OWER ATINGTON ITS MANOR HOUSE AND CHURCH. LONDON : PRIVATELY PRINTED AT THE CH1SWICK PRESS, BY W HITTING HAM AND WILKINS. 1869. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/lowereatingtonitOOshir TO SEWALLIS- EVELYN, SELINA, MARY -CLARA, AND KATHERINE SHIRLEY. Anno 1869. THOUSAND years at Eatington our race hath lived, I ween, — That Eatington which many a time your childifh joys hath feen ; But One hath faid, a thoufand years appear in His juft Tight As yefterday, fo quick they pafs, as watches in the night ! Away, then, with pride of anceftry — let youthful Chriftians feek That One to pleafe eternally, who loves the pure and meek : Thus may ye hope fome future fcribe, ere this fthort life ye end, With the wifeft of your anceftors your honour'd names may blend ! E. P. S. " I love old houfes beft, for the fake of old clofets, and cupboards, and good thick walls that do not let the wind blow in ; and little out-of-the-way polyangular rooms, with great beams running acrofs the ceiling — old heart of oak, that has out-lafted half-a-fcore of generations ; chimney pieces, with the date of the year carved above them ; and huge fire-places, that warmed the fhins of Englifhmen before the Houfe of Hanover came over." — Southey to Mr. Bedford, April, 1803. Nether or Lower Eatington, 1869. LOWER EATINGTON. N a valley, watered by the river Stour, to the north of the Ilmington hills, an outlying fpur of the Cotfwolds, mid- way between the Vale of Red- horfe in Warwickfhire, and the rich plains of Evemam in Worcefterfhire, is the Manor of Nether or Lower Eatington, in the County of Warwick, comprehending, in the Manor and Parifh, the hamlets of Over or Upper u J^jOWtr JcMllnPtOu. Eatington [whither the Parifh Church was removed by Acl of Parliament in 1798], Thornton, Fulready, and Lambcote, an ex- tenfive diftrict, bounded on the fouth by the river Stour, and the great parim of Tredington in Worcefterfhire ; on the weft, by that of Aldermarfton, in the fame county ; on the north, by Loxley and Walton ; and on the eaft, by Pillerton, Whatcote, Idlicote, and Halford ; all in Warwickfhire. Lower Eat- ington proper, the fubjec~t of this little memoir, is entirely paftu re-land, and for the moft part occupied by the Park of Eatington, divided into " the Old Park," " the Downs," and the New, or " Deer Park," compriiing fome ancient inclofures called " Prior's Clofe," and « Mill Clofe," befides " Greenhill," and Staunch-Hill," remarkable for the haw- thorns of large fize and great antiquity, which are fcattered over thefe fomewhat wild and broken uplands. 1 Lower Eatington. " Sasuualo holds of Henry Qde Feriers] feventeen hides [feventeen hundred acres] in Etendone. The arable employs twelve ploughs, four are in the demefne [or Home Farm], and there are ten bondmen (flaves), there are thirty-two villeins (fomewhatfuperior to flaves), with a prieft, twenty-five borders (cottagers), one foldier, and two thanes (free- holders). They have fixteen ploughs and a half : a mill pays eighteen millings, and there are thirty acres of meadow. It was worth fix pounds, and afterwards four pounds, now twenty pounds." Such was the ftate of Eatington in the reign of William the Conqueror, about the year 1085, when the invaluable furvey, called Domefday Book, from which the above is an extract, was undertaken by the king's order. This is the earlieft notice of the Manor of Eatington, and of Safwalo or Sewallis, the firft afcertained anceftor of the Houfe of Shirley, Lower Eatington. who have ever lince retained poffefllon of this their original inheritance. For, from the name Safwalo, and from the fact that no former Saxon porTefTor is mentioned in the Survey as owner of Eatington in the time of Edward the Confeflbr, according to the ufual practice of Domefday, we may infer with certainty the Anglo-Saxon origin of the family who have been fo long connected with this place. The notice of a prieft in the Survey in- volves the existence of a Church, and that one was founded and endowed here, dedicated to the Holy Trinity by the Safwalo of Domef- day, we know by the Regifter of Kenilworth Priory. Some remains of this original Church ft ill exift at Eatington, though the tower and body of the ancient Church clofely adjoining the Manor Houfe here, are of a later date, having been rebuilt about the end of the twelfth century, when the Norman femi- circular arches were united with the pointed Lower Eatington, 9 ftyle. This is well exemplified in the win- dows of the tower of this church. At this period, S. Thomas a Becket was adopted as the patron faint. The village wake is ftill kept on his day. The mill, mentioned in Domefday Book, as attached to this Manor, has been within the laft century removed. "The Mill Clofe," and "The Mill Ham," ftill atteft its fite. The Manor Houfe of Eatington, or more anciently and correctly Eatendon, derived, fays Dugdale, from in our old Englim, fignifying water, and Dune or Don, an afcend- ing ground, " for at the foot of an hill and near the river doth it ftand," is built at the extreme end of the parifh, on the north- eaftern bank of the river Stour (a tributary of the Avon), which is both the divifion between the Counties of Warwick and Worcefter, and of the parishes of Eatington and Tredington. A diftinguifhed philofopher of the prefent B Lower Eatington. day,* has given another derivation to Eaten- don ; he tranflates it Giants-town, etten or eten, Danifli for " giant," and pronounced yaten in Scandinavian, and don, always con- nected with the idea of habitation, being in truth, our " town." That Eatington may lay claim to have been of fome note, even before the Conqueft, is proved by the Roman remains which are continually found there, fuch as coins of the Lower Empire, brafs ornaments, and great quantities of Romano- Britifh pottery ; and from thefe circum- ftances fas fome think], it might have been the fite of a Roman Villa, which the vicinity of the Great FofTe road, pafling through the neighbouring village of Halford, renders the more probable. The following defcription of the place was written by the antiquary, Sir Thomas Shirley, * Dr. Romney Robinfon of Armagh. Lower Eatington. in the reign of Charles I. : — " There are divers marks in this towne, by which we may judge that it hath been from all antiquitie the feat of a noble and renowned family. [&c.J It hath a very ancient church, fumptuoufly built, and dedicated to the honour of the bleffed Trinity, and likewife a chantry founded, and a large chapel to the honour of S. Nicholas, which was anciently the place of fepulture for the lords of this manor, who had, at their proper coft and charges, built and endowed both thefe places of prayer and de- votion : and clofe by the church is a very ancient Maniion-Houfe, built by an anceftor of this family, fo long ago that the memorie, by the revolution of fo many ages, is utterly loft and forgotten ; for the antient forme and ftructure of the houfe, is a witnefs beyond all exception of its priftine antiquity, it being covered with fo unknown a covering that none can tell with what it is made with, plainly Lower Eatington. fhewith it was built in fo ancient times, that the very fluff itfeli whereof the texture was made, is many ages lince, not only worn out of the kingdom, but alfo the very knowledge that ever any fuch thing was within the realm."