.... ... ;:.;::::::;;:.:::.¦;:: ';':::v;: y&m .-./NJfcW**«W^^ JONES' VIEWS OF THE SEATS, MANSIONS, CASTLES, ETC. NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN ISnglanto; ACCOMPANIED WITH HISTORICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE MANSIONS, LISTS OF PICTURES, STATUES, &c. AND GENEALOGICAL SKETCHES OF THE FAMILIES, OF THEIR POSSESSORS; FORMING PART OF THE GENERAL SERIES OF JONES' GREAT BRITAIN ILLUSTRATED, AND COMPRISED IN THE COUNTIES FOLLOWING, VIZ: BEDFORDSHIRE BERKSHIREBUCKINGHAMSHIRE CHESHIRECUMBERLAND DERBYSHIRE DURHAM HERTFORDSHIRE HUNTINGDONSHIRE KENT LANCASHIRE LEICESTERSHIRE LINCOLNSHIRE NORFOLKNORTHAMPTONSHIRE LONDON: JONES & CO., TEMPLE OF THE MUSES, FINSBURY SQUARE. LIST OF NOBLEMEN AND GENTLEMEN'S SEATS. Bedfordshire. Luton Hoo Marquess of Bute. Do. S.E. View. Woburn Abbey Duke of Bedford. Do. Berkshire. Aldermanston House .... Wm. Congreve, Esq. Basildon Park Sir F. Sykes, Bart. Beaumont Lodge Viscount Ashbrook. Buckland House Charles Courtenay, Esq. Englefield House R.B.De Beauvoir, Esq. . Holme Park Robt. Palmer, Esq. MP. St. Leonard's Hill Earl of Harcourt. ¦ Shottesbrooke House A. Vansittart, Esq. Silwood Park George Simpson, Esq. Sunning-Hill Park G. H. Crutchley, Esq. Buckinghamshire. Dorney Court Sir C. H- Palmer, Bart. ¦ Fawley Court S. Freeman, Esq. Langley Park SirR. B. Harvey, Bart. Stowe House Duke of Buckinglium. Do. 2d View. Weston Sir G. Throckmorton. Cheshire. Eaton Hall Earl Grosvenor. Do. S.E. View. Hatherton Lodge John Twemlow. - Lyme Hall Thos. Leigh, Esq. M.P. Do. North Front Marbury Hall J- Smith-Barry, Esq- Rode Hall RandleWilbraham, Esq. Somerford-Booths Hall ... .C Swetenham, Esq. Cumberland. Corby Castle Henry Howard, Esq. Skirsgill Hugh Parkins, Esq. Derbyshire. Barlborough Hall C. H. Rodes, Esq. Chatsworth Duke of Devonshire. Doveridge House Lord Waterpark. Elvaston Hall Earl of Harrington. ¦ Kedleston Lord Scarsdale. ¦ Markeaton Hall Francis Mundy, Esq. Sutton Hall Earl of Ormond. Tissington Hall Sir H. Fitzherbert. Durham. ¦ Brancepeth Castle M. Russel, Esq. M.P. Hilton Castle Earl of Strathmore. Lambton Hall Lord Durham. ¦ Lumley Castle Earl of Scarborough. - Raby Castle Earl of Darlington. . Wilton Castle Colonel Chaytors. Hertfordshire. Beechwood Park Sir J. S. Sebright. • Cashiobury Earl of Essex. Colney House Patrick Haddon, Esq. Gorhambury Earl of Verulam. Gubbins Thomas Kemble, Esq. ¦ Hatfield House Marquis of Salisbury. -Hunsdon House Nicholson Calvert, Esq. Knebworth House Mrs. Bulwer Lytton. . Moor Park Rt- Williams, Esq. MP. '. Panshanger Earl Cowper. -Pishobury Mrs. Milles. Tewin Water Henry Cowper, Esq. Huntingdonshire. Connington Castle John Heathcote, Esq. Hinchinbrook Earl of Sandwich. Kent. . Cobham Hall Earl of Darnley. Lee Priory Capt Brydes Barrett. Do. S.W. View. Leeds Castle F. W. Martin, Esq. Lancashire. " Allerton Hall James Willasey, Esq. ' Childwali Hall Marquis of Salisbury. f Croxteth Hall Earl of Sefton. •- Hale Hall J. Blackburne, Esq. ¦ Heaton House Earl of Wilton. Ince Blundell Charles Blundell, Esq. Knowsley Park Earl of Derby. Do. West Front. Lathom House Lord Skelmersdide. ¦ Do. General View. Standish Hall Charles Standish, Esq. Thurnham Hall John Dalian, Esq. Leicestershire. Baggrave Hall Edwyn Burnaby, Esq. Belvoir Castle Duke of Rutland. Do. General View. Carlton Curlieu Hall . . . .Sir J. H. Palmer, Burt. Cole Orton Hall Sir G.H. Beaumont, Bt. ¦Donnington Hall Marquis of Hastings. Langton Hall Rev. James Ord. Lowesby Hall, two views. .Sir F. G. Fowke, Burt. Prestwold Hall C. I. Pucke, Esq. Whatton House Edward Dawson, Esq, Wistow Hall Sir H. Hulford, Bart. Lincolnshire. Belton House Earl Browttlow. Denton House Sir W- E. Welby, Burt. , Grimsthorpe Castle Lord Gwydir. .Irnham Hall Lord Clifford. Norfolk. Blickling Hall Lord Suffield. . Do. 2d View. Houghton Hall Marquis of Cholmondeley Kimberley Hall Lord Wodehonse- Oxburgh Hall Sir R. Bedingfeld, Bt. Thursford Hall Sir C. Chad, Bart. Northamptonshire. Althorpe Earl Spencer. ' Do. 2d View. Apethorpe Hall Earl of Westmoreland. Aynho W. R. Cartwright, Esq. Boughton House Duchess of Buccleugh. Burleigh House Marquis of Exeter. Do. S.W. View. Carlton Hall Sir H. Palmer, Bart. Castle Ashby Marquis of Northampton Deene Park Earl of Cardigan. Delapre' Abbey Edw. Bouverie, Esq. Drayton House Duke of Dorset. Farming Woods Ladies Fitzpatrick. Glendon Hall John Booth, Esq. Harlestone Robert Andrew, Esq- Horton House Sir Robt. Gunning, Bt. Kirby Hall Earl of Winchilsea. • Do. 2d View. Laxton Hall G. F. Evans, Esq. Milton Abbey Viscount Milton. Norton Hall Mrs. B. Boxfield. Oakley Sir R. B. De Capell Brooke, Bt. Rockingham Castle Lord Sondes. Rushton Hall, East Front. Hon. Mrs. Medlycott. Do. S.W. View. Wakefield Lodge Duke of Grafton. Welton Place J- P. Clarke, Esq. Wicken Park Lord Chas. Fitzroy. * * The Binder is requested to place as many Counties in the Volume as are enumerated in the above List. U1I ABBEY, BEDFORDSHIRE. WOI1U1M A I i B E Y, Jones & C?. 'I'cmplo of flio Muses, l'nis bury Squiro . Londrai. Jlij 31.M30. THE SEAT OF JOHN RUSSELL, DUKE OF BEDFORD. Woburn Abbey was founded in 1145, by Hugh de Bolebec, a powerful Baron, for Monks of the Cistercian order, at the instigation of the Abbot of Fountains. The monastery and revenues, in 1547, were granted by King Edward VI. to John, Lord Russell, who was soon after created Earl of Bedford by the same prince, and it has remained in the possession of that family ever since. The building has experienced many considerable alterations, but particularly under the direction of the late noble owner, to whom the Mansion owes its present appearance, from the designs of Mr. Holland. The principal front is of the Ionic order, with rustic basement ; the offices, which also were erected under the direction of the late Duke, form two magnificent, but plain buildings, at a small distance from the Mansion. This noble pile is celebrated for its extensive collections of Paintings, of which we are enabled to give an accurate list, with the measure ment of each picture within the frame. The Park is surrounded by a wall eight feet in height ; it is large, and finely diversified; abounding with wood, it affords many delightful prospects of forest scenery, and the detached pieces of water are united so as to form a sufficient expanse, bounded by flourishing plantations. On the south side of the Mansion, a covered way, or piazza, leads to the Green-house, which is about 140 feet in length, containing a great variety of valuable plants : but what renders it peculiarly interesting to the connoisseur, is the Lanti Vase, brought from Rome by Lord Cawdor, one of the most noble specimens of antique decoration of the kind yet discovered ; it is of the Lotus form, and was most probably consecrated to Bacchus, as may be concluded from the finely sculptured Bacchanalian masks upon it. Here are also some excellent statues, particularly an Apollo, a group of Cupid and Psyche, and two figures of Venus in different positions. From the east end of this building, the piazza continues nearly a quarter of a mile in length to the dairy, built in the Chinese style. Its situation is cool, shady, and pleasant, and the utensils with which it is furnished, are of elegant workmanship. In the Garden is a fine Bust of the late Charles James Fox, on a pedestal, containing an inscription by the late Duchess of Devonshire. The extensive domain is peculiarly characterized by the commodious farms which surround it ; but to particularize the perfection to which agriculture has been brought, and the patriotic endeavours exerted in its diffusion, by the noble possessors of Woburn, requires a space incompatible with the tendency of this work ; we hasten to enumerate its splendid pictures. pp a €onn>lcU ©atatoflur of t«je Dictum, tottij Sisposituitt anO £tjf , a$ iilacrtr at Sffitofiutn &88*g, 1819. INDIAN SILK ROOM, (North Front, Principal Floor.) Ft. In. Ft. In. A. Fruit Piece, over the Chimney. Snyders 3 8 J by 3 6 INDIAN PAPER ROOM, (North Front.) A Game Piece, over the Chimney 3 10| — 3 8 FRENCH BED ROOM. Landscape over Chimney 40 — 46 Ditto, over East Door 34—36 Ditto, over West Door 34—36 FRENCH DRESSING ROOM, 16 Feet 6 Inches long, 15 Feet 3 Inches wide, and 14 Feet high. Landscape over Chimney 40 — 49 Ditto, over West Door 3 4—36 Ditto, over East Door 3 4—36 Portrait of Caroline, Duchess of Marlborough 33 — 41 Ditto, Gertrude, Duchess of Bedford 33 — 41 Ditto, Francis, Marguess of Tavistock 33 — 41 BILLIARD ROOM, 21 Feet 3 Inches long, 27 Feet wide, and 15 Feet 10 Inches high. On the North Side. Inside of a Hall. — Van Delen ... .... ...Ill — 14 A Landscape. — Everdingen 2 1 J — 21 Ditto. — Pynaker 16—12 Ditto, with a Bridge, &c. — Ruysdael 30 — 23 This -picture came from M. de Calonne's collection. Ditto, with Cattle, &c. — Isaac 'Ostade 3 2J — 2 7J- A Landscape. — J. Lingleback 1 8J — 1 3£ The Sea Coast, with a Beacon, &c. — Wouvermans 28' — 19 A Dutch Cottage, in manner of Brouwer. — Tenters ... . . 2 4J- — 1 4J On the East Side. A Portrait of A. Cuyp. — Se ipse 23 — 211 A Sea Piece. — Bachhuysen 2 0 — 1 b\ A Landscape. — G. Poussin 16 — 1 2 A Madonna and Child.— Murillo 26—34 From M. de Calonne's collection. A Landscape. — Both 2 1 £ — 1 9£ Ditto, with Ruins, &c. — Ruysdael . . 19 — 1 6J The Virgin teaching the infant Jesus to read. — Schedoni 0 8 — 0 10 A Portrait of Descartes. — Philip de Champagne 24 — 210 On the South Side. The Flemish Prize Ox.— A. Cuyp 25—16 A Flemish Merry-making. — Teniers 3 5J — 26 Inside of a Church. — Peter N'iefs 12 — 010 A Landscape, a copy from G. Poussin ...34 — 40 The original in the Collection of the Marquess of Stafford. Lions. — Rubens 2 4J — 1 Hi Flemish Twelfth-day Feast. — Jan Steen 31| — 2 1 J A Stable, with a Horse, &c— A. Cuyp 1 31-0 11} A Portrait of Lady Coventry. — Gavin Hamilton 2 1J — 2 6f INNER DRAWING ROOM, 22 Feet long, 19 Feet 10 Inches wide, and 15 Feet 10 Inches high. North Side. A Landscape. — Claude, (perhaps a copy) 37 — 211 View of a Cavern. — Salvator Rosa 17 22 A Gallery of Pictures and Sculpture. — Teniers 43 32 A Romantic Scene. — Salvator Rosa 17—22 pp2 iUT OI HO BEDS' OBI SHIRE. EngtHral "by T. Hicham JL IT T ©N H SOUTH EAST "VIE"W. B EDFOB.D S HIRE. Jones & C° Temple of the Muses, Fmsbury Square. London, 1631 THE SEAT OF JOHN CRICHTON STUART, MARQUESS OF BUTE. This splendid Mansion owes its magnificence to John, third Earl of Bute, whose celebrity in the annals of George II. and III. is well known: in 1762, when he had attained to the summit of his political power, he purchased the unfinished Mansion of Sir Robert Napier, and soon afterwards resolved upon making a grand addition, in which the genius of R. Adam, whom he patronized, should have its fullest scope, uncontrolled by any consideration of expense. At the same time, Shelburne House was rising from its foundation, upon a plan of the same architect. Popular clamour was then so vehement, that the Earl of Bute was induced to sell his intended London residence to Lord Shelburne ; and the vast designs at Luton were sus pended, in their full extent. What had been begun was then completely finished ; and Adam has transferred to England the splendours of the Palace of Dioclesian at Spalatro, which he has so ably elucidated. Those who attributed the payment of the large sum required for both these sumptuous buildings to his command of the public purse, were injurious in their censures, not considering that, after the death of Mr. Wortley, the Earl of Bute enjoyed an estate of at least £20,000 a year, in right of his Countess, In conse quence of these unpleasant observations, which were not unfrequently obtruded on his ear, Luton-Hoo, with its splendid embellishments, was no longer submitted to public inspection, and was seen only by special favour; and accordingly, notwith standing a liberal permission given by the late noble possessor, has been very rarely visited, even by connoiseurs. Among the grand apartments, the ceilings of which are ornamented with the best efforts of the pencil of Cipriani, the Library, where the luxuries of taste are carried to the highest degree of excellence, demands our particular attention ; it is the chef d'ceuvre of Adam. It was built in 1767, and consists of five apartments, the total extent of which is 144 feet, and is calculated to contain 25,000 volumes. The height of each room to the cornice is nineteen feet, and the book-cases, of mahogany with gilt-wire lattices, are half that elevation ; and above them are arranged some of the largest and most valuable of the pictures. The books are easily accessible, and in each division of the book-cases there are about nine rows on an average, and eighteen books in a row : folio volumes are placed at top and bottom, then quartos, and lastly octavos, in the middle ; which mode has been found to include the greatest number within the same space. At the foot of the book-cases is placed a single step, which opening, forms boxes for -maps on rollers; and before them are tables covered with green cloth, upon which are placed beautiful models in cork, of Greek and Roman architecture ; the Tables are wired in front, and contain large port -folios of prints and drawings, atlases, plans, and elevations. The Rooms at either end have folding doors, by which they are rendered distinct from each other, but the centre Room has an Arcade of Ionic Pillars, supporting an architrave which crosses the arch at its springing. Of the books it is needless to speak in praise, as their extreme rarity, and the excellence of the editions, are sufficiently known to all bibliographers. -A more splendid temple of the Muses is no where seen. The Apartments are adorned with a large collection of pictures, many of which were purchased by the Earl of Bute, when prime minister, to which great addi tions were made by the late noble Marquess. An elegant critic has given the principal in the following Utet of UtrtuttfSJ at auton^oo. Madonna, Bambino, and Cheruks : Raffaelle. . . St. Francis ; Madonna and Bambino ; Assumption ; Holy Family with St. Lucia: The Caracci... Funeral of a Young Man ; Assumption of the Virgin : Guercino.. .Venus and Cupid ; Daedalus and Icarus ; Venus and Cupid : Guido.. .Virgin reposing on a Cloud ; Virgin asleep, the Child embracing her, (small, but exquisite :) Corregio. . .Mercury acquainting Vulcan with the infide lity of Venus : Andrew Sucehi.. .Marriage of St. Catherine: P. Veronese... the same Subject: Parmegianino. . . Holy Family : Schedoni. . . Ee- poso in Egypt : Benv. Gorofalo. . . Bambino asleep with the Madonna ; Assumption of the Virgin (on Marble): Murillio... Venus and Neptnne : Luca Giordano... Marriage of St, Catherine: Parmegiano. . .Holy Family : Barrochio.. .Adora tion of the Magi : Albano.. .Madonna and Bam bino asleep: Eliz. Sirani.. .Juno distributing Gold: Tinioref to... Holy Family: Vasari... PP 3 PICTURES AT LUTON-HOO CONTINUED. ment of Midas ; Mary Magdalen washing Jesus' Feet; all the Figures are Portraits; Diogenes searching for an honest Man ; Jordaens, as Dio genes, finds Rubens : Rubens and Jordaens. — Ant. Grimani, Doge of Venice ; Hernando Cortez : Tiri ttertufflirt ; THE SEAT OF ROBERT PALMER, ESQ. M.P. Holme Park, in Sonning, lies three miles nearly east of Reading, on the banks of the Thames. From a period, anterior to the Norman Conquest, the Manor of Sonning was held by the Bishops of Salisbury, and the manor-house was, for some centuries, their occasional residence. Frequent mention is made of this place by the chroniclers of former days. King John was at Sonning in the year 1216, from the 8th till the 14th of September. In 1389, says Hollinshed, the Bishop of Salisbury being at his manor-house at Sonnmg, was informed of the secret practices of the Wickliffites It was the Bishop of Salisbury's manor-place of Sonning, that Isabella, the young queen of Richard II. resided, during the period of that unfortunate monarch's captivity in Pomfret castle. Bishop Neville dates from Sonning, in 1436. In Leland's time, there existed " a fair old house of stone at Sonninge by the Tamise ripe, longing to the bishop of Saresbyri, and thereby a fair parke." The manor remained attached to the see of Salisbury until the year 1574, when it was given in exchange by Edmund, the then bishop, to Queen Elizabeth, for estates in Dorsetshire. King Charles I. granted it in 1628, to Lawrence Halstead and Abraham Chamberlain, with whom it did not long remain, for we find it soon afterwards in the family of Rich, who seated themselves at Sonning, about the year 1650. Sir Thomas Rich, who was created a baronet in 1660, upon the restoration of Charles II., had been a great friend to the suffering clergy during the usurpation of Crom well, and had entertained, under his roof, the deprived Bishop Brownrigg. His descendants enjoyed the title until the death of Sir Thomas Rich, Admiral of the Blue, in 1803, when it became extinct. In 1795, the last baronet sold the manor of Sonning to Richard Palmer, Esq., father of the present proprietor. Soon after the purchase, Mr. Palmer resolved to fix his country residence at Sonning, and in consequence built a handsome mansion, the subject of the annexed Engraving. It is a square building, of white brick; and its principal front, which is the View we have selected, is adorned with a bold circular portico. The situation of Sonning is described by Leland, as " an uplandish toune, but set on a fair and commodious grounde. The Tamise rennith under it in a plea sant vale." The parish, which extends into Oxfordshire, contains about 10,000 acres. In the church are some monuments of the Rich family : the most conspicuous is that to the memory of Sir Thomas Rich, the first baronet, who died in 1667- In 1773, the fee of the parsonage and rectorial manor, which, from time immemorial, had been annexed to the deanery of Salisbury, was vested by act of parliament in the late Mr. Palmer, grandfather of the present proprietor, subject to an annual payment to the Dean 'and Chapter of Salisbury, who have peculiar jurisdiction in the parish, and are patrons of the vicarage. Robert Palmer, Esq., the present owner of Holme Park, possesses extensive landed property in Sonning and its vicinity, and has usually been one of the representatives in parliament for the county of Berks. qq2 I1L BOB BERKSHIRE ffrarATibv J V. tf^k. Enteurca. by A. Cmsc . EIG1E FIEIB BEH.E.SHIE.E 'USE. Jones & C° Tem ple of iho Muses Ensbury Square. London. AJS3] EasUtron UatH, Bcrfcsfure ; THE SEAT OF SIR FRANCIS SYKES, BART. The Estate at Basildon, in Reading Hundred, formerly belonged to the family of Vane or Fane, and was the principal residence of Charles, Viscount Fane, son and heir of Sir Francis Fane, K. B., third son of Francis, first Earl of Westmore land, of that race. Charles Fane, Esq. of Casildon, was appointed of the Privy Council to King George I. in 1714, and to George II. on his accession. He was elevated to the Peerage by patent, dated 22d April, 1718, by the titles of Viscount Fane, and Baron of Lough-Guire, Co. Limerick. He married Mary, the youngest daughter of Alexander Stanhope, Esq., and sister to James, Earl Stan hope, and, dying at Basildon, 7th July, 1744, left issue Charles, second Viscount Fane, and four daughters. Charles, the second viscount, died without issue, when his sisters became his coheiresses, of whom Judith married John, fourth Earl of Sandwich, and Mary, Jerome de Salis of Switzerland. Francis Sykes, Esq. purchased the Manor and Estate of Basildon about the year 1766, of the Countess of Sandwich and Madame Salis, and erected the pre sent, noble Mansion from the designs, and under the direction, of John Carr, of York, a celebrated architect. It is constructed entirely of stone, and consists of a large central building and two wings, presenting a regular and extensive front, elegant in all its proportions. The corridor, in the centre of the building, is in excellent taste, rising from a rustic basement, after the Italian style, and is ornamented with four Ionic columns supporting their entablature, and a pediment ; the frieze is plain, but the cornice is particularly bold and prominent : this is car ried entirely round the centre structure, which is nearly quadrangular, and con tains, exclusive of the basement story, one principal floor, with chambers above, but no attics. The wings are each surmounted by a pediment, and contain, on the basement, the domestic offices. The stables and coach-houses are at a short dis tance from the House, concealed by a plantation not introduced in our View. The principal apartments are spacious and elegant : in particular, the Grand Saloon, which is painted in basso relievo by T. De Bruyn, in which he has pro duced the effect of prominence with great success : the ceiling, of stucco, is also very beautiful. Amongst the pictures which adorn the walls, is a very fine large Landscape by Berchem, with Cattle and Bagpiper. A Woman suckling a Child, &c. A most excellent Hawking Subject, by Wouvermans, a perfect gem. The Robinette, Sir J. Reynolds. A Sea-piece, gentle breeze, Vandervelde. Two by Backhuysen ; others by Both, De Heem, Breughel, &c. &c. This Mansion is situated about eight miles north-west from the town of Reading, between Pangbourn and Streatley, on the road to Wallingford : the Park extends for a considerable distance on the one side, while on the other is seen the mazy windings of the river Thames, which here divides the county from Oxfordshire. From the Lodge Gates is a singularly beautiful drive, to the carriage front of the Mansion, represented in the View ; before it, spreads a fine and smooth lawn, skirted by gentle undulations, and bounded by hills covered with beech and other trees. Francis Sykes, Esq., the founder of the present Mansion, is supposed to have derived his descent from the family of Sykes, seated at Sykes Dyke, near Carlisle, in Cumberland, the origin of the family of Sykes of Sledmere. The Arms vary a little from the latter branch, and are, Argent, an eagle with wings expanded, proper, between three fountains ; on a canton gules, a caduceus or. He was created a Baronet 24th March, 1781.