
 Colour, the following inscription : — 
 
 The Colours 
 Which hang in this Chapel, 
 Belonged to 
 The First Provisional Battalion 
 Of MILITIA, 
 Composed entirely of Volunteers 
 From the English Militia. 
 
 This Regiment, 
 Under the command 
 Of 
 
 Richard Marquess of Buckingham, 
 Joined 
 
 The British Army in France, 
 Under 
 
 Arthur Marquess of Wellington, 
 In the Year mdcccxiv. 
 
40 
 
 In Remembrance 
 Of 
 
 The Officers and Men 
 Who accompanied him 
 Upon this Service, 
 And assisted in setting an example to 
 Their Countrymen, 
 Richard Marquess of Buckingham 
 Has preserved 
 These Colours, 
 Which he recommends to the care of 
 His Descendants. 
 
 Under the Regimental Colour, are inscribed the Names 
 of the Officers and Staff of the Regiment, together with a 
 Return of the Quotas of the different Regiments of Militia 
 which formed the Battalion, viz. 
 
 RETURN of 
 
 Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, Drummers, and Privates, 
 
 OF THE 
 
 FIRST PROVISIONAL BATTALION OF MILITIA, 
 
 Which under the Command of 
 Colonel the Marquess of Buckingham, 
 Joined the British Army in France, 
 A. d. mdcccxiv. 
 
 Rank. 
 
 Colonel . . 
 
 Lieut-Colonel 
 Major . . . , 
 
 Captains 
 
 Names of Officers. 
 Marquess of Buckingham 
 
 Regiments from which 
 they came. 
 
 Royal Bucks, or King's 
 Own Militia. 
 
 William Laurence Young Ditto 
 
 George Dean RoyalWest India Rang. 
 
 ! Francis Pettingall Northampton Militia. 
 
 William Jones Ditto 
 
 Benjamin Vassar Royal Bucks. 
 
 Robert M. Bates Ditto. 
 
 William H.Bacchus 2d Royal Surrey. 
 
 Vincent Beatty Royal Bucks. 
 
 Edward Temple Ditto. 
 
 John Fellowes Ditto. 
 
 John P. Allen Wilts. 
 
41 
 
 Rank. 
 
 Lieutenants 
 
 Names of Officers. Regiments from which 
 
 they came. 
 
 Michael Macnamara Royal Bucks. 
 
 William H. Brown Ditto. 
 
 John Giliman Ditto. 
 
 Charles Rudge Worcester. 
 
 Robert Glover , Northampton. 
 
 James Atcherley Worcester. 
 
 John Ames , . , . . Wilts. 
 
 William Whitby 
 
 Walter W. Carrington 
 
 John Harland Ditto. 
 
 Henry Bowles . . • Northampton. 
 
 James Grove Royal Bucks. 
 
 Thomas Shillingford ..... Ditto. 
 
 Thomas Beale , . . Worcester. 
 
 Francis Martin 2d Royal Surrey. 
 
 William Usher Ditto. 
 
 Daniel White Wilts. 
 
 Malachy Donelan Royal Bucks. 
 
 \ John Bridger Ditto. 
 
 1st Royal Surrey. 
 Royal Bucks. 
 
 f John Moore Ditto. 
 
 I William Hobro Worcester. 
 
 Ensigns . 
 
 Adjutant . . . Captain John T. Brown . . . Royal Bucks. 
 
 Pay-Master . Lieutenant George Dardis . . Ditto. 
 
 Quarter-Master Ensign John Masters .... Ditto. 
 
 Surgeon . . . Tobias Ledbrooke Ditto. 
 
 Assistant-Surg. \ Lieutenant William Whitby . 1st Royal Surrey. 
 
 6 , I Ensign John Moore Royal Bucks. 
 
 QUOTAS FROM EACH REGIMENT. 
 
 Regiments. Serjeants. Corporals. Drummers. 
 
 Royal Bucks or King's Own Militia 15 ... 18 ... 10 
 
 1st Royal Surrey 1 . . . 2 . 
 
 2d Ditto 4... 5... 2 
 
 Worcester 1 . . . 7 . 
 
 Wilts 2 . . . 3 
 
 Northampton ... 8 . 
 
 Total 23 ... 43 ... 14 ... 909 
 
 Serjeant-Major Thomas Meehan .... -j „ 
 
 Quarter-Master-Serjeant Robert Simmons < Royal Bucks, or Kings Own 
 
 Drum-Major Thomas Clarke ^ Mlhtia - 
 
 G 
 
42 
 
 Over the communion table is a copy of the Holy Lamb, 
 by Rubens, in the Wilton collection : over which are the 
 King's Arms. 
 
 Over the chimney is a very curious antique Shrine, brought 
 from Antwerp by the late Thomas Astle, Esq. 
 
 Part of the Cedar Wainscot was bought out of a Spanish 
 prize, by the Earl of Bath, to fit up the chapel at Stowe, 
 near Kilkhampton, in Cornwall, from whence it was brought 
 by Lord Cobham, who purchased it, to the place which it 
 at present occupies ; the remainder came from the chapel 
 at Bulstrode, the seat of the late Duke of Portland. The 
 cedar was worked by Michael Chuke, the carvings by 
 Gibbons. 
 