* Sir Thomas Shirley's defcription of Eat- ington, leads at once to an interefting point, — the date of the oldeft part of the prefent houfe, to which tradition, never to be en- tirely neglected, has always attributed a very high antiquity. No part, however, ap- pears to be of older date than the period of Elizabeth, and as we know that extenfive re- pairs were undertaken by Sir Charles Shirley, on the termination of the long leafe to the Underhill Family, in the year 1641 [here- after referred to], we may conclude that the greater part of the venerable houfe, defcribed by Sir Thomas, was then taken down, and a * Harl. MS. 4928, chapter iii. Lower Eatington. fmaller one eredted with the materials, as in- deed appears, fromfeveral remains of anciently worked timber and ftones, yet extant about the prefent building, to have been the cafe. j iuf m Lower Eatington Manor House, 1738. Dugdale remarks that Eatington remained the principal feat and residence of the Shirleys, although their poffefTions in other counties were very large, till the reign of Henry III. Lower Eatinvton This, however, is not accurate ; the end of the reign of Edward II. is the earlieft limit which can be afligned, as we fhall learn from the following notices of the place in the hiftory of the family ; and indeed, it appears to have continued an occafional refidence of its owners till a much later period. We have already feen that Safwalo, or Sewallis of Domefday, whom Dugdale fup- pofes, from the extent of his eftate here and in other counties, to have been a Thane in the Saxon times, founded the Church of Eat- ington. Henry his fon, conferred the faid Church, with all the glebe and tithes thereto belonging, on the monks of Kenilworth, which grant was augmented and confirmed by Sewallis, his nephew and heir, fon of Ful- cher his brother, who was the firft of the family who affumed the name of Shirley, from the manor of that name in Derbyfhire. It was this Sewallis or Sewall, who, by a curious Lower Eatington agreement with his brother Henry, became pofTefTed of the Manor of Eatington ; he having purchafed his birthright, an event now commemorated in fculpture on the exterior of this houfe. He was fucceeded at Eatington by his fon Henry, who was living in the reign of King John, and founded a Chantry, dedicated to S. Nicholas, in the Church of Eatington. He was lather of Sir Sewallis, an eminent Warwickfhire knight, who, from his refidence here, was called De Eatington, or Ethindon, as it is fpelt upon his great feal ; the ufe of which, by the way, is a certain evidence of his confequence in thofe early times. His fon and heir, Sir James, refumed the name of Shirley, and obtained a grant of free-warren, within his Manor of Eatington, at the inftance of his father-in-law, Simon de Walton, Bifhop of Norwich, in the 39th year of Henry III. The Rolls of Parliament, in the fixth of Edward I. contain a petition Lower Eat in gt on. to the king, from Sir James Shirley, for reftitution of his Manor of Eatington, un- juftly detained from him by Ralph his fon, " who," the petition fets forth, " had kept pofTeffion thereof for two years, and then, to the damage of £60, had pulled down and fold the Manor Honfe or Caftle (le Chateau), and fold the goods found on the fame againft the will of the forefaid James, and had the cattle driven into another county and fold, according to his, the aforefaid Ralph's will, while James his father was afar off." Before this matter could be accommodated between the father and the fon, it would appear that Sir James Shirley died; as we find Ralph his fon and heir in pofTeilion of the Manor of Eatington, in the feventh year ot Edward I., which he held of Edmond Earl of Lancafter, the king's brother, " by the fervice of two knights' fees, having at that time three carucates of land in demefne here, and twelve Lower Eatington. *7 tenants, holding feveral proportions by fundry fervices, as alfo divers freeholders." Ralph, afterwards Sir Ralph Shirley, feems to have principally refided at Eatington ; and therefore we may conclude him to have re- built the manfion houfe, which he is faid to have pulled down in his father's time. He appears to have been a perfon of great conli- deration in the county at that period; and not only ferved King Edward I. as a valiant knight fhould do in a military capacity, but alfo as a commiffioner and afleffor in feveral impor- tant affairs throughout the midland counties. He is remarkable as the firfl: knight of the fhire returned, for the county of Warwick, to the Parliament which met at Weftminfter on the 13th of November, in the 23d year of Edward I. (1294.) He died the 20th and laft year of the reign of Edward II. (1327), and lies buried with Margaret Walderfhef, his wire, a great Derbylnire neireis, under an altar c tomb, in the fouth tranfept of the church of Eatington, whereon their effigies, although confiderably mutilated, ftill remain. Sir Ralph was fucceeded by his fon, Sir Thomas Shirley, of whofe refidence at Eatington there remains a difagrceable proof, in the fhape of a pardon under the great feal of Edward III. for his having caufed the death of his neighbour, John Wareyne of Loxley, in the 34th year of that reign. The valiant Sir Hugh Shirley fuc- ceeded his father Sir Thomas, in the 36th year of Edward III. He fometimes alfo re- dded at Eatington, and vifited the manor the Sunday before the feaft of Eafter, 1 403, a few months before he glorioufly fell at Shrewfbury, clothed in the royal armour of Henry IV. (the 20th of July, 1403). Sir Hugh was fucceeded by his fon, Sir Ralph Shirley, who refided principally at his manor of RadclifTe-upon-Sore, in Nottinghamfhire. He died about the year 1443. It was Alice, the daughter of Sir John Cockayne of Afli- bourne, knight, the fecond wife and widow of Sir Ralph Shirley, who, by a deed dated in the 33d of Henry VI. leafed the manor of Eat- ington to Thomas Porter, whofe only daughter, Agnes, having married John Underhill, was the origin of the fettlement of the latter family at this place, where they continued till the middle of the feventeenth century. Sir Ralph Shirley, by his firft wife, the heirefs of BafTet of Brailesford, in Derbyfhire, left a fon of the fame name ; who, having married the heirefs of Staunton, of Staunton- Harold, in Leicefterfhire, removed his feat and refidence thither, and it has ever fince continued the principal manfion of the elder line of the family, reprefented by the Earls Ferrers. John, the elder fon of Ralph Shirley, was father of another Sir Ralph, who, in the year 1509, leafed the manor of Eating- ton to the John and Agnes Underhill before 20 Lower Ratington. mentioned, for a term of 80 years. Francis, Ton of Sir Ralph, by the procurement of Dorothy, his