^; |^*^|fjlj^ PARK 
 
Ms 
 
HELMS^V CASTLE, 
 
 — " ffnc "' °i'e church, ** 
 
 Adds a tbousao ngW 
 
 *** - B "iS Co^"° ' Warmth ahu* 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, 
 
 'I'm: writer of the following "Descrip- 
 tion," cannot omit, on sending forth this 
 new edition, to recollect and once more ex- 
 press his obligations to many judicious 
 friends who favoured him, while prepar- 
 ing the former one, with their remarks on 
 the subject of Rivalx Abbey ; more espe- 
 cially to John Buckler, Esq. for his gra- 
 tuitous supply of the plate from which the 
 prefixed engraving of the Abbey was made ; 
 
 and to Mackenzie, Esq. who in 
 
 the first number of a publication entitled 
 "Ruins in Yorkshire" introduced an accu- 
 rate ground plan of the Abbey, from which 
 the reduced one here given was made. To 
 Mr. Mackenzie, the writer is also indebted 
 for many interesting personal communica- 
 tions respecting the Abbey and its appenda- 
 ges, of which he has gladly availed himself 
 
A DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF 
 
 BUNCOMBE PARK, &c. 
 
 BUNCOMBE PARK. 
 
 The mansion house of this justly admired resi- 
 dence,* is in the Doric style, of which Order the 
 west front is esteemed a good specimen. 
 
 The Hai/L is a magnificent room, sixty feet long 
 and forty wide, surrounded by fourteen lofty Corin- 
 thian pillars, and ornamented with several statues y 
 particularly with an excellent antique sculpture,, 
 the Dog of Alcibiadesf (said to to have been the 
 performance of the Greecian Statuary, Myron) and 
 the celebrated figure of the Discobolus. 
 
 The following account of this last statue may 
 not be unacceptable, as it comes from the pen of a 
 person of distinguished taste, the late Rev. Mr, 
 Gilpin. It is extracted from his 'Western Tour,* 
 at which period this treasure was possessed by 
 Mr. Lock of Norbury Park, Surrey. 
 
 * Sir John Vanburgh has sometimes been mentioned as the 
 architect of this mansion ; but it was constructed under the di- 
 rection of William Wakefield, Esq. of Huby, in this neighbour- 
 hood, whom Drake, in his antiquities of York, describes as 
 "that worthy Gentleman, whose great skill in architecture wili 
 always be remembered, as long as the houses of Duncombe 
 Park and Gilling Castle shall stand." 
 
 fSee Plutarch's lives. Date about 440 years before Christ 
 
6 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 " This collection contains some genuine antiques ? 
 particularly a Discobolus,* which is esteemed, 
 I believe, the first statue in England. It exhibits 
 (what few statues are able to exhibit) on every side, 
 the justest proportions and the most pleasing atti- 
 tudes. But what chiefly engages the attention in 
 this statue, is its expression. It is a great beauty 
 in any figure to appear to have some object in view, 
 which always gives animation to it. I mean not 
 that strong degree of action, which the ancient mas- 
 ters sometimes gave their figures ; as in the Lao- 
 coon, the fighting Gladiator, and the Torso, as far as 
 we may judge of that fragment from the swelling of 
 the muscles. Strong expression, no doubt, is highly 
 beautiful, when it is well executed. But I would 
 here only observe the effect of some easy action, or 
 expression, in opposition to none at all ; as in the 
 Venus, the Belvidere Apollo, the Listening Slave, 
 or the Farnesian Hercules. All these gentle modes 
 of action or expression are certainly much more beau- 
 tiful, than the uninteresting vacancy of a consul 
 standing erect in his robes. Interesting he still may 
 
 "* This statue is of Pentelicon marble, a quarry near Athens, 
 and is noticed by Addison (in his remarks on several parts of 
 Italy, p. 192.) under the name of 'The celebrated Castor at 
 Don Livio's.' When it was found is not known. The first public 
 notice of it was given by a print in Mercurialis de Arte Gym- 
 mastica, 1572.'* 
 
 Mr. Gilpin's doubt as to the finding of this statue, is solved 
 by Mr. Dallaway, who says it was found in the ruins of the 
 Villa Hadriana at Tivoli, at a place called the Columbari, on the 
 Appian way. (Treatise on Sculpture, p. 231.) Editor. 
 
BUNCOMBE PARK. 
 
 7 
 
 be : all I contend for is, that such a statue is not so 
 interesting, as if it had some object in view. The 
 Discobolus before us possesses this beauty in a dis- 
 tinguished manner. He has just delivered his quoit 
 (discus) and with an eager eye, and right arm still 
 extended, is watching its success. The expanded 
 hand indicates that the mind is yet in suspense * 
 His left hand holds another quoit, as I suppose 
 each Discobolus had two. It is probable, however, 
 the statuary might have disposed the left hand to 
 more advantage, if he could have described a quoit 
 flying through the air. But he thought it necessary 
 in some way to show in what mode of action this 
 figure was engaged. Nature could not have told 
 the story with more expression." 
 
 Mr. Gilpin does not, in the above quotation, or 
 in his notes upon it, give any hint respecting the 
 Sculptor of this admirable Statue. But Mr. Dalla- 
 way, in his treatise on Sculpture, published in 1816, 
 mentions it to be the production of IVaucides of 
 Argos, who flourished about 40 years after Myron. 
 Mr. Dallaway indeed refers this to the repetition 
 in the Museum Clementinum mentioned in Mr. Gil- 
 pin's note ; but there is no reason to doubt their 
 being both the work of the same artist.f 
 
 " * The right hand in this statue is modern ; but there is a 
 repetition of this figure in the Museum Clementinum at Rome, 
 which shows, 1 am informed, the hand to have been well copied/' 
 
 f It appears, on a comparison of Mr. Dallaway's with other 
 accounts, that, besides this repetition, there was another in the 
 
A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 The Saloon (recently become a library) eighty- 
 eight feet long and twenty-four broad, is form- 
 ed in three divisions by Ionic pillars, and pos- 
 sesses an uncommon air of grandeur. The ceiling 
 is elegant, with basso relievos in stucco finely exe- 
 cuted : — Flora in the centre encircled with festoons, 
 very delicate ; and small figures in the sides and 
 corner divisions : at one end Peace, at the other 
 Plenty. The cornices of the chimney-pieces are 
 supported by double Ionic pillars, and the orna- 
 ments enclose two landscapes : the tables are of fine 
 Sienna marble. The room is adorned with four an- 
 tique statues, Mars, Mercury, Bacchus, and Apol- 
 lo : and on each side of the door next the garden, 
 stands a striking bust of Cicero on the right, and 
 Horace on the left. This room also contains seve- 
 ral good portraits of the Duncombe Family.* 
 
 Communicating with the Saloon to the north, is 
 a handsome dining-room, and to the south, an ele- 
 gant suite of apartments, all appropriately furnish- 
 * ed ; but the most interesting ornaments of these are 
 the pictures, which have been selected with pecu- 
 liar taste and attention, and exhibit some of the best 
 specimens of the works of the most celebrated 
 
 Villa Borghese, which was afterwards purchased by France and 
 placed in the Louvre ; but which, from the report of those who 
 have had the opportunity of inspecting it, and from the pub- 
 lished engravings of it, appears to have been very inferior in 
 execution to this at Duncombe Park. 
 
 * For which, and those in the dining-room, see the catalogue. 
 
BUNCOMBE PAH EC. 
 
 9 
 
 masters. The following are thus noticed by that 
 respectable artist and connoisseur the late Mr. Ed- 
 ward Daves, in his excursion through Derbyshire 
 and Yorkshire. 
 
 "St. Catharine; Guido. — This is a finely 
 painted head, accompanied with great clearness and 
 brilliancy of colouring. 
 