— Sir Francis William Sykes, the second Baronet, married Mary Ann, the eldest daughter of Major Henniker, Esq., brother of Lord Hen- niker, by whom he had four children. Lady Sykes, in attending one of her sons in the scarlet fever, at Elberfield in Germany, caught the infection, and died in her twenty-fifth year, 27th February, 1804 : the same fatal consequence attended her husband's assiduity to her, and he fell a victim to the same disease on the 7th of March following. Their remains were conveyed to Basildon, and interred in the family vault. — He was succeeded in his titles and estates by his son, Sir Francis Sykes, the present and third Baronet. QQ3 THE SEAT OF RICHARD BENYON DE BEAUVOIR, ESQ. Englefield House is in the hundred of Reading, and deanery of Newbury, about six miles west of Reading, and forms a conspicuous object to the north of the Bath road. At a very early period, this Manor was held under the baronial family of Somery. But a family of still greater antiquity, who derived their name from the village, more particularly claims notice in this place. John Englefield, who lived in the reign of Henry III. is represented, by the pedigrees of the family, to be the sixth in descent from the first settler of the name at this village. Roger de Englefield was knight of the shire in 1307, whose descendants frequently filled the same post, and also served the office of sheriff. At the commencement of the sixteenth century, we find two of the family dis charging the functions of judges. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth this manor became forfeited to the Crown, owing to the conviction of Sir Francis Engle field, for being concerned in, the plot of rescuing Mary Queen of Scots out of the hands of the English sovereign. The act of attainder being passed, a grant of the Manor was made to the celebrated secretary of state, Sir Francis Walsingham. John, Marquess of Winchester, became possessed of the Englefield estate, by marrying the Lady Honora Burgh, daughter of the Earl of Clanricard, by the daughter and heiress of Sir Francis Walsingham. Englefield House, exhibited in the annexed engraving, was built by the Marquess after the demolition of Basing House in Wiltshire, where he had made so noble a defence against the Parliamentary army during the troubles in the reign of Charles I. In a treatise, called " Counsel and Advice to all Builders," published in 1663, by Sir Balthazar Gerbier, the author, in his dedication to the Marquess of Win chester, passes a high compliment upon that nobleman, for the taste displayed in the erection of Henfelde House, as he calls it. He describes it as " a well- seated palace, with a wood at its back, like a mantle about a coat of arms;" and and adds, that " its present satisfaction must diminish its owner's grief for the loss of Basing." Upon the death of the Marquess, his only surviving son, Lord Francis Paulet, took possession of the Englefield estate, and bequeathed it upon his demise to an only daughter Anne, who married the Rev. Nathan Wrighte, a younger son of the Lord Keeper Wrighte. Upon the death of Nathan Wrighte, Esq. in 1789, Englefield devolved to the late Richard Benyon, Esq. son of Governor Benyon, by the widow of Powlett Wrighte, Esq. elder brother of the last men tioned Nathan. The present proprietor of this seat, grandson of the Governor, in 1822 took the additional name of De Beauvoir ; having, in 1814, taken the names of Powlett Wrighte. . ¦ To return to the Englefield family. — Francis Englefield, nephew of Sir Francis above-mentioned, was, upon the accession of James I. to the English throne, in consideration of his uncle's sufferings in the cause of Mary Queen of Scots, created a Baronet, being described of Wotton Basset, in Wiltshire. His pos terity occasionally resided at a house in this village, which had been for so many generations the abode of their ancestors. This house was sold in 1792 by Sir Henry Charles Englefield, to the father of the present proprietor. In the north aisle of the chancel of the parish church are several monuments of the Englefield family, for whom it was built as a burial-place in 1514. In the south aisle is a monument to the memory of the famous John, Marquess of Winchester, the defender of Basing House, who died in 1674, with an epitaph from the pen of Dryden, appropriately laudatory. Mr. Benyon de Beauvoir is patron of the rectory. qq4 i JI JuW © (DID) PARK . BERKSHIRE Drawn hy JP7.'«a]p Engraved b/"W, Toylo; § in nr k i! h c -janii' ,:l .r,.:i:i B _'. II K SHI U E n^s&C0 :empje of1 cbe Alusrs Fmsbur; Sc ,.ore,T,n»don Dee' .&.V. gunning i^ili mv% MtrUUvt; THE SEAT OF GEORGE HENRY CRUTCHLEY, ESQ. Sunning Hill Park, formerly a part of the royal demesne, was granted, by King Charles the First, to Thomas Carey, Esq. in 1630. His daughter and heiress conveyed the estate by marriage to Sir Thomas Draper, who was created a Baronet by King Charles the Second, a few days after the Restoration, and in whose descendants it remained till the year 1769, when it was purchased by Jeremiah Crutchley, Esq. the uncle of the present proprietor, of Thomas Draper Baber, Esq., the grandson of Sir Thomas Draper, Bart. The Park lies in the hundred of Cookham, partly in the parishes of Sunning Hill and Winkfield, distant about five miles from the town of Windsor, and nearly the same distance from the village of Bracknel. It is enriched by luxuriant woods, and a spacious lake. The grounds have been judiciously disposed, and derive great advantage from the taste of the proprietor. The whole contained about five hundred acres, and was about three miles in circum ference ; but it has been very greatly increased by the late enclosure of the Forest, and of Bagshot Heath, having part of each allotted to it. The Park also possesses the privilege of being tithe free, as long as sixteen head of deer are kept in it. The House is of considerable dimensions ; it was altered, and a new dispo sition given to some of the apartments, by the late James Wyatt, Esq. Towards the west, the immense Forest of Windsor formerly stretched itself for many miles; this wild and beautiful spot is now of comparatively small extent, having been lately enclosed, destroying its romantic appearance, but rendering the soil more beneficial to the country. According to an inquisition in the time of King Charles the First, and the perambulation made under the authority of an act of parliament, in the forty- sixth year of George the Third, Windsor Forest extends into the five hundreds of Ripplesmere, Cookham, Charlton, Wargrave, and Sonninge, and comprehends the whole of some of them, and part only of others. The entire parishes within the forest are twelve in number, and it extends into parts of five other parishes. It contains fifteen principal or chief manors, having within them several subordinate or mesne manors. Of the principal or chief manors, some are co-extensive with the parishes in which they lie; others are not so; and some of them extend over more parishes than one. The lodges in the forest are Cranbourn Lodge, New Lodge, Swinley Lodge, and Bagshot Lodge, on Bag- shot Heath. s s giitoootr parfc, UtvWbivt; THE SEAT OF GEORGE SIMSON, ESQ. This elegant house is pleasantly situated on the borders of Windsor Forest, in the parish of Sunninghill ; it stands on a rising ground, and commands from the principal front an extensive prospect over a rich valley, bounded by the River Thames, and the hills of Surrey. From the other front is a delightful view of the Pleasure-grounds, terminated by the woods of Windsor Great Park. The mansion was built by the late Sir James Sibbald, Bart., who purchased the estate and manor of James Hartley, Esq., in the year 1787. At the death of Sir James Sibbald it became the property, by purchase, of the present owner. Each front is decorated with a portico of the Composite order, and the interior is of corresponding expense. The Drawing Room, Breakfast Room, and Dining Room, are en suite towards the pleasure-grounds, which are thrown together by folding doors, forming a range of apartments of ninety feet in length. This floor also contains a large Hall, Library, Dressing Room, Billiard Room, Lady's Dairy, and hot and cold baths most conveniently distributed. The great stair case deserves notice, as well from its proportions as its decorations. The dome is enriched with emblematical paintings ; a screen of Ionic columns partly con ceals the passages which lead to the chambers, and figures after the antique hold the lamps which illuminate this beautiful piece of architecture ; Mr. Robert Mitchell was the architect. The estate, which consists of between two and three hundred acres, is laid out as a Ferme ornee, with great taste and judgment, producing a rich variety of wood, water, and cultivation. A ride of four miles in circuit embraces the successive features of the whole. ss2 iEAtrM»HT lOBCE. BE HKS HIKE. 7 LEOHAIB'5 HILL. SHEWING WINDSOR CASTT.K £ c BERKS HIRE.. Jones & C° Temple of 1le Muses. FYnsbury Square. Lonaan.1831. Saint neonates mm MtvUUvt ; THE SEAT OF THE EARL OF HARCOURT. This most delightful summer retreat is situated on the summit of the hill of that name on Windsor Forest, environed with venerable oaks and' majestic beeches ; and commands a prospect comprehending all the fine objects in its vicinity, and a vast circumference of view into the adjacent counties. To this beautiful spot the celebrated statesman, William Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chatham, is said to have occasionally retired during the time he was Secretary at War ; but the principal part of the present House was erected by the Countess Dowager of Waldegrave, under the direction of Mr. Thomas Sandby. This portion, the apartments in which are both spacious and handsome, is connected with the original building by a Vestibule enriched with columns and other decorations of the Doric order. After the marriage of the Countess with the Duke of Gloucester, the House was usually styled Gloucester Lodge. In 1781, His Royal Highness, who had been at some expense in embellishing the Grounds with plantations, &c, sold the whole to John Macnamara, Esq., who never resided here ; and of him it was purchased, in March, 1783, by the present noble proprietor, then the Honourable General Harcourt. • The Pleasure Grounds, possessing a great variety of surface, are beautifully disposed into Lawns and Shrubberies ; and every part affords views of a great extent of country : Windsor Castle is a prominent object, and it has been observed, that that majestic pile is seen to greater advantage from St. Leonard's Hill than from any other point of view. The whole demesne has been very greatly improved, under the direction of the Earl and Countess of Harcourt. In 1717? some antiquities were discovered under a stone upon this hill, consisting of a variety of coins, a spear head, and an antique lamp ; the latter was presented to the Society of Antiquaries by Sir Hans Sloane, who had purchased it ; and it was considered sufficiently curious to be adopted as their badge, on the common geal of that learned body. Though it is not certain these antiquities are Roman, it gave rise to the idea, that the hill was the site of a Roman encampment, which was strengthened by a discovery, in 1725, of many coins of Vespasian, Trajan, and of the lower empire ; these were purchased by the Society of Antiquaries, and added to their collection. A tradition is handed down, that a hermit selected this spot for his retirement, which he dedicated to Saint Leonard, the tutelar Saint of Windsor Forest and its purlieus ; in corroboration of which it may be mentioned, that a field just below the House is still called the Hermitage Field. Within it was a Well, long known by the name of the Hermit's Well : this is now filled up. The accompanying view is taken from a point in Windsor Forest which was politely pointed out by the Countess of Harcourt. This view (which shews but little of the building) gives, perhaps, the best idea of its beautiful situation ; shewing, at the same time, the Town and Castle of Windsor, with the sur rounding Country. s s 3 THE SEAT OF VISCOUNT ASHBROOK. This Seat, possessing such superior advantages of situation, on the banks of the noble Thames, and contiguous to the Castle of Windsor, with its Park and Forest, was originally built by Henry Frederick Thynne, Esq. (an ancestor of the present Marquess of Bath) in the beginning of the last century. The Duchess of Kent next possessed it, of whom it was purchased, about the year 1750,. by the Duke of Roxburgh, for his son the Marquess of Bowmont, whence it seems to have acquired its present name ; in Rocque's map it is called Bowmon Lodge. It was subsequently the residence of his Royal Highness the late Duke of Cumberland — and also of the late Lord Mulgrave. The celebrated Warren Hastings, Governor-General of Bengal, we believe, then succeeded : he sold it to Henry Griffiths, Esq., who pulled down the old structure, except a part of the west wing, and erected the present mansion, which exhibits a new order of architecture, invented by Mr. Henry Emlyn, an archi tect of Windsor. It is in allusion to, and is embellished with ornaments sug gested by, the insignia of the most noble Order of the Garter. The Corridor consists of columns thirty-six feet eight inches high, in imitation of twin trees ; in the cleft between the stems, instead of the protuberant bark, the shield of a knight is introduced, which, together with the base, is of Portland stone. The capitals are of Coade's artificial material, and are formed of a resemblance of the plumage of the cap worn by the Knights of the Garter, having Ionic volutes interwoven together in the front, with the star of the Order between them. In the metopes are placed the George and Collar; and in the continued frieze, other symbolical ornaments, as naval and military trophies, form the embellishments of Mr. Emlyn's invention here introduced — and having certainly novelty of com position to recommend it : but, in the fulness of our admiration of the classic or gothic styles, we venture to hope that " The British Order," as it has been vainly denominated, will never be referred to as a criterion of our national taste. The Mansion, the situation of which will always render it a desirable resi dence, was purchased by the present Viscount Ashbrook, about 1805. The pleasure grounds consist of upwards of one hundred acres, rising in an easy ascent from the banks of the river, to an ornamented upland, comprehend ing a walk of nearly two miles ; part of it is a fine winding terrace, to which is unfolded a prospect of great variety, beauty, and interest — the principal fea ture consisting of the stately towers of Windsor castle, with a fine range of wood, stretching on to the forest. St. Leonard's Hill, the seat of the Earl of Harcourt, is also seen. In the foreground, the windings of the majestic river Thames, and the vale through which it flows ; and in the distance, the most lofty edifices of the great metropolis may be discerned. Beaumont Lodge stands in the parish of Old Windsor, the church of which is very romantic ; it is approached by an avenue of majestic elms. In the church yard many larches grow, besides an exceedingly fine yew-tree. The Family of the present noble proprietor were formerly seated in Rutlandshire : William Flore, of Oakham, Esq. was Sheriff of that county, 10th of Rich. II. : the estate there was sold in the reiga of Queen Elizabeth, when George Flower, embracing a military life, became an active and brave offi cer against the rebels in Ireland, and by that Queen was knighted, and made Governor and Constable of the Fort of Waterford, in 1627. His immediate descendant, William Flower, of Durrow, in the county of Kilkenny, Esq. was raised to the peerage in 1733, by the title of Baron of Castle Durrow : he died in 1746, and his son Henry was advanced to the title of Viscount Ashbrook, Sept. 3D. 1751. The present nobleman is the fourth Viscount, he succeeded his brother William in 1802 ; he leads a life of domestic retirement, and is considered to possess considerable taste, having formed a cabinet of coins and medals at a considerable expense, and collected various articles of virtu. In early life his lordship held a commission in the army, and served in Egypt : he married first Deborah Susanna, only daughter and heiress of the Rev. W. M. Friend, who died March 25, 1810, leaving issue an only son, Henry. His Lordship married, secondly, July 1812, Emily Theophila, eldest daughter of the late Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, Bart. ; by whom he has other children. s's 4 iTLTCKlLAI^ID) MOTF SE „ BERKS HIRE Drawn "by J. E Heal Emtfraseo, "by W. Foithoj-n. AME1MAISTOI HOUSE. BERKSHIRE Jones Sc C? Temple of the Musey .Embury Stroare, Lon8nn,1631. JSucfciantr, Wtv&tfbivt; THE SEAT OF CHARLES COURTENAY, ESQ. The Manor of Buckland was, in 1227, the property of Hugh de Bocland, either son or grandson of Hugh de Bocland, the Chief Justice of England ; his grand-daughter Matilda brought it in marriage to William d' Ayerenches, a Norman Baron : about 1376, it became the property of Sir Thomas Besils, being descended from a daughter of John d'Averenches, son of William and Matilda, and continued in their family till 1425. Thomas Chaucer, son of the poet, was possessed of it in 1436 ; his daughter, Alice, brought it in marriage to William de la Pole, Duke of Suffolk. Upon the attainder of Edmund de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, king Henry the Eighth granted it to his favourite, Sir Charles Brandon, whom he created Duke of Suffolk : in 1535, the Duke gave it back to the King in exchange, under an act of parliament. In 1545, it became the property of the family of Yate, by purchase. Edward Yate, the fourth in descent of the Yates of Buckland, was created a Baronet in 1622. • This manor continued in the family of the Yates till 1690, when, on the death of Sir John Yate, it devolved to Sir Robert Throckmorton, Bart, of Coughton, in Warwickshire, who had married Mary, daughter of Sir Charles Yate, sister and heiress to Sir John Yate, and has continued in the family of Throckmorton to this day. This Sir Robert Throckmorton died in 1721. It may be remarked, that the Yates were Catholics, and that the Throckmortons have uniformly adhered to the same principles. The present proprietor is the younger brother of Sir George Throckmorton, Bart, who succeeded to the title on the death of his brother, Sir John Throck morton, in 1819. He assumes the name of Courtenay by grant of his late Majesty, in right of his mother, who was heiress to John Courtenay, Esq. of West Molland in the county of Devon. The house was built in 1757? hy Sir Robert Throckmorton, Bart, son of the above Sir Robert, and grandfather to the present proprietor, from the designs, and under the immediate direction; of John Wood, Esq. of Bath. The Dining- room, Library, and Chapel, are handsome rooms; the former, with the Drawing-room, contains some valuable pictures of the old school ; the ceiling of the Library, painted by Cypriani, is much admired ; the Pleasure-grounds are laid out with great taste. Buckland is situated a little to the north of the road leading from Oxford to Faringdon; about four miles from the latter, and fourteen from the former. 3-E THE seat op WILLIAM CONGREVE, ESQ. The little town of Aldermanston lies on the southern border of the county of Berks, adjoining to Hampshire, not far from the Roman town of Silchester, in the latter county. The Manor of this place, before the Conquest, was a part of the possessions of Earl Harold, and was afterwards in the King's hands, till Henry I. granted it, about the year 1100, with six- others in this county, to Robert Achard. A confirmation of the grant is still preserved at Aldermanston. Sir Humphrey Forster, Bart., and his wife, Anne, daughter of Sir "William Kingsmill, of Sidmonton, in Hants, built in 1636 the large family mansion now remaining in its original state, as appears by the inscription over the door-ways of the principal front. It is a brick building, with a bold blocked cornice, having two doors in the principal front, adorned with twisted columns. The interior, however, claims more particular notice. A passage, similar to the screens in more ancient houses and colleges, leads into a large well-proportioned Hall, of an oblong form, two stories high, having a handsome spacious gallery entirely round it. In most of the windows throughout the house are impaled the arms of the ancestry of the family from an early period. The Dining-room is large and handsome, with one of those ponderous chimney-pieces so characteristic of the age in which it was built. The great Drawing-room is over the dining-room, and more richly ornamented with carving and gilding ; the chimney-pieces of both reaching nearly to the ceilings. However little we might admire those kinds of ornaments, if they were now first erected, they gain a venerable effect from time, which, by the associations of the fancy, give infinite delight to the contemplative mind. The Staircase affords a specimen of rich internal decoration, indicative of domestic grandeur. All the other rooms, which are many and spacious, are after the same fashion : those in the back front look into an avenue in the Park, which has been considerably enlarged, and surrounded with an entire new paling by the present proprietor, who has also had the mansion thoroughly repaired, but without in any degree altering the original style of the building. The Park now consists of about 750 acres, and contains many very venerable oaks, several of them more than 20 feet in girth, probably coeval with the original grant of the manor by Henry I. Close adjoining to the mansion is the parish Church, with a spire of wood ; its appearance is vener able and picturesque ; it is shewn in our Plate. Sir Humphrey Forster lived to be aged, being alive in 1661. His son, William, died before him, having married Elizabeth, only child of Sir John Tyrrell, of Herons, in Essex, (by his first wife,) by whom he had three sons, of whom two died without issue, before their mother; and one daughter, married to William Pert, Esq., of Essex. Sir Humphrey, the eldest son, married Judith, eldest daughter and co-heir of Sir Humphrey Winch, of Hawnes, Bart., by whom he had several children, who all died in their father's life-time ; and thus the baronetage of Aldermanston became extinct. This estate then went to his niece, Elizabeth, who married William Forster, Esq., of Bamburgh Castle, in Northumberland, but he dying without issue, in 1700, she re-married William, third Lord Stawel, who, possessing this seat in right of her, frequently made it his residence. He died in 1742, (she surviving him till 1748,) leaving issue an only child, Charlotte, who married, in 1752, Ralph Congreve, Esq., and brought the estate to him. Mr. Congreve was the only son of Colonel Ralph Congreve, Lieutenant Governor of the Garrison of Gibraltar, who was a younger brother of Jchn Congreve, Esq , of Congreve, in the county of Stafford, a family, (according to Dr. Johnston, in hi* Lives of the Poets,) " of so great antiquity, that it claims a place among the few that extend their line beyond the Norman Conquest." Mrs. Congreve dying in 1762, without issue, gave the whole of her estates to her husband, absolutely; and he, by his will, settled them on the elder branch of his own family. The Rooms are adorned with numerous family Portraits, and others ; many of them by the first artists. 