wife, made a frefh leafe for a term of 100 years, at the nominal rent of 40 marks, to the Underhill family, in the year 1 541 ; and by fo doing caufed a fucceflion of lawfuits between the Shirley and Underhill families, which were not finally extinguifhed till long after the termination of the leafe in the year 164.1. By fome of the pleadings and evidence in thefe fuits, it appears indeed, that the Underhills would have obtained the fee of this ancient Warwick (Lire property from Francis Shirley, had it not been for John, his fon, whofe fon and heir, Sir George Shirley, did all in his power, but without effect, to break the leafe, and obtain poiTeffion of his ancient inheritance. Sir George Shirley was fucceeded by his fon, Sir Henry, in 1622, at 1 Who married the Lady Dorothy, fecond daughter of Robert Devereux, Earl of Eflex (the favourite of Queen Lower Eatington. whofe deceafe in 1633, the inheritance de- volved upon his eldeft fon, Sir Charles ; in his time the long leafe came to an end, and his feoffees, it feems, took poffeilion of the eftate at Michaelmas, 1641 ; Sir Charles Shirley himfelf coming to Eatington, and entering poffeilion of all his lands there about Lady- day following (1642). From this period the Shirley family occa- fionally vifited the place, fome rooms being refervedfor their refidence in the leafes, 1 which were granted by Sir Robert Shirley, the brother and heir of Sir Charles ; and his fon and heir, Sir Robert, who in 1677 fucceeded to the Barony of Ferrers of Chartley, and who in Elizabeth). From this match the title of Ferrers afterwards came to the Shirley family. 1 William Croft, the celebrated compofer of Englifh cathe- dral mufic, was born in this houfe in 1678, and chriftened here on the 30th of December of that year. His father, Edward Croft, held the leafe of the manor houfe of Nether Eatington from Sir Robert Shirley before the year 1671. 2 2 y j— < L,ower Katington. 1 7 1 1 was created by Queen Anne Earl Ferrers and Vifcount Tamworth, It was this Robert Earl Ferrers who alien- ated this eftate from the elder line ol the family, entailing it upon his eldeft fon by his fecond marriage, and his great great-grandfon is the prefent proprietor. About 1740, and again in 1 767, consider- able additions and alterations were made to the manor houfe by the Hon. George Shirley. His grandfon, the late Evelyn John Shirley, Efq. made ftill further improvements, under the direction of Meflrs. Rickman and Hutch- infon of Birmingham, in the year 1824. In 1 8 5 8 his fon, the prefent Evelyn Philip Shirley, finding the houfe confiderably out of repair, commenced to cafe and roof it in the advanced early Englifh ftyle from the defigns of John Prichard of LlandafT, Efq. Thefe alterations were completed in the year 1862. Four kinds of ftone have been ufed in the Lower Eatington. reconduction: the yellow oolite from Camden and Blockley, the brown or ferruginous lime- ftone from Edgehill, the blue lias from Wiln- cote near Stratford-on-Avon, and the white lias from the immediate neighbourhood. The effect from the contrafts between the colours is good, and is much enhanced by the deli- cacy and richnefs of the carving reprefenting fruit and flowers, principally executed in white lias, a material, from the finenefs of its grain and marble-like whitenefs of its colour, well adapted for fculpture. On fourteen panels, in different parts of the exterior of the houfe, the following fubjects, felected from the family hiftory, are carved by Mr. Edward Clarke, from the deflgns of H. H. Armftead, Efq. Over the Entrance. i. The foundation of the Church of Eatington, by Safwalo or Sewallis, the anceftor of the Shirley family, in the reign of William the Conqueror. 24 Lower Eatington He is reprefented with his family kneeling, and offering a model of the church to the bifhop, who is giving him the epifcopal bleffing. Above is the ancient coat of the family, paly of fix or and fable. Over the Western Bay Window. 2. Henry, grandfon of Sewallis, fells his birthright to his brother Sewallis, in the reign of Henry II. Above their heads are the coats of Ireton, ermine two bends gules, and Shirley, paly of fx or and azure, a quarter ermine. From the elder brother the now extinct houfe of Ireton, and from the younger brother Sewallis, that of Shirley, is defcended. 3. Sir Sewallis de Eatendon, kt. grandfon of thelaft Sewallis, reprefented on his horfe with his fhield, taken from his great feal. He died in the reign of Henry III., having been to the Crufades. He is here reprefented with the crofs borne before him, and his arms, paly of fx or and fable. 4. Sir Ralph Shirley, grandfon of Sir Sewallis, elected the firfl knight of the mire for the county of Warwick, in the 23d year of King Edward I. anno 1294. Above is the coat of Shirley, im- Lower Eatington. paling Walderfhef, for Margaret, his wife, daughter of Walter de Walderfhef. Over the Eastern Bay Window. 5. Sir Thomas Shirley, fon of Sir Ralph, in the Holy Land. His page is hringing him the head of a Saracen, whom Sir Thomas is reprefented to have vanquhhed and decapitated. This is the traditional origin of the family creft.. Sir Thomas was dead in 1363. Sufpended from a palm tree are the arms of Shirley, impaling BafTet of Drayton. 6. The death of Sir Hugh Shirley, fon of Sir Thomas, at the battle of Shrewfbury, on Satur- day, the 20th of July, 1403. Sir Hugh was one of the four knights who, clothed in the royal armour, fucce(nvely encountered and fell under the victorious arm of Douglas in fingle combat, thus immortalized by Shakefpeare in l) Lower Eatington. Douglas's fpeech to the king in the nrft part of " Henry IV." — " Another king ! they grow like Hydras' heads : I am the Douglas, fatal to all thofe That wear thofe colours on them. — What art thou That counterfeit'ft the perfon of a king ? " And again in Prince Henry's fpeech to Douglas : — " Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou art like Never to hold it up again ! the fpirits Of valiant Shirley, Stafford, Blunt, are in my arms : It is the Prince of Wales that threatens thee ; Who never promifeth but he means to pay." 7. Sir Ralph Shirley, fon of Sir Hugh, on the eve of his departure for the wars in France with King Henry V. makes over to his mother, Beatrice, the care of Ralph, his infant fon and heir, and to Richard Elebet, clerk, and others, the fee of his eftates. Over the Drawing Room Windows on the South Side of the House. 8. The expedition of Sir Ralph Shirley, fon of Sir Hugh into France with his band of archers, previous to the liege of Harfleur and battle of Lower Eatington. 27 Agincourt, in 141 5. Sir Ralph is reprefented taking leave of his mother. The arms of Shirley are confpicuous on the banners of his archers and retainers ; on a fhield are the arms of Shirley impaling Ballet of Brailesford, as alfo on the laft fubjecl:. 