 "The Angel appearing to the Shep- 
 herds ; Guiacomo Bassano. — This picture is wor- 
 thy of attention for its exquisite tones of colour 
 which are uncommonly clear. — Some of the Shep- 
 herds are said to be portraits of Venetian Noblemen. 
 
 "A Landscape ; Pietro de Cortona. — TJie 
 figures imagined to be by Philippo Laura. — This 
 inestimable landscape is a treasure in the art, and 
 will forcibly attract the attention of the admirers of 
 that part of painting. Nothing can exceed the gran- 
 deur of the scene : the colouring is clear, rich, and 
 chaste ; the handling is unusually free ; and the foli- 
 age affords as fine an example of penciling, as the 
 most ardent imagination could wish to behold. 
 This picture is a school for the student, and ex- 
 hibits a union of taste and judgment seldom to be 
 found. 
 
 "Venus and Adonis ; Titian, — The colour- 
 ing is excellent, the flesh being particularly well 
 
 B 
 
10 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 managed ; and in the relief, the figures are rounded 
 to deception.* 
 
 "Adoration of the Shepherds ; Guido. 
 Admirable as to composition, and highly finished. f 
 
 "A Hoey Family ; Andrea del Sarto. — The 
 painting is more mellow than is usual with this mas- 
 ter, his works in general being hard ; parts of this 
 picture are clever : it is also curious from its age. 
 
 "St. Patje ; Leonardo da Vinci. — This is a high- 
 ly finished head ; but the character is mean ; J the 
 hand is drawn and coloured to a point of perfection. 
 
 "An Angel supporting our Saviour 
 on the Tomb ; Baroccio. — This is truly a cabi- 
 net jewel : the composition, drawing, and colouring, 
 are highly classical, and an honourable testimony 
 of the deserved esteem in which this master's works 
 are held. ^k* ' V v ~ £*X+y*^*<+*. 
 
 "A Land Storm ; N. Poussin. — This land- 
 scape is grandly conceived, it being in the first 
 style of composition ; but the colouring is black 
 and heavy, which, as well as the penciling, by no 
 means indicates the manner of the master. 
 
 *This picture was a present from the last Duke of Tuscany 
 of the Medici family, to Marshall Wallis, for the exact disci- 
 pline in which he kept the Imperial Troops, while he was 
 Governer of Milan. 
 
 f This Picture was purchased out of the Cibo Palace at Rome. 
 
 % Mr. Arthur Young, on the contrary, describes the air of th© 
 faead to be 'great as Raphael.' (Northern Tour, Vol. 2.) 
 
BUNCOMBE PARK. 
 
 11 
 
 "A Magdalen adoring a Glory round 
 a Cross ; Corregio. — This head is clever, and 
 the effect broad and masterly.* 
 
 "A Holy Family ; Prospero Fontana.-f— 
 This may claim attention on account of its being' 
 the work of an early master ; serving, at the same 
 time, to show the advancement of the art : it is ex- 
 tremely hard, and dryly painted. 
 
 " The Two Nympths, or Pan overcome 
 by Cupid ; Augustino Carracci. — The works of 
 this master are very rarely to be met with. This 
 is a truly classical picture ; and allowing for the 
 drawing of the female figures, which is rather heavy, 
 it otherwise possesses all the essentials of art, be- 
 ing well composed and coloured, accompanied by 
 an unusual breadth of light and shadow." 
 
 Mr. Daves having made the preceding remarks, 
 farther observes, "Though I have mentioned but 
 very few of the pictures, it must not be understood 
 that those which are omitted, are deemed unworthy 
 of notice : so far from that being the case, every 
 one in the collection will lay claim to the attention 
 of the connoisseur/* 
 
 * This Picture was purchased out of the house of a descen- 
 dant of Corregio. 
 
 f This artist was a Bolognese, born in the year 1512, and 
 was the master of Ludovico/and Annibal Carracci. 
 
12 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 The following are thus characterized by Mr- 
 Arthur Young.* 
 
 "Scourging of Christ ; Old Talma.— 
 This was painted in competition with Titian, and 
 crowned. The expression is prodigiously fine, and 
 the colours are admirable ; but the diffusion of 
 light is not natural. f 
 
 " % Morning, a Landscape ; Claude Lor- 
 raine. — The light wonderfully fine ; the trees nobly 
 done ; the keeping and expression exceedingly great. 
 
 " % Evening, a Landscape ; Claude Lor- 
 raine. — The chiaro scuro, and the brilliant glow 
 inimitable ;< the trees finely done. 
 
 "Herodias's Daughter; Guido. — Very 
 fine.§ 
 
 "Three Landscapes ; (the three times of the 
 day ;) Wootton. — Good. That with the statue of 
 Hercules very fine ; that in which is a bridge, plea- 
 sing. The keeping fine. 
 
 * See his Northern Tour, vol. 2. 
 
 f This picture was purchased out of the Justinian Palace at 
 Rome. 
 
 t Both these pictures were painted for the celebrated Cardi- 
 nal Bentivoglio. 
 
 § This is a finished sketch for the great picture in the Corsini 
 Palace at Rome. 
 
BUNCOMBE PARK. 13 
 
 "Martyrdom of St. Andrew ; Carlo 
 Bold.— Middling. Not in that artist's glowing 
 and capital manner.* R> v /w^iv^ 
 
 "Bacchus offering Marriage to Ari- 
 adne ; Giddo. — Bacchus is the figure of a Her- , 
 cules ; but Ariadne delicate and elegant. Sweet 
 
 draperj - L * 
 
 "Christ visiting St. John ; Gmdo. — The ^u^i 
 figures and drapery very fine. ' * \\ 
 
 "Venus and Adonis; Alhano. — The colours 
 are brilliant ; but Adonis is a clumsy figure, and 
 Venus disguised by dress. 
 
 "Assumption of the Virgin ; Carlo Ma- 
 ratti. — Fine. 
 
 "Battle piece; Borgognone. — Clear and fine. 
 
 "St. Peter penitent; Guido. — Expression, " 
 colours, and finishing, astonishingly fine. ' SV' 
 
 "Female Saint ; Parmegiano. — Prodigious- 
 ly fine. 
 
 "Virgin and Child ; Corregio. — A sketch 
 for his famous Notte. The attitude elegant, and the 
 colours fine. 
 
 *Mr, Young probably alludes to the absence of that high 
 finishing, peculiar to the pictures of this eminent artist ; but in 
 other respects the style of this piece is excellent, and the coun- 
 tenance of the Saint fascinating. An engraving from this pic- 
 ture was published by Boydell. 
 
14 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OP 
 
 "Madona and Child; Carlo Cignani.— Fine * 
 
 "A Dutch Merchant ; Rembrandt.— Fine.' v 
 
 Mr. Young also mentions, but without comment, 
 Hogarth' 's celebrated picture, of Garrick in Richard 
 III. and both he and Mr. Dayes omit to notice 
 the Holy Family by Titian, the Charity by Guido, 
 and the Salutation of the Virgin by Le Brun. These 
 four pictures however, are generally admitted to 
 possess a style of excellence, which entitles them to 
 be classed among the first productions of the re- 
 spective artists. Engravings from those of Hogarth 
 and Guido have been published. 
 
 Lord Feversham, the owner of this mansion, has 
 enriched the above collection, by the addition of six 
 capital pictures — Abigail supplicating David, by 
 Guido, (one of the Orleans collection;) a Land- 
 scape, by Both ; an Old Woman and Boy with a 
 lighted candle, by Rubens, (a most brilliant pro- 
 duction ;) a Hawking-piece, by Wouverman, con- 
 sidered one of his first performances ; the Emperor 
 Otho, by Rubens ; and the Presentation in the 
 Temple, by Giovanni Bellini,^ a fine specimen of 
 the art when in its infancy. J 
 
 * There is a copy of this picture by Trevisani in the Borghese 
 Palace at Rome. 
 
 f He died 1512, aged 90, and is accounted the founder of the 
 Venetian School. He produced two memorable disciples, Titian 
 and Georgiani. 
 