 The ceiling is after the pattern of that at the Chapel 
 Royal at St. James's. 
 
 On the left of the passage is 
 
 THE BILLIARD ROOM, 
 
 hung with a collection of Portraits of the Temple and 
 Grenville families. The billiard table is illuminated by 
 four lights at the four corners, hanging from the ceiling.— 
 Amongst the pictures are the following : — 
 
 John Temple, Esq. of Stowe; son of Peter Temple, who 
 built Stowe in 1560. 
 
 Richard Grenville of Wotton, born 1586. 
 
 Edward Grenville, by Cornelius Jansen, 1622. 
 
 Elizabeth Spencer, heiress of the Spencers of Everton, 
 wife of John Temple of Stowe. 
 
43 
 
 Sir Peter Temple, Bart. 1622, eldest son of Sir Thomas, 
 — by Cornelius Jansen. 
 Susanna Grenville, 1627. 
 
 Elizabeth Temple, wife of Sir H. Gibbs, daughter of Sir 
 Thomas Temple, Knight. 
 
 Sir Beville Grenville, killed at the battle of Lansdown. 
 
 Richard Grenville of Wotton, born 1527. 
 
 Penelope Temple, fourth sister to Lord Cobham, married 
 R. Berenger, Esq. 
 
 Sir Thomas Temple, Knight, second son of Sir Thomas, 
 and grandson of Peter Temple, who built Stowe. 
 
 George Doddington, Esq. son of George Doddington of 
 Somersetshire, who married the Lady Christiana Temple. 
 
 Frances Saunders, wife to Richard Grenville of Wotton, 
 by Cornelius Jansen. 
 
 Dorothy Leigh, wife of Sir Thomas Temple, Knight, by 
 Cornelius Jansen. 
 
 Sir Bernard Grenville, father of Sir Beville. 
 
 Mary Giffard, wife to Richard Grenville of Wotton, who 
 was born in 1527. 
 
 Martha Lady Peniston, daughter of Sir Thomas Temple. 
 
 Mary Knapp, wife of Sir Richard Temple. 
 
 Mary St. Leger, wife to Sir Beville Grenville. 
 
 Richard Grenville of Wotton, Esq. by Sir Godfrey 
 Kneller. 
 
 Christian Temple, third sister to Lord Cobham, married 
 Sir T. Lyttleton. 
 
 Captain Thomas Grenville, youngest brother of the Right 
 
 G 2 
 
44 
 
 Honourable George Grenville, Captain of His Majesty's ship 
 Defiance, 64 guns, killed in action, May 3d, 1747. 
 
 Penelope Grenville, daughter to Richard Grenville of 
 Wotton, born 6th of April, 1674, ^Etat. 28— married Sir J. 
 Conway. 
 
 Hester Countess Temple, wife to Richard Grenville of 
 Wotton, succeeded her brother as Viscountess and Baroness 
 Cobham, and was created Countess Temple. 
 
 Hester Sandys, wife of Sir Thomas Temple, who from 
 four sons and nine daughters, lived to see upwards of seven 
 hundred descendants from herself. Vide Fullers Worthies. 
 
 Maria Temple, eldest daughter of Sir Richard Temple, 
 Bart, sister to Lord Cobham, wife of Dr. West, and after 
 of Sir J. Langham, Bart. 1735. 
 
 Lord George and Lady Mary Grenville, painted when 
 children, by the late Marchioness of Buckingham. 
 
 Sir Thomas Temple, Bart, eldest son of John Temple of 
 Stowe. 
 
 The Lady Mary Arundell, daughter of George, Marquess 
 of Buckingham, by Hopner. 
 
 The late Marchioness of Buckingham and her eldest 
 Son the present Marquess, whole length, by Sir Joshua 
 Reynolds. 
 
 Sir Richard Temple, Bart, father to Lord Cobham. 
 Anna Countess Temple, wife to Richard Earl Temple. 
 Richard Lord Viscount Cobham, 1736, byVanloo. 
 Right Honourable George Grenville, by Sir Joshua Rey- 
 nolds. 
 
 Richard, Marquess of Buckingham, by Beechy. 
 
45 
 
 Catharine Grenville, sister to George Marquess of Buck- 
 ingham, wife of R. A. Neville, now Lord Braybrook, by the 
 late Marchioness of Buckingham. 
 
 Honourable James Grenville, 1740. 
 
 Richard Earl Temple, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. 
 
 Right Hon. Thomas Grenville, by Hopner. 
 
 The late Marquess of Buckingham, by Jackson. 
 
 Lady Hester Grenville, wife to the Earl of Chatham. 
 
 William Windham Lord Grenville, by Hopner. 
 
 Late Marchioness of Buckingham, by Hopner. 
 
 Anne Halsey, Viscountess Cobham, 1723, wife of Lord 
 Cobham. 
 
 William Earl of Chatham, by Hoare. 
 Elizabeth Windham, wife of the Right Hon. George 
 Grenville, by Hudson. 
 