9. Sir Ralph Shirley, great-grandfon of the pre- ceding Sir Ralph, being dubbed a Knight by King Henry VII. on the battle field of Stoke, in 1487. The Royal arms appear on the banner and horfe trappings ; on one fide, are the arms of Shirley, impaling the coat of Sheffield of Butterwick. Over the great library window are three panels, reprefenting incidents in the lives of the three celebrated Shirley Brothers, the fons of Sir Thomas Shirley of Wifton, in SufTex, the reprefentative of a younger branch of this family. 10. The attack of Sir Thomas Shirley, the younger, the eldeft of the " Three Brothers," on the 28 Lower Katwpton. Turks, in the Ifland of Zea, in the Archipelago, in 1603. 11. Sir Anthony and Sir Robert Shirley, the two younger of the "Three Brothers," leading the Perfians againft the Turks, and teaching them the ufe of artillery, in the year 1599. 12. The fame Sir Robert Shirley's reception at the court of King James I., as AmbafTador from Shah Abbas, King of Perlia, in the year 161 1. Over the Dining-Room windows. 13. The foundation of the Church of Staunton Harold, in Leicefterfhire, by Sir Robert Shirley, Baronet, great, great, great-grandfon of the laft Sir Ralph, in the year 1653. Sir Robert and his wife, Katherine Okeover, and their fon Seymour, are reprefented on one fide ; on the other, the clerical friends of Sir Robert during the perfecution of the Church by Cromwell : Dr. Hammond, Dr. Gunning afterwards Bifhop of Ely, Dr. Sheldon afterwards Arch- bifhop of Canterbury, and Dr. Dolben after- wards Archbifhop of York. Above are the arms of Shirley, impaling Okeover, and the motto, — "He loved our country, and hath built us a fynagogue," being the text from which Lower Eatinvton- the funeral fermon was preached on the death of Sir Robert Shirley, in 1656, by Dr. Sheldon. 14. The committal of Sir Robert Shirley, Baronet, to the Tower of London (where he died) by the Ufurper Oliver Cromwell, in 1656, in con- fequence of his loyalty to his church and king. On either fide of the principal window of the gallery, are two ftatues carved in ftone, reprefenting King Edward the Confeflbr, and her prefent moft gracious Majefty. They ftand in niches beneath angels, bearing fhields, charged with their refpective arms. Thefe ftatues are intended to reprefent the period during which the houfe of Shirley has flourifhed at Eatington. Over the entrance-door is the ancient coat of Sir Sewallis de Ethindon [paly of fix or and fable], with the legend " %um fcutum He auto zt nigto izni% Du&ious palatum," and between the windows of the cloifter or corridor, on either fide of the entrance, are heads of the firft eight kings after the con- quer!:, carved by Mr. Edward Clarke. At one end of this cloifter, which is roofed with glafs, are the following lines on a fmall tablet : — " jfour ftore anD four, if <£oD jrtoes ftrengtb, €f)e toeb of life is fptin ; jTour ftore ano four, tbe Cloillets lengtf), a ffatttte mile is tun." The marble pillars which flank the front door, and alfo thofe within the hall, are from the Shirley eftate near Carrickmacrofs in Ireland. The Entrance Hall. The mantel-piece is of oak, in the Eliza- bethan ftyle, and carved by the late Mr. Willcox of Warwick, in 1857. Beneath two large fhields, reprefenting the ancient and modern arms of Shirley and the figures of - Lower Eatinvton. 3i Faith, Hope, and Charity, is the following legend : — Cfjefe tie tfre Pales of black anu golti, Cfje tofjicf) ^>etoalli0 tore of olo : anti tins tfje coat to^tcb f)t0 true fjeirs, Cf>e ancient J^oufe of ^frirlep bears. Three fhields below, bear the arms of Shirley, impaling Stanhope, Shirley impaling Lech- mere, and Lechmere impaling Murray. Oppofite to the mantel-piece is the addrefs, figned by the principal noblemen and gentle- men of Warwickshire, to Major - General Horatio Shirley, C.B., on his return from the Crimea in 1856, with their refpeclive arms emblazoned on vellum. Here alfo, are preferved a rifle, and other relics of the fiege of Sebaftopol, and the prayer-book carried by the general at the Battle of Alma, in the holfter of his faddle, and which was the means, under God, of preferving his life ; a Lower Eating ton. ball from a minie rifle having been lodged in the centre of it. Here are the following portraits, three quarters length. 1. A picture faid to reprefent Sir Seymour Shirley, Baronet, ob. 1667. "R. Walker, pinxit 1656." 2. Sir Robert Shirley, Baronet, afterwards Baron Ferrers of Chartley, and Earl Ferrers in 171 1, ob. 1 717, by Kneller. 3. The Lady Frances Shirley, ob. 1778, third daughter of the firft Earl Ferrers, by his fecond wife, in black velvet. 4. The Lady Mary, fecond daughter of Robert firft Earl Ferrers, by his fecond wife. She married Charles Tryon, of Bulwick, in NorthamptOn- fhire, Efq., and died in 1 771, by Da/il. 5. Grace, daughter of Colonel Edward Warner, of Antigua, widow of William Fauquier, of Eltham, in Kent. She married firft Samuel Byam, Efq., and was grandmother of Phillis Byam Wollafton, wife of Evelyn Shirley, Efq. She died in 1754. Half-length in crayons, by Rofalba. 6. Peter Bathurft, of Clarendon Park, in Wiltfhire, Efq. and the Lady Selina Shirley, his wife, Lower Eatington. 33 with eleven of their fifteen children, copied from the original, afcribed to Hogarth, in the porTeffion of Henry Hetley, Efq. Small whole length, u V J' * I 7. A picture of favourite Horfes and Hounds, with the portraits of the Huntfman, " Jack Wood." and Whipper-in " Boxall," with Eatington Houfe in the back ground, painted about the year 1824, when the late Evelyn John Shirley, Efq. was Mafter of the Warwickshire Hounds. 8. A picture of Mr. A. Stanhope's favourite dog "Taffy," painted by Mr. James Ward, R.A., 1816. The Dining- Room, 37 feet in length, 20 in breadth. The entrance is by a deprefTed Tudor arch, recently reftored, part of the more ancient houfe, to which this portion of the Manfion belongs. The ceiling was erected by the Hon. George Shirley, about the year 1740. The wainfcot is of teak and walnut, inlaid E Lower Eatington. with different coloured woods, exhibiting the Saracen's Head, the crefr. of the Family, with the horfe-fhoe and knot, the badges of the Ferrers and Bouchiers, now reprefented by the Shirleys ; above is repeated the ancient Devereux motto, " lLopal je ftug," and 67 fhields, bearing the arms of the principal matches of the paternal anceftors, and of the fons and daughters of the houfe. There are alfo two fhields with the Tingle arms of Shirley and Lechmere, and the dates 1842, and 1 860, being thofe of the year of marriage of the prefent Mr. and Mrs. Shirley, and of the wainfcoting of the room. Here alfo are the following portraits, all half lengths. 1. Sir Michael Stanhope, beheaded in 1 55 1 , on the fall of his brother-in-law, the Protector Duke ofSomerfet, a curious original picture, formerly at Bretby in Derbyshire, the feat of the Earl of Chefterfield. In one corner is the coat of Stanhope, quartering Maulovel, Longvillers and Lower Eatington. Lexington, and an infcription which has greatly puzzled the antiquaries of the prefent day, but which Mr. Franks of the Britifh Mufeum ap- pears at laft to have conclulively interpreted. He reads the infcription, which he fays is un- queftionably in curfive Greek, irunoq xa.1 arrXoivog, Faithful and Conjlant. See the proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, May 4, 1865. PjSJl^ ICj^-t kj*** V "2.7 U X 2-0 " Sir Michael Stanhope was a Gentleman of the King's Bedchamber, and as fuch is repre- fented in this portrait, bearing a kind of medal or badge, fufpended by a blue riband ; he alfo holds in his hands one of the newly invented watches. 