 % For a general list of the pictures as at present arranged see 
 catalogue. 
 
BUNCOMBE PARK. 
 
 15 
 
 In one of the apartments, is an exquisitely finish- 
 ed small whole length statue of Marcus Antoninus, 
 and in another a hust, in marble, of the Right Hon- 
 ourable William Pitt. 
 
 The Ornamented Grounds of Duncombe 
 Park, display peculiar elegance. The Terrace espe- 
 cially commands a rich variety of prospects. At 
 one end of it stands an open Ionic Temple, com- 
 manding to the left, a limited but pleasing land- 
 scape, strikingly broken by a fore-ground of large 
 trees, and opening to the right on a large extent of 
 rich champaign country, terminated by distant 
 hills. At this point is seen a beautiful adjoining 
 valley, winding at the bottom of a grand amphithea- 
 tre of woods ; over one of which, and at the other 
 end of the Terrace, is a Tuscan colonnade Temple. 
 The opposite woods, which spread over a fine ex- 
 tent of hill, fringe the shore of the river Rye, which 
 winds through the valley, and forms, almost in the 
 centre of it, a cascade. The Valley is agreeably in- 
 tersected by enclosures of grass ; the meanders of 
 the river are bold and well broken by scattered 
 trees ; the cascade is almost overhung with the pen- 
 dent wood, which spreads nobly to the eye ; and the 
 Temple at the other end crowning a bank of wood, 
 form altogether an effect nearly unrivalled. 
 
 A pleasing variation takes place in the walk a- 
 longthe Terrace toward the Tuscan Temple, fresh 
 objects breaking in upon the sight at every step. 
 Some of the most attractive of these are, the expan- 
 
10 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 sion of the valley below, in a peculiar style of rural 
 beaut v, well contrasted with the rougher visage of 
 the hilly moors, which commence at a very small 
 distance. Proceeding" farther, the remains of the 
 Keep of He.Imsley Castle, every where graceful, 
 but here especially so, appear to the view ; and, in- 
 termingled with part of the town, form a species of 
 middle ground to the delightful picture, which now, 
 from the wide range of country, and the increased 
 assemblage of interesting objects, seems to have 
 attained its perfection. At this point, the Mansion 
 House presents itself in the situation best adapted 
 to command the general beauties of the scene. If 
 the visitor can for a moment be tempted away from 
 these, his eye will be relieved and regaled by a 
 nearer sight of this handsome turretted building, 
 and the fine avenue and plantations bordering upon 
 it. Resuming the walk along the Terrace (in one 
 part completely overhung by a venerable oak, which 
 enhances the softer surrounding beauties) the prin- 
 cipal variations will be found to consist in a front 
 view of the cascade, which is here truly romantic ; 
 and, toward the left, of the ridges of distant moors, 
 beginning to display themselves in various pictur- 
 esque forms. These are seen to still greater advan- 
 tage from the Tuscan Temple, the station next at- 
 tained, and which is situated at the point of an ele- 
 vated promontory. From this the Terrace is con- 
 tinued in a western direction, and by its projecting 
 into a new branch of the valley, the views from the 
 
BUNCOMBE PARK. 
 
 17 
 
 Temple are doubled. To the left, the valley al- 
 ready described appears with increased advantage, 
 as the hanging woods on the opposite slope range 
 in a curvature of much greater extent than before. 
 The valley, the river, and the cascade, are seen 
 beneath at a depth which presents a full view of 
 every enclosure. In front, the prospect extends 
 and becomes beautifully variegated. The Castle, 
 Helmsley Church, and the Town, with scattered 
 clumps of trees appear in the midst, at those points 
 of taste which seem almost to have the effect of 
 design. Turning to the right, the valley (here 
 forming one rich sequestered lawn) continues to 
 wind within a grand hollow of surrounding hills, 
 clothed, to their summits, with hanging woods, the 
 brownness of which, contrasts in a striking manner 
 with the brightness of the river, now seen in a grea- 
 ter breadth ; while another cascade in view, super- 
 adds to the scene the beauties of sound and motion. 
 
 The ornaments of the Temple (a circular room 
 finishing in a dome) are white and gold in mosaics. 
 Proceeding along the adjoining Terrace which here 
 winds to the right, the neat sobriety of the opposite 
 grounds (seen also from the Temple) is well intro- 
 duced, after the past succession of luxuries. The 
 view, however, is agreeably diversified by some 
 distant woody knolls, and at one point by the 
 East Riding Wolds, which fade into the remote 
 
 C 
 
la 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 horizon. In this walk the visitor passes the fine 
 avenue of trees before noticed, which bears directly 
 upon the house. The Terrace, at its termination, 
 opens on a spacious park-lawn, the simple subli- 
 mity of which forms, perhaps, the happiest varia- 
 tion that could have been devised, from the scenery 
 just contemplated ; the immediate feature of that 
 scenery being obviously its rich abounding woods. 
 
T/LE FOLLOWING IS 
 
 A BRIEF CATALOGUE OF THE PICTURES IN THE 
 MANSION HOUSE, 
 AS ARRANGED A T THE TIME OF THIS PUBLICATION. 
 
 DINING ROOM. 
 
 Garrick in Richard, Hogarth. 
 
 Landscape, Both. 
 
 Dutch Merchant, Rembrandt. 
 
 Abigail supplicating David, Guido. 
 Portrait of Lord Shaftesbury, 
 
 of George, third Earl of Dartmouth, Phillips. 
 
 of the Honourable Edward Legge, late 7 p . 
 
 Bishop of Oxford, § " S ' 
 
 SALOON, Or LIBRARY. 
 
 Clorinda wounded by Tancred, Simon de Pcsara. 
 
 Pope's Villa at Twickenham, Wootton. 
 
 Rivalx Abbey, Wootton. 
 
 Pan overcome by Cupid, Augostino Carraccu 
 
 In this Room are the following Family Portraits. 
 
 Lord Feversham, Hoppncr. 
 
 Lady Feversham, Hoppner. 
 
 Honourable William Duncombe, Marshall. 
 
 The late Thomas Duncombe, Esq. Hudson. 
 
 Lady Diana, first Wife of ditto, Hudson. 
 * * * second Wife of ditto, and mother 7 
 of Lady Rose, 3 
 
 Charlotte, third Wife of ditto, afterwards Coun- 7 
 tess of Onslow, £ 
 
 Lacly Rose, when a child, 
 
 The late Charles Slingsby Duncombe, Esq. 
 
 The late Henry Duncombe Esq. 
 
20 
 
 CATALOGUE. 
 
 DRAWING ROOM. 
 
 Two Landscapes, Claude Lorraine, 
 
 Scourging of Christ, Old Palma. 
 
 Holy Family, 
 
 Christ supporting the Cross, 
 Madona della Coniglia, 
 St. Catharine, 
 
 Angel appearing to the Shepherds, 
 Landscape, 
 "Venus and Adonis, 
 Charity, 
 
 Three Landscapes, 
 
 TAPESTRY ROOM, 
 
 Adoration of the Shepherds, 
 Head of Herod ias, 
 Head of Ceres, 
 
 BED ROOM, 
 
 St. Paul, 
 
 Salutation of the Virgin, 
 Martyrdom of St. Andrew, 
 Holy Family, 
 Madona and Child, • f( 
 
 Prospero Fontana, 
 Guiscppa Chiari. 
 
 Titian.* 
 Guido, 
 
 Guiacomo Bassano. 
 JPietro de Cortono. 
 