3-e2 lL"AH^lL.]E^r Fill, BUCKINGE-AM SHIRE. Idivr-.v-l Ijy t: L.i. o m K ]E T COU1T. BlJCEXNGHAMSHIKIi. ¦Jones & C? Temple of "flie Mutes, TTmslrury Square, London, 1831, Hangleg park, ISutfungTjamsfnrc ; THE SEAT OP SIR ROBERT BATESON HARVEY, BART. This Mansion is a handsome stone edifice; it is large and square, having a pediment on its principal front. The apartments it contains are well arranged and of considerable dimensions. It was erected about 1740, by the Duke of Marlborough, and stands in the centre of a park abounding with a variety of fine timber. A piece of water runs along the South Front of the House, at the foot of a sloping lawn, on which are scattered some beautiful clumps of trees, and other woodland scenery; Windsor Castle, and the heights of the forest, form its distant views. A rising ground on the western extremity of the Park leads to an extensive enclosure, called the Black Park, from the dark hue of its trees ; the Duke of Marlborough had planted it with firs, disposed in straight lines, but which formal arrangement is now so blended with such numbers of self-sown trees, as to render the whole an impervious forest, except by a few rough tracks : in the centre is a fine lake. There is something of Alpine scenery in this sequestered spot, the idea of which is the more forcibly impressed upon the mind by the surrounding sombre woods of deep-tinted firs. * Langley is called in old writings, Langley Maries, or Marys ; it stands in the hundred of Stoke and deanery of Burnham, about two miles and a half to the north-west of Colnbrook, a part of which, on the north side, is in this parish. The manor came to the crown in the reign of Edward I. by reason of the minority of Ralph Plaiz, cousin and heir of Aveline Montfitchet ; and though afterwards claimed by Elizabeth, Countess of Oxford, as heir of the said Ralph, was retained by the crown till the year 1447, when it was granted to Eton College. By some exchange, as it is supposed, it reverted to the crown, and after being granted and re-granted to various persons, it centered in Sir William Parsons, who was created a Baronet in 1661. His executors sold Langley to Henry Seymour, Esq. whose son, Sir George Seymour, Bart, sold it to Lord Marsham, in 1714 ; it was purchased, in 1783, by the Duke of Marlborough. Sir Robert Bateson Harvey purchased the Park and Manor of the late Duke of Marlborough, in 1788. The village of Langley has a parochial chapel subject to the church of Wyrardsbury, in which are memorials of the family of Kidderminster. A par ticular aisle which bears their name is separated from the nave by a Gothic screen, erected in 1792, at the expense of Sir Robert Bateson Harvey. In this aisle is the monument of the late David Harvey, Esq. who died in 1788, erected by his nephew, who inherited his fortune, and took the name of Harvey in addition to that of Bateson. x x THE SEAT OP SIR CHARLES HARCOURT PALMER, BART. Dorney is a village in the hundred and deanery of Burnham. The manor was part of the possessions of the neighbouring abbey, and afterwards became vested in the family of the Gerards, from whom it passed by marriage with the daughter of Sir William Gerard, who died in 1607, to Sir James Palmer, Knt. Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Charles II. On the death of Sir Thomas Palmer, Bart, of Wingham in Kent, in 1725, the elder branch in the male line became extinct, and the title came to Charles Palmer, Esq. of Dorney, the younger branch of the family. His great-grandson, Sir Charles Harcourt Palmer, is the present proprietor of this family possession. In the hall of Dorney Court there is a tablet, recording an abstract of the history of this family, of which the following is a literal transcript. " The Palmers, of Sussex, are reputed in that county one of their Ancient Families before the Conquest, though the name came from the Holy War, and signifies (as Cambden says) Pilgrime, which was the common appellation of the Adventurers in that Christian expedition. These Palmers bore in Chiefe (though many in this last Century do not) a Greyhound current Sable, in remembrance perchance of their Pilgrimage : a dog, that faithful and familiar Creature, being a Pilgrim's usual companion. This following Pedigree contains only their Descents since the Reign of Edward 1 st, with whom ended the Holy War. 'Twas collected from several Deeds and ancient Monuments by Mr. Philipot, and approved by Authority, as appears by the great Roll in the pos session of Sir Henry Palmer, of Wingham. In short, this Family, since 1307 to 1670, has matched with four Noble Families, the Lord Sands' s, Audley's, Powis's, and Grandison's — has married to heiresses (whose Arms are in the Ceiling*), viz. Sedinghouse, Stopham, Bilton, Clement, Wesse, Audley, Verney, Villiers, Sherley, and Ferrers — besides, by Clement, they quarter the Coate of Tewder Mawr, Prince of South Wales in the time of William Rufus. The chief Houses of this Family were Angmering, and Parham in Sussex, Wingham in Kent, and Dorney in Bucks. There have been also of it since the time afore said, 13 Knights, 3 successive Baronetts (the Creation of King James's), 1 Earle, and 1 Countesse, as follows." Contiguous to this tablet on two sides of the hall, are the armorial bearings of the family, beginning with the arms of " Ralph Palmer, of Stenning, Esq. florisht in the Reigns of Ed. 1 and Ed. 2, 1307)," and continued in succession till 1672. This continued succession from 1307 to 1672, appears also authen ticated by the book of the family pedigree, beautifully written with illumina tions, and most richly emblazoned, in which is a short history of the families with whom the Palmers have intermarried, with their arms and quarterings. There are many paintings dispersed through the hall and apartments, of the ancestors of this family, particularly two, in excellent preservation, of Earl and Lady Castlemain, with the quaint heraldic conceit of Lady Castlemain holding a castle in her hand. This family, by their loyalty and unshaken attachment to the fortunes of Charles I. suffered the loss of considerable estates in Sussex. The Earl Castle- mam was sent by James II. ambassador extraordinary to Rome, to offer his obeisance to the Pope, and to make advances for reconciling his kingdoms in form to the Catholic communion. Thus, from their devotion to the house of Stuart, their extensive property became more reduced, of which nothing now remains to the present representative but the estate of Dorney. * These arms do not appear in the ceilings of the present manor. xx2 B "C" C KIT? G-H AMSHXRE Dra.-vm.'bj 3 P'TTe'sQc; Kn^TA-VL-a "bj F RHay ST OWE HOUSE. BirCKINGTlAMSHIllE. Jon.ee & C° Tmaplt of the Mni'^. Fuisbury Square. I.0Tidrjn,1631 j&totoe f^migt, ISuctUngtmntglurt ; THE SEAT OP THE DUKE OF BUCKINGHAM. This princely edifice, with its delightful Park and Gardens, has long been esteemed the chief ornament of the County. It is situated about two miles and a half north-west of Buckingham ; and the approach to it from the town is very grand, particularly in passing through a Corinthian arch, 60 feet high, and 60 wide. From this spot there is a fine view of the Mansion and its surround ing scenery. The House was originally built by Peter Temple, Esq., in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and rebuilt by Sir Richard Temple, K.B., who died in 1697- His son, Lord Cobham, built a new front, and added the wings ; but it was improved to its present magnificence by Earl Temple, who died in 1779, and by the late Marquis of Buckingham, under whose directions the several stately apartments which it contains were designed and completed. The central part of the House extends 454 feet, and the whole front, including the wings, 916 feet. In the south-west, or Garden-front, whence our View is taken, a grand flight of 31 steps, adorned with two lions on the pedestals, leads up to the Portico or Loggia, which is formed by six Corinthian columns, and two pilasters, 3 feet 7 inches diameter. Over the great door and niches is a bas- relief, representing a sacrifice to Bacchus ; and in the Loggia are placed four female colossal figures. The Saloon is a very singular and magnificent room, of an oval form, 60 feet by 43 ; on the frieze is a Roman triumph and sacrifice, extending all round the room, executed in alto-relievo by Valdr6 ; the principal figures are copied from the pillars of Trajan and Antonine, and other public buildings of Rome. The Hall was designed and painted by Kent ; the ceiling is adorned with the seven planets ; that of Mars, in the likeness of King William, presents a sword to the field marshal, Viscount Cobham. The Hall and the adjoining pas sages contain a valuable collection of original portraits. A stone staircase, enclosed by an iron balustrade, winds from the north Hall, round a statue of Paris, and leads to the Egyptian Hall, which forms the winter, or covered, entrance under the north Portico, and from the Park. On each side of the lowest step are two Sphinxes of stone. This Hall is fitted up from Denon's designs of remains in the interior of one of the small temples of Tentyra. The north Portico is formed by four Ionic columns, 2 feet 10i inches diameter, and two pilasters. The Billiard Room is hung with a collection of portraits of the Temple and Grenville families : the Billiard Table is illuminated by four lights at the four corners, hanging from the ceiling. The Chandos Bedroom contains the state bed used at the christening of the eldest daughter of James, the last Duke of Chandos, and Anna Eliza, his wife, the father and mother of the pre sent Marchioness of Buckingham, when the King and Queen stood sponsors. The Library is 75 feet long, by 25 wide, and contains upwards of 20,000 volumes of printed books, collected principally by the late Marquis of Buckingham. The Manuscript Room is decorated entirely in the Gothic style, and was modelled from King Henry VII.'s chapel, in Westminster Abbey ; it contains above 2000 volumes of most valuable manuscripts, among which is a collection of Saxon and Norman charters, in regular succession, from the year 690 to the union of the houses of York and Lancaster ; as well as historical MSS. of great value. All the State Apartments are fitted up in a splendid style ; and the Drawing Room contains many valuable pictures by the first masters. Among the Portraits with which this magnificent Mansion is adorned, are those of the brave Sir Beville Grenville, who fell at Lansdown in 1643; Lord Cobham; Mrs. Hester Sandys, (daughter of Sir Thomas Temple,) a lady whom Fuller in his "Worthies," states to have been the parent stock of posterity of 700 persons, whom she lived to see descended from her to the fourth generation : her own children were thirteen in number. xx3 STOWE HOUSE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE The Gardens occupy 400 acres ; they were originally designed by Lord Cobham, assisted by Bridgman and Kent, and are delightfully ornamented with temples, pavilions, statues, monuments, and a variety of other buildings, which, to describe fully, would take a volume. Stowe, when beheld at a distance, appears like a vast grove, interspersed with columns obelisks, and towers, which apparently emerge from a luxuriant mass of foliage. At a short distance from the Corinthian Arch, is one of the entrances to the Gardens, near which are two Ionic Pavilions, originally designed by Kent. In front of these buildings is a considerable lake, which divides itself into two branches, and retires through beautiful valleys to the east and to the north. The path westward leads to the Hermitage, and also to the Temple of Venus, a square building decorated with Ionic columns, and connected, by semicircular arcades, to a Pavilion at each extremity ; it bears this inscription, Veneri Hortensi, and upon the frieze is a motto from Catullus. A figure of Queen Caroline, supported by four Ionic columns, is situated on the side of a hill, and completely enveloped with trees: hence the path leads to the Pavilions designed by Vanbrugh, and to the principal Entrance Gate, by Kent. Returning towards the House, we next perceive the Temple of Bacchus, whence the view is particularly beautiful. In the centre of a large lawn, encircled with trees, is the classic Rotunda, raised upon ten Ionic columns, and ornamented in the centre with a statue of Bacchus. These are the principal objects on the south and west sides of the Garden. On the east is the entrance to the Elysian Fields, where the figures of heroes, poets, and philosophers seem to justify the name. A Doric Arch, decorated with the statues of Apollo and the Muses, leads from the Parterre into the Elysian Fields ; on the right is the Temple of Friendship, of the Doric order, with the motto, Amiciti;e S. and adorned with busts of many persons distinguished for military and literary merit. The Temple of Ancient Virtue, a circular building of the Ionic order, with a dome supported by sixteen columns ; it was designed by Kent, and bears this inscription, Priscje Virtuti ; within are four niches containing the statues of Lycurgus, Socrates, Homer, and Epaminondas, by Scheemaker. The Temple of British Worthies, a semicircle erected on the banks of the upper lake, contains busts with appropriate inscriptions of the following celebrated characters : Pope, Sir Thomas Gresham, Inigo Jones, Milton, Shakspeare, Locke, Newton, Lord Bacon, King Alfred, Edward the Black Prince, Queen Elizabeth, King William III. Sir W. Ralegh, Sir F. Drake, Hampden, and Sir John Barnard. A lofty column, erected by the late Lord Cobham, in honour of his nephew, Capt. Thos. Grenville, is surmounted by a figure representing Heroic Poetry; this gallant officer was mortally wounded in an engagement between the French and the fleet of Admiral Anson. The Grotto, in a romantic dell, consists of two caverns; from the lowermost the water flows into a rivulet, ornamented with several small islands, and overshadowed by a variety of intersecting branches ; the inside is decorated with a statue of Venus rising from the bath. The Temple of Concord and Victory, a most elegant and classical structure, in form a parallelogram, and surrounded with twenty-eight Ionic columns. This temple overlooks a most beautiful scene, called the Grecian Valley. — Lord Cobham's Pillar, on the other side of the valley, is 115 feet high, surmounted with a statue of his Lordship. — Near this column is a temple, called the Queen's Building, having a Corinthian portico leading to a large apartment, decorated with scagliola columns and pilasters, and two allegorical medallions, allusive to the recovery of his Majesty in 1789. In the centre is a statue of Britannia, supporting a medallion of the Queen. On the opposite side of a deep valley on the brow of a hill, is an interesting object in the Gothic style, in form triangular, with towers at each angle, one of which rises to the height of seventy feet, terminated with battlements ; the others have small turrets, with a pinnacle on each; the interior, divided into small chapels, is adorned with painted glass, containing the armorial bearings of the different families connected with the noble house of Buckingham : the whole is constructed of a brown stone. In a woody recess, near this building, are seven statues of the Saxon deities, who gave names to the days of the week, by Rysbrack ; and at the bottom of a gentle declivity is the Palladium Bridge, which is built of the same dimensions as one at Wilton, both after a design of the celebrated Italian architect: the remaining objects on this side the Garden are the Pebble Alcove, and Con- greve's Monument. Such are the principal objects in these highly embellished Gardens, " sometimes recalling Albano's Landscapes to our mind ; and oftener to our fancy, the idolatrous and luxurious vales of Daphne and Tempe." — Walpole. x x 4 Drawn "by J BHfaLc BUCKINGHAM SHIRE Tjj J.Jo-eig. W IE gMSS, B II C K IN'. '. H AM SHIKH Jocies & C° Temple of the Muses. EnsTjury Squaie. London. dFatoleg Court, Mui&intfhxm&hivt; THE SEAT OF STRICKLAND FREEMAN, ESQ. A little below Henley, on the Oxfordshire bank of the Thames, Fawley Court expands itself in great beauty, covering a fine undulating range of hills, with its plantations, woods, and terraces; and- commanding a variety of beautiful pros pects, in which the bold sweep formed by the River, with its two subsequent long reaches, and the Church, with the town of Henley, present the principal objects. Charming drives penetrate these woods, and follow the terraces with excellent design, leading each way to the House, which stands in the flat near the river. — Skrine's Rivers, p. 335. In Langley's " History of the Hundred of Desborough," is an ample descrip tion of the Mansion and demesne from which we have extracted the following particulars : — The House is situated in the centre of an extensive lawn, well planted, and terminated by undulating hills, in part clothed with beech. The East front commands a view of the river Thames, the opposite village of Remenham, and an island richly planted, on which is a Temple, in good taste. To the South, Henley Bridge, the venerable Tower of the Church, and the adjacent Hills of Park Place, are interesting features of the prospect. The ground being rather flat, these views are but little varied in the Gardens, which are handsomely dis posed, and kept in great order. The Rides, however, through the Woods, and on the brow of the Hills, display the whole scenery of the Vale, in which the windings of the Thames from above Henley to Medmenham, are singularly picturesque. Soon after the Conquest, the Manor of Fawley or Fally, was held by a younger branch of the noble Family of Sackville. Margery, only daughter and heiress of Thomas Sackville of Fawley, -married Thomas Rokes, temp. Hen. VI., who succeeded to this estate. By marriage, it in the same manner descended to the family of Alford. Sir James Whitelock, one of the Judges of the Common Pleas in the reign of Charles I., was the next possessor of the Manor; and died at Fawley Court, 21st June, 1632, leaving issue by Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Bulstrode, Esq., two daughters, and one son, Bulstrode Whitelock, Esq., who, in 1640, was returned M. P. for Marlow, and, in 1642, appointed one of the deputy Lieute nants of this county. He was knighted, and afterwards advanced by Cromwell to the House of Lords; but, at the Restoration, retired to his seat at Chilton Park, in Wiltshire, where he died in 1676. James Whitelock, Esq., succeeded his father in this manor and estate, which he sold to Colonel Freeman, about the year 1680. On the decease of Colonel Freeman, in 1707, he bequeathed his property to his nephew, John Cook, Esq., who assumed the name and arms of Freeman. In this family, Fawley has continued to the present time. In Nov. 1642, alarge body of soldiers, under the command of Sir John Byron, were quartered at Fawley, at which time they broke down the Park pales, killed the deer, and destroyed the furniture, rendering the place unfit for future residence. Amongst the losses Mr Whitelock had to regret, where the title- deeds of his estate, many MSS. of his father's, and some of his own. The present Manor House was built by Colonel Freeman, in 1684 from designs by Sir Christopher Wren, comptroller of the works at Windsor Castle. It is a large and handsome Mansion with four reg-ular fronts. In the Hall, which is forty feet by twenty, are antique statues of a Roman senator, and a Vestal, part of the celebrated Arundel collection ; several others from the same Gallery are dispensed in the House and Gardens. The apart ments are of fine proportions, and elegantly finished. Of, these, the Saloon, of the same dimensions as the Hall, is particularly admired. In this Room are some valuable Paintings, by the most eminent masters. The Armsof the family of Freeman : Azure, three lozenges, Or; Crest a demi- lion, gules, charged on the shoulder with a lozenge, Or. 3 i Wlt&ton ffitntortoootr, aSucfting&amstnre ; THE SEAT OF SIR GEORGE THROCKMORTON, BART. After the Conquest, Judith, the niece of William the Conqueror, who married Waltheof, Earl of Huntingdon and Northampton, possessed lands in the parish of Weston Underwood. In process of time, this Estate came into the possessions of the family of Olney, who also held the adjoining Parish of Olney, from which they derived their name. John Olney died in 1393: he is buried in the chancel of the church at Weston, which he built. His son, Sir Robert Olney, had two daughters, co-heiresses ; one of whom inherited Olney, and the other the estate of Weston. Sir Thomas Throckmorton, of Coughton, in Warwickshire, in the year 1447 married Mar garet, one of the daughters; and by her the estate of Weston came into the family of Throckmorton, who have held it to this day. Sir Robert Throckmorton, who built the three sides of the quadrangle, which are parts remaining of the old mansion, married Muriel, the daughter of Thomas Lord Berkley, and died in 1580. The Gallery, forming one of these sides, is sixty feet in length, and on two of the windows are painted the arms of several fami lies connected with the Throckmortons, viz. Whorwood, Goodwyn, Norwood, Arden, Sheldon, Tresham, Catesby, and Tyringham, with the dates of 1578 and 1579. In this Gallery is a portrait, supposed to be an original, of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, inscribed, anno cetatis sues 49. Over the entrance into the old building are three armorial escutcheons, sculptured with the different heraldic quarterings of the family. The Front of the House, represented in the Plate, was erected about the beginning of the 18th century, by Sir Robert Throckmorton, Bart, and, over the Hall door, are sculptured in stone the arms of Throckmorton, impaling Yate of Buckland, in Berkshire. This House is situated a mile west of the town of Olney, and stands on ground sloping down to the river Ouse, which runs below it, at the distance of half a mile. The poet Cowper resided in the village of Weston Underwood, from November 1786, to July 1795. He has, in the first book of the Task, described the scenes in the Park and the adjacent grounds, in language peculiarly accurate and poetical : Scenes must be beautiful, which, daily viewed, Please daily ; and whose novelty survives Long knowledge, and the scrutiny of years. 