2. Thomas RatclifF, 3rd Earl of SufTex, K.G. ob. 1583, on panel, by Sir Antonio More. A duplicate of this picture is engraved in Lodge's " Portraits of Illuftrious Perfonages of Great Britain." 3. Sir Philip Sidney, an old picture on panel, marked " 1583, ast. 29." It belonged to Dr. Turton, late Bifhop of Ely, 1864. Sir Philip died in 1 586. 3 5 Lower Eatington. 4. Portrait of a Gentleman in a ruff, marked with a coat of arms (perhaps a garb or?), and this infcription : " iEtatis 52, anno 1592." 5. Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of EfTex, K.G., be- headed 1600-1. Afcribed to Zucchero. 6. Sir Robert Shirley, Count Palatine of the Em- pire, Ambaflador from Abbas, Shah of Perfia, to all the princes of Europe, died in Perfia in 1628, and is buried in the Church of S. Maria Delia Scala at Rome. On this portrait is an infcription in Perfian, which has been thus tranflated : — " The Protection of the Univerfe [meaning the King], has gracioufly conde- fcended to caft his light on the portrait of his ambaflador of Frangiftan" [Europe]. Half length on panel, in oriental coftume, probably painted by the Dutch painter, "John the Fleming, who ferved Shah Abbas, King of Perfia, for twenty years. 7. Terefia Countefs Shirley, wife of Sir Robert Shirley, Count Palatine of the Empire, and daughter of Ifmael Khan, defcribed as a Cir- caffian Prince, a curious portrait on panel, exquifitely finifhed ; in one part of this picture is the reprefentation of a labyrinth, and the motto, " Conceflit gratia filum." This is fup- pofed to allude to the birth of her fon, to whom fas Lower Eatington. 17 Henry Prince of Wales flood godfather, anno 1 6 1 1 , the prefumed date of the portrait. 8. Another fmaller portrait of the Countefs Terefia, on panel, in a drefs embroidered with flowers, by M. Garrard. 9. Sir Robert Shirley, Baronet, father of the firft Earl Ferrers, ob. 1656. 10. Katherine, widow of Sir Robert Shirley, and daughter of Humphry Okeover, of Okeover in Staffordmire, Efq. She died in 1672. This and the portrait of Sir Robert are copied from originals at Staunton Harold. 1 1. Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chefterfield, K.G., ob. 171 3, by Sir Peter Lely. 12. Philip Stanhope, 5th Earl of Chefterfield, K.G. ob. 1815, and his 13. Firft Countefs Anne, daughter of the Rev. Robert Thiftlethwayte, ob. 1798. Both by Gain/borough. 1 4. Evelyn Shirley, of Lower Eatington, Efq. ob. 1810. 15. Phillis Byam, widow of Evelyn Shirley, Efq. and daughter of Charlton Wollafton, M.D. She died in 1836. Painted by Jack/on in 1825. 16. King George III. in the Windfor uniform, and 17. Queen Charlotte, by Gainjborough, prefented by his Majefty himfelf to the late Arthur Stan- Lower Eatington. hope, Efq. The following note accompanied the pictures, which are original portraits : — Windsor Castle, Dec. 15, 1804. " The King defires his friend, Mrs. Stanhope, will, in his name, deliver the accompanying pictures to Mr. Stanhope, and hopes they may find fhelter in Tilney Street, 1 and be looked on by the owners of that houfe as a mark that he thinks any token of regard from him will be kindly received by them. George R." 18. Arthur Stanhope, Efq. ob. 1836, grandfather of the prefent Mr. Shirley. Painted by Pick- erf gill in 1822. 19. Evelyn John Shirley, Efq. ob. 1856, father of the prefent Mr. Shirley. Painted alfo by P ic kerf gill m 1822. 20. A large picture reprefenting the Siege of Gibraltar, by Blankoff. The Chapel. Beyond the Dining-Room, and communi- cating with it by means of a concealed door, 1 No. 1, Tilney Street was for many years the refidence of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Stanhope. Lower Eatington. 39 is the fmall domeftic Chapel. On the ex- terior the two firft verfes from the hundred and forty-fifth pfalm, on a band running round the building, declare its facred ufe : — " 31 toiU magnify tbce, HD <^on mp King, ano 31 totll praife tbp Jftame foe etier ano euer. OBuerp Dap ftrill 31 gitie tfjanfes unto tbee, ano praife tbp jftame for etoer anti etoer* amen." Within, a brafs plate thus inferibed, gives the date of its foundation : — 31n tfje eigbt bunoreotb pear from tbe Jftorman Conqueft of OEnglano, toben ^afuualo tbe §>aron toas Horn of OEtenOone, bis oefcenoant, ©oelgn IPbiUp §>bitlep, built tbis Cfjapel for tbe praife ano toorujip of aimigbtp ®oo, in tobofe ugbt a tboufano pears are but as pefteroap. BENEDICAT DEUS. AMEN. Here are a few pictures : — i. The Bleffed Virgin teaching our Lord to read. 4° Lower Eatington. A curious old picture, by Bernard Van Orley, who died in 1560. 2. The Crucifixion. After Vandyke. 3. The Virgin and Child, with a Venetian fenator. After Titian. The Library, 41 feet in length by 19. This room was formerly the Entrance Hall, and was built by the Hon. George Shirley in 1740. It was remodelled and made into a Gothic Library by the late Mr. Shirley, under the tafte of his friend, the late Archdeacon Owen, in the year 1820. The chimney piece, in the Tudor ftyle, is copied from one in Windfor Caftle. The window above was brought from an old chapel near Campden. Here are the following portraits, all half- lengths : — 1. The Hon. Sewallis Shirley, fourth fon of the firft Earl Ferrers by his fecond wife, ob. 1765. By Ramfey. 2. The Hon. Mary Shirley, daughter of Humphry Sturt, Efq. and wife of the Hon. George Lower Eatington. 41 Shirley, eldeft fon furviving, of Robert, firft Earl Ferrers. She died in 1800. " Knapton pinxit, 1752." 3. Philip Dormer Stanhope, the 4th and " great" Earl of Chefterfield," ob. 1773. By Ramfey. 4. Captain James Shirley, R.N. fon of Dr. Shirley, loft off the banks of Newfoundland. By Northcote. 5. The Hon. John Shirley, fifth and youngeft fon of the firft Earl Ferrers by his fecond wife. Ob. 1768. By Hudfon. (?) 6. Another portrait of the Hon. John Shirley, late in life. Painted at Bath. 7. Mary, fecond daughter of the Hon. George Shirley, and wife of John Smith, afterwards Leigh, of Combhay, near Bath, Efq. Painted by Sir W. Beechy, at the time of her marriage in 1782. She died in 1822. 8. 9. Portraits of Colonel Henry Bathurft, fourth fon of Peter Bathurft, of Clarendon Park in Wilt- shire, Efq. and the Lady Selina Shirley, and of his wife, the daughter of Mr. Afhby of Derby. By Webber. (?) 