 Right Hon. George Doddington, uncle to Lord Cobham. 
 Sir Richard Grenville of Wotton, 1671. 
 
 This room is ornamented with three white marble busts 
 by Comolli, a pupil of Canova, viz. 
 
 Richard, Marquess of Buckingham. 
 The Right Honourable Thomas Grenville. 
 William Windham Lord Grenville, 
 
 and one, by Nollekins, of 
 
 The Right Honourable George Grenville. 
 
 AN ORNAMENTED VESTIBULE, 
 supported by columns, in w hich hang two pictures by Fuseli, 
 from Shakspeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, leads to 
 
46 
 
 THE ANTI-LIBRARY, 
 
 fitted up with mahogany, and containing a most valuable 
 and extensive collection of Prints and Maps. Opposite 
 the doors, and between the windows, are two Globes of the 
 largest size: the ccelestial globe differs from all others in 
 being graduated in the same manner as the terrestrial globe, 
 by lines of longitude and latitude, on a dark blue ground : 
 the stars of seven different magnitudes are marked by foils 
 of different colours, and the nebulae are marked in silver, 
 amounting to 4944 in number. The whole executed by 
 Mr. Dudley Adams. Over the chimney is a Parisian Clock, 
 with two figures of Biscuit China from the manufactory of 
 Sevres. From the centre of the ceiling hangs a lamp. Over 
 the book cases are the following pictures : 
 
 Four Italian Conversation Pieces, by Francisco Cippo. 
 Helena Forman, (Rubens's Wife,) by Rubens. J- 
 Rape of Helen, by Primaticcio. 
 Return of Briseis to her Father, by Primaticcio. 
 
 The next Room is the 
 
 BREAKFAST PARLOUR, 
 
 hung with blue damask, and furnished entirely with the 
 finest old Buhl. — At one end is a splendid commode, 10 feet 
 high, composed of the finest Buhl, and lapis lazuli. In this 
 room are three tables also of the finest Buhl. —The pictures 
 are as follow : 
 
 Rembrandt's Father, by Rembrandt. 
 
47 
 
 Inside of a Kitchen and Portrait of Teniers's Wife, by 
 Teniers. 
 
 Countrymen, Goats, and Cattle, by Cuyp. 
 
 Triumph of War over Civilization and the Arts, an alle- 
 gorical picture, copied from one by Rubens in the Gallery at 
 Florence, by Joanni de l'Era. This fine Picture almost 
 equals in beauty the excellence of the Original, and is the 
 only copy of it extant. 
 
 View of the Tiber above Rome. 
 
 A Battle Piece, by Bourgognione. 
 , Old Man's Head, by Rembrandt. 
 
 Satyrs and Landscape, by Paul Breughell. 
 
 A Battle Piece. 
 
 Titian's Mistress (as Venus) by Titian. 
 Landscape, by Wilson. 
 View of Gravelines, by Ruisdael. 
 Adoration of the Magi, by Rubens. 
 Small Landscape. 
 
 A Conversation at the Door of an Inn, by Wooverman. 
 
 Rembrandt's Wife, as Minerva, by Rembrandt. 
 
 Marriage of a Duke of Milan, by Tintoretto. 
 
 John, last Duke of Cleves, occasionally confined for In- 
 sanity by his Father Duke William, by Rembrandt. The 
 King of Prussia has the same Picture in his collection, 
 called Sampson in the Prison of Gaza. This Picture has 
 two Black Boys in the back ground, which do not exist 
 in the King of Prussia's Picture; that Picture was brought 
 from Berlin to St. Cloud, by order of Buonaparte, and 
 restored to Prussia by the Allies, in 1815. 
 
48 
 
 Small Landscape. 
 
 Adoration of the Magi, by Paul Veronese. 
 
 St. Francis, by Guido. 
 
 Landscape. 
 
 Port of Flushing, by Bach. 
 Landscape, and Groupe of Horses. 
 Herodias, with John Baptist's Head, by Julio Romano. 
 Portrait of Rembrandt, by Rembrandt. 
 Holy Family, and St. Katharine, by Andrea Covelli, 
 Scholar of Bellini, 1454. 
 Landscape. 
 
 Christ rising from the Tomb, by Tintoretto. 
 La Belle Ferroniere, Mistress to Francis 1st, King of 
 France, by Leonardo da Vinci. 
 Death of Adonis, by Rubens. 
 Landscape, by Van Goien. 
 Burial of Christ, by Giacomo Bassano. 
 Orpheus and the Brutes, by Hieronymo Bassano. 
 
 Next to this Room is the 
 
 CHANDOS BED ROOM. 
 
 The Bed is the State bed used at the christening of the 
 eldest daughter of James, the last Duke of Chandos, and 
 Anna Eliza his wife, father and mother of the present 
 Marchioness of Buckingham, when the King and Queen 
 stood Sponsors. The head of the bed is superbly orna- 
 mented with the armorial bearings of Chandos embroidered 
 in gold and colours. The workmanship of the whole, and 
 
49 
 
 the gildings are superb.— The hangings and curtains are of 
 white satin striped with pink, and the furniture of the room 
 corresponds. — A magnificent Toilet with a complete service 
 of gilt plate stands under the Glass, the frame of which is 
 also of silver gilt. — On two gilt tables are small inlaid ivory 
 cabinets, upon each of which stands a superb vase of 
 Worcester Porcelain. — On each side of the toilet stands a 
 magnificent japan china jar. —Upon the chimney and cabi- 
 nets, as well as upon two marble slabs made out of one of 
 the pillars of the Temple of Apollo at Delphos, is a splendid 
 assemblage of China, entirely of English manufacture. 
 