 Titian. 
 Guido, 
 Wootton, 
 
 Guido. 
 Guido. 
 Elizabeth Sirani.f 
 
 Leonardo da Vinci. 
 
 Le Brun. 
 Carlo Dolci. 
 Andrea del Sarto. 
 Carlo Cignani. 
 Baroccio. 
 Guido. 
 Guido. 
 
 VIA 1 { U^) t n<VC, <v 
 Angel supporting Christ, 
 Bacchus and Ariadne, 
 Christ and St. John, 
 Adam and Eve, Dominichino. 
 Venus dissuading Adonis from the Chace, Albano. 
 N ati vity, Baroccio. % 
 
 Land Storm, Nicholo Poussin. 
 
 #The Shepherd is Titian's own portrait. 
 
 f Guido's favourite Scholar. 
 
 % There are two lights in this picture. That from the Child, and 
 » moonlight. 
 
CATALOGUE 
 
 21 
 
 Annunciation of the Virgin, 
 Magdalen adoring at the Cross, 
 Assumption of the Virgin, 
 Artiraesia, (the Wife of Mausolus,) 
 Head of Flora, 
 
 DRESSING ROOM. 
 
 JBaroccio. 
 Corregio. 
 C. Marratti. 
 Guido. 
 
 Pietro da Cortona. 
 
 Hawking Piece, ^ 
 Holy Family, 
 
 Virgin and Child, + f -*\ r ^ 
 Boy blowing Bubbles, 
 Eeposo, 
 
 St. Peter Penitent, 
 Battle Piece, "1 ( 
 
 Landscape, (Figures by Polemberg 
 Small Landscape with Cattle, 
 Candle-light Piece, 
 
 Sketch for the Night Piece at Dresden Palace, 
 Day of Judgment 
 
 g,) ^ \ Bartoh 
 
 Wouvennan. 
 Bourdon. 
 Corregio, 
 Mciris. 
 Titian. 
 Guido. 
 none. 
 Bartolomeo. 
 Barker. 
 Rubens. 
 Corregio. 
 Rubens. 
 
 Two small Landscapes, 
 A small Magdalen, 
 
 Miniature Portrait of Queen Elizabeth, 
 
 Salvator Rosa. 
 Parmegiano. 
 Nicholas Hilliard. 
 
 LARGE DRESSING ROOM. 
 
 JEmperor Ortho, 
 Presentation in the Temple, 
 
 Rubens. 
 Bellini. 
 
RIVALX ABBEY.* 
 
 T his beautiful monastic ruin is situated in a nar- 
 row valley, which is crowned at various poiuts with 
 flanging woods, formed on a grand scale. The 
 River Rye, from which the local name 'Rievalle' 
 is acquired, winds through it in a stream succes- 
 sively deep and rapid, and is intersected by two 
 picturesque bridges. Within this sequestered spot, 
 is the village of Rivalx, consisting of scattered cot- 
 tages, which preserve all the appropriate simplicity 
 of rural scenery. The Abbey stands just by the 
 village, from which it recedes towards a steep 
 woody bank, running nearly north and south. To 
 this eminence, the Church so nearly approaches as 
 almost necessarily to stand in the same direction : 
 hence the Choir is at the south (or southerly) end ; 
 a circumstance very uncommon. 
 
 The principal remains, are those of the Church 
 and Refectory. The former consist of the Choir 
 and part of its Side Aisles, the Transept with its 
 Aisle, and the commencement of the Tower. The 
 Transept and Tower form a cross nearly in the 
 centre of the building ; for though the Nave is de- 
 molished, its site is visible, stretching northwards 
 in a continued line from the Choir and Transept. 
 
 * See the brief historical account of this Abbey in the appendix. 
 
RIVALX ABBEY. 
 
 This Church ranks amongst the largest monas- 
 tic ones. Its dimensions are as follows : length of 
 the Choir 144 feet, breadth 63 feet : length of the 
 Transept 118 feet, breadth 33 feet ; length of the 
 Nave 166 feet 6 inches ; length of the whole 343 feet. 
 
 With the slight exception afterwards noticed, 
 that part of the Church now remaining, is built in 
 the early style of pointed architecture, which pre- 
 vailed in the reign of King Henry III. The win- 
 dows are of the narrow lancet form, except those 
 of the lower tier at the end of the Choir, and the 
 first upper tier of its side windows, which are wi- 
 der than the rest, and have probably been divided 
 by mullions. Between the windows on the east side 
 of the Choir, is introduced the quatrefoil ornament, 
 and the two northermost ones on the opposite side 
 are surmounted by circular arches or canopies. 
 The arched work of the transept pillars, and of the 
 greater part of the windows, is adorned with a spe- 
 cies of moulding which marks the first transition 
 from the Anglo-Norman : the rest of the pillars 
 have plain ribbed arches. The architectural beauty 
 of the Choir which is in good preservation, is finely 
 contrasted with the picturesque openness and light- 
 ness of its more ruinous appendages. The building 
 in general is chastely designed, and the masonry ad- 
 mirable. The interior of the Tower has its peculiar 
 attractions, especially in the columned ornaments, 
 which terminate gracefully in the corbel style. 
 
24 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 The Nave is supposed to have been of a ftiucn 1 
 earlier date than the Choir. In proof of this, the 
 exterior of the Transept with which it communi- 
 cated, has a lower tier of round headed windows 
 in the Anglo-Norman style ; and the upper tier also 
 appears to have been altered from that form to the 
 pointed one. This warrants a supposition, that the 
 Nave may have been erected by the first founder 
 of the Abbev, and that some accident arrested the 
 progress of the building for fiearly a century. 
 
 Lord Feversham has lately added much to the 
 graceful appearance of the Choir, by laying open 
 the bases of the pillars on the west side, the site of 
 the High Altar, and the Lady Chapel beyond it. 
 During that process, a stone coffin was found near 
 the Altar. The bones of the body were in tolerable 
 preservation ; but no inscription or vestige was dis- 
 coverable by which it could be identified. The pro- 
 bable conjecture is, that these were the remains, 
 either of Walter de Espec, the founder of the Monas- 
 tery, or of one of the Abbots. Part of a handsome 
 tessellated floor was also found, the fragments of 
 which, in order to their preservation, have been re- 
 moved to the South Temple on the Terrace above. 
 
 The general appearance of that part of the Tran- 
 sept nearest the Nave is curious. Its old wall may 
 be easily and distinctly traced on one side, about 
 half way up the second tier of windows ; and on the 
 other, in a very uneven course, just above them. 
 The quality of the stone with which the upper part 
 
KTVALX ABBEY. 
 
 25 
 
 is finished, appears very different from that of the 
 lower, of which probably the Nave had been built.* 
 The Refectory appears to have been a spa- 
 cious building, facing the Nave of the Church, 
 from which it was divided by a quadranglar grass 
 plot. Its length is 125 feet by 37 feet 6 inches 
 broad. It is preceded by a large Anti-Room, to 
 which was attached a handsome external doorway, 
 circularly arched, but in every other respect answer- 
 ing to the early pointed style, and its ornamental 
 appendages corresponding with those of the Church. 
 A series of small, low, and close arched work, ap- 
 pears in the front of this building, denoting the re- 
 mains of a Cloister, which seems to have been car- 
 ried along two sides of the Quadrangle, and to 
 have connected the Refectory with the Church. 
 Within the Refectory (to the right) are to be seen 
 the remains of the music gallery, or, as supposed 
 by some, the Reader's pulpit ; and on the outside 
 a circular stair-case leading to it. In two or three 
 parts of the Refectory, are specimens of the fine 
 plaister which covered its walls, and the paint with 
 which it was ornamented. The Refectory has lan- 
 cet windows, and in other respects corresponds 
 in style with the visible remains of the Church. 
 