3i2 SCfKffi ]R f KM B BOOT 'H§ HA I, L , CHESHIRE. av^d. bv J HpnahaH IE Illl, CnE SHIRE. Jones & C? Temple of the Muses , Pinsbury Square , Loudon . UJ29. ^ontatfor^asoot&s ©all <&bt&bixt; THE seat of CLEMENT SWETENHAM, ESQ. This ancient mansion of the family of Swetenham is three miles north-west from the town of Congleton, on the right of the high road, leading from thence to Holmes chapel. Its situation is extremely pleasant, on the banks of the Dane, a small river, which, after flowing through a delightful part of the county, joins the Weever near Northwich. The House was erected in 1612, the tenth year of the reign of James I., and retains all the principal features of its original character, in the peculiar style of its architecture. On the north front are bold projections, terminating in pointed gables, with windows labelled ; the mullions also are of stone. Until within these few years, the whole was surrounded by a moat, now filled up. Some alterations and considerable improvements have been made by its pre sent possessor, from designs by, and under the direction of Webb, particularly with regard to the interior, where the arrangements have been calculated to increase the convenience, without destroying the effect, of an ancient family residence. The Morning-room, so called, is panelled with old oak, and cor responds in its decoration with the early date of the mansion. The plate represents the south front, upon which is a large bay window, much admired. The home view over the rich valley of the Dane, is picturesque and beautiful, having in the back-ground a chain of hills between those striking objects, Mole Cop and Cloud End ; the former elevated 1091 feet above the sea at low-water mark. Somerford-Booths is a township of the parish of Astbury, in- the hundred of Macclesfield. In the mother church of Astbury, one mile from Congleton, are monuments of the Swetenham family, who are of considerable antiquity in this county, tracing their lineal descent from the early period of Edward I., and which appears in an emblazoned pedigree on vellum, in possession of the family. y v3 Mote i^all, <&bt&Mvt; the seat of RANDLE WILBRAHAM, ESQ. This Seat was long in the possession of a family which derived its name from the Estate. As far back as the reign of Edward II. it was the residence of William de Rode, who bore for Arms, argent, two quatrefoils and a chief sable ; crest, a wolf's head sable, collared argent ; and whose descendant, Randle Rode, Esq. possessed it in the time of King Charles II., by whom it was sold to the Wilbrahams of Townsend, or Namptwich. The Wilbraham family is descended from Sir Richard de Wilburgham, who was sheriff of Cheshire, 43 Henry III., A. D. 1259, and married two heiresses of the houses of Vernon and of Venables, from the latter of whom the present family springs. The eldest branch, or Wilbrahams of Woodhay, terminated in an heiress, who, in 1680, married an Earl of Dysart, and carried the possessions into that family. The second branch established itself in the fifteenth century at Townsend in Namptwich ; where, as appears from King's Vale Royal, (a very- curious book, published in 1656, relating to the county of Chester,) they more than once received King James I. in his progress through the county. That House is now pulled down, and one branch of the family is settled at Delamere House, near the forest of that name, and another at Rode Hall. The present Mansion was originally erected by Randle Wilbraham, Esq., member for Newton, in Lancashire, the thirteenth in lineal descent from Sir Richard de Wilburgham aforesaid ; at whose death, in \77\, it came to his only son, who, on his marriage with the niece and heiress of Sir Thomas Bootle, of Lathom House, in Lancashire, took the name and arms of Bootle, in addition to his own. He died in 1796, and was succeeded in his Cheshire estates by his second son, the present possessor, by whom the House has been enlarged and improved ; and who has erected a large and handsome conservatory at the entrance, and has also laid out the grounds in modern style, which are beautifully sloped down to a piece of water, a mile in length. From the opposite side of the water, the House is seen to great advantage, and this is the spot chosen for our drawing. The view from the House is extensive, and commands a great part of Cheshire, with the hills of Delamere Forest, and the rock on which are the ruins of Beeston Castle. At the back of the House is the hill of Molecop, or Mowcop, which divides the counties of Stafford and Chester, and is of great height, so as to be visible from almost the whole of Cheshire. The tower on the summit is the property of Mr. Wilbraham. The Estate is situated in the township of Old Rode, in the Hundred of Northwich, within a short distance of the borders of Staffordshire, between the two roads from London to Liverpool, one passing by Congleton, the other by Brereton Green, and a mile from the Wilbraham Arms, an inn on the latter road, about one hundred and fifty-eight miles from London, and about four from the ancient town of Sandbach. The grand trunk, or Staffordshire canal, runs through a part of the estate, and leaves the county at Lawton, about two miles from Rode Hall, celebrated for its salt-works. The Arms of Wilbraham are, argent, three bends wavy, azure ; crest, a wolf's head erased, argent. y y4 Iflm/u bv J E Ueale CHE SSZELE . ¦Drsnai "byJ TwKrjlovr.Ea^. $>avca"by- S.2. which is about a mile long, and more than half a mile wide : from the opposite shore of this mere our View is taken. The Park attached to Marbury Hall, though not large, is beautifully diversified. 3-q4 BITOT? HAJL1L. (SOUTH" T^ST W£-W) CHE SHIRK Drawn \ty- J . F. We ale ¦i by W Ra.aclyffe. KATON BAjLlL,. CHES III lUv Jones k C° London . 1829. ISaton f^ali, efcsffiirt; THE SEAT OF ROBERT GROSVENOR, EARL GROSVENOR. This truly noble and beautiful Mansion is situated about three miles to the south of Chester, on the edge of an extensive Park, abounding with large and venerable timber. It was recently built by the present earl, on the site of the old Mansion, which was a square brick fabric, erected by Sir Thomas Grosvenor, in the reign of King William the Third. The fine vaulted basement story of the old Hall was preserved ; and also the external foundations, and some subdivisions ; but the super structure was altered and entirely refitted, and additional apartments erected on the north and south sides, so as to make the area of the new House twice the dimensions of the former. "The style of architecture is that of the age of Edward III., as exhibited in York Minster, which has been 'chiefly imitated on the exterior, though Mr. Porden, the architect, has occasionally availed himself of the low Tudor arch, and the forms of any other age, that suited his purpose, which was to adapt the rich variety of our ancient ecclesiastical architecture to modern domestic convenience. " Round the turrets, and in various parts of the parapets, are shields, charged in relievo with the armorial bearings of the Grosvenor family, and of other ancient families, that, by intermarriages, the Grosvenors are entitled to quarter with their own. — The windows, which are rich in tracery, are of cast iron, moulded on both sides, and grooved to receive the glass. The walls, battlements, and pinnacles are of stone, of a light and beautiful colour. " The entrance to the House is in the centre of the west front, under a vaulted porch, which admits a carriage to the steps that lead to the Hall, a spacious and lofty Room, occupying the height of two stories, with a groined ceiling, embellished with the Grosvenor Arms and other devices, in the bosses that cover the junction of the ribs. The pavement is of variegated marbles in compartments. At the end of the Hall, a screen of five arches supports a Gallery that connects the Bed chambers on the north side of the House with those on the south, which are sepa rated by the elevation of the Hall. Under this Gallery two open arches to the right and left conduct to the Grand Staircase, the State Bed-room, and the second Staircase ; and opposite to the door of the Hall is the entrance to the Saloon. The Grand Staircase is highly ornamented with niches and canopies, and with tracery under the landings, and in the principal ceiling, which is crowned with a double skylight of various coloured glass. The steps of the second Staircase, with its tracery and balustrade, are all of cast iron. The State Bed-room is lighted by two painted windows, with tracery and armorial bearings, and contains a magnificent bed. On entering the Saloon, the eye is struck with the splendour of three lofty painted windows, which contain, in six divisions, the portraits of the Conqueror's nephew, Gilbert le Grosvenor, the founder of the Grosvenor family, and his lady ; of William the Conqueror, with whom Gilbert came into England ; the Bishop of Bayeux, uncle to the Conqueror; the heiress of the House of Eaton; and Sir Robert le Grosvenor, who distinguished himself in the wars of Edward III., and more particularly by his legal contest with Sir Richard le Scroope, for the family arms — Azure, a bend, or. The cause was tried before the High Constable and the Earl Marshal of England, in the reign of Richard II., and lasted three years : kings, princes of the blood, most of the nobility, and among the gentry, Chaucer the poet, gave evidence on this trial. " The Saloon is a square of thirty feet, formed into an octagon by arches across the angles, which give to the vaultings a beautiful form. The chimney-piece is of statuary marble, and opposite to it is an organ, both highly decorated. On the left of the Saloon is an ante-room that leads to the Dining-room, and on the right, an other that leads to the Drawing room : the windows of these rooms are glazed with a light Mosaic tracery, and exhibit the portraits of the six Earls of Chester, who, after Hugh Lupus, governed Cheshire as a county Palatine, till Henry III. be stowed the title on his son Edward ; since which time the eldest sons of the Kings of England have always been earls of Chester. cc " The Dining-room, situated at the northern extremity of the east front, is about 50 feet long, and 30 wide, exclusive of a Bay window of five arches, the opening of which is 30 feet. In the centre window is the portrait of Hugh Lupus ; which with the six Earls of Chester, in the ante-room windows, were executed by Messrs. Davenport, of Longport, Staffordshire, from cartoons by Mr. Singleton. The ceiling is of bold and rich tracery, with coats of arms properly blazoned, and a large ornamented pendant for a chandelier. " The Drawing-room, which is at the southern extremity of the east front, is of the same form and dimensions as the Dining-room, with the addition of a large window that looks to the south, and commands a view of the groves and fertile meadows of Eaton, with the village and spire of Oldford above them. All the windows of this room are adorned with the heads and figures of the ancestors of the family ; also the portraits of the present earl and countess, in a beautiful brown chiaroscuro, executed by Messrs. Bachelor and Silk, of Newman-street. The ceiling is tracery of the nicest materials and workmanship, where all the coats, borne by the Grosvenor family, are blazoned in their proper colours, and also the arms of Egerton, earl of Wilton, the father of the present Countess Grosvenor." The Arms of Egerton appear in various parts of the House, and will mark the date of this fabric to future antiquaries, if all other memorials should be forgotten or destroyed. The colour of the saloon is blue, the ante-dining-room light blue, the dining-room of a bright scarlet ; the ante-drawing-room is hung with light blue satin, the drawing-room with crimson velvet; the curtains and draperies are of crimson and gold satin, with gold tassels and fringes, disposed in a striking and picturesque manner by Messrs. Gillow, under the direction of Joseph Kay, Esq., architect to the General Post Office. All the other furniture of these apartments is the work of the same artificers, and appropriate to the particular style of the Mansion. The vistas from the Dining room, through the two ante-rooms and the saloon, to the south window of the Drawing room, and in the opposite direction from the Drawing room to the Dining room, terminating with the splendidly fur nished sideboard of plate, perhaps cannot be exceeded in novelty and variety by any thing of the kind in England. The Library is in the centre of the south front ; the ceiling and the large bow- window, with their ornaments, are in the same style as the rooms already described, but less rich ; the book-cases, with the arches, tracery, buttresses, pinnacles, and battlements, are of English oak. Lady Grosvenor's sitting-room is the only room on this floor with square-headed windows and a flat ceiling, and is an apartment of singular beauty. The middle window of the saloon opens to a vaulted cloister, occupying the space between the Dining and Drawing room in the east Front, which affords a sheltered walk in all weathers. A flight of steps leads from the Cloister to a spacious Terrace, 350 feet long, laid out in gravel walks and beds of flowers ; from whence other steps, at each end and in the middle, descend to the gardens and pleasure grounds, which are disposed with great taste. The view from the Terrace is rich and various : in the foreground, the groves, the gardens, and the green-house; immediately beyond them, the meads and the noble inlet of the Dee, (made by the present Earl to supply the want of the natural river,) with its pleasure-yachts, forming at times a lively moving picture. The superb painted windows in the Saloon, executed by Mr. W. Collins, of the Strand, reflect the highest praise on that gentleman, who also made the celebrated Heraldic Lustre, suspended in the Saloon, containing twelve shields, with the arms of the most distinguished branches of the Grosvenor family, from the Con quest, commencing with that of William the Conqueror. The elegant lustre in the Drawing room was also made by Mr. Collins. The principal approach to the House is from the west, through a triple avenue, formed by four rows of majestic limes ; and it has lately been continued to the road leading from Chester to Wrexham, (a length of nearly two miles,) and terminated by a noble Lodge, called Belgrave-Lodge, and built in the same style as the House. Earl Grosvenor was born in 1767, and in 1794 married Eleanor, only daughter of Thomas, Earl of Wilton, by whom he has issue, Richard, Viscount Belgrave, born in 1795 ; Thomas, Earl of Wilton, born in 1799 ; and other children. His Lordship possesses one of the richest collections of pictures in the kingdom, which, with the greatest liberality, the public are permitted to inspect, at his noble mansion in Upper Grosvenor-street. His library has been estimated at 50,000Z. cc 2 LYME HALL. CHESHIRE Kvigrwdi "bj W "Wallis JLTM E HALL WORTH FRONT CHRSniflE & C° Temple of ihe Muses. Fmsbury Square. London, Apr: U%mt f^all, Whttfbixt; THE seat of THOMAS LEGH, ESQ, M.P. The north-east part of this county, comprising the Hundred of Macclesfield, is exceedingly bold in its scenery. A succession of lofty eminences forms a portion of the connected chain of hills extending into Derbyshire, where they assume a rugged aspect, and farther north rise into mountains. Lyme Park is about four miles from Whaley Bridge, over the little river Goyt, which forms the boundary of the county. The Village of Disley is distant about a mile from Lyme Park, and the road, from thence is pleasing and secluded. At this point is the remains of a grand entrance Gate, opening originally to the road leading to the North Front of the Mansion, but now disused. The present Lodge, about a quarter of a mile farther, is neat, but unimportant in its character. A broad and gently winding road, more than a mile in length, displays the peculiar features of the Park, which is extensive, and partakes of the wild and romantic scenery of the neighbouring country. It is celebrated for the fine flavour of its venison, and contains a herd of wild cattle, the remains of a breed which has been kept here from time immemorial, and is supposed indigenous. The venerable Mansion, built of dark-coloured stone, is situated in a dell, and is not discerned from the road, until approached very near ; screened by the high grounds of the Park, and backed by noble woods, it defies the wintry blast. Before the North Front is a large Entrance Court, enclosed with handsome iron palisades, entered by an ancient gate, ornamented on its piers with cumbent lions and eagles. Originally erected in the reign of Elizabeth, the characteristic features of that interesting period are observed in the plan of the House, and in the principal part of the North Front, the details of which are minutely represented in our view. The centre compartment, in which is the Entrance Porch, with stone seats on either side, is rich in architectural ornament, of the grotesque or mixed kind which then prevailed, and bears the chief armorial quarterings, of the family, eight in number, with the motto " En Dieu et ma foi." Above this is a dial, and the whole is finished with an open pediment enclosing Minerva, which termination was the work of Giacomo Leoni, who also cased the extremities of this Front, and made considerable alterations in other parts of the building about the year 1726. The North Front most probably was originally surmounted by an open parapet. The architecture of the wings is of the Corinthian order, in fine proportion, a want of harmony with the venerable centre is the only objection. Leoni was a classical architect, and his acquirements corresponded with the progressive state of art at the time he lived ; we have therefore had occasion to praise his taste in Man sions entirely of his construction, but here his talents were certainly misapplied. The modern repairs have been conducted with reference to the sera in which the Mansion was built, and great improvements have been made by the present pro prietor in the spirit of the founder, under the able direction of Mr. Lewis Wyatt. These restorations are particularly apparent on the East Front, broken by numerous projections, and surmounted by statues of Actseon and Diana. On this side is a handsome Conservatory, 120 feet long. The South Front is entirely the work of Leoni; it is raised upon a rusticated basement, and in the centre is adorned with a noble portico, which, as well as the whole elevation, is of the Ionic order. A Lantern Tower rises above, surmounted by balustrades of stone. On the pediment are statues of Venus, Neptune, and Pan. A piece of water before this Front has lately been filled up, and the Bowl ing Green destroyed. A pari of the old walls and gate are still standing on the verge of the wood, opposite the front. The West side has also been restored by the present proprietor. On this Front is a Terrace, forming a Lawn, with a pedestal and vase in the centre. In the Grounds below, a fountain is constantly playing, and the gentle murmur of a waterfall is heard rushing from the woods in the Swine Park. The Mansion surrounds a Court or Quadrangle, in the manner of ancient times. cc3 The Hall is spacious ; its decorations are of the Ionic order, and upon the cor nice are displayed the wide-spreading horns of the red deer. On the chimney- piece of stone, are sculptured helmets and swords. The dogs used for burning wood, and the fender, are ancient and fine. Above, are hung two ancient helmets, a sword and a pair of spurs, ^said to have been worn by Perkin a Legh, at the battle of Cressy. There are also full-length portraits of Edw. III. and the Black Prince. The Apartments, which are of fine dimensions, are en suite upon the principal story, viz. the Drawing-room, the Stag Parlour, the Dining-room, the Ante-room, the Library, the Saloon, the State Bed-room, the Mahogany Bed-room, the Velvet and Yellow Bed-rooms, with corresponding Dressing-rooms, are also upon this floor, and mostly hung with tapestry. , The Grand Staircase is of oak, with a handsome ceiling adorned with rich pen dents, and the armorial ensign of the family, — a hand bearing a banner. It leads to the upper Gallery, in which is the Knight's North-east Bed-room, the Crimson Bed-room, and a noble chamber, 119 feet in length, fronting the east, in which there are many old family portraits. The chimneypiece, in the centre, is very large, of the time of Elizabeth, with the Royal Arms and supporters in high relief over it. The Steward's room, kitchen, and offices, are upon the ground-floor. The Gallery of Communication, which is continued all round the Quadrangle, contains casts from the Phigalian Marbles, Antique Frieses, comprehending the contest between the Centaurs and Lapithse, and the Greeks and the Amazons, which formerly ornamented the Cella of the Temple of Apollo Epicurus, at Phi- galia,'in Arcadia. The Drawing Room, situated at the North East angle of the building, is about 40 feet square. The ceiling is panelled, and very richly