 Over the chimney is a portrait of Mrs. Siddons, in the 
 character of the Tragic Muse, supported by the Genii of 
 Pity and of Horror, painted by the late Lady Buckingham; 
 the original design by Sir Joshua Reynolds. — On a pannel 
 in the frame of it is this inscription : 
 
 Oh ! for a muse of fire that would ascend 
 The brightest heaven of invention. 
 
 Shakspeare's Henry V. 
 
 Opposite the pier glass is a fine full length portrait of 
 Earl Nugent, by Gainsborough. 
 
 The room is decorated with portraits, designs, and a 
 variety of drawings, in crayons, &c. done by the late Mar- 
 chioness of Buckingham ; with several views of Rome in 
 water colours, and three drawings by Giovanni de l'Era — a 
 Florentine, representing Roman subjects. There is also 
 a set of miniature paintings of the Kings of England. 
 
 H 
 
50 
 
 Returning through the rooms already passed through, 
 you enter the 
 
 LIBRARY, 
 
 seventy-five feet long, by twenty-five feet wide: the whole 
 is fitted up with mahogany, and the curtains of grey cloth 
 with draperies of crimson velvet, trimmed with gold fringe, 
 are tastefully supported by gilt Lions' heads. — Round the 
 room runs a Gallery of singular light construction, the 
 entrance to which is by a small stair-case contrived within 
 the wall ; the balustrade is of ornamented iron work — 
 the ceiling is most richly decorated, and from it hang three 
 splendid cut-glass chrystal lamps. There is a chimney 
 at each end of the room, over which are two glasses, and 
 upon each chimney-piece is a magnificent clock of Parisian 
 manufacture, and alabaster groupes and urns of most ela- 
 borate and beautiful workmanship. In this room are col- 
 lected above 20,000 volumes of printed books, constituting 
 one of the most magnificent libraries in Europe, and col- 
 lected principally by the late Marquess of Buckingham. 
 
 A small stair-case of oak, concealed within the wall, 
 leads down into a small vaulted Hail, fitted up with painted 
 glass, the walls of which are hung with armour: three 
 figures stand on the pavement, one dressed in a complete 
 and valuable suit of Norman-chain armour, the other in a 
 suit of armour worn by a Bill man in Queen Elizabeth's 
 reign, and the third in the splendid and. costly arms and 
 costume of a Persian, warrior. — Amongst the arms are 
 some that belonged to Tippoo Saib. 
 
51 
 
 Under the window is a beautiful Oak Chest of antique 
 form and workmanship. It formerly stood in the Jerusalem 
 chamber, within the Palace of Westminster, and contained 
 the vestments used by the Priests in the service of West- 
 minster Abbey before the Reformation. 
 
 Over the door leading- to the Manuscript Room, is a 
 most curious Alto-relievo, in stone, brought from Castle 
 Hedingham in Essex, the seat of the Veres Earls of Ox- 
 ford, representing the battle of Bosworth Field; Richard 
 III. lies prostrate on the ground with his crown, under 
 the horse's feet of the conquering Richmond : the achieve- 
 ments of the Knights are emblazoned upon their respective 
 shields, and at the ends of the Alto-relievo stand two figures 
 of Henry VII. and his Queen, by whose marriage the red 
 and white roses were united, and civil war was made to 
 cease in England. 
 
 From the vaulted roof of this Hall hangs a lamp of 
 Bronze and Or Molu; and the whole forms a singular 
 contrast with the Grecian splendour of the suite of apart- 
 ments up stairs. 
 
 THE MANUSCRIPT ROOM, 
 
 is decorated entirely in the Gothic style, the book-cases 
 glazed and ornamented with bronze ornaments, the whole 
 correctly modelled from King Henry Vllth's chapel in 
 Westminster Abbey ; the ceiling is vaulted throughout, and 
 in the centre is a circular shield filled with the armorial 
 bearings of the Grenville, Temple, Nugent, and Chandos 
 families. -The window frames are richly carved in oak, and 
 
 H 2 
 
52 
 
 glazed with painted glass borders — The curtains are crimson 
 silk trimmed with gold fringe — The chimney piece is of 
 black marble ornamented with Or Molu, and on the oppo- 
 site end of the room is a receptacle for manuscripts to 
 correspond. 
 
 Over the chimney, the opposite recess, and the door, 
 are splendid Gothic Canopies. — On frames of crimson velvet, 
 over the chimney and corresponding recess, is a valuable 
 collection of miniatures, amongst them are the following, 
 
 OVER THE CHIMNEY. 
 