 *Mr. Young, in his history of Whitby, conjectures the Tran- 
 sept to have been the body of the antient Church, but this may 
 well be doubted ; especially as Mr. Mackenzie, speaks of Nor- 
 man appendages to the Nave, which, in that case, must have 
 been of, at least, as early a date as the Transept. (See 
 Appendix.) 
 
 D 
 
26 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 Just by the south west angle of the Church, is a 
 decayed gate-way, with an attached building, which 
 appears to have communicated with a small area 
 between the Choir and the habitable apartments ; 
 thus forming an entrance to both. From this ex- 
 tend, in a double row, towards the Refectory, the 
 probable remains of the Abbot's House* with its 
 appendages, the Kitchen and other Offices of the 
 Refectory.f 
 
 At the north end of the Village are the vestiges 
 of a building somewhat more modern in its style 
 than the Refectory. This is conjectured to have 
 been the Eleemosynary. J It stands in the place 
 usually forming the north western entrance into the 
 Close of this description of Monastic Buildings ; 
 and the remains of two Arches near it, now almost 
 buried, denote the probability of such an entrance 
 in this part. The vestiges of another gate-way to 
 the Abbey Close, are to be seen about 200 yards 
 from the south end of the Choir. 
 
 The visitor of Rivalx has another gratifying ob- 
 ject to contemplate, which indeed is generally ap- 
 
 * On the exterior of this supposed dwelling, are sculptured 
 two mutilated figures, descriptive of the Annunciation of the 
 Virgin. 
 
 f See explanation of the plan, and further descriptions in the 
 Appendix. 
 
 t The shewers of these places, sometimes call this part of a 
 Monastery, 'the Inn ;* and it is by no means improbable that it 
 may have answered the double purpose of dealing out alms in 
 money or victuals, and lodging travellers of an inferior descrip- 
 tion. 
 
K1VALX TERRACE. 
 
 27 
 
 proached first, as comprising in part the beauties 
 already described ; and this is 
 
 THE TERRACE. 
 This elevated spot is in itself a noble object, being 
 nearly half a mile long, of a spacious breadth, and 
 forming a handsome lawn. It is backed by a plan- 
 tation of trees, intermixed with flowering shrubs, 
 which project forward in semi-circular sweeps, and 
 added to the winding form of the Terrace, impart 
 to it an air of beauty, mixed with grandeur. At one 
 end is a circular Temple, with a Tuscan Colonnade; 
 at the other end a Temple, with an Ionic Portico. 
 
 The entrance to the Terrace is nearly in the cen- 
 tre ; and his feelings must be blunted indeed, who 
 can be insensible to the beauties which at once 
 burst upon the view ! To enjoy these in detail, it 
 may be best to turn to the Tuscan Temple on the 
 left, and thence walk back the length of the Ter- 
 race. Nearly in front of that Temple are seen hang- 
 ing woods, spread over the opposite hills, which 
 form a pleasing variety of steeps, dells, and hollows.* 
 
 * The hanging woods of Rivalx and its vicinity are viewed to 
 still greater advantage from below, where (especially in pursu- 
 ing the line down the Rye) they appear incomparably fine. In 
 admitting this, and pointing out, as the Editor wishes to do, the 
 site of the Abbey as the only spot where its beauties can be 
 seen to perfection, he begs leave to enter his protest against a 
 sweeping censure of the Terrace, and its Prospects, which ap- 
 pears in the work entitled "Ruins in Yorkshire" already allu- 
 ded ; an animadversion, which he is persuaded the respectable 
 writer of that article (the late Rev. Dr. Whitaker) has been be- 
 trayed into, from his considering the Terrace as formed merely 
 for the purpose of displaying the Abbey and its scenery ; a con- 
 clusion by no means warranted. 
 
28 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 Here, the range of wood is agreeably broken by 
 cultivated enclosures ; and at the bottom of these 
 waving forests, upon the edge of the valley, is seen 
 an humble cottage in an elegant well adapted situ- 
 ation, giving a picturesque effect to the general 
 view. The plain unornamented hills which bound 
 this spot, add, by contrast, to its softer attractions. 
 
 Proceeding a little further along the Terrace, a 
 treble valley presents itself : one narrow branch 
 turning to the left ; another passing just below the 
 Terrace ; while a third, nearly in front and of con- 
 siderable width, is carried in a winding direction 
 through sloping woods, which fringe a continued 
 hill up to its summit. The enclosures of this valley 
 intersected with thorn hedges, have their peculiar 
 beauties : the scattered trees which rise in them 
 give different shades of green ; and the light caught 
 through their branches has the etfect of a brilliant 
 chiaro scuro, so difficult to be imitated in painting. 
 The River, occasionally disclosing itself, enlivens 
 and enriches the view. In this part of the walk, 
 the eye is also regaled by the appearance of a na- 
 tural lawn beyond the River, fringed with a semi- 
 circular wood, sloping gracefully into the central 
 valley just noticed. 
 
 Advancing further, a scene still more gratifying 
 is unfolded ; combining the ruins of the Abbey, 
 which picturesquely intermix with scattered trees, 
 the Village of Rivalx, the straggling cottages of 
 
RIVALX TERRACE. 
 
 29 
 
 which appear amongst natural clumps, each a land- 
 scape of itself, and the winding River, in some 
 parts open, in others overshadowed with pendent 
 trees, rising from the shore into hanging woods. 
 
 In proceeding round a curve of the Terrace, these 
 objects are seen in a new direction. The remains of 
 the Abbey appear scattered and nearer in view, 
 while the Valley in front becomes more broad and 
 beautiful : behind, it is half lost among projecting 
 eminences, but a new branch of it appears like a 
 creek, dividing the hills which are amply spread 
 with wood. Turning the eye, a bridge of three arches 
 thrown over the river catches the sight, in a spot 
 which adds to the general beauties of the prospect. 
 
 During the walk here described, are seen inter- 
 spersed in the higher grounds, the villages of Scaw- 
 ton, Cold Kirby, and Old Byland j* and nearly in 
 front, across a swelling Down, broken to the view 
 by well arranged clumps, the eye is carried to two 
 bold and picturesque hills in the distance, which 
 highly adorn and enliven the scene. 
 
 The view from the Ionic Temple, though equal 
 to any of the preceding, differs from them all. 
 A long wave in the line of the Terrace, presents a 
 
 * The place where an Abbey was begun to be erected, which 
 was- afterwards removed to Byland, near Coxwold. See mention 
 of Byland Abbey in the Appendix. 
 
30 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 sight of its own woody steep bank, rising in a beau- 
 tiful manner to the Tuscan Temple which crowns 
 its top. The Abbey is seen in a new but full point 
 of display ; and the bridge appears, finely encom- 
 passed with hanging trees. The pendent woods 
 that fringe the opposite hills are exhibited almost 
 in front, and the valley beneath, discloses its pro- 
 fusion of beauties. 
 
 The Ionic porticoed Temple, a room of a most 
 pleasing proportion, (twenty-seven feet by eigh- 
 teen,) contains in the centre of its ceiling a copy 
 of Guido's Aurora, with the graceful 'Hours' in 
 great brilliancy surrounding her car. In the cove 
 of the ceiling, are painted in compartments, the 
 stories of Hero and Leander, Andromeda chained 
 to a rock, Diana, a Sea Venus, Hercules and Om- 
 phale, &c. The whole was the performance of Bur- 
 nice, who was brought from Italy for that purpose. 
 
 The cornice and frieze, and the chimney-piece 
 which is of white marble, are extremely elegant. 
 The room is ornamented with gilt carving on a 
 brown ground. 
 
 May it be permitted, to close this imperfect 
 sketch of the delightful Terraces of Duncombe Park 
 and Rivalx, with the improvement of such scenery, 
 suggested by our truly christian Poet. — 
 
RIVALX TERRACE. 
 