10. Portrait, fuppofed to reprefent the Lady Stuarta Shirley, youngeft daughter of Robert, firft Earl Ferrers, by his fecond wife. She died in 1767. By Ramfey. (?) •5 0 F 42 Z^ower F.atitiPtoti 1 1 . The Hon. Robert Shirley, eldefl fon of Robert, firft Earl Ferrers, by his fecond wife. Ob. 1738. By Hudfon. (?) During the caring of the northern wall of this room, in Auguft, 1859, on removing part of the old brickwork, a live toad was found in a fmall recefs in the wall, where it is fuppofed to have been built up in 1740. There was no appearance of the accefs of air to the place in which it was found. The workmen preferved it alive in a bottle for a period of three months ; it declined all food. The reptile is commemorated by a carving in ftone near the place where it was difcovered. The Great Drawing Room, 50 feet in length by 24. This Room was built by the Hon. George Shirley in 1767. 1 The ceiling was decorated 1 In Mrs. Delany's delightful correfpondence incidental mention is made of " a ball given by Mr. Shirley in his great room," in January, 177 1. — See Mrs. Delany's "Autobio- graphy," 2nd feries, vol. i. p. ?2i. Lower Eat in? ton. 43 in 1843, and the windows altered in i860. Here are the following pictures : — 1. The portraits of John Morris of Ifleworth, in the County of Middlefex, Efq. and of his fon Thomas, painted by Vandyke, "anno 1633." He married Lettice, daughter of Thomas Fitz- gerald, Efq. and iifter of George, 16th Earl of Kildare, and was fon of Peter Maurice, who came over from Magdeburgh, in Germany, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and who, in 1582, erected water-works under one of the arches of London Bridge, as reprefented in this picture. 2. Portraits of Thomas Morris of Alderfhot, in the County of Southampton, Efq. (being the fon in the preceding picture) and his fon John. Painted by Huyfman or Houfman, in the pic- ture marked " A. Huysmans." Thomas, brother of this laft John, left this and the pre- ceding picture to his kinfwoman, Mary Sturt, wife of the Hon. George Shirley, at his death in 1747. The waterworks under London Bridge are alfo reprefented in this picture. 3. Portrait of the wife of Anllo the Anabaptift, who, in Rembrandt's celebrated picture at Afhburn- ham, is reprefented fitting at a table, explaining the Bible to his wife. She is here reprefented 44 Lower Eatinqton. in the attitude of attention, as in the larger picture, of which the original fketch is in the Britifh Mufeum. By Rembrandt. 4. Lady Selina Shirley, eldeft daughter of Robert, firft Earl Ferrers, by Selina his countefs, mar- ried Peter Bathurft of Clarendon Park, in Wiltfhire, brother of Alan Lord Bathurft. She died in 1777. She is painted in a Turkifh coftume, introduced into England by Lady Mary Wortley Montague. The family tradi- tion is that her lifter, the celebrated beauty, Lady Fanny Shirley, having been firft painted in this drefs, and greatly admired, Lady Selina caufed herfelf alfo to be reprefented in like coftume in the vain hope of rivalling her fifter's beauty. Lady Fanny's portrait in the Turkifh drefs is at Clarendon Park, in Wiltfhire, and there is another at Lough Fea Houfe, in Ireland. Painted by "Jervis in 1724. 5. Lady Frances Shirley, third daughter of Robert, firft Earl Ferrers, by his Countefs Selina. She died unmarried in 1778, and was very cele- brated for her beauty, as mentioned above. Whole length, by Jervis. 6. Lady Elizabeth Cecil, only daughter of John Earl of Exeter, by Elizabeth, his fecond wife. She married William Aiflabie of Studley Royal, jLiOwer ii.ciiWPtoti. 45 in Yorkfhire, Efq. and died in 1733. Whole length, by Jervis. 7. Emily Harriet Shirley, youngeftfurviving daugh- ter of Evelyn Shirley, Efq. and wife of Edward Harbord, third Baron Suffield, with her daugh- ter Emily, now the wife of the Rev. Randal Burroughes. Whole length, by Clint. On the North Side of the Room. 8. The repofe of the Holy Family. After Titian. 9. A large landfcape, with figures. By Artois and Van Helewart. 10. A landfcape, with the ftory of Niobe. By Wilfon, the figures by Mortimer. 11, 12. A pair of flower pieces. By Van Ofs. 13, 14. Two beautifully-finifhed drawings, by Mr. George Harding, reprefenting Sir Robert Shirley, the Perfian ambalfador, and Terefia, his Cir- carlian wife. Reduced from the original whole lengths by Vandyke, at Petworth, in 1825. 15. An exquifite copy in oil of the celebrated picture by Ifaac Oliver of the Browne family, formerly at Cowdray in Suflex, the feat of Vifcount Montacute. The original was painted in 1598, and is fuppofed to reprefent Anthony, John, anrl \A/i11inm ficrpH rpi nprti vpI v OA 9 i and in I 0[ L\- o TcAt- (\\) +6 Lower Eatington. o who were the grandfons of Anthony Browne, 0 j ' 1 ft Vifcount Montacute, who died in 1 C02. The motto, " Figvr^e conformis affectvs," alludes to their preat oerfonal refemhlance The fourth perfonage is probably a tutor or r or J friend of the family. 1 16. Diana returned from the chafe. By Rubens and Van Keflol 17. A large landfcape, with figures. " Swanefelt P." 18. Naked boys with goldfinch. Arniceni. oci A nair nf lmall vipw? in Vpnirp Rv • ii L/tiii ui Jiiicin vitwfl 111 t liiil-V-. u y Canaletti, 1740. 2 1 . The burgomafter's family. By Gonzales Coques. On either Side the Bay Window. 22. Head of an old man. By ILckhart . 2 "2. Portrait of an old man. with caD. marked H. A. V-/ I l 1 14 1 L V-/ 1 LI A A V' I V t AAA LI 111 V* ■ v ■ A V*< 11 L ' % AAA 111 I > \_ VI X A 4 2A. A group of figures playing at Blind-man's buff. or o r J o By Watteau. 2 5- A bull and animals, marked " H. Roos fecit, 1674." 26, 27. Two fmall pictures of boys, marked " F. Hals fecit" (Frank Hals). 1 This picture is mentioned in the Defcription of Cowdray Houfe in the "Gent. Mag." for 1793, ii. 999. 28. 29. 3°- 3 1 * 33. At the East End of the Room. A large landfcape, reprefenting an avenue of trees. By Waterloo. A fnow piece, with the chateau of Pinely in the background. By Aver camp. A battle piece. By Borgognone (Jacopo Cortefe). 32. Portraits of Philip II. of Spain, and his Queen, Mary the Firft of England. By Holbein. 34. An Auftrian General and his wife ; a pair of fmall whole lengths. to The Little Drawing Room Contains the following Pictures : — 1 . Portrait of Selina Lady Skipwith, eldeft daughter of the Hon. George Shirley, and widow of Sir Thomas George Skipwith of Newbold Hall, baronet. She died in 1832, aged 80. Painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence in June, 1829, and one of the laft pictures painted by him, as mentioned in his life. 2. Portrait of Evelyn Philip Shirley, Efq. Painted by T. C. Thompfon, R.H.A. 'm 1839. 3. Portrait of Mary Clara Elizabeth, wife of E. P. Shirley, Efq. and daughter of Sir E. H. Lech- mere, baronet, and of her youngeft daughter, +8 Lower Eat in? ton. Katherine Shirley. Painted by Catterfon Smith, Efq. P.R.H.A. in 1868. 4. A fmall head. [Venetian School.) 5. A landfcape, with cattle. By De Marne. 