 Louis le Dauphin, son of Louis XlVth, Louis XIV. Both these Minia- 
 tures were given to Mrs. Grenville, wife of the Right Honourable George 
 
 Grenville, by Clara de Marsilly, Viscountess Bolingbroke. Mrs. Davis. 
 
 Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland. Charles the 1st. James, Duke 
 
 of York, afterwards James the lid. Mary, Queen of Scots. Earl of 
 
 Holland. Lady Jane Grey, Jane Seymour. Both these original Minia- 
 tures came into the possession of Mrs. Grenville from the collection of her 
 
 grandfather Charles, Duke of Somerset. Admiral Seymour, brother to the 
 
 Protector Duke of Somerset; given to Mrs. Grenville by the Duke of Somer- 
 set. Anna Boleyn. -Elizabeth Percy, Duchess of Somerset. Mary, 
 
 Queen of England. The Protector, Duke of Somerset ; also given to Mrs. 
 
 Grenville by the Duke of Somerset. Matthew Prior. Archbishop Shel- 
 don, 1595. Gustavus Adolphus; given by him lo Sir Henry St. George, 
 
 when the latter invested the former with the Order of the Garter. 
 
 IN ONE LARGE OVAL FRAME ARE THE FOLLOWING MINIATURES. 
 
 Anna Craggs, wife of T. Newshani, after of John Knight, Esq. and lastly of 
 
 Robert Nugent, Esq. Princesse de Stolberg, wife of Charles Edward, the 
 
 Pretender, 1774 ; given by her to George Marquess of Buckingham. Robert 
 
 Nugent, afterwards Earl Nugent. Charles lid of Sweden. M. Elector of 
 
 Bavaria. Anna Chambers, Countess Temple. Richard, Earl Temple. 
 
 Mary, Marchioness of Buckingham, 1783. George, Earl Temple, after- 
 wards Marquess of Buckingham, 1782. Hester, Countess Temple. 
 
 Madame de Maintenon, by Petitot. The Electress of Bavaria John 
 
 Knight, Esq. of Gosfiekl. Sir William Temple. Algernon, Duke of Somer- 
 set. Charles II.; this curious Miniature was given by him in 1651, to the 
 
 Lady Beauchamp, wife of Henry Lord Beauchamp, from whom it descended 
 lineally to Anna Eliza, daughter of James Duke of Chandos, and wife of 
 Richard Marquess of Buckingham. Round the frame are the descents of 
 
53 
 
 the present Royal Family, and of the family of James, Duke of Chandos, from 
 Henry VII. King of England. 
 
 OPPOSITE THE CHIMNEY. 
 
 John, Duke of Marlborough. J. Newsham, jun. Charles I. in 
 
 curious old needle work. Mr. Newsham. Two Views of Venice, by 
 
 Caneletti. Mrs. Knight. Mr. Knight. Mr. and Mrs. Knight, and 
 
 Secretary Craggs, by Prewett, 1735. The Duke of Chandos. Lucy, 
 
 Countess of Bedford. Madam Elizabeth of France, (original,) presented 
 
 to the, late Marchioness of Buckingham by his Royal Highness Monsieur. 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scots, on mother of pearl ; from a plate in the possession of 
 the late Dr. Meade. Duchess of Portsmouth. 
 
 IN THE OVAL FRAME ARE THE FOLLOWING: 
 
 John Knight, Esq. of Gosfleld. Alexander Pope; given by him to Anne 
 
 Knight, afterwards wife to Robert Nugent James Craggs, jun. James 
 
 Craggs, sen. The wife of J. Knight, Esq. Her Royal Highness 
 
 Princess Amelia; given by her to Anna Countess Temple, 1767. The Wife 
 
 of James Craggs, sen. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Brigadier 
 
 General Michael Richards, Surveyor General of the Ordnance, 1717. The 
 
 Elector of Brandenburgh. Her Royal Highhness Augusta, Princess of 
 
 Wales; given by her to Countess Temple Lady E.Germain. Lady 
 
 E.Germain. Sheldon, Archbishop of Canterbury. Elizabeth Drax, wife 
 
 of Earl Berkeley, afterwards wife of Robert Nugent, Esq. &c. 
 
 The centre table and pier tables are of ebony ornamented 
 in the richest manner, with Ivory, to suit the room, as well 
 as two Library chairs made of the same materials: on the 
 centre table is a bronze fluted gothic pillar supporting a 
 lamp. In a Casket on one of the pier tables is a lock of 
 hair of Queen Mary of France, ancestress of the Marchioness 
 of Buckingham, taken from her corpse when her coffin was 
 opened in the Church of Bury St. Edmunds. 
 
 The chairs are of ebony, and carved in the most elaborate 
 manner ; the armed chairs belonged to Peter Paul Rubens, 
 and were made after his designs. 
 
 In this room is a splendid and unique assemblage of most 
 valuable manuscripts, consisting of above 2000 volumes; 
 
54 
 
 amongst them is a collection of Saxon and Norman Charters 
 in regular succession from the year 690, to the union of 
 the houses of York and Lancaster, and a body of historical 
 learning, making this collection most interesting and valuable 
 to the Historian and Antiquarian. 
 