 31 
 
 Brutes graze the mountain top, with faces prone 
 
 And eyes intent upon the scanty herb 
 
 It yields them : or recumbent on its brow, 
 
 Huminate, heedless of the scene outspread 
 
 Beneath, beyond, and stretching far away. 
 
 Man views it and admires ; but rests content 
 
 With what he views. The landscape has his praise f 
 
 But not its author. Unconcern' d who formd 
 
 The paradise he sees, he finds it such, 
 
 And such well pleas' d to find it, asks no more. 
 
 Not so the mind that has been touch' d from heaven f 
 
 And in the school of sacred wisdom taught 
 
 To read His wonders, in whose thought the worlds 
 
 Fair as it is, existed 'ere it was. 
 
 Not for its own sake merely, but for His 
 
 Much more who fashioned it, he gives it praise ; 
 
 Praise, that from earth resulting as it ought 
 
 To earth's acknowledged sov 'reign, finds at once 
 
 Its only just proprietor in Him. 
 
 The soul that sees him, or receives sublim'd 
 
 New faculties, or learns at least t' employ 
 
 More worthily the pow'rs she own'd before ; 
 
 Discerns in all things, what with stupid gaze 
 
 Of ignorance till then she overlooked, 
 
 A ray of heav'nly light gilding all forms 
 
 Terrestrial, in the vast, and the minute ; 
 
 The unambiguous footsteps of the God 
 
 Who gives it lustre to an insect's wing, 
 
 And wheels his throne upon the rolling worlds. 
 
 Then, nature throwing wide 
 
32 
 
 A DESCRIPTION OP 
 
 Her veil opaque, discloses with a smile 
 The founder of her beauties ; who retired 
 Behind his own creation, works unseen 
 By the impure, and hears his powW denied. 
 Thou art the source and centre of all minds f 
 Their only point of rest, Eternal Word ! 
 From Thee departing, they are lost and rove 
 At random, without honour, hope, or peace. 
 From Thee is all that sooths the life of man : 
 His high endeavour, and his glad success ; 
 His strength to suffer, and his will to serve. 
 But oh ! thou bounteous giver of all good, 
 Thou art of all thy gifts, thyself the crown ! 
 Give what Thou can' st, without Thee we are poor, 
 And with Thee rich, take what Thou wilt away. 
 
 Cowper's Task. 
 
( 33 ) 
 
 HELMSLEY and its CASTLE. 
 
 Helmsley is an ancient Market Town, plea- 
 santly situated in the valley of Ryedale, on the 
 banks of the River, and containing, by a recent ac- 
 count, 280 houses, and upwards of 1520 inhabi- 
 tants. The cultivated part of the country immedi- 
 ately surrounding it is fertile, and abounds with 
 beautiful woody valleys. At a distance appear, 
 sweeping round the horizon, those extensive Moors, 
 which from their colour give the town the name of 
 Helmsley Black- 3Toor. 
 
 The Manor and Castle of Helmsley were origi- 
 nally the property of Sir Walter Espec, from whom 
 the title to them was ultimately derived by the 
 Dun combe Family, as noticed in the appendix. 
 
 Helmsley Castle has been a place of uncommon 
 strength, and is an honourable testimony of the 
 skill of our ancestors. On the western side, the 
 remains of a range of apartments, constituting the 
 Mansion House and its appendages, are still in 
 existence ; and the cornices within are ornamented 
 with the arms of the Buckingham Family. The 
 style of these buildings shews them to be of the time 
 of King James I. A mass of rock beyond, gives 
 the fortress a commanding aspect. A double ditch 
 completely surrounds the whole building, through 
 which was formerly conducted the water of the Rye. 
 
 f 
 
34 
 
 HELMSLEY castle. 
 
 The remains of the Keep which have been men- 
 tioned, shew that it has been both beautiful and 
 substantial. Its interior discovers marks of alter- 
 ation by different possessors. Near it are slight 
 vestiges of a building, which, from its more light 
 and ornamented appearance, is supposed to have 
 been the Chapel. 
 
 The grand entrance to the Castle on the south, 
 has double gates, between two Towers of considera- 
 ble strength. It appears to have been altered from 
 its original state, probably about the time of build- 
 ing the mansion. The gates are defended by the 
 outermost ditch, with the additional protection of a 
 circular tower at each angle of the Castle. The re- 
 lics of another gate-way on the north side, are still 
 apparent.* 
 
 The romantic scenery of this ancient baronial 
 residence, is beautiful in the extreme. The profile 
 of the Keep, the scattered masses of building, and 
 the disposition of the trees, of which it has been 
 justly remarked that every one is a picture, have 
 long been favourite subjects of the pencil. 
 
 *See notices concerning the siege of Helmsley Castle in the 
 Appendix. 
 
( 35 ) 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 RIVALX ABBEY. 
 
 Explanation of the prefixed plan, as reduced from one en- 
 graved after Mr. Mackenzie. 
 
 A. Choir of the Church. 
 
 B. Site of the Nave. 
 
 C. C. Site of the Transept. 
 
 D. Quadrangle between the Church and Refectory. 
 
 E. E. Site of the Cloisters, which extended along two sides 
 of the Quadrangle. 
 
 F. Entrance from the Cloisters into the Transept. 
 
 G. The Refectory. 
 
 H. Anti-Room to Do. — by some supposed to have been the 
 Buttery. 
 
 I. Music Gallery (or Reader's Pulpit) in Do. 
 
 K. A Fragment, shewing part of a range of large round-head- 
 ed Windows. 
 
 h I" The Kitchens (as supposed) to the Refectory. 
 M. M. M. M. Supposed site of the Dormitory. 
 N. An open Court. 
 
 O, o, o, o, o, Supposed site of the Abbot's House with its pas- 
 
 sages, and other appendages. 
 P. Part of a large arched entrance, 
 > Q. Lodge &c. adjoining, 
 
 The situations here assigned for the Abbot's House and 
 the Dormitory, must, in some measure, rest on conjecture. That 
 the latter was not, as in most Cistercian Monasteries, placed 
 over the Cloisters, is to be inferred from the circumstance sub- 
 sequently noticed, of there being in these no vestiges of upper 
 apartments. The Dormitory may have been in the line of build- 
 
36 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ing marked (K) in which case, it is not improbable that the 
 range marked M. (the greater part of which had vaulted apart- 
 ments) constituted the Abbot's residence or a portion of it. 
 
 The following additional observations were made by Mr. 
 Mackenzie, at the time of his planning and sketching the re- 
 mains of the Abbey. 
 
 "In the plan, those parts are shaded black, where enough re- 
 mains to trace distinctly the walls, windows, doors, &c. Other 
 parts are left in plain lines, as doubtful ; being merely traced 
 from certain inequalities in the level of the ground, which ap- 
 pear like the foundations of walls. 
 
 "The fragment of the Nave, at its northern termination, gives 
 one half of the end of the Church, with the thickness of one 
 of the side walls; and the darkened parts of that side wall, shew 
 one of the windows and two of the flat Norman buttresses, from 
 a careful measurement of which, and of the corresponding distan- 
 ces, it is found to admit of nine such windows with the buttrefi 
 ses between them in the whole length ; and the opposite wall the 
 same of course. There were three doors at the north end, ent - 
 ing into the body of the Nave, and no doors to the Side Aisl. 
 The piers of the Arches might be either squareTcircular, or oc- 
 tagonal, according to the architecture of that time, and are 
 therefore left as doubtful. The internal dimensions of the Nave 
 are 166 feet 6 inches, by 59 feet 2 inches. 
 