ornamented ; Ionic columns support the entablature of the chimney-piece, above which are caryatides bearing a pediment, and enclosing a compartment filled with the arms and supporters of Queen Elizabeth, very large. Three windows on the North side contain many coats of arms and quarterings of Legh, and of the family connexions, in ancient stained glass, while on the East is a most glorious Oriel, the mullioned compart ments of which are completely filled with this splendid embellishment, comprising a series of the quartered coats of arms of the Knights of the Garter in 1586, all in ancient glass. This window is one of the handsomest of the kind in the kingdom. The most curious apartment is The Stag Parlour, so called from its decorations. The room is hung with tapestry, and the furniture, as in many other parts of the house, is coeval with its foundation. The ceiling is panelled, and round the room below the cornice, are twelve ornamental compartments in relief, representing the hunting of the s'tag, painted in their proper colours. The ancient Chimney-piece is particularly curious : it is in three compartments ; in the first are the arms and quarterings of the family, all properly blazoned. In the second is the Royal Arms, between the allegorical figures of Peace and Plenty. In the third is a view of the North front of Lyme Hall, in its original state. On the top appears a large Louvre, or lantern, which was taken down, and erected in the plantation on the east side of the House, where it now stands in what is called the Lantern Wood. In the front of the House is represented the custom formerly observed here about Midsummer, of driving the deer round the Park, and collecting them in a body before the House, swimming the whole through the water. The Grand Dining Room, on the East front, is very handsome. In the deep Bay Window is an antique marble fountain supported by a statue. The ceiling is highly ornamented ; over the doors are crests, and some rich carvings by Gibbons, taste fully introduced. In the Library are antique basso-relievos, brought from Greece by the present proprietor, and inserted within the wall with busts over the book-cases. The Saloon is a spacious apartment, panelled with oak, and divided into compartments by Corinthian columns, between which are emblems of the Sciences, Field Sports, &c, carved by Grinling Gibbons. In the numerous apartments is a large collection of Family Portraits, and other pictures. The domestic chapel is situated at the North East angle of the house. The Manor and Estate at Lyme was originally granted to Perkin a Legh, for his service at the battle of Cressy, and during the wars in France. After the death of Edward III., and his son, the Black Prince, he served with the same fidelity, King Richard II., but was taken at Chester, and beheaded by Henry Duke of Lancaster, who ordered his head to be set upon one of the loftiest towers of Chester. In a chapel at Mac clesfield, belonging to the Leghs of Lyme, is his Monument, containing also the body of Sir Piers, his son, repaired by Sir Peter Legh, Knt. of Lyme, in 1626. Sir Thomas Legh, Knt. was slain at the battle of Blore Heath, in 1459, where the Cheshire men are known to have been the greatest sufferers. Thomas Legh, Esq., the present proprietor of Lyme Hall, is the Representative in Parliament for Newton, in Lancashire. cc4 SK1I4 S UTIaIa. CITMBF.B.LABU €A $ T JL. K . CraCHTCTlLATTT). Jrncs.& C? Temple of the Muses, i-mabury Square. London. Feb 20, 1830 gfttrggiil, ^umtjerlaittj; the seat of HUGH PARKIN, ESQ. Skirsgill is delightfully situated upon the northern bank of the Eamont, a short but beautiful river, flowing from the Lake of UUswater, which lies four miles to the west, and, after watering the rich and fertile vale of the same name, joins the Eden, forming in all a course of about ten miles. The house stands in the parish of Dacre, only one mile from the town of Penrith, and, in point of situation, possesses many advantages. The estate formerly belonged to the family of Whelpdales, of whom it was purchased, towards the end of the last century, by the present proprietor, who, in the year 1795, built the present Mansion, near the site of the old one. It is a red hewn-stone building, containing the principal apartments upon the ground-floor ; they consist of a Hall, Dining-room, Drawing-room, Library, and Morning-room, of well-proportioned dimensions, with an appropriate number of excellent bed-rooms. The grounds are greatly indebted to nature for their beauty and variety ; they comprise some delightfully shady walks along the banks of the river Eamont, commanding many very pleasing views, which are not a little enhanced by the grey towers of Yarwarth, rising from a well-wooded bank, on the West moreland side of the river. Upon the sloping lawn, shewn with the south front, in our plate, is a remark ably fine spring, which was formerly held in such veneration by the peasantry, that a sort of annual fair was held round its margin. The surrounding country possesses great beauty ; its surface is finely varied with hill and dale, generally well-wooded, and terminated on the east and west by a lofty range of mountains, which form an exquisite back-ground to the picturesque scenery with which it abounds. N W Cortog Caatlc, Cumtarlatrtr : THE SEAT OF HENRY HOWARD, ESQ Although not now possessing the character and appearance of a fortress, this elegant Mansion occupies the site of an ancient Castle, and actually consists, in part of the very walls of a large square Tower, such as was not an unfrequent object upon the Marches in early times. It stands on the summit of precipit ous cliff, overhanging the east side of the river Eden, about five miles east from Carlisle. The rocky, but richly wooded, banks of the Eden, both above and below Corby, are the delight of every visitor to this part of the kingdom. The following lines, written by David Hume, about 1750, upon a pane of glass at the Old Bush inn, at Carlisle, were communicated to Mr. Howard by Sir Walter Scott ':— " Here chicks, in eggs for breakfast, sprawl, Here godless boys, God's glories squall, While Scotsmen's heads adorn the wall — But Corby's walks atone for all." The very beautiful scenery of the pleasure-grounds at this seat, has been most admirably kept up by plantations, and other minor improvements, while fresh charms have been elicited by the tasteful judgment of its later proprietors. The view, represented in our plate, was taken from a finished sketch by Miss Catherine Howard, one of the daughters of the present possessor, and shews the south front, on the towering eminence, with the river dashing over its rocky bed at its base. The mansion was made uniform, and entirely cased with stone, after the Grecian Doric Order, in 1813 : all the ancient walls of the Castle are more than six feet in thickness. The Castle and Demesne were purchased, in the reign of Henry VII. by Lord William Howard, 3rd son of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk ; the " belted Will Howard" of Border History, who gave it to Sir Francis Howard, Knight, his second son, the direct ancestor of the present possessor. Besides the valuable collection of Pictures, which comprise many of the illustrious possessors of Corby Castle, (but which are too numerous to be particularized here,) the following curiosities are well worthy of notice : — A square Tablet in the Hall, dug out of the ruins of Hyde Abbey, near Win chester, inscribed "Alfredus Rex, 881 :" — The Grace Cup of Thomas a Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, particularly described in the Archeeologia, and which was bequeathed by will from Lord Edward Howard, the Admiral, to King Henry VIII., whom he survived. It is of ivory, mounted in silver gilt, and set with precious stones : round the cup, in ancient characters, is " UtltUttt tUUttf Jltfie CUItt gattiHO ;" and on the cover is the admonition, *' J^Ofirit £0tOt£ :" — Another very curious Cup, formed of a Nautilus shell, mounted in silver, and set with stones and pearls, of very ancient workmanship ; certainly as old as Edward the Third's reign : — Also, the Claymore of Major Macdonald, ihe Fergus MTvor of Waverley. In the Church of Wetheral, on the opposite side of the river, is a most ele gant monument, to the memory of Maria Howard, the daughter and co-heiress of Lord Archer, who died in 1789. Nollekens was the sculptor. N N 2 BAMdiB ©ROWEL HAMj, JJERJ31TSBXK.E < '6 < 'ETR.IB G-E IO¥ SE DIEKBYSmRE, iWi by J T? "Neale Ene-raved. "by AV JRacLctyff e tissiigtoj hail: D.ERRTSHTRE. Joocs & C? TemDle of: trie Muses. Fincbury Square , London., Ja.u 30. 1 THE SEAT OF RICHARD CAVENDISH, LORD WATERPARK. This Seat stands upon a rising ground, and is remarkable for its fine situation, commanding a view of the town of Uttoxeter, distant about a mile and a half of the river Dove, which divides this county from Staffordshire, flowing through rich pastures that extend along its banks, and of a range of distant hills, on the opposite side of the valley. The foundations of the Mansion were laid on the 6th of July, 1769, by the Right Honourable Sir Henry Cavendish, Bart, the grandfather of the present noble proprietor. The elevation is handsome, the basement story is of stone, from which rise six pilasters, also of stone, which support a pediment ; the rest of the front is brick. Doveridge was held by Edwine, the ninth and last Earl of Mercia, at the time of the Norman Conquest. But this prince being betrayed and slain, it was given to Henry de Ferrars. Berta, his wife, founded a Priory at Tutbury, in Staffordshire, and endowed it with lands of considerable value, in Doveridge. When this religious house was dissolved, in the time of King Edward VI., these lands were granted to Sir William Cavendish. The Right Honourable Sir Henry Cavendish, Bart, married in 1757> Sarah, heiress of Richard Bradshaw, Esq. descended from the Lord President Bradshaw. She was created Baroness Waterpark, June 14th, 1792. Her eldest son, the present Peer, succeeded to the title in 1807, upon the death of his mother. His Lordship is descended from a branch of the same family as the Dukes of Devonshire. Sir Henry Cavendish, of Doveridge House, was created a Baronet in 1755 ; and accompanied his relation, William, Duke of Devonshire, to Ireland, when his Grace was Lord Lieutenant. By him he was appointed a Teller of the Exchequer, and a Privy Counsellor. Sir Henry became also possessed of large estates in Ireland, by his marriage in 1730, with Anne, only daughter and heiress of Henry, son of Sir Richard Pyne, of Waterpark, County Cork, and of Codham Hall, Essex, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. He died in 1776* and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Henry Cavendish, before- mentioned. bb3 THE SEAT OF SIR HENRY FITZHERBERT, BART. The entrance-gate to this ancient Mansion is about four miles from the town of Ashborne, on the road from thence to Buxton, and opens to a remarkably fine avenue, more than half a mile in length, but which is not continued quite up to the house. On the left of this avenue is a clump of trees, under which it is said Congreve wrote one of his comedies. The carriage front, represented in the View, is towards the village, having before it a court, enclosed by a wall, and a curious gateway, coeval with the house, consisting of an arch, surmounted by a bold cornice, almost concealed by the woodbine which has entwined the fret work of the parapet. The Mansion was most probably erected in the latter end of the reign of Elizabeth ; a few alterations in the windows are evident, but it otherwise preserves its original character ; the whole is of stone. Over the arch of the entrance-porch, is a square compartment, sculptured with the family arms, viz. Gules, three lions rampant, or ; within a mantle, above which is the helmet and crest, an arm and gauntlet erect ; within the porch are several pieces of old armour, and the heraldic bearing again blazoned in proper colours. The porch opens to a very handsome dining-room, panelled with oak, but coloured white. The chimney-piece reaches to the ceiling, and is very much admired, both on account of its elegance and just design, and also of the beauty of its workman ship. It is built of the Hopton-wood stone in this county. The western drawing-room is of a more modern construction, and is furnished in very good taste. The pictures are — a very good copy of Raphael's Holy Family; a portrait of Mrs. Fitzherbert, wife of William Fitzherbert, Esq. M.P. and daughter of Lyttleton Meynell, Esq. of Bradley Hall, in this county. This is the lady, of whose understanding and talents Dr. Johnson has so highly spoken in several of his works — it is a very good picture by Hudson. A portrait of the late Sir William Fitzherbert, painted at Rome by Battoni, when he was travelling with the late Duke of Devonshire. A portrait of Sir William's sister, Selina, wife of the late Henry Gaily Knight, Esq. of Langoed and Firbeck, in York shire ; and a portrait of Lord St. Helens, both by Angelica Kauffman. Two full-length pictures of the late King and Queen, by Romney. A portrait of the present Lady Fitzherbert, by Sir William Beechey ; and an excellent bust of Lord St. Helens, by Noliekens, one of the latest works of that celebrated sculptor. Over this dining-room, is a room lighted by the fine mullioned bay-window above the porch. The chimneys are composed of short columns with Doric mouldings. On the garden front of the Mansion is a fine open view of the country towards Ashborne. The family of Fitzherbert have been seated at Tissington ever since the reign of King Henry V. ; and at Norbury and Somerset Herbert, in this county, since the Conquest. John, a younger son of Sir Nicholas Fitzherbert, of Tissington, was sheriff of Derbyshire, in 1602. Sir John, his son, served the same office in 1624 : his lineal descendant, William Fitzherbert, Esq. of Tissington, was M.P. for Derby, in 1762, and, in 1768, Recorder of the same place, and a Lord of Trade and Plantations ; he was the intimate friend and companion of Johnson, Burke, Garrick, and all the celebrated literati of the last age ; his only surviving son is the Right Honourable Alleyne Fitzherbert, Lord St. Helens. William, his eldest son, was Recorder of Derby, and, in 1783, was created a Baronet ; he died in 1791, and was succeeded by Sir Anthony Perrin Fitzherbert, Bart, who died in 1799, and was succeeded by his brother, Sir Henry Fitzherbert, the present Baronet. BB 4 IB1LESIOI. DERBYSHIRE ]>i«n try J P Tfeale [AIR IK II' ', All' OF Iff A 1L L,. ii i.'R p ys n I k r Jones A'.' (.'; Temple ol lie Mu:.e:., Kinsbury Square. Londoa. JaiiJ 2'?.;]81i. THE SEAT OF LORD SCARSDALE. Kedleston House is situated about three miles from Derby, and is, without doubt, one of the most chaste and elegant edifices in the kingdom. It was built about fifty years ago by the late Lord Scarsdale ; the architect was Adams, who has here displayed his utmost skill and ingenuity. The north front is 130 feet in length ; and consists of a centre, and two pavilions, which are connected with the body of the house by two corridors. In the centre is a double flight of steps, which leads to a grand portico formed of six Corinthian columns, thirty feet high, and three feet in diameter, some of which are of one stone. The Hall is uncommonly striking : its dimensions are 67 feet 3 inches, by 42 feet ; on each side are eight fluted pillars of variegated marble of the country, and two at each end, all of the Corinthian order, 25 feet high, and 2 feet 6 inches diameter. Behind the columns are fine antique statues in niches, over which are basso-relievos in compartments, covered with festoons ; the ceiling is richly ornamented with paintings and relievos, after the antique. The Saloon, which is circular, is 42 feet in diameter, 54 feet 6 inches high, 24 feet 6 inches to the cornice, which is extremely elegant ; and crowned with a dome, ornamented with rich stucco-work. The Music-room is 36 feet by 24, and 22 feet high. In this room is the triumph of Bacchus, a large and capital piece by Luca Giordani ; an old man's head, by Rembrandt ; Bacchus and Ariadne, byGuido; and other paintings. From this room, a corridor, hung with elegant prints, leads to the family apart ments. The Breakfast-room is painted from the antique in Dioclesiah's baths.— —The Grand Drawing-room is 44 feet by 28, and 28 feet high, with a covered ceiling after the antique ; a Venetian window and portals, finished with Corinthian columns of Derbyshire alabaster. In this room, as indeed in all the others, are many capital pictures by Raphael, Claude, Cuyp, &c. The Library is of the same dimensions as the Music-room ; over the chimney-piece is Rembrandt's celebrated picture of Daniel interpreting Belshazzar's dream. The Dining-room is 36 feet by 24, and 20 feet high, the ceiling painted by Zucchi. The centre represents Love embracing Fortune, by Morland; four circles, by Zucchi, represent the four quarters of the globe ; and four squares, by Hamilton, the four seasons. The corridor on this side, which is used as a chapel, leads to a gallery overlooking the kitchen, which is 48 feet by 24, and lofty ; over the chimney-piece is the significant motto — " Waste not, want not." The Park is nearly seven miles in circumference, and contains some of the finest trees in the kingdom. The house stands upon a rising ground, and from the north, or principal front, a beautiful green turf slopes down some hundred yards to the edge of a fine piece of water. This is a broad canal, which winds for nearly two miles through the park.' An elegant bridge of three arches has been thrown over it : cascades and small islands are formed at various distances. The noble family of Curzon are descended from Geraldine de Curzon, who accompanied William the Conqueror to England. The first account of the family being seated at Kedleston is in the time of Edward I. John Curzon was created a baronet by Charles I. in 1641, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Nathaniel Curzon, who died March 4, 1719, having married, Sarah, daughter of William Penn, of Penn, Buckinghamshire, and by her, who died in 1728, had issue, Sir John, who, dying without issue, was succeeded by his brother, Sir Nathaniel Curzon, the fourth baronet. He died in 1758, and was succeeded by his son, Nathaniel, created Baron Scarsdale, of Scarsdale, Derbyshire, June 9, 1761. U U JUarfteatott J^all, Mtxb&tfbixt; THE SEAT OF FRANCIS MUNDY, ESQ. Markeaton, in the hundred of Morleston, lies about one mile and a half north west from the town of Derby. This estate has been in the possession of the family of Mundy from the early period of Henry VIII. Sir John Mundy, Knight, was Lord Mayor of the city of London in the year 1522 ; he died in 1537, at which time he possessed not only the manors of Markeaton, Mack- worth, and Allestry, but a considerable extent of land at Little Chester, a Roman station, in this county, and at Findern, which latter is about four miles and a half south-west from Derby. The mansion is large, and appears to have been erected about the year 1720 ; the centre is ornamented with a pediment, and vases are ranged on the parapet ; besides which, there is little of architec tural decoration : the whole is constructed of red brick, with stone quoins, and casings to the windows ; some additions of a modern character appear on the north side. The house fronts the east, and commands a beautiful view of the grounds, which are well wooded, and adorned by a fine piece of water, on the opposite side of which rises a small eminence covered with plantations. Our View of the Mansion was taken in the meadow, near the water, directly opposite the principal front. Francis Mundy, Esq., of this place, was High Sheriff for Derby in 1617, and John Mundy, Esq. in 1659 and 60. He was succeeded in his estate by Francis Mundy, Esq., who was also High Sheriff in 1694. The late Francis Noel Clarke Mundy, Esq. of Markeaton, published, in 1768, a collection of poems of great merit, and was also the author of a long and beautiful description of Needwood Forest, written in four-feet couplets. He married, in 1770, Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of Sir Robert Burdett, Bart., of Foremark, in this county. He was chosen High Sheriff for Derbyshire in 1772, and died in 1815. The Grand Jury of the County, regarding his merit in a superior light, placed a well-executed bust of him by Chantry in the County Hall, with an inscription recording his character and public services. His father was member of Parliament for the town of Leicester ; and his cousin, the late Edward Miller Munday, Esq., of Shipley, three miles from Derby, was the father of the late Duchess of Newcastle. Markeaton is a township belonging to the parish of Mackworth, situated in a remarkably healthful part of the county, but in consequence of the inhabitants removing to Mackworth, this hamlet is said to have declined. The Church is a neat structure with a spire, and the chancel is very handsome. The population, in 1811, consisted of one hundred and ninety-nine persons. The gallant Lord Audley, who was so instrumental in obtaining the glorious victory at Poictiers, in the twentieth year of the reign of Edward III., is thought by Pilkington, who wrote a history of Derbyshire in 1789, to have resided at Markeaton, and he quotes Stowe's Annals to prove, that in the 27th year of the reign of Edward I., Touchet Lord Audley held Merton, in this county. uu2 EI.¥AST!!)H HALL, DERBY SHIR E. i:#sM<&& F.