 Re-ascending into the suite of Rooms, you pass through 
 the Library into the 
 
 MUSIC ROOM, 
 
 decorated at each end with the finest Scaiola columns, 
 executed by Signor Bartoli, after the Sienna marble: the 
 capitals are richly gilt, as are the mouldings, and the orna- 
 ments in relief throughout this room. The walls are divided 
 into pannels, within which is a profusion of paintings in 
 Arabesque and other subjects: the general idea is taken 
 from the Loggia of Raphael at Rome, but the decoration 
 is varied with great taste in the design and execution. — 
 The figures, the foliage, the birds, and architecture in these 
 paintings are all finished with the greatest attention to 
 nature, and to the harmony of colouring. 
 
 At one end is a recess decorated in the same beautiful 
 manner, the pilasters which support it are painted on a gold 
 ground ; the same ground and decoration ornament the 
 frizes of the doors, and the pannels of the shutters. Within 
 this niche is a statue ; the niche is crowned with festoons 
 of laurel and a lyre, all richly carved and gilt in variegated 
 gold. The doors are divided into pannels, the ground of 
 which is pink ; the paintings within them are Chiaro Scuro, 
 and are all varied with the utmost taste. 
 
 The ceiling is from a design of Raphael's, it is divided 
 
55 
 
 into compartments, some of which are painted in Chiaro 
 Scuro upon pink grounds, but the principal are painted in 
 colours; that in the centre represents the dance of the 
 Hours, the Seasons, and Aurora round the Sun, which forms 
 the centre ; the figure of Night wrapt in her mantle retires 
 under a cloud. The two oblong compartments represent, 
 the one a Bacchanal procession, the other the revels of 
 Sardanapalus. From the centre hangs a glass lustre, and 
 four girandoles in the corners are supported by gilt can- 
 delabra. 
 
 The design, decoration, and execution of this room is 
 the work of Signor Valdre, and does the greatest credit to 
 his genius and his pencil. 
 
 The chimney piece is Roman; the pannels are of the 
 Rosso Antico with ornaments in Or Molu: upon it are 
 groups in Alabaster: — Over it is a glass. — Opposite to it are 
 two tables of the finest Verde Antico: they were executed 
 at Rome: the frames are decorated in a singular stile, being 
 inlaid with the same marble ; — the tablets upon which the 
 figures in Or Molu are placed, are of transparent oriental 
 Alabaster: opposite to them are two tables of Giallo Antico 
 in gilt frames corresponding with the pillars, which support 
 the roof. 
 
 Passing through the Saloon you enter 
 
 THE STATE DRAWING ROOM, 
 hung with Orange-coloured Damask. 
 
 The chimney-piece is Italian; in the centre of it is an 
 antique tablet of Oriental Alabaster, representing heads of 
 
56 
 
 Bacchanals, and the emblems of the sacrifice to Bacchus: 
 in the frieze are oval compartments of white marble with 
 fauns gazing in a fountain: the pilasters are of porphyry 
 together with part of the entablature ; the remainder is of 
 the finest white marble. Upon it is placed a very valuable 
 Vase of the transparent Oriental Alabaster. 
 
 Two fine pier glasses, and tables under them of the 
 finest Giallo Antico in superb gilt frames, upon which are 
 two magnificent Alabaster Vases, and valuable pieces of old 
 China : opposite to them and on each side of the fire place, 
 are two rose-wood commodes ornamented with Or Molu, 
 and surmounted by slabs of verde antico marble, upon 
 which are some beautiful specimens of Sevres China. 
 
 Amongst the pictures are the following, — 
 
 A small Sea Piece, by Vernet. 
 
 Marriage of Cana, by Bassauo. 
 
 Croesus shewing his treasure to Solon, by Staalbembt. 
 A Boy and Woman by Candle-light, by Schalcken. 
 Dobson's Head, by himself. 
 Vertumnus and Pomona, by Tintoretto. 
 Landscape, by Salvator Rosa, very fine. 
 Fruit Piece, by Smith. 
 
 King David playing on the Harp, by Lastmann, master 
 to Rembrandt. He has introduced his own portrait playing 
 on the violin, in this picture. „ 
 View of Naples. 
 Fruit-piece, by Smith. 
 View of Naples. 
 Head of a Boy, by Mille. 
 
t 
 
 57 
 
 Sampson and Delilah, by Guercino. 
 
 Flemish Conversation Piece, by Brackenberg. 
 
 Landscape and Cattle, by Berghun. 
 
 Inside of a Church, by Van Nief. 
 
 Adam and Eve. 
 
 Venus, from Gavin Hamilton's Collection, by Titian. 
 Holy Family, by Rubens. 
 Landscape, by Claude de Lorraine. 
 
 Rachael's Tent (vide Genesis, ch. xxxiv.) by Gerrard Dow, 
 very fine. 
 
 Holy Family, by Rubens. 
 
 Conversation and Landscape, by Teniers, very fine. 
 
 Moses burying the Egyptian, by N. Poussin. 
 
 Our Saviour falling under the Cross. 
 
 A Sea Piece, by Storcke. 
 
 A Landscape and Cattle, by Pinecker. 
 