 "In the Choir, it will be found, from observing the fragment at 
 each end of the west Aisle and the two remaining piers of the 
 east, (the Church standing nearly N. & S.) that the windows 
 of the East Aisle, were different from those of the west ; the for- 
 mer being composed of three openings of the lancet shape in 
 each compartment, the centre one wider than the others ; and 
 the latter of three arches nearly similar, but only the centre 
 one open. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 37 
 
 w The dotted lines in the Choir shew the original groinings of 
 the roof, which can be traced with certainty from the springers 
 which still remain ; and it was, no doubt, enriched with a boss 
 in the centre of each compartment, like the part of the roof that 
 remains as the Aisle of the East Transept. The double arches 
 in the second tier were again subdivided into two small ones, 
 supported by small columns, with a quatrefoil between them; 
 and the great arch of the Tower gives the form of the roof : so 
 that in a perspective drawing, taken from the Transept looking 
 towards the Altar, a complete restoration of this part of the 
 Church might be given upon good authority. 
 
 "The exterior of the Choir, besides the usual flying Buttresses 
 over the Aisles, had other Buttresses at about eight feet dis- 
 tance from the walls, which were connected by Arches with 
 those between the windows of the Aisles : this is a great pecu- 
 liarity, and must have had a beautiful effect. The foundations 
 of these are visible, and also the Spring of one of the connec- 
 ting Arches. 
 
 " The Roof of the Transept is supposed to have been of Tim- 
 Iber ; no stone Springers remaining there, as they do in the Choir, 
 t % 
 
 u The Refectory (as mentioned before) is 125 feet, by 37 feet 
 6 inches. The dotted lines show the vaults which formerly ex- 
 isted beneath, seen by the remains of the Arches round the walL 
 These Arches were supported on 18 Columns in two rows. The 
 dotted lines in the part marked ( K ) in the plan show the same 
 thing : the Arches were supported on 14 Columns. 
 
 "It does not appear that there were any Apartments over the 
 Cloisters, as the line of the roof is seen immediately over the 
 door of the Refectory, and the one leading into the Transept ; 
 nor would there be room enough between these doors and the 
 windows above." 
 
 F 
 
38 
 
 APPENDIX* 
 
 Brief Historical Account of Rivals Abbey. (See p 4 22.) 
 
 Rivalx was one of the greater monasteries. It was of the Cis* 
 tercian order, and was founded anno 1131 by Sir Walter Espec; 
 whose only child, a son, being killed by a fall from his horse, 
 the afflicted parent devoted the principal part of his large pos- 
 sessions to pious uses. Besides the Abbey of Rivalx, he built 
 and endowed two others, viz. Kirkham in the East Riding of 
 Yorkshire, (near the spot where his son was killed,) and Warden, 
 in Bedfordshire. He was buried in Rivalx Abbey, anno 1153. 
 Upon the dissolution of the larger monasteries, that of Rivalx 
 being seized into the hands of the crown, was granted in ex- 
 change by King Henry VIII. to Thomas Lord Roos, the first 
 Earl of Rutland, and thus reverted to the family of the founder ; 
 for that Earl deduced his pedigree from Adeline, Sister of 
 Sir Walter Espec, and wife of Peter de Roos. In the reign of 
 James I. this property, together with the Castle and Manor of 
 Helmsley, and other considerable possessions which had be- 
 longed for some centuries to the Roos family, became vested in 
 Catharine, only surviving child and heiress of Francis the sixth 
 Earl of Rutland. She intermarried with George, the first Duke 
 of Buckingham ; and these estates afterwards devolved on their 
 eldest surviving son, George, the second Duke ; of whose trus- 
 tees they were purchased in the year 1695, by Sir Charles 
 Duncombe, an ancestor of The Right Honourajile Charles 
 Lord Feversham, the present possessor. 
 
 HELMSLEY CASTLE. (See p. 33.j 
 
 The following particulars occur relative to the siege of this 
 Castle, during the civil wars, in the time of Charles I. 
 
 Nov. 12, 1644, A party of the Royal Horse from Skipton 
 and Knaresbrough, advancing to relieve Helmsley Castle, the 
 Lord Fairfax sent a party under Major Sanders to make good 
 the siege ; but before they came up, the besiegers routed the 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 39 
 
 King's party, killed and wounded divers ; captured 80 horse, 
 and a great quantity of meal, salt, and other provisions, and took, 
 about 50 officers and gentlemen, besides common soldiers, pri- 
 soners. [From Whitelock's Memorials, and Grose* s Antiquities.'] 
 
 Lord Fairfax, who had been established governor of York af- 
 ter its capture in 1644, was, with his son, directed to reduce all 
 the remaining Yorkshire Garrisons that still held out for the 
 King. In one of these excursions, against the Castle of Helmsley, 
 Sir Thomas Fairfax received a dangerous shot on the shoulder. 
 Being brought to York, he laid there some time so ill of his 
 wound, that his life was despaired of. Upon his recovery, he was 
 voted by the Parliament Commander in Chief of all their forces. 
 [From Drake* s York — Confirmed by Whit dock ; except that the 
 latter docs not notice the wound received by Sir Thomas Fair- 
 fax as dangerous,] 
 
 About the 20th Nov. 1644, the Castle of Helmsley surren- 
 dered upon articles, with all the ordnance, arms, stores, and am- 
 munition, except what the garrison marched out with according 
 to agreement. In it were about 200 men, 9 pieces of ordnance, 
 300 muskets and pikes, 6 barrels of powder, and much money, 
 plate, and other plunder. Many of the common soldiers turned 
 to the Lord Fairfax, whereof at least 40 went presently to as- 
 sist at the siege of Scarbrough. [From Grose's Antiquities ; 
 which quotes a parliamentary chronicle, entitled "the Burning 
 Bush not consumed"] 
 
 KIRKDALE CHURCH. 
 
 This venerable edifice, distant about four miles from Helmsley, 
 near the Kirby Moorside Road, would from its retired situation, 
 if not pointed out, be likely to escape that attention from the 
 curious traveller which it well deserves, as a relic of antiquity, 
 connected with the beautiful romantic scenery of its vicinity. It is 
 situated in a tranquil valley embosomed in woods. The chief part 
 
40 APPENDIX. 
 
 has been lately rebuilt ; but it retains its ancient porch, com- 
 prising a dial, with certain inscriptions (restored through the 
 attention of the Rev. George Dixon, the present Incumbent) of 
 ■which the following are translations : 
 
 " Orm, GamaPs son, bought St. Gregory's Church : then it 
 *<was all gone to ruin and fallen down ; and he agreed with 
 "Maccan to renew it from the ground, to Christ and St. Gre- 
 gory, in Edward's days, the King; and Tosti's days, the Earl." 
 
 In the Centre of the Dial. 
 
 "This is a draught exhibiting the time of day, whilst the Sun 
 "is passing to and from the Winter Solstice. 
 "And Hawarth me made, and Brand the Priest. ,, 
 
 We learn from Dugdale's Baronage (vol. 1. p. 313, and vol. 
 2. p. 416) that Tosti, the fourth son of Godwin Earl of Kent, 
 and brother to King Harold, was created Earl of Northumber- 
 land by Edward the Confessor in the year 1056 ; but he (Tosti) 
 was expelled the Kingdom, anno 1065, and lost his life the year 
 following at Stamford Bridge, near York, upon his returning, 
 and attempting to recover his former power and dignity. Hence, 
 it appears that this Church must have been rebuilt, and the in- 
 scriptions placed, between the years 1056 and 1065 ; which must 
 render it interesting to the antiquary, as one of the few genuine 
 ecclesiastical Saxon remains wTiich are ascertainable at the pre- 
 sent day. 
 
 CAVE IN KIRKDALE. 
 