6. A view of Twickenham. By Wilfon. ' c\^icX L~j 7. Portrait of Sir Robert Shirley, Count Palatine of the Empire, ob. 1628. A fmall whole length, in oriental coftume. [Venetian School.) The Gallery Staircase, Within the new high fquare tower, is of teak and acacia, the latter grown at Eatington. The Saracen's head forms the termination of the banifters. Here and in the Gallery are preferved the original defigns by Mr. Arm- ftead for the fubjecrs which have been carved on the exterior of the houfe. The Gallery Occupies the fpace within the high roof on the fouth-eaftern fide of the houfe : it is 70 feet in length by 18 in breadth, and is fitted up in the mediaeval ftyle for books. In the / nfo^py H /yfiyicftnyi 49 windows in painted glafs are feven feparate ihields of the arms of Shirley, quartered with (i) Ancient Shirley, (2) Baffet of Drayton, (3) Braofe, (4) Staunton, (5) Lovett, (6 and 7) Devereux. Above each of thefe fhields are views of the feats which were brought into the family by the refpective heirerTes, whofe arms are quartered below, viz. 1. Shirley, in Derbyfhire, from whence the name is taken, and which was the ancient refidence, after Eatington, of the family; 2. Rakedale, in Leicefterfhire, dervied from the BafTets ; 3. Wifton, in Suffex, the principal feat of the Shirleys of SufTex, and inherited from the houfe of Braofe ; 4. Staunton Harold, in Leicefterfhire, which came into the family from the heirefs of Staunton ; 5. Aftwell, in Northamptonshire, from the heirefs of Lovett and Chartley, and Lough Fea, in Ireland, from the marriage of Sir Henry Shirley, baronet, with the co-heirefs of Devereux Earl of EfTex. 5° Lower Eatington. Among the pictures here are : — 1,2. Two of the early Florentine School, reprefent- ing the Virgin and Child, with angels. 3. A picture of the actor Lacy, in three characters. The following infcription is on the back : — " John Lacy, one of his Ma tyes comedians, reprefenting three feveral parts — Parfon Scruple in the play of the • Cheates;' Sandy, a Scottim Highland footman in the ' Taming of the Shrewe;' Monfieur de Vice, in the 'Country Captayne,' M.P. 1670." A picture, much larger, but otherwife identical, afcribed to Wright, is at Hampton Court. v"?^) 4. A portrait of the child of a Dutch merchant or burgomafter, with a merchant's mark on a lozenge, and this infcription, " Mtatis f anno ^1650." 5. Full-length portrait of a boy with a dog. Arms, argent, a chevron between 3 goats' beads, fable, " ario 1 640." 6. Portrait of the Rev. William Wollafton, author of the " Religion of Nature," and great grand- father of Phillis Byam Wollafton, wife of Evelyn Shirley, Efq. A head, by Mrs. Hoadley. 7. A fmall folding picture, with portraits of the children of Philip le Bel, Archduke of Auftria, Lower Eatiwton. viz. Eleanor, who married, firft, Emanuel King of Portugal, fecondly, Francis I. King of France; Charles V. the Emperor ; and Ifabella, who married Chriftian II. King of Denmark. For an engraving and defcription of this curious portrait fee the " Archeologia " for 1869. 8. An original miniature of Ben Jonfon, by Ifaac Oliver, in an exquifitely-carved frame by Mr. Kendall of Warwick. ■ The South Room. Over the chimney piece is a picture in crayons, reprefenting the fealing of the general warrant for the arreft of the authors, printers, and publifhers of the " North Briton," No. 45, under which Mr. Wilkes was arretted, April 30, 1763. There are portraits of the Earls of Halifax and Egremont, Secretaries of State, and of Lovel Stanhope, Efq. Under- Secretary, who is fealing the warrant, and who caufed the picture to be executed. He was uncle to the late Arthur Stanhope, Efq. Lower Eatington. Here is a imall collection of pictures, generally of the Dutch fchool, with a few portraits : — 1 . Portrait of General Henry Ireton, by old Stone. " Bequeathed by Jane Moore to her daughter, Anne Roberts, this portrait of her grandfather Ireton." Will dated Jan. 15, 1732-3. 2. A fmall portrait of a gentleman, with the date 1624. 3. Another of a German nobleman, with a fhield of arms, quarterly, 1 and 4, G. a lion rampant, A.; 2 and 3, A. 10 billets, G. 4. Sketch of Charles XII. of Sweden, and the great Duke of Marlborough. The Oak Room. The following portraits : — 1 . Sir Charles Shirley,^ Copied by Mr. Keens from baronet, ob. 1646. 1 the originals at Lord 2. Sir Robert Shirley, ( Vernon's at Sudbury, baronet, ob. 1656. J in 1847. 3. The Lady Anne Shirley, wife of Sir Robert Furnefe, baronet. She died in 1779. " Robt. Pine, 1740." A head in crayons. A portrait Lower Eatington. 53 of Lady Anne in oil, after this drawing, is in Hampton Court Palace. 4. Mifs Selina Furnefe, daughter of Lady Anne Furnefe. She married Sir Edward Dering, baronet, and died in 1757. In crayons by Pine. Portraits on the Staircase. All three-quarters length. 1, 2. Robert Shirley firft Earl Ferrers, and Vifcount Tamworth (ob. 1 7 1 7), in his robes, and his Countefs Selina, daughter of George Finch, Efq. (ob. 1762) both by Sir Godfrey Kneller. 3. The Hon. Robert Shirley, eldeft fon of Robert, firft Earl Ferrers, by his firft wife, Elizabeth Wamington (ob. 1698), and his wife Anne, daughter of Sir Humphrey Ferrers (ob. 1697). They are reprefented fitting in the gardens at Staunton Harold, and the pidture was probably painted on their marriage in 1688. By Vander Vaart. (Whole lengths.) 4. Robert Shirley Lord Vifcount Tamworth, called " the good Lord Tamworth," eldeft fon of the Hon. Robert Shirley, and grandfon of Robert, firft Earl Ferrers (ob. 17 14). By Dahl. (?) 54 rotten) Lower Eatington. 5. Mrs. Mary Finch, elded lifter of Selina Countefs Ferrers. By Kneller. ( ?) 6. Mrs. Sarah Finch, fecond fifter of Selina Countefs Ferrers (ob. 1753). By Kneller. (?) "3>^ 7. Lady Selina Shirley, eldeft daughter of Robert, firft Earl Ferrers, by his Countefs Selina. She married Peter Bathurft, Efq. and died in 1777. By jfervis. 8. Anne Countefs of Strafford, daughter of John Campbell, the fecond and "great" Duke of Argyle, and wife of William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford. She died in 1786. Lady Strafford and her fifter, Lady Aileibury, pre- ferved their beauty fo long, that Horace Walpole called them " Huck-a-back beauties, that never wear out." See his Works, iii. 260 ; by Dalil. 9. The Hon. George Shirley, third, but eventually eldeft, fon of Robert, firft Earl Ferrers, by his Countefs, Selina. Painted after his return from the liege of Gibraltar (reprefented in the back- ground), in the year 1727. He died in 1787. By Jervis. Among other pictures preferved in the houfe may be mentioned : — 1 . A curious picture, reprefenting Orpheus charming Lower Eatington. 55 the animal creation by the power of raufic, by Roland Savory ; remarkable for the dodo being reprefented together with other birds and beafts. See the " Dodo and its Kindred. By Strickland and Melville: London, 1 848," p. 29, where other pictures of the dodo, by Savory , at the Hague, ; Berlin, Vienna, and Oxford are mentioned. 2. A well-painted pidlure of flowers, with the figure of a man mowing. By Teniers. ( ?) 3, 4. Two other portraits of Lady Frances Shirley, one of them dated 1730 ; the other by Richard- fon. Both three-quarters length. 5. Portrait of a gentleman (query, Prince Charles Edward ?) in a fancy drefs, marked " Ant. David, p t . Rome, 1732." 6. The meeting of Jacob and Efau. By " D. Coleyns, 1634." 7. Landfcape, with fheep, marked "A. Bega." 8. View of the City of Antwerp, with booths in a fair, by Van Vitell. (?) 