 Head of St. Peter, by Rubens. 
 
 Hagar and Ishmael, by Pietro da Cortona. 
 
 Landscape, by N. Poussin. 
 
 St. Catharine, by Albert Durer. 
 
 Head of Christ, by Carlo Dolci, very fine. 
 
 Prince Henry and Prince Maurice of Nassau, on horseback, 
 very fine ; a Sketch, by Vandyke. 
 
 Orodes ordering the gold to be poured into the head 
 of Crassus, by N. Poussin. 
 
 Entry of Louis XIV. into Paris, by Vander Meulen. 
 
 St. Barbara, by Albert Durer. 
 
 Madona, by Carlo Dolci, very fine. 
 
 I 
 
58 
 
 Judas throwing down the thirty pieces of silver, by Rem- 
 brandt, 1642. 
 
 Head of St. Paul, by Rubens. 
 
 Return of the Prodigal Son, by Guercino. 
 
 Landscape, by N. Poussin. 
 
 In the recess at the end of the room is a bust of His 
 Royal Highness William Frederick Duke of Gloucester, in 
 white marble, by Comolli. 
 
 THE STATE DINING ROOM. 
 
 Two marble chimney-pieces of Sienna, &c. by Mr. Lovel. 
 
 The cieling ornamented with gilding, by Sclater, and 
 paintings by Jones. 
 
 Two marble tables of Nero Antico, with two pier glasses. 
 
 The walls are adorned with curious pieces of tapestry, 
 viz. 
 
 1. The Triumph of Ceres. 
 
 2. The Triumph of Bacchus. 
 
 3. The Triumph of Venus. 
 
 4. The Triumph of Mars. 
 
 5. The Triumph of Diana. 
 
 The piers are adorned with trophies. 
 The upper part of the chimney-pieces are ornamented 
 with gilding and carving. 
 
 1. A Goddess conducting Learning to Truth. 
 
 2. Mercury conducting Tragic and Comic Poetry to the 
 hill of Parnassus. 
 
 Four paintings in Chiaro Scuro, copied by Jones from 
 subjects found in Herculaneum, are over the doors. 
 
59 
 
 The chairs are of mahogany, carved, and covered with 
 blue Morocco leather ; the curtains are of rich crimson silk, 
 trimmed deep with gold lace and fringe. 
 
 At the two extremities of the room, are two magnificent 
 side-boards of mahogany, elaborately carved, and exquisitely 
 finished; ornamented with Or Molu, and surmounted with 
 lamps. From the ceiling hang four lustres, and in the piers 
 are lamps standing on bronzed fluted pillars. 
 
 Upon the tables and chimnies are fine bronze statues of 
 Hercules, Flora, Venus, and some smaller bronzes. 
 
 THE STATE DRESSING ROOM 
 
 is hung with tapestry, worked by a subscription of Lord 
 Cobham, and other officers serving under the Duke of Marl- 
 borough, which represents the functions of the cavalry, in 
 the army of the Allies; and the operations of the siege of 
 Lisle. The great piece represents part of the battle of 
 Wynendael wood. — Similar sets were worked for the Duke of 
 Marlborough, at Blenheim; for Lord Cadogan, atCaversham; 
 the Duke of Argyle, at Inverary ; Lord Orkney, at Clifden ; 
 General Lumley, at Stanstead ; and for General Webb. 
 
 On a table of Verde Antico between the windows, is a 
 magnificent vase of Raphael's ware, and different pieces 
 of the same ware ornament the room. 
 
 Opposite the fire place is a large chest inlaid with mother 
 of pearl. 
 
 In this room are three cabinets of Pietra Dura. Upon 
 two of them, are a vase of oriental alabaster, and an 
 antique vase of white marble, with the Dance of the Hours 
 
 I 2 
 
60 
 
 upon it in Alto-relievo. Upon the third is a tripod of 
 oriental alabaster upon porphyry legs. 
 
 Two small chests of Pietra Dura, and a tray, and tea 
 caddy of the same, are placed in the room. 
 
 The chimney-piece is by Mr. Lovel White. — The chairs 
 and window curtains of damask. 
 
 A fine portrait of the late Field Marshal Viscount Cob- 
 ham, by Sir Godfrey Kneller, hangs over the chimney. 
 
 Over the doors are pictures of the King and Queen, by 
 Ramsey: and of the late Marquess of Buckingham, by 
 Hopner. 
 
 In the centre of the room stands a beautiful table, made 
 out of one piece of English Oak, ornamented with Or 
 Molu : the border round it is of Elm. 
 
 THE STATE BED CHAMBER. 
 
 The bed and ceiling by Signor Borra. The chairs, 
 window-curtains, and hangings are of crimson damask. — -The 
 pillars of the Corinthian order; the whole finely carved 
 and gilt. 
 
 Over the door is a Madonna from the School of Rubens ; 
 and over the chimney, a magnificent copy, by Sir Godfrey 
 Kneller, of the famous picture of Charles I. attended by 
 Monsieur St. Simon, painted by Vandyke ; and now at 
 Hampton Court. 
 