-n&ra-ywl "by J. RofiE S II T T ffi H HALL, I.) EHUIS H IKE. Jones & C° Temple of lie Muses Hnsbury Square. London. !Stoa0tmt f|all 3&tx*$$bixt ; THE SEAT OF THE EARL OF HARRINGTON. This mansion is situated four miles south-east from Derby, and is approached by a very fine avenue above a mile in length. Our View of the principal front was taken from the low parapet wall which surrounds the lawn, and shews the small part of the ancient seat, since rebuilt in a style corresponding with the centre and the other wing. These have been re-erected by the present Earl of Harrington, from designs by the late James Wyatt, by Mr. Walker, architect. The stables, &c. have been also rebuilt in a very handsome manner. The new Entrance-hall is particularly striking; the roof is groined, and covered with tracery; on the side are two beautiful niches; and, at the end, is a complete suit of tilting armour of the time of Elizabeth : the new Drawing-room is hung with tapestry, representing the story of Don Quixote ; three large subjects. The fine screens are also of tapestry, and the furniture of every room is richly gilt, and blue damask. The Dining-room in the old wing is panelled white and gold : the chimney-piece bears the arms and quarterings of Stanhope, with the crest in an upper compartment. In the Servants'-hall is another fine old chimney-piece, carved with armorial decorations : here is also that emblem of hospitality and good living, a Black Jack, containing about eight gallons, blazoned with the initial H. and coronet. The Gardens are chiefly laid out in the ancient manner, with vases and statues interspersed amid the foliage. The Church of Elvaston is near the Hall; it is dedicated to St. Bartholomew, and formerly belonged to the priory of Shelford, in Nottinghamshire. The manor, in the reign of Edward IV., belonged to Walter Blunt, Lord Mountjoy, of Thurvaston, K.G., and afterwards to the family of Pole, of Radburn. In 1539, the 30th year of the reign of Henry VIII., Elvaston was granted to Sir Michael Stanhope. Sir John Stanhope, eldest son of Sir John Stanhope, of Shelford, byhis second marriage, resided at Elvaston ; he died 29th May, 1638, and was buried under a marble monument in the church here. John Stanhope, Esq., his successor, died 26th March, 1662, and is also buried at Elvaston : his only son, John, had three sons, Thomas, Charles, and William ; the youngest, at length, succeeded to the whole property, and was created Lord Harrington in 1729, (a barony formerly in another branch of the family,) and on the 9th February, 1742, was advanced to the titles of Earl of Harrington and Viscount Petersham ; he died in 1756. William, second Earl of Harrington, married Caroline, eldest daughter of Charles, Duke of Grafton, by whom he had Charles, the third Earl of Harrington. &omt of ttft Principal $trtum at lEIbastott f&all. A portrait of the Duke of Schomberg — James Creston, Esq. a commander, in 1588 — Queen Ca tharine, holding a portrait of Charles II. — Sir Walter Raleigh ; Zucchero — Charles II. when a boy, in armour — George Villiers, Duke of Buck ingham — Lady Rochester, and Mrs. E. Gwynn — Peter the Great — Duchess of Leinster — Lady Caroline Stanhope, three daughters of the Earl of Harrington, painted by Stroehling in 1819 — A head of Philip II. of Spain ; Titian — A portrait of Edward VI. — A portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds — Gen. Pichegru ; Baron de Totpinx. 1803 — Charles II., James, Duke of York, and the Princess Mary, after Vandyck — Queen Henrietta Maria ; ditto — John, Archduke of Austria — Frederick the Great, of Prussia, half-length ; H. Frank, 1766 — George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham — William, Duke of Somerset, a boy; Lely — Mary, Princess of Orange — •Charles II. when young, with a bow — Queen of Bohemia — Charles II.— Boors playing at bowls ; D. Teniers — George III. a miniature — Edward VI. when a child — Isabella, first Duchess of Grafton, and her son Charles, the 2nd Duke — Countess of Harrington ; Sir J. Reynolds — Chs. II. u u 3 Philip II. of Spain — Henry, Prince of Wales; Corn. Jansen — Five children of Charles I — Wil liam, first Earl of Harrington — The portrait of Sir Mich. Fleming, Bart, of Brompton, Middlesex — Lady Fleming — the father and mother of the Countess of Harrington — John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester — The Emperor Napoleon, mounted — Lord Petersham, when a child — Duke of Grafton — Hon. Augustus Stanhope, the youngest son of the Earl of Harrington, painted by Lady Caroline Stanhope — Countess of Sunderland ; Lely — Sketch of Col. Maurice Carr, as president of the Abori gines, by the Earl of Leicester, in 1788 — A view of Conway Castle, and other drawings, by the Countess of Harrington — Mary de Medicis — Philip, Earl of Chesterfield, in crayons— Chas. Edward, called the Young Pretender — Countess of Har rington and her daughter Maria, afterwards Duch ess of Newcastle — La Duchesse de Cherruse ; Chr. Vanderwerf— Charles the Twelfth, of Swe den — William, Duke of Gloucester— Charles II. in armour — Prince Rupert, in armour — James VI. leaving Scotland — Mary, Queen of Scots, (a copy from an original,) by Lady Caroline Stanhope — &c. button fiall Herfcggfcto ; THE SEAT OF THE EARL OF ORMOND. Sutton Hall is magnificent in its appearance, being a finely proportioned specimen of the richest order in architecture. The centre of the garden front, given in our view, is marked by an angular pediment, containing the arms of the founder, Leake, Earl of Scarsdale : fourteen fluted Corinthian pilasters, rising from the very base of the building, support a bold blocked cornice, sur mounted by balustrades, and continued round the whole edifice, which is large and nearly square; the apartments are noble in size and proportions, and elegantly finished in their decorations. Standing upon an elevated site, the mansion commands many very beautiful views of the surrounding country. It is situated in the hundred of Scarsdale, three miles and a half south-east of Chesterfield, and near the town of Bolsover. Sutton has been the seat of several wealthy and distinguished families. In the fourth year of King Edward II., Reginald de Grey, of Sandiacre, held the manor and estate, which he obtained by marriage with Lucy, daughter and heir of Robert de Hariston, Lord of Sutton-in-the-Dale, which, with other estates, by issue male failing, came by a female branch to the Hillarys, who took the name of Grey. John de Grey of this family, who died in the fourth year of Henry IV., had issue two daughters, Isabel and Alice, when Sir John Leake, by marrying the latter, became possessed of the Sutton estate. In the year 1611, Sir Francis Leake, Knight, his descendant, was raised by King James I. to the dignity of a Baronet : he was the sixth gentleman on whom this honour was bestowed ; and after, on the 26th of October, 1624, he was created a Baron of the realm, by the title of Lord Deincourt, of Sutton. During the civil commotions in the reign of Charles I., Lord Deincourt was eminently distinguished by his zealous attachment to his sovereign. This he shewed by sending him supplies of money; and, while Newark-upon-Trent remained one of his garrisons, gave him his cordial advice in council. Two of his sons were also officers in the royal army, and lost their lives in the service of the king. In consideration of these testimonies of loyalty, Lord Deincourt was advanced to the degree and dignity of an Earl, by the title of Earl of Scarsdale, by letters patent, bearing date at Oxford, Nov. 11, 1645, 21st of Charles I. Honours which his long-descended patrimony, by its wary accumu lation, added to his proud pedigree from the Greys, a race of old nobility, may be ascribed to a legitimate source, namely, birth, character, services, and power. After the death of King Charles I. he is related to have become so much mortified, that he clothed himself in sackcloth ; and causing his grave to be dug some years before his death, laid himself therein every Friday, exercising himself in divine meditations and prayers. Departing this life in his mansion at Sutton, April 9, 1655, he was buried in the parish church. Nicholas Leake was the fourth and last Earl of this family; he died unmarried in the year 1 736. After his decease, this mansion and estate became the property of the family of Clarke. Godfrey B. Clarke, Esq. who represented the county of Derby in several parliaments, constantly resided here, and died without issue in the year 1774 ; when his estates descended to his sister and heiress : she married Joseph Hart Pryce, Esq., who, on his accession to the property, took the name of Clarke. His only daughter and sole heiress, Ann, married, March 17, 1805, at Exmouth, Walter Butler, the late Marquess of Ormond, and eighteenth Earl of that title in Ireland. His lordship dying without issue, August 10, 1820, the title and this estate descended to his brother, James Wandesford, the nineteenth Earl of Ormond, &c. uu 4 DTJ-RTKAM Drawn "by I£ ITeale iltbI "by ~W. Ra.dcly£fe BRAKCEFETTrX CAST1I, TITIBTAM Jcme3 & C°Temple of Lhe Muses. Fmslwrj' Square . Jaai 1 1829, Mafcg 4ta0tlt» liuri) am ; THE SEAT OF WILLIAM HARRY VANE, EARL OF DARLINGTON. This large and noble pile was principally erected by John de Neville, in the year 1379, a license having been obtained from Thomas Hatfield, then Bishop of Dur ham, for that purpose : some parts of the building may be referred even to the time of the Anglo-Saxons. Many alterations, absolutely necessary, have been made, and a new arrangement given to a part of its plan, none of which materially affect its external form, which still presents an extensive and truly magnificent scene, recalling at once to our minds all our ideas of the days of romantic chivalry. The Castle occupies a rising ground, and is built on a rocky foundation ; the embattled wall, with which it is surrounded, encloses about two acres of land. The entrance to this area is on the north, by a gateway, defended by two square towers. Within this Court is the grand entrance to the Castle on the west; on the exterior are three shields, bearing the arms of the Nevilles ; the arch is groined, and has a gate with portcullis at each extremity ; this is also flanked by two square towers. There is another entrance, made by the late Earl, of a more modern character, leading to the Hall. At irregular distances, are strong bulwarks or towers, deno minated from their founders, the Clifford Tower and the Bulmer Tower : from the top of the latter is a most extensive prospect, and near the summit two large B's, for Bulmer, are cut in the stone. The Hall is uncommonly grand ; the roof is groined, and supported by columns ; at one end is a flight of steps leading to the Presence Chamber, Music Room, Billiard Room, &c. ; over this is a spacious apartment, 90 feet in length, 34 feet in breadth, and 36 feet in height: in this Chamber the ancient festivals were held, and seven hundred Knights, who held of the Nevilles, are recorded to have been entertained at one time. The Kitchen is a square of 30 feet, with an arched roof, and lighted from the centre ; there are also five windows, and a gallery running round the whole interior ; it has three chimneys, and narrow passes are cut in the massive walls, through which provisions were conveyed to the banquet. Raby Castle also contains a most curious Museum of Natural History, collected with much care, skill, and attention, by the present Countess of Darlington. The Riding House and Hunting Stables, lately erected upon the most extensive scale, deserve particular notice. The Park and pleasure-grounds, together with the new plantations formed by the noble owner, correspond in their extent and beauty with the magnificence and dignity of the Castle : many parts command most beautiful prospects over a diver sified tract of country, well wooded, whose distant eminences bound the horizon : one terrace is upwards 750 yards in length. Upon the Estate is an extensive Farm, to which the late Earl devoted much of his attention. The farm-yard is excluded from the Castle by an embattled skreen, over the gateway of which is an ancient sculpture of a Bull, bearing an ensign, with the arms of Neville ; this was removed from Buhner's Tower. The Stables and out-buildings are judiciously situated, not detracting from the grandeur of the Castle, and forming good objects in the various prospects from the grounds. Raby Castle was the chief residence of the great family of Neville, Earls of Westmoreland, and was among the estates forfeited for the rebellion in the north by Charles, the last Earl, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. King James consigned them by grant to certain citizens of London for sale, and of them the Castle and demesne of Raby were purchased by Sir Henry Vane, Knt., whose grandson, Sir Christopher, was created Baron Barnard, of Barnard Castle, in this county, July 8, 1699, by King William III. His immediate descendant, Henry, the third Lord, was by King George II. created Viscount Barnard and Earl of Darlington, by letters patent, April 3, 1754. The present Nobleman is third Earl of that title, and is also Lord Lieutenant and Vice Admiral of the County Palatine of Durham. s Mxmtttptfb i&a&flt, Hurt ant; THE SEAT OP MATTHEW RUSSELL, ESQ. M.P. The walls of this stately pile rise from a rocky precipice, nearly forty feet in height, at the foot of which winds a rivulet ; the situation and irregularity of the edifice give it a most romantic appearance when seen from the bridge whence our view was taken ; but on the other sides a moat has formerly added to the defence of the Castle, the ground being nearly level for a considerable distance. It was erected by the Bulmer family during the early part of the reign of King Stephen, and appears originally to have consisted of four quadrangular Towers, with projecting angles or buttresses, and surmounted by turrets ; intermediate walls, with their loop-holes and battlements connecting the whole structure. In the year 1398, Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, is stated to have built much of it ; and the Earl of the same title and family, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, is also said to have added much new work ; subsequent alterations and additions have contributed to the very irregular appearance it now presents. The principal Court is of an octangular form, and is entered on the north by a Gateway, flanked by two square Towers, from which to the east and west a wall and parapet connect it with the main building on the south-west side ; between the latter and the Gate of entrance on the east side are two large square Towers, with projecting buttresses, and having a small turret at the summit of each angle, sustained on corbels, open at the sides, but not in front. On the west side the wall is high, the parapet on many parts hanging on corbels ; and where the wall forms angles, it is furnished with small square turrets on the area side, supported by an arch, and in the floor of each is a square aperture, which most probably was used, during a siege, to receive materials from persons below, whereby the guard should annoy those who assailed the wall. — The interior of this ancient edifice has been adapted to modern convenience. The family of the early possessors of the Castle terminated in Emma, daughter and heiress of Bertram Bulmer, who married Robert Neville, grandson of Gilbert de Neville, who came into England with the Conqueror, by whom she had a son and a daughter. Henry, the son, assisted the confederate barons against King John, to whom, in the 17th of his reign, he gave 100 marks to be restored to favour; and, as a pledge of future fidelity, delivered two hostages and his Castle of Brancepeth into the King's hands, to be held at his pleasure. Henry dying without issue, 11th of Henry III., his sister Isabel became his sole inheritor, and was married to Robert Fitz-Maldred, Lord of Raby, by whom she had a son called Geffry, who, in honour of his mother, assumed the name of Neville ; and from this marriage sprung the Earls of Westmoreland of that. name, who retained possession of the Castle, till their rebellion in the reign of Elizabeth, when it, together with the Lordship, became forfeited, and were vested in the Crown by a special Act. In the reign of Charles I. they were sold, under the authority of letters patent, to Lady Middleton and others. Three years afterwards, they were made over to Ralph Cole, Esq. of Newcastle, in trust for his son Nicholas Cole, Esq. who was created a baronet, March 4, 1640. His son, Sir Ralph Cole, Bart., in consideration of the sum of 16,800£. and annuities on the lives of himself and wife, conveyed the Castle and Lordship in 1701, to Sir Henry Bellasyse, Knt., whose grand-daughter dying in 1774, devised them to the Earl of Fauconberg. Soon afterwards the Earl sold them to the late John Tempest, Esq. ; and of him the estate, which then only consisted of about 4600 acres, was purchased by the late William Russell, Esq., who very greatly improved the ground : he married a daughter of the late Col. Milbanke, and, dying in 1817, left issue one son, the present proprietor of Brancepeth, and two daughters, one of whom was married to Lieut. -Colonel Banbury, and the other to Lieut. -General Sir Gordon Drummond, G.C.B. Among many instances of well-directed munificence and patriotism exemplified in the life of the late William Russell, may be mentioned an Hospital which he founded and liberally endowed in this county, for a considerable number of aged persons, with a School attached for a large establishment of boys and girls. In 1795, he was prominently instrumental in raising a body of infantry in the county, to the expense of which he mainly contributed ; and subsequently, at the cost of several thousand pounds, entirely borne by himself, he raised and equipped a corps of Sharpshooters. During the late distresses, he received and maintained the poor coming from all quarters, in barracks con structed for the purpose, where every requisite comfort was provided for them, while he kept alive their habits of industry by engaging such as were able in various works upon his extensive estate ; thus employing his honourably acquired wealth in the discharge of the duties of a good subject, and a practical christian. The present resident has also another beautiful seat called Hardwicke, near Sedgefield, in this county. The Proprietors are indebted to J. Eouet, Esq. of Durham, for the beautiful peucildrawnig of this subject, from which the coioured drawing for the present engraving was made. VjiM .^"-¦- LAM IB TO IT" HAL I, ^ DURHA1H <3& <^t f'^u/^ / Drawra. "by JF.Nerae Eii^rmlWW Fadc'Kr HI1LTOH CASTILE . DURHJUl ^&- c7»j£<^ «?S . .^ct//- Lt'/Z/.v/// //<¦, Jones Sc C° London. IB29 Hamilton f£all, JSurfjam; THE SEAT OF LORD DURHAM. This Demesne was the possession of the Lambtons before the Conquest ; and has continued in that family through an uninterrupted line of succession. It is situated on the banks of the Wear, between Durham and Sunderland. Here the river, abandoning the level country through which it had flowed for some miles, romantically winds through the wooded banks and undulating grounds which form the scenery of Lambton Park. The Mansion is placed on a steep eminence, immediately overhanging the river, and is almost completely sheltered by the woods which crown the valley on every side, except the western, where the banks recede, and the blue hills of the western moors are seen bounding the horizon. The Park contains about 1200 acres, and is diversified by extensive woods and plantations. The Mansion was taken down by the late William Henry Lambton, Esq. M.P. for the City of Durham, and rebuilt on an extended scale, but is not yet entirely completed. The present proprietor, John George Lambton, Esq. one of the representa tives in parliament for the County of Durham, has lately erected a Bridge of one arch over the Wear, in the valley beneath the house ; from whence it is visible, and forms a beautiful feature in the landscape. The interior of the house is arranged with great elegance and attention to comfort, and ornamented by many valuable pictures. In the Library, amongst others, is an excellent Portrait of William Lambton,Esq. by Sir Joshua Reynolds ; a Head, by Titian ; a Priest, by Bassano ; and a Portrait of the late William Henry Lambton, Esq. by Angelica Kauffman. The Saloon contains Glover's celebrated View of Durham Cathedral ; two Landscapes, by Domenichino ; and several Pictures by Salvator Rosa, Raffaelle, Both, and other eminent masters, ancient and modern. The approach to the Hall from the north, has lately been improved, by the erection of Lodges on the great North-road ; from whence, for two miles, you proceed through a continued line of plantations. The Entrances from Durham and Sunderland, have also, within these few years, been completed, from designs by Ignatius Bonomi ; under whose directions other extensive improvements are now carrying on. s3 riltott ®astie, Hurtam; THE SEAT OF JOHN LYON BOWES, EARL OF STRATHMORE. Hilton Castle stands low and sequestered in the Vale of Wear, three miles to the West of Wearmouth bridge, on the old road to Newcastle. The East Front exhibits an oblong square Tower, rising above a portico of modern Gothic work : upon the Tower are the Arms of Hilton with the ancient and singular crest on a close helmet, Moses' Head, in profile, in a rich diapered Mantle ; above all, in bold relief, a stag couchant, collared and chained ; the sculpture is now extremely defaced. The West Front has in the centre, the great Entrance or Gatehouse, perhaps nearly in the state in which it was reared in the reign of Richard II. : on a banner are the Arms of England and France ; quarterly and underneath, thirteen mouldered shields, disposed in three rows, though somewhat irregularly and per haps not in their original position, bearing the Arms of— 1, Neville ; 2, Bishop Skirlaw ; 3, Percy and Lovaine quarterly, (these three shields are somewhat larger than the rest) ; 4, a Lion rampant, a label of three points, perhaps the Braband Lion alone, for the Heir of Percy ; 5, a Lion rampant ; 6, Hilton and Vipont quarterly : 7, Lumley ; 8. perhaps, Grey ; 9, Eure ; 10, qu Fitz-Randal, of Mid- dleham; 11, Washington; 12, Ogle; 13, qu Lilburne. The Gateway is defended by square projecting turrets, with hanging parapets, exactly resembling the coeval architecture of Lumley Castle ; on the right flanking Tower of the Gatehouse are the Arms of Vescy, Felton, and Heron ; and on the left flanking Tower, the Shields of Surtees and Bowes with one, the bearings on which are effaced. Two round Towers, of later date, connect the Centre with uniform Wings of completely modern architecture. The ancient Turrets are still crowned with human figures some in grotesque attitudes, others as combatants, &c. in the usual manner ; a custom, which, if it were not intended for mere ornament, was perhaps practised to deceive an approaching enemy, who could hardly tell, at some distance, whether the garrison were on the alert or not. The interior of the Castle consists of five stories ; a series of Portraits preserved here, represent the descendants from the ancient Barons of Hilton ; the last Baron, in a suit of blue and gold, occupies a panel above the Fire-place, in the Dining Room. On the first Floor is a very spacious Saloon. The Grounds to the north and east of the Castle have been laid out in Slopes and Terraces, at the highest point of which, to the north, stands an elegant small Chapel ; above the South Window are the Arms of Hilton, quartering Vipont and Stapleton ; supporters, two Stags of very rude and antique design ; over the North Window the same Arms, without supporters, but with the singular crest. On the West Front five shields, Hilton quartering Vipont and Stapleton ; supporters, two Lions, no crest, twice repeated ; Hilton and Vipont, quarterly, the Crest without supporters, twice repeated ; and Hilton quartering Vipont and Stapleton, with the Flags for supporters. The title of Baron is supposed to have been given to the Family of Hilton even before the creation of Barons, either by writ or summons, by the general courtesy of the country, from respect to the rank and immemorial existence of the Family. or as a sort of Provincial Peerage, Barons of the Bishopric, who sat in the Great Council of the Ecclesiastical Palatine. Of the high antiquity of the Hiltons, there is proof in the number of popular traditions, which in various ways account for their origin ; and their pedigree is clearly traced from Romanus, the Knight of Hilton, temp. Henry II. John Hilton, Esq, who died 25th Sept. 1746, devised all his estates to his Nephew, Sir Richard Musgrave, of Hayton Castle, Bart., on condition of assum ing the name of Hilton only. Within a few years afterwards, the whole of the Estates were sold under an Act of Parliament. The Castle and Manor of Hilton were contracted for by Wogan, Esq., for 30,000Z., but the sale was never per fected, and they were soon after sold to Mrs. Bowes, Widow of George Bowes, Esq. of Streatlam and Gibside, whose Grandson, John, Earl of Strathmore, is the present proprietor s4 Dtxwi by J P. II---- LUMLEY CASTLE. DURHAM. 