 In the postscript to a former edition of this work, mention was 
 made of a Cave, just then discovered by digging in a stone quar- 
 ry, containing an assemblage of fossil teeth, and bones of va- 
 rious animals, supposed to be ante-diluvian. These have been 
 {since fully explored, and transferred into the collections of the 
 curious. The Cave only remains for inspection, and in a some- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 41 
 
 what mutilated state, but a brief description of its interesting 
 contents cannot fail to be acceptable to a visitor of these parts, 
 as indeed it must be to every description of readers. 
 
 To begin with the Cave itself ; it is situated about a furlong 
 from the Church of Kirkdale, before noticed, near the brow of 
 the left flank of that valley, close by a public road. The rock 
 perforated by it falls under the description known in the south 
 of England by the name of the Oxford oolite, and coral rag. 
 About 30 feet of the outer extremity have been removed, and 
 the present entrance is a hole in the face of the quarry less than 
 five feet square, which expands and contracts itself irregularly 
 from two to seven feet in breadth and height, but diminishing as 
 it proceeds into the interior of the hill. The Cave is from 15 
 to 20 feet below the incumbent field, the surface of which is 
 nearly level, and parallel to the stratification of the lime-stone, 
 and the bottom of the Cave. Its main direction is E. S. E. but 
 deviating from a straight line by several zig-zags to the right 
 and left ; and its greatest length is from 100 to 200 feet. The 
 bottom of the Cave, on removing the mud which had accu- 
 mulated upon it, was found to be strewed all over like a dog 
 kennel with hundreds of teeth and bones, or rather splintered 
 fragments of bones ; those of the larger animals co-extensively 
 with all the rest, even in the smallest recesses. These teeth and 
 bones as defined in an able publication by the Rev. Professor 
 Buckland, are referrible to the following twenty two species of 
 animals : 
 
 7. Carnivora. — Hyaena, Tiger, Bear, Wolf, Fox, Weasel, 
 and an unknown animal of the size of a Wolf. 
 
 4. Pachydermata. — Elephant, Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, 
 and Horse. 
 
 4. Ruminantia. — Ox, and three species of Deer. 
 
 3. Rodentia. — Rabbit, Water Rat, and Mouse. 
 
 4. Birds. — Raven, Pigeon, Lark, and a small species of 
 Duck, resembling the Anas Sponsor, or Summer Duck. 
 
42 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The prevailing opinion concerning these remains is that main- 
 tained by the above learned Professor, viz : that the Cave was, 
 during a long succession of years previous to the flood, a den 
 of Hyaenas, and that they dragged into its recesses the other 
 bodies whose remains were found mixed indiscriminately with 
 their own. In support of this hypothesis, after stating various 
 facts demonstrating the teeth and bones to have belonged to the 
 respective classes of animals alluded to, Mr. Buckland advan- 
 ces, among others, the following reasons : 
 
 1. Scarcely a single bone has escaped fracture, and on some of 
 them marks may be traced, which on applying one to the other, 
 appear clearly to fit the form of the canine teetli of the Hyaena 
 that occur in the Cave. 
 
 2. A number of small balls found in the Cave, of the solid 
 calcareous excrement of an animal that had fed on bones, were, 
 at first sight, recognized by the keeper of the menagerie at 
 Exeter Change, as resembling, both in form and appearance, 
 the foeces of the spotted or Cape Hyaena, which he stated to be 
 greedy of bones beyond all other beasts under his care. 
 
 3. An extreme abundance of the teeth of water rats was found 
 in the Cave ; and though the idea of Hyaenas eating rats may 
 appear ridiculous, it is consistent with the omnivorous appetite 
 of modern Hyaenas. The occurrence of bauds' bones may be 
 explained by the probability of the Hyaenas finding them dead, 
 and taking them home as usual, to eat in their dens. In the case 
 of such minute and burrowing animals as the mouse and weasel, 
 and perhaps the rabbit and fox, it is possible that some of them 
 may have crept into the Cave by undiscovered recesses, and 
 there died since the stoppage of its mouth ; and with respect 
 to ruminating animals, which form the ordinary food of the, 
 beasts of prey, it is not surprising that their remains should oc- 
 cur in such abundance in the Cave. 
 
 "The accumulation," adds Mr. Buckland, "of these bones 
 then, appears to have been a long process, going on during a 
 succession of years, whilst all the animals in question were na- 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 43 
 
 tives of this country. The general dispersion of similar bones 
 through the diluvian gravel of high latitudes over great part of 
 the northern hemisphere shows, that the period in which they 
 inhabited these regions, was that immediately preceding the 
 formation of this gravel, and that they perished by the same 
 waters which produced it. M. Cuvier has moreover ascertain- 
 ed, that the fossil Elephant, Rhinoceros, Hippopotamus, and 
 Hyaena belong to a species now unknown ; and as there is no 
 evidence that they have at any time subsequent to the forma- 
 tion of the diluvium existed in these regions, we may conclude 
 that the period at which the bones of these extinct species were 
 introduced into the Cave at Kirkdale was antediluvian." 
 
 BYLANP ABBEY. 
 
 The Tourist cannot fail of gratification in extending his visit 
 to this interesting ruin, which is only about four miles distant 
 from Rivalx ; the hilly ridge of Hambleton passing between 
 them. The view, from this eminence, of the Vale of York, in 
 which the Cathedral of that City forms a prominent feature, is 
 noble and attractive. 
 
 Byland Abbey, though exhibiting fewer architectural features, 
 and less of landscape scenery, than that of Rivalx, is by no 
 means deficient in either, and has hitherto fallen more under the 
 notice of the antiquary than the latter. The remains of the West 
 Front, and the Transept of the Church, constitute its principal 
 beauties. The former contains three enriched entrances, over 
 which are a set of windows handsomely finished ; the whole sur- 
 mounted by the remains of a large Catharine- Wheel Window. 
 The three door-ways, though ornamented alike, are peculiar in 
 the variation of the form of their arches ; the central one having 
 a waving pointed arch ; that to the north, a simply pointed one, 
 and that to the south, a waving pointed arch, encompassed by a 
 circular one. The window over this last is round-headed, but 
 the other windows in the same tier, being three in number, are 
 
44 
 
 APPENDIX* 
 
 pointed. The Transept is near the east end of the Church for- 
 ming a Christs' Cross. The south front of this Transept is 
 nearly entire, and contains two tiers of pointed windows, three 
 in each range ; the whole terminating in a pediment, within 
 which is an upright oval window. The interior compartments 
 of the other windows are ornamented with clustered columns and 
 capitals, and the windows themselves are handsomely finished 
 with mouldings. No trace is left of Aisles or Pillars, but the 
 walls of the north and east Fronts, and of the south one, as far 
 as the Transept, remain to the height of the first range of win- 
 dows. On the South of the Church is a Quadrangle similar to 
 those at Fountains, Rivalx &c. ; on two sides of which, are the 
 remains of Cloisters. The front of the Quadrangle facing the 
 Church is filled up with traces of buildings, except in one space 
 which opens to a small street, or court, containing vestiges of 
 buildings on each side. These various buildings, no doubt, 
 composed the Refectory, Abbot's Residence, and other habitable 
 parts of the Monastery. At the western extremity of the Close is 
 a handsome Gate- way, in tolerable preservation, which appears 
 to have formed the grand entrance. It contains a larger and 
 a smaller portal with ornamented side walls. This Abbey has 
 been usually described as Anglo-Norman, and some of the 
 mouldings of its arches and windows are of that description, but 
 all the other remains denote its being of the early pointed style. 
 In Hearne's and Byrne's Antiquities, the length of the Nave 
 of the Church is stated to be 200 feet, and\>f the Choir 50 
 feet : breadth of the Transept 73 feet ; total length, 323 feet. 
 Length of the Transept 130 feet : breadth of the Choir 70 feet, 
 and of the Nave 38 feet. 
 
 Printed by R. Cooper, Kirby Moorside. 
 
GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE 
 
 3 3125 01000 6415