 The chimney-piece is of white marble, designed by Signor 
 Borra, and executed by Mr. Lovel. Opposite to the chimney 
 is a magnificent Toilet of gold muslin, covered with a 
 
61 
 
 profusion of the most splendid gold toilet plate in filigree, 
 and ornamented with jewels. 
 
 Two Cupids with branches for candles in their hands, by 
 Mr. Lovel, are on each side of the fire-place. 
 
 The ceiling is ornamented with the Insignia of the Garter. 
 
 A Pier Glass and Mosaic Table under it, and two other 
 glasses adorn the room. 
 
 In the room are six Japan Cabinets, which are filled, as 
 well as the recesses near the windows, and the table under 
 the glass, with a large and magnificent collection of the 
 finest old China. 
 
 THE STATE CLOSET, 
 
 hung with Yellow Damask. 
 
 The Couch is composed of the richly-embossed and em- 
 broidered in gold covering of Tippoo Sultaun's State 
 Palanquin, found in his palace at Seringapatam, when that 
 city was stormed by the British troops. The table in the 
 window recess is covered with blue cloth, splendidly em- 
 bossed and embroidered in gold : opposite to the Couch is 
 a Writing Commode, ornamented with Or-Molu, upon which 
 is a beautiful Amber Cabinet, and two Amber Candlesticks. 
 On each side is a Tripod Stand, containing a Porcelain 
 Dish. Upon the table are some beautiful pieces of Dresden 
 China. 
 
 The Pictures are as follow, — 
 
 OVER THE COUCH. 
 
 Holy Family. 
 
 Holy Family, a Sketch, by Rubens. 
 
62 
 
 View of an Interior, by Van Nief. 
 
 Madame de Montespan. 
 
 Katharine Manners, Duchess of Buck- 
 ingham. 
 
 The Queen of Bohemia, 
 
 The Chandos Shakspeare, supposed to be the only origi- 
 nal picture of that poet extant, (vide Malone's edition of 
 Shakspeare.) This picture was the property of James, the 
 last Duke of Chandos, and descended to the Marquess of 
 Buckingham, in right of his wife Anna Eliza, the present 
 Marchioness. 
 
 Frederick VI. King of Denmark, by Angelica, presented 
 by himself, when on a visit to Stowe. 
 
 Lady Guldeford, by Holbein. This Picture has been 
 engraved by Hollar. 
 
 Queen Anna Boleyn. 
 
 Earl of Glencairn. 
 
 Mrs. Behn. 
 
 Holy Family, by Correggio, very fine. 
 Thomas, Earl of Pembroke. 
 Diana, by Correggio. 
 
 Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, by Holbein. 
 A Boy and Woman by candlelight, by Schelcken. 
 
 OPPOSITE THE COUCH. 
 
 Head of St. Francis. 
 Edward VI. 
 
 Luther, by Hans Holbein. 
 The second Earl of Bedford. 
 
 both by Mytens. 
 1626. 
 
03 
 
 Paul, Emperor of all the Russias, presented by himself 
 to William Wyndham Lord Grenville, when Secretary of 
 State. 
 
 Portrait of Raphael di Urbino, by himself. 
 Head of a Woman. 
 Edward V. 
 
 Margaret of Parma, Gouvernante of the Netherlands, 
 natural daughter to the Emperor Charles V. ; by Hans 
 Holbein. 
 
 Lord Treasurer Burleigh. 
 
 Holy Family, a Sketch, by Rubens. 
 
 Flemish Port by Moonlight, by Swickhardt. 
 
 John Calvin, (original.) 
 
 THE STATE BATH CLOSET, 
 
 entirely wainscoted with the finest Japan, presented by 
 the late Prince and Princess of Wales to Richard Earl 
 Temple. 
 
 In a small recess is a Bath of marble, in the form of 
 an ancient Sarcophagus, ornamented with Or Molu, and 
 standing on Lions' feet: opposite to the Bath is a recess 
 filled with the finest old China, with which, as well as with 
 ornaments in carved Ivory, Amber, Cornelian, Gold and 
 Silver, Filigree, and Enamel, (many of them of great age and 
 value, and set in Jewels,) the shelves round the closet, the 
 recess of the window, and a table before it, are filled ; on 
 the latter stands a Pagoda, entirely made of Mother of Pearl. 
 Ornaments of old China are likewise placed upon brackets 
 round the top of the Closet. 
 
64 
 
 A small door in the Japan wainscot opens to a private 
 stair-case, communicating with a small Dressing Room 
 above the Closet, and another private door leads to a 
 degagement, and a Page's Room ; the small Dressing Room 
 above, is likewise entirely wainscoted and covered with the 
 finest Japan. In it are two Japan Cabinets, two Japan 
 stajnds, Japan wash-hand stand, and a Toilet covered with 
 painted Tiffany, upon which stands a Glass in a Japan frame, 
 and a Toilet set of Japan. — Over the fire place is a Glass 
 in a Japan frame. 
 
 The length of the line through the House is 454 feet, that of the Offices is 
 462 feet; so the whole extent is 91 6" feet. 
 
 F I N I S. 
 
 J. Seeley, Printer, Buckingham. 
 
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