'ITTOB CASTLE. DURHAM. Jones * C? Temple of th» Muse-.' Fin.-biuj ;'.,ni:uv. I.' nni/.u 0"tl: I : Hunting ®&&tlt, Hurftam; THE SEAT OF THE EARL OF SCARBOROUGH. This ancient baronial residence stands between Durham and Newcastle, about a mile to the east of Chester le Street, on an elevated and beautiful situation ; its form is that of a perfect quadrangle, with an area in the centre, having at each angle massy square towers embattled and machicolated ; the whole is built with free-stone, of a bright and beautiful tint. The principal gateway is on the west, the entrance is formed by a double flight of steps to a platform, filling the whole space between the towers, from whence is a beautiful prospect ; at the bottom of the avenue which leads to the castle, is a fine basin of water, a salmon lock, and fisherman's cottage ; on the opposite elevated land is a view of Chester le Street, with the Deanery-house and Church, beyond which is the House of Flatts, the Village of Pelton, backed by irregular grounds, interspersed with cottages and farms. At the foot of the eminence on which the castle is situated, on this side winds the river Wear, which continues its course on the south, where the front presents a more modern character; it extends sixty-five paces in length. Towards the east, the castle hangs on the brow of the hill, over looking a deep and well-wooded valley, through which the little river Beck meanders till it joins the Wear, the majestic and ancient structure on this front preserves its original form : a bold and stately entrance-tower, with its machi colated gallery, and flanked by turrets, forms the centre ; over the gate are six shields and crests carved in the stone, which ascertain the date of the alteration in the reign Richard II. ; a license having been obtained from that monarch, by Sir Ralph Lumley, who was thereby empowered to embattle the whole. The castle was originally founded by Sir Robert Lumley, in the reign of Edward I., and enlarged by his son, Sir Marmaduke Lumley. ^ On the east front, a narrow terrace, between the walls and brink of the pre cipice, is guarded by a curtain, above which the castle rises to the height of three stories, having mullioned windows ; the north front is obscured by offices. The Great Hall, 90 feet long, is arranged for a display of feudal splendour, having a gallery for Minstrels, a Knight in Armour on horseback, and a col lection of Portraits, illustrative of the genealogy of the family. 1 . Liulphus ; 2. Uchtred; 3. Gulielmus; 4. Sir William d'e Lumley; 5. William de Lumley; 6. Sir Robert de Lumley, founder of the Castle; J. Sir Marmaduke de Lumley; 8. Ralph, Lord Lumley ; 9. Sir John de Lumley ; 10. King Richard II. in a Chair of State, at his feet kneels Lord Lumley presenting a petition, which the King seems most graciously to receive ; the back ground is formed by a green curtain, and above the portrait ifc. !&? 2. att UttO 1385 &0 i£*g. 8. ; 11. Tho mas, Lord Lumley, temp. Henry VI. ; 12. George, Lord Lumley ; 13. Thomas Lumley, who married Elizabeth Plantagenet, (natural,) daughter to Edward IV. ; 14. John de Lumley; 15. Richard de Lumley; 16. George Lumley; 17- Eliza beth, daughter of John, Lord Darcy, of Chiche, second wife of John, Lord Lumley, temp. Elizabeth. The great Dining-room is situated in the south-west Tower, the roof is groined, and the windows command a delightful prospect. In the little Dining-room are several fine portraits, among them John, Lord Lumley, 1563. This nobleman collected an extensive library, which was after wards purchased by James I., and now forms a valuable part of the British Museum. Joanna Fitz- Allan, daughter of Henry, Earl of Arundel, and first wife of John, Lord Lumley. In the Music-room are Thomas Ratcliffe, Earl of Sussex-; and Robert, Earl of Salisbury. In the Drawing-room are portraits of And. Doria, inscribed " Pater Patriae ;" he died at Genoa, 1560, ffit. 94 ; Sir Anth. Browne ; Sir George Saville ; Lady Sydney, by Holbein ; Henry, Earl of Surrey, beheaded in 1546; Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, 1587 5 Henry Fitz- Allan, last Earl of Arundel of that name ; he died in 1579. 3-F Wiitton <&&&tlt, Surfcim; THE seat of COLONEL CHAYTORS. Witton Castle was the ancient baronial mansion of the family of Eure, who held it of the bishops of Durham by military service. Sir William Eure, Knt., in the 35th of Henry VIII., was created Baron ^ure of Witton, in the county of Durham, by letters patent, dated 24th February : a ballad, inserted in the " Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border," apparently a strain of gratulation upon that event, commences — " Lord Eurie was as brave a man, As ever stood in his degree ; The king has sent him a broad letter, All for his courage and loyalty." Sir William was one of the bravest of his race, and was ennobled by Henry, on account of the vigour with which he prosecuted the Border warfare. He was afterwards slain, in the battle of Ancram Moor, fought between him and. the Earl of Angus, in 1546. — Vide Notes upon the above ballad, by Walter Scott. The sixth Lord Eure fell in the battle of Marston Moor, in 1645 ; and Ralph, the eighth lord of that title, dying without issue, the barony is now presumed to be extinct. In the time of King Charles II., their venerable mansion was in the occupation of James Darcy, Esq., also of a baronial family : it lately belonged to the Hopper family; and, while undergoing a thorough repair, the greater part was unfortunately consumed by fire. It was, however, restored to its pristine appearance on the exterior, through the taste of Thomas Henry Hopper, Esq., who preserved the outward form of the ancient fortress, and, at the same time, rendered the internal arrangements more suitable to our extended ideas of convenience and domestic comfort. It is situated at no great distance from the town of Bishop's Auckland, and on the south side of the river Wear ; which, winding through the woody and romantic valley, crossing the centre of the palatinate, gives this district the name of Wear Dale. The Castle stands on a gentle slope, with a Lawn of the finest verdure. The extensive demesne is finely cultivated : while, on the north side of the river, the hills, in the distance, rise to a considerable height, presenting an admirable prospect, in perfect unison with the castellated architecture of the mansion* After the decease of J. T. H. Hopper, Esq., the whole was purchased, in 1816, by Colonel Chaytors, 3-f2 HIWSIOI MOUSE. HERTFORDSHIRE . erred, "by "W. "Waflrins . o B U K Y. HERTFORDSHIRE Janos £C? Temple of flic Unse* PuishmT Scram-e. Iraiaon . 'HovI'13.'JB30. i&umftjm f^oust, ffitxtfnxtwfyixt; THE SEAT OF NICOLSON CALVERT, ESQ. The Mansion at Hunsdon was originally built by Sir John Oldhall, in the reign of Edward IV. " after the mode of a castle," and is said to have cost £7222. Sir John Oldhall was slain with Richard III. at the battle of Bosworth, when the property was forfeited to the crown. King Henry VII. granted the manor to his mother. Margaret, Countess of Richmond, and Thomas, Earl of Derby, her husband, for their lives. After their decease, it reverted to the crown, when Henry VIII., February 1, anno regni 5, granted it to Thomas, Duke of Norfolk. It appears that it soon after again fell to the crown, for Henry VIII., in the 23d year of his reign, made great additions, by building over the moat which circum scribed the house. Edward VI. assigned this place as a residence for his sister Mary, who continued here until Lady Jane Dudley was proclaimed queen. In the first year of her reign, Queen Elizabeth ennobled her true friend and nearest relation, Henry Carey, with the title of Baron Hunsdon, and also bestowed upon him this mansion, together with the estates of three manors adjoining. He was first cousin to her Majesty, being the only son and heir of Sir William Carey, who married the Lady Mary Bullen, sister to Anne Bullen, the mother of Queen Elizabeth. Lord Hunsdon was a Knight of the Garter, and filled divers important posts and offices of state ; yet so parsimonious was Elizabeth in the conferment of honours, that he could never obtain the height of his ambition in being made Earl of Wiltshire, until he lay at the point of death, when the Queen gave him a gra cious visit, and caused the patent for that title and the robes of an Earl to be laid on the bed; upon which his Lordship addressed her Majesty, saying, " Madam, seeing you counted me not worthy of this honour whilst I was living, I count myself unworthy of it now I am dying." He died at Somerset House, 23d July, 1596, set. 71, and was buried in West minster Abbey, where a costly monument, the largest and most lofty in the Abbey, was erected to his memory. — George, the second Lord Hunsdon, was Lord Cham berlain and K. G. He died in 1603, without male issue, when the barony of Hunsdon devolved upon his brother John, who died in 1617, and is buried at Hunsdon, in a chapel built by himself. Henry, the fourth Lord Hunsdon, was advanced to the dignity of Earl of Dover by King Charles I. in 1627 ; at his death, in 1668, the title and estates descended to John, his son and heir, who sold this seat to William Willoughby, Esq. a younger brother of Francis, Lord Willoughby, of Parham ; and it was purchased of William, Lord Willoughby, in the year 1671, by Matthew Bluck, Esq. one of the Six Clerks in Chancery, who married a daughter of Sir William Martin, alderman of London. He was succeeded by his son, Matthew Bluck, Esq., who sold the estate, in 1743, to Josias Nicolson, Esq., of Clapham, in Surrey, whose daughter and coheir married Felix Calvert, Esq., of Furneux Pelham, Herts. Mr. Nicolson left Hunsdon by will to his grandson, the late Nicolson Calvert, Esq., whose nephew is the present proprietor. A royal visit to this house, in 1572, has been commemorated by a fine Engraving by Vertue, from a painting by Alarc Garrard, now at Sherbourn Castle, the seat of Lord Digby : the print is entitled, " The Royal Progress of Queen Elizabeth, Anno Regni 14, Mense Augusti ;" it represents the Nobles escorting the Queen on that occasion : the procession is seen within the court-yard, passing round by the aqueduct to the entrance on the principal front; the house appears encircled with water, with two arched bridges leading to it. At a distance on the hill is observed a Castle, perhaps the old Castle, at Bishop's Stortford, near which the river Stort passes, and joins the river Lea at Stanstead, near the bridge, shewn in the picture, with boats upon the water. — About 30 years ago, Hunsdon House was surrounded by a deep moat, faced with brick-work, with two bridges of communication, one in the front, the other at the back of the house ; the moat has been since filled up. A representation of the principal front is given in Sir Henry Chauncey's History of Hertfordshire ; the wings there shewn were probably added by the Willoughbys or the Blucks, after having demolished all the very extensive additions that had been made to the house during the time it was in the hands of the crown. These wings were in an unfinished state when the mansion was purchased by Mr. Nicolson, who pulled them down, and left the house as built by Sir John Oldhall ; the present proprietor has judiciously restored the whole in the castellated form of the original edifice, admitting only some minor variations. It stands in a park, well stocked with timber, in a fertile part of the county, five miles east from Ware, and about the same distance north-east from Hoddesdon, in the hundred of Braughin. tt3 itolnofcttrg, ffitxtfox^&Uxt ; THE SEAT OF THE EARL OF ESSEX. Cashiobury Park adjoins the town of Watford, 17 miles from London. It was anciently given by Offa, king of Mercia, to the Abbey of St. Alban, and, after the Dissolution, was granted by Henry the Eighth to Richard Morrison, Esq., who died at Strasburg, in 1556. His grandson, Sir Charles Morrison, Bart., was created Knight of the Bath at the Coronation of Charles the First, and married Mary, daughter of Baptist Hicks, Viscount Campden, by whom he had an only daughter, Elizabeth, who conveyed Cashiobury, in marriage, to Arthur, Lord Capel, of Hadham, in Hertfordshire. They had issue four sons and six daughters : Arthur, the eldest son, was created Viscount Maiden, and Earl of Essex, in 1661 ; and, after holding several important diplomatic situations, he was, in 1672, appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, from whence he was recalled in 1677 ; and being accused, with many others, of the fanatic plot, was sent prisoner to the Tower, where he was discovered with his throat cut, supposed to have been murdered, July 13th, 1683. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Algernon Percy, tenth Earl of Northumberland; and had issue a daughter, Anne, married, in 1692, to Charles, third Earl of Carlisle, and a son, Algernon, who inherited the title, and married Mary Bentinck, daughter of the first Earl of Portland. William, the third Earl, died in January, 1743J leaving one son, William Anne Holies, the late Earl, who died in March, 1799, and was suc ceeded by his eldest son, George, the present Earl, who assumed the name of Coningsby, on succeeding to the estates of his grandmother, Frances, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Coningsby. The Mansion-house, which is a spacious building, is situated in an extensive park, well wooded, through which flows the river Gade. The grand junction canal also, by the liberality of the Earl, has been permitted to pass through the park. The house was originally begun by Richard Morrison, Esq. in the reign of Henry the Eighth, and completed by his son, Sir Charles Morrison. It has subsequently undergone various alterations and improvements, particularly of late years, under the direction of the present noble possessor. Its appear ance is that of a castellated mansion ; and it contains numerous elegant apart ments, together with a kind of cloister, the windows of which are ornamented with painted glass. The collection of Paintings at Cashiobury is well worthy of examination. Among the Portraits are, Algernon, Earl of Northumberland; his daughter, Elizabeth, wife of Arthur, first Lord Capel, with a son and a daughter, by Sir Peter Lely ; and Algernon, second Earl of Essex, in armour, standing near a table, on which is his helmet. Mrs. Strangeways, younger daughter of Arthur, second Lord Capel, by Sir Peter Lely; Lady Anne, and Lord Percy, half-lengths, by Vandyck ; the Earl and Countess of Clarendon, in one piece, by Sir Peter Lely; Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, K.B. father of Frances, first wife of the late Earl of Essex, also the present Earl, with his lady, small whole- lengths, by Edridge. The Drawing-room is a very splendid apartment, and contains some beautiful miniatures (several of which are painted on enamel) by the present Countess of Essex, from originals by the first masters. Many of these are extremely fine, possessing the greatest delicacy and harmony of colouring, combined with strength, expression, and brilliancy. The State Bed-room is decorated with blue and white furniture, and hung with Gobelin tapestry, displaying a village feast, by Teniers. TTt K Kf IE IE '» fulll EI © TU S IE , HERTFORDSHIRE. EB^ea/ed "by "W "Watldns. !( ' '0; n , toirt0, ffltxtfox^&bixt ; THE SEAT OF THOMAS KEMBLE, ESQ. Gubbins, in the parish of North Mimms, is a corruption of Gobions, derived from the family name of its ancient lords, as early as the time of King Stephen. The estate afterwards became part of the revenue of the More family : the 21st of Richard II. John More, of London, held one knight's fee in North Mymmes, of Thomas, Duke of Glou cester, and Eleanor his wife. Sir John More, the father of Sir Thomas More, the Chancellor, possessed this manor in the reign of Henry VII. ; he was one of the Justices of the King's Bench, and granted Moor-Hall as a jointure to his second wife, with remainder to his only son, Sir Thomas More, one of the most illustrious characters of his time. He was the patron of Holbein the painter, and is said to have invited the King to an entertainment, when all the paintings by that excellent artist were disposed in the best order, and in the best light, in the great hall of his house ; on seeing which, Henry VIII. immediately took Holbein into his service, which circumstance brought him into great esteem with the nobility of the kingdom.* At Gubbins was a celebrated picture of Sir Thomas More's family, said to be by Holbein, who died in 1554 : the picture was dated 1593, as described by Lord Orford in his " Anecdotes of Painting in England," a convincing proof that it must at least have been finished by another hand ; it was afterwards in the possession of Lenthall, the Speaker of the House of Commons, at Burford. Upon the attainder of Sir Thomas More, the estate was taken possession of by the Crown ; when his father's widow retired to Northaw, in this county, where she died. In the first year of Queen Mary, the reversion of this manor (expectant upon the determination of two leases, the one granted by King Henry VIII. , 38th of his reign, to William Honninge, Gent, the other by King Edward VI., fourth of his reign, to his sister the Princess Elizabeth,) was granted to Anne More, widow of John More, Esq., eldest son of Sir Thomas ; and to Thomas More, Esq. son and heir of John and Anne, who was daughter of Edward Cressacre, of Barnburgh, Yorkshire. Cressacre More, his son, lived here. His descendant, Basil More, having sustained great losses from his adherence to his royal master in the civil wars, was induced to sell the estate of Gubbins (or More Hall, as it was sometimes called) to Sir Edward Desbovery of London, mer chant. He dying in 1694, his sons William and Jacob, who both lived here, sold the estate in 1697 to a Mr. Pitchcraft, a Packer of Blackwell-Hall ; he sold it to Jeremy Sambrooke, Esq. who, by the death of his nephew, became a baronet ; the gardens here were about this time much celebrated ; they were laid out by Bridgman, the reformer of the absurdities then common, called topiary works, and which were ridiculed by a paper in the Guardian, No. 173. Walpole has observed that " the garden at Gubbins indicates the dawn of modern taste." Sir Jeremy Sambrooke died in 1754, having bequeathed all his manors in the parish of North Mimms and elsewhere, to his sister Judith, with remainder to John Freeman, Esq., who after her death in 1765, became possessed of Gubbins, and sold it in 1777 to John Hunter, Esq., one of the Honourable Court of Directors of the East India Company, who died in 1803, and devised it by will to Thomas Holmes of Worcestershire, Esq., who took the name of Hunter. Part of the House has been lately rebuilt, and it is now the residence of Thomas Kemble, Esq. In the Church of North Mimms are three altar tombs to the memory of the Sambrooke family : and Mrs. Anne Hunter, the wife of John Hunter, Esq., left £200, the interest of which to be laid out in bread, and distributed to the poor at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide, every year. * John Heywood, one jof the oldest English dramatic writers, and a native of this parish, was also first introduced by Sir Thomas More, that Maecenas of wit and genius, to the knowledge and patronage of the Princess Mary. He afterwards became a favourite with Henry VIII., who frequently rewarded him very highly. 