9. An old piclure reprefenting the romantic military adventures of the Shirley brothers, already re- ferred to, in aid of the Perlians againft the Turks, at the beginning of the feventeenth century. It was prefented to the prefent Mr. Shirley by the Dowager Duchefs of Sforza in 1859. Lower Eatington Church, North Aisle. Lower Eatington. SI LOWER EATINGTON CHURCH. LITTLE to the eaft of the Manor Houfe of Eatington are the re- mains of the aneient Parifh Church, confifting ot the tower and fouth tranfept, with three arches on the north fide, and part of the walls of the nave and chancel ; the latter of red fandftone from Kenil- worth. It was a large church, meafuring 126 feet in length from eaft to weft, and about 75 feet between the extremities of the northern and fouthern tranfepts. Of the original Church, built at the period of the Norman conqueft, there are fome flight re- mains, — a few ftones with zig-zag mouldings, once built into the tower, and part of a cir- H r 8 5° Juower ±i,atitiPtoti. cular arch, at what was once the entrance of the northern tranfept. The Church was re- built, as has been already ftated, in the reign of Henry III. whofe head appears carved on one of the corbels, on the fouth fide of the nave. There was a northern fide aifle, divided by three arches from the nave. At the eaftern end a pifcina ftill remains, marking the fite of an altar. But whether this was the Chapel of S. Nicholas, founded by Henry the fon of Sewallis, in the reign of King John, or the ftill exifting fouthern tranfept, which was certainly the burial-place of Sir Ralph Shirley, the great-grandfon of Henry, is a doubtful point. If Sir Thomas Shirley, the antiquary, is right in ftating that " The large Chapel of Saint Nicholas was anciently the place of fepulture for the lords of this manor," we may perhaps conclude that the fouth tranfept was the chantry in queftion, though from the following; account of the Church, Lower Eatington. taken the 17th of July 1639 by Sir Simon Archer, it appears that there was at that time, at leaft one curious and ancient monu- ment, which has hnce difappeared, on the northern fide of the Church. " The Church is a pretty large fpacious church, having a crofs aifle before the entrance into the chancell ; there are only thefe arms in the uppermoft N. window, next the crofs aifle, conflfting of three lights, — Stafford im- paling Hajlang^ and Beauchamp of Powick. In the north fide of the wall of the chancell, near about the middel of it, is an antient raifed monument, made of freeftone, fixed to the wall. The coffin wherein the corps lay is a pretty height, raifed with freeftone from the ground ; the cover of it is gone, but I conceive it lieth at the entrance of the fouth door within the Church. I meafured it, and it agreeth in length and breadth with the coffin. Upon this coffin is the ftatue of a Lower Eatington. man in ftone, having a garment on him much like a gown ; for whom it was made is alto- gether unknown : it may be it was a monu- ment of one of the Shirleys ; it feemeth to be antient." (From its portion in the chancel, it is more probable that this was the tomb of an ecclefiaftic.) " There are alfo fix other flat grave-ftones in the chancell, but who are buried under tbem appeareth not, becaufe there hath been no infcriptions upon them ; fome of them have croffes fet upon degrees upon them." (At a fubfequent period, as appears by the parifh regifter, there was buried in this chancel, the Rev. John Clarke, formerly Vicar of Eatington. He died in 1674, and is com- memorated in the regifter as " Ecclefiae Anglicanae propugnator fldelis, phaniticorum malleus." This infcription has been of late years reftored.) C£ There are alfo thefe monuments in the Lower Eatington, crofs aide at the over end of the Church : firft, in the fouth-eaft corner of the aifle on the fouth fide of the Church, are two ftatues of a man and his wife lying by him ; the man is in a coat of mail, with a fhield on his left arm, and a fword by his right fide ; the ftatues, being of freeftone, look very black, which I conceive that lying upon the ground, and the church ftanding low, the moiftnefs of the earth hath caufed them to look fo black. I do imagine it may be a monument of one of the Shirleys and his wife. There appears now no arms upon the fhield, but it plainly feemeth there hath been arms depicted upon it." [This is plainly the monument which is believed to reprefent Sir Ralph Shirley and Margaret Walderfhef his wife, and which, after having been difturbed from its ancient fite, has been again reftored, as commemo- rated by the following infcription upon a plain Lower Eatington. ftone altar tomb on the fouth eaftern corner of the tranfept.] "EFFIGIES RADVLFI SHIRLEY, DE ETINDON MILITIS QVI MORTEM OBIIT A.D. MCCCXXVII. ET MARGARETS EIVSDEM VXORIS. PROAVORVM S. MONVMENTA, EX SITV SVO ANTIQVO APVD ALAM HVIVS ECCLESI^ AVSTRALEM, HEV DETVRBATA ! RVINIS VIX TANDEM DETRACTA, REPONI CVRABAT. E.P.S. MDCCCXXXVI," The knight is clad in the fhirt of mail and furcoat, and on his left arm he bears a fhield, of the fmall iize in ufe in the reign of Edward II. He has round moulder pieces, apparently of plate or leather, and wears the bafmet in place of the helmet; fome faint remains of red paint appear on the lower part of the furcoat, but no appearance of arms either there or on the fhield. The effigy of the lady, much more perfect Lower Eatinpton. 63 than that of the knight, has been once painted white ; Oie is dreffed in a flowing garment, gathered up on either fide within the elbow, and her head is enveloped in the wimple, in- troduced into England about the end of the twelfth century ; her feet reft upon what appear to have been two dogs. This latter figure, judging from the fhape of it, is more ancient than that of the knight, and perhaps was originally placed level with the pavement, forming the lid to the ftone coffin beneath. Sir Simon Archer proceeds to give an account of the tombs of Francis Lady Freckelton, and of the Underhill family, fome remains of which ft ill exift, and all of which are recorded in Dugdale's Antiquities of W arwickjbire, and then defcribes another ancient tomb which has long difappeared, and which from its fituation, evidently near the pifcina heretofore referred to, may poflibly have been that of the founder of the chan- Lower Eatinvton. try of Saint Nicholas, Henry the Ton of Sewallis. " Under an arch on the north fide of the body of the church, is a raifed monument with the ftatue of a man upon it : the ftone and ftatue is grown very black with the moifture of the place. Whofe monument this may be appeareth not." We are obliged alfo to Sir Simon Archer for having recorded fome verfes to the memory of one Anthony Underhill, who died in 1587, and which have been afcribed to Shakefpeare. They were painted on a wooden tablet, and were afterwards loft, but have been of late years reftored. They are as follows — AN EPITAPH And true report upon the death of Anthony Underhill, the fonne of Thomas Underhill, of Nether Eatington, who died the xvi th day of July An 0 . Dno. 1587.