3-s4 JEfJEK TP OJtD SHIRE . I! djSi1 a-vr>a. Tjy" "W "Warwick , «V< © M M A.M JiB IU II, 11T, l{Tl''ORD .'DH.IJ-tK. Jones & C? Temple af 'die Muses KaibmySqiiaxe l.on.doti . THE SEAT OP ROBERT WILLIAMS, ESQ. M.P. This splendid Mansion was originally built by James, the unfortunate Duke of Mon mouth, and was allowed to be the best piece of brick-work in England. Anne, his Duchess, sold it in 1720, to Benjamin Hoskine Styles, Esq. who had realized an immense fortune by the notorious South Sea scheme. He rebuilt the whole, in a style of great magnificence, from the designs of Giacomo Leoni and Sir James Thornhill. The principal or southern front has a grand portico, the pediment of which is supported by four noble columns of the Corinthian order, each shaft thirty-seven feet high ; the capitals are six feet in height, the base four feet ; the entablature is continued round the house, and is surmounted by a ballustrade. It is to be observed, that the centre only of this splendid pile now remains ; to this originally was connected two wings, forming the Chapel and Offices, by a colonnade of the Tuscan order. These were taken down by Thomas Rouse, Esq. a late possessor, and the materials disposed of. In the Chapel, which was in the west wing, Mr. Styles and his wife were buried, and their bodies now lie under the grass-plat contiguous to the west angle of the House. The centre, left untouched, now exhibits one of the most elegant residences in the county. The interior is uncommonly rich, and possesses an air of grandeur and princely magnificence. The Hall, of equal and spacious proportions, is surrounded by a noble Gallery, on whose sides are painted in fresco the most celebrated statues of antiquity. Above is repre sented a Dome, producing an excellent effect. In the lower part, four large compart ments are painted from the principal circumstances in the first book of Ovid's Metamor phoses, containing the story of Io and Argus. The door-cases are of marble ; and mili tary trophies, in a species of composition, complete the decorations of the Hall. The principal Staircase is painted with various subjects from Ovid, executed with much bril liancy of colours. The Saloon is a handsome room, wainscoted with oak, in the pannels of which are subjects representing the Four Seasons. The Ball, or long Drawing-room, was fitted up by Sir Lawrence Dundas, Baronet, in a most superb style, at an expense of £10,000. The ceiling is in compartments of various forms, filled with fanciful ornaments, executed with much taste. The apart ments are adorned with a collection of Pictures, some of which are scarce and very valuable. The views from the South Front are contracted ; but on the North is a most extensive prospect opening upon a fertile vale, animated by the meanderings of the rivers Gade and Coin, and rendered beautiful by a luxuriance of verdure, intermingled with noble seats, villages, and farm-houses, together with the towns of Rickmansworth and Watford. This delightful view was obtained in 1725, by lowering a hill, at the expense of £5000. Pope has satirized the possessor of the Mansion for this circumstance in his Moral Essays; but the satire was more severe than just. After the decease of B. H. Stvles, Esq. the House was purchased by George, afterwards Lord Anson, who expended about £80,000 in the improvement of the grounds, which were originally laid out by Lucy, Countess of Bedford, and were praised by Sir William Temple as the " perfectest figure of a garden he ever saw, either at home or abroad."* In 1765, the whole was dis posed of to Sir Lawrence Dundas, Bart., whose son, Sir Thomas Dundas, Bart., in 1787, sold it to Thomas Bates Rouse, Esq., of whose executors, in 1799, it was purchased by Robert Williams, Esq. ; and to his son, it descended in 1814. The park is about five miles in circumference, having its surface finely diversified ; it is well wooded, and includes almost every species of timber, particularly oak, elm, and lirrj£. In the vicinity of a circular bason is planted a Grove or Wilderness of firs, cypress, laurels, both Portugal and common ; and the Kitchen Garden is celebrated for a peculiar apricot, called the Moor Park, originally planted here by Lord Anson. • As true taste regained her rights, the formal style in which the grounds were laid out appeared tame and insipid, and in effecting the alterations here, Lord Anson employedthe far-famed Brown. 3t THE SEAT OF THE EARL OF VERULAM. This spot is particularly interesting from its having been the patrimonial inheritance of the great Sir Francis Bacon, who has acquired immortal renown by his labours in natural science and philosophy ; it obtained its present appellation from a relation of Robert de Gorham, eighteenth abbot of St. Alban's, who received a grant of the lands. About the end of the 14th century, it was purchased for 800 marks, by Thomas de la Mare, thirtieth abbot, from the Countess of Oxford, who, it appears, then held possession : and at the dissolu tion of the abbey of St. Alban it was granted to Ralph Rowlet, Esq., who was afterwards knighted ; his eldest daughter and co-heiress married John Maynard, Esq., who by that means acquired possession of Gorhambury; he sold it about the year 1550 to Nicholas Bacon, Esq., who became Lord Keeper of the Great Seal to Queen Elizabeth. He erected a very stately edifice here, which was frequently visited by the Queen, who dated many of her state papers from this house. The mansion descended to his son, Francis, afterwards Lord Verulam, and Viscount St. Alban, and at his decease, in 1626, it became the property of Sir Thomas Meautys, who married the daughter of Sir N. Bacon ; upon his decease, she married Sir Harbottle Grimston, Bart., Speaker of the Restoration Parliament, a statesman of great ability and integrity, descended from a very ancient family; his son, Sir Samuel Grimston, Bart., was a zealous promoter of the Revolution in 1688. At his decease, without issue, he bequeathed Gorhambury to Sir William Lukyn, grandson of his eldest sister, who assumed the surname of Grimston, and was created Viscount Grimston in 1719. The venerable mansion of the Bacons having fallen to decay, the present handsome stone edifice was erected by the late Viscount Grimston. It was commenced in 1778, and completed in 1785, from the designs and under the direction of Sir Robert Taylor ; and, as it was his last work, it is presumed to exhibit all the beauties of his peculiar and masterly style of architecture. The portico of the grand entrance is supported by Corinthian columns of chaste proportions, and is ascended by a flight of steps leading to the Hall, which is large and handsome, as indeed are all the apartments. They contain a very rich and extensive collection of pictures, among which the following only can be here mentioned. The Park and Grounds include about 600 acres, and are well stocked with fine timber. The surface is diversified, and the scenery comprises some good land scapes, to which the contiguity of Pre Wood gives additional interest. %omc of tty principal $irtur*0 at i^untrngtronglnre; THE SEAT OF JOHN HEATHCOTE, ESQ. Connington Castle is situated about nine miles from Huntingdon, on the road to Stilton, from whence it is distant above two miles and a half, and is built entirely of stone ; the deep and richly moulded arches upon the North Front were brought hither from the Castle at Fotheringay. It stands in a fine Park, watered by a small stream, which ultimately forms Brick Mere, Ugmere, and the more extensive Whittlesea Mere. The grounds are pleasant, and laid out to the best advantage. The parish is in the hundred of Normancross, and its Church, the remark ably fine Tower of which is seen in our view, is one of the principal antiquities of the county ; it is large, and contains many monuments of the Cotton family Connington Castle, or Great Connington, as it is sometimes called, was, for some time, the principal Residence of that distinguished ornament to his country, Sir Robert Cotton, Bart., who was born at Denton, near this place. In 1599, that great man, accompanied by his friend William Camden, explored the whole extent of the Picts' Wall, and brought away several Roman inscrip tions and altars, which were deposited in an octangular summer-house at this seat. These were presented to Trinity College, Cambridge, by Sir John Cotton, and are still carefully preserved there, at the foot of the library stairs. Connington was once the seat of Turchil the Dane, Earl of the East Angles, who invited over Swaine, King of Denmark, to invade England, and he with most of his nation being exiled, it was then held of the honour of Huntingdon, which was granted by King Edward the Confessor to Waltheof, Earl of Hun tingdon, who married Judith, niece to William the Conqueror ; their daughter Maud conveyed her inheritance, first to Simon de St. Liz, Earl of Huntingdon, and, secondly, to David, son of Malcolm, King of Scotland : Henry, son of David, on condition of swearing fealty and homage to King Stephen, obtained the honour of Huntingdon, with other lands. Malcolm, King of Scotland, eldest son of Henry Earl of Huntingdon, before-mentioned, obtained this estate and honour in the first year of Henry II., in lieu of the counties of Northum berland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland : David, younger brother to William, King of Scotland, had the honour of Huntingdon assigned to him; he attended Richard Cceur de Lion to the Holy Land, and died in 1219 ; he was buried in the Abbey of Sawtry, near his seat, at Connington : his daughter, Isabel, mar ried Robert Bruce, and gave this lordship of Connington, with other large possessions in England, to her second son Bernard Bruce. About the time of Edward III., the estate went in marriage with Anne, the sole heiress of this royal line, to Sir Hugh Wessenham, and from his family, in like manner by Maria, an heiress, to William Cotton, the ancestor of Sir Robert Cotton. On account of this his relationship to the blood royal, King James usually hon oured him with the appellation of Cousin, and he ever after subjoined the name of Bruce to that of Cotton, and caused the Royal Arms of Scotland to be added to his own armorial bearings. He died in 1631, and was buried in the south chancel of Connington Church. The Manuscripts now in the British Museum were collected by him ; they are known by the name of the Cottonian Library. In this church are also two remarkable ancient monuments, the one inscribed IMPERATOR REX FRANCIS, ANGLO SAXONTJM ANGLIC SCOTIfl! J the Other, PRINCE HENRY OF SCOTLAND, LORD OF CONNINGTON. N N 4 SOUTH "WEST VIEW, KENT .'.- (.'? 'Jcm^.U' .il' Ll. Mu t'.iiiK. o, London, Utt llfrxioxfo Wimt; THE SEAT OF CAPTAIN T. B. BRYDGES BARRETT. This celebrated residence is situated in the parish of Ickham, four miles from Canterbury, on the road to Sandwich : from Littlebourne Hill, its turrets and spire, seen rising above the deep foliage of the umbrageous elms of the park, first discover the " embowered serene abode" to the stranger, whose interest has previously been excited by a recital of the numerous treasures it contains. The Manor appears to have been anciently called Legh, and to have formerly been the seat of a family who derived their name from the estate. In the reign of James I. it was the property of the Southlands. Sir William Southland, Knt., died here in 1638. His grandson, Thomas Southland, Esq., sold it to Sir Paul Barrett, Recorder of Canterbury, and M.P. for New Romney, in 1676. After Sir Paul Barrett's death, which occurred the 9th of January, 1686, his lady, who was the daughter and heiress of Sir George Ent, the celebrated physician, resided here till her decease in the year 1711. Thomas Barrett, Esq., the grandson of Sir Paul, was a gentleman of refined taste, and may be considered as one of the best judges of paintings in the age in which he lived. He founded the collection of pictures, which are so justly esteemed, having spent much of his life in this elegant pursuit, distinguished for his knowledge, amongst those eminent contemporaries, who were most capable of appreciating his acquirements. After his death, in January, 1757, at the age of fifty-eight, having made no will, his personal pro perty was divided between his widow, his son, and daughter; some of his cabinet pictures were then sold by auction, and several exquisite miniatures, by Oliver, Hillyard, Cooper, .Hoshins, Petitot, &c. became the property of the Honourable Horace Walpole, afterwards Earl of Orford, and now form some of the most valuable gems in the collection at Strawberry Hill. He was succeeded in his estate by his only son, Thomas Barrett, Esq., who had then completed his thirteenth year. After being educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he travelled into France and Italy; and at his return in 1773, was elected M.P. for Dover, after a severe contest. In 1782, he determined to improve the appearance of the Man sion, which, though confessedly rich in works of literature and art, was not remarkable for external beauty. The House was originally erected about the time of James I.; but the architectural character, appertaining to that period, had been destroyed by alterations, of various date. It was convenient, and contained some good rooms, so that it was not necessary entirely to rebuild it. Mr. Barrett, who is acknowledged to have possessed a most refined taste, seems to have formed his model upon the precise idea, which the late Lord Orford imbibed upon visiting it, and afterwards embodied in the following descrip tion, which his Lordship sent to Hasted, the historian of the county. " The three fronts of the House convey an idea of a small Convent, never attempted to be demolished, but partly modernized, and adapted to the habitation of a gentleman's family. The scene around presents correspondent images; gently rising ground, ancient spreading trees, and the adjoining rivulet, seem to form a site selected by monks much at their ease, with a view rather to cheerful retirement, than to austere meditation ; while at the same time, no distant prospects tantalized them with views of opulence and busy society." The very name of Priory appears to have been subsequently bestowed, in conformity to this senti ment. The late James Wyatt, Esq., then rising into fame, was the architect employed, and never was exhibited a better proof of his genius, so completely developing the spirit in which the design was conceived. The entrance to the grounds is through a lofty gateway, between two octagonal towers embattled ; over the arch, which is of the Tudor style, is a shield, bearing the arms of Barrett. The Park contains about two hundred acres, and is remarkable for its judicious disposition in the modern plantations, and for the magnificence of the venerable elms which here find a congenial soil. The lesser Stoure bounds the Park on the west, j The principal, or entrance front of the Mansion, is on the north, where the centre forms a square embattled tower, with pinnacles on the angles ; at the extremities of this front are octagon turrets. The chief ornament of the west front is a large mullioned window, above which rises the large octagonal tower, containing the Library. It is sur- sounded by a singularly beautiful ornamented parapet, selected from the best models of 3-0 3 LEE PRIORY, KENT. antiquity, and terminates in a well-proportioned spire, conspicuous in the more distant views above the mass of foliage which envelopes the mansion. The southern range of building is terminated by a square tower. The whole edifice is only two stories high, and possesses all that irregularity of outline so pleasing to the admirers of ancient structures, possessing at the same time the most perfect convenience and accommodation that can be required. The Drawing-room, Dining-room, Star-room, and Tower-room, are each adorned with pictures; but .the most attractive and interesting spot is the Library. In form it may be considered as a minute reduction of the Lantern at Ely Cathedral, each side lighted by windows of delicate tracery, except on the east, the recess of which is occupied by a table, modelled upon the plan of an ancient altar; over it are paintings of Richard II., Anne his Queen, and six whole-length ecclesiastical figures, by the late John Carter, F. S. A. In the Library is also a bust of Wordsworth the poet, from Chantrey. The collection of books here is exceedingly valuable. Thomas Barrett, Esq., the founder of this collection, died unmarried, January 1803, set. 59, and left this seat and other estates to his great nephew, the eldest son of Sir Eger ton Brydges, Bart., K. J., the present possessor, who took the name of Barrett, according to the provisions of his uncle's will, in 1811. N.B. Sir Egerton Brydges, who then resided at this seat, established in 1813, apress, the most celebrated in the annals of private printing, for the exquisite beauty of the copies it has produced, as well as for the delicacy, numbers, and matchless execution of the decorations, chiefly wood-cuts. The number of copies of each work printed at Lee Priory has never exceeded one hundred ; and of these, it is pro bable, not thirty complete sets are extant. The works consist principally of reprints of scarce and curious tracts, to which prefaces were always prefixed by the accomplished editor. The first book which issued from the Lee Press was, " Selections from the Poems of Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle," of which only twenty-four were printed for presents. One of the most beautiful works, considered either with regard to the press-work or the illustrations, was " Speeches delivered to Queen Elizabeth, on her Visit to Giles Lord Chandos, at Sudeley Castle, in 1594, with a Portrait of Giles third Lord Chandos, and an Introduction by Sir Egerton Brydges, Bart., K.J., M.P., highly orna mented with wood engravings, 1815," 4to. The following is, we believe, a complete list of original compositions from the same press : — 1. Select Poems, by Sir E. Brydges, 4to. — 2. Occasional Poems, by the same, 4to — 3. Dunluce Castle, by Edward Quillinan, Esq. — 4. Stanzas, by the same, 4to. — 5. Bertram, a Poem, in four cantos, by Sir E. Brydges, 8vo. — 6. The Sylvan Wanderer, (prose essays,) by ditto, 2 vols. 8vo. — 7. Desultoria, by ditto, 8vo. — 8. The Brother-in-Law, a Comedy, by the Rev. Henry Card, D.D. — 9. Sonnets from Petrarch, by the Kev. Archdeacon Wrangham, 4to. — 10. List of Pictures. Amongst the Pictures (of which a complete list would form a pamphlet) we may par ticularize the following: — Titian's Mother, Titian. — The Wise Men's Offering, Le Moyne. — The Shepherd's Offering, Carlo Maratti Landscape and Figures, Wouvermans. — The Duchess of Richmond, Vandyke. — Landscape and Figures. Evening, Claude. — -Virgin and Child in the Clouds, Murillo. — The Nativity, Luca Gior dano. — A Landscape, with Hagar and Ishmael, P. F. Mola. — A Landscape, G. Poussin, figures by Filippo Lauri. — King Charles I., Vandyke. — A Landscape and Figures, F. P. Ferg. — Nymphs and Satyrs, in a Landscape, Anthony Coypel. — A Landscape, with Goats, &c, Michael Carre'. — Lucy Percy, Countess of Carlyle, Vandyke. — The Salutation, Luca Giordano. — The Holy Family, G. Palma. — The Virgin, Our Saviour, and Joseph, L. Caracci. — The Virgin and Child, encircled by flowers, J. Rothe- namer and J. Breughel. — Herodias's Daughter, with St. John's Head, Carlo Dolci. — The March of an Army, with a wounded General, Bourgognone. — The Holy Family, Bartelemi Schidone. — A Landscape, Cattle, and Figures at Sun-set, J. Wootton. — The Judgment of Midas, Filippo Lauri. — The Port of Ant werp, Sebastian Franks Venus bewailing the Death of Adonis, A. Caracci — A Frost-piece, in Holland, Adrian Vaniervelde A Storm at Sea, P. Monami. — A Landscape and Figures, G. Poussin. — King Charles II., J. Riley. — His Queen, Ditto. — Nel Gwynn, J. Greenhill. — The Duchess of Cleveland, Sit P. Lely. — The Duke of York and his Duchess, the daughter of Lord Chancellor Clarendon, Sir P. Lely. — Mary of Modena, King James the Second's Queen, (his second wife.) — Queen Mary. Sir P. Lely. — ¦ Charles Stuart, Duke of Richmond, ob. 1672, Sir P. Lely.— Sir Paul Barrett, 1685, S. Du Bois Lady Barrett, copy from Du Bois. — Thomas Barrett, Esq. the late possessor of Lee Priory, when a boy, in a Vandyke dress, T. Hudson. — Thomas Barrett, Esq. senior, and his last Wife ; he died 1757, M. Dahh — A very beautiful and curious Picture, Mabuse. — Queen Margaret of Scotland, eldest daughter of Henry VII., Mabuse. — King Henry VIII., Holbein. — The celebrated Miniature of Anne of Cleves, Ditto. — Miniature of King Henry VIII., Ditto.— Monkeys as Capuchins, P. Tillemans — Boors playing at Backgammon, B. Heemskerch. — Portrait of a Lady, Cornelius Janssen. — Dr. Richard Busby, M. Dahl. —Isaac Casaubon, the learned critic Sir George and Lady Rooke. He died 24th January, 1707. — Queen Anne, Sir Godfrey Kneller. — King George I., Ditto.— Miniature of Sir Philip Sydney, Isaac Oliver. — Ditto of Thomas Barrett, Esq. senior, in enamel, C. F. Zincke, 1725. — Ditto of the second Wife of Thos. Barrett, Esq. senior, in enamel, Ditto.— Sarah, third Wife of Thos. Barrett, Ditto. — Miniature of Thos. Barrett, Esq. senior, J. B. Vanloo. — Ditto the fourth Wife of Thos. Barrett, Esq. senior, in Enamel, C. F. Zincke.— Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, Holbein.— The Duke of Monmouth, Mrs. S. P. 'Rose, after Cooper — The Duchess of Cleveland, Ditto. — Margaret, Countess of Richmond, An original. ^Henry VIL, Ditto. — The Prince of Orange, afterwards King William III., and his Consorts 3-o4 SOUTH EAST "VIEW KE1T T. ITylE Sh.eph.ra;a. jr., IB IE 3jJ -S i:iS3PI.B , KEll X . t C? L't-'iuplc of :•." M'tai-a. rnu)li\ii;y Soiiiin?, landau. THE SEAT OF THE EARL OF DARNLEY. Cobham-Hall was formerly the property and principal residence of a family who took their name from this place, and who for several centuries appear to have flourished in splendour and opulence. The last Baron Cobham having forfeited his estates to the Crown in the reign of James I., this Mansion and its Demesnes were granted by that monarch to his kinsman, Lodovick Stuart, Duke of Lennox, from whom they have descended to the present proprietor, the Earl of Darnley, whose grandmother, the Lady Theodosia Hyde, Baroness Clifton, was heiress to that title and the estate in right of her mother, the Lady Catharine O'Brien, only daughter and heiress of Catharine, sister of Charles, the last Duke of Richmond and Lennox of the name of Stuart. That nobleman died in possession of this house and estate, in the year 1672, having added to the ancient structure the centre building, of which Inigo Jones was the architect. An attic story was subsequently added by the late Earl of Darnley. The two Wings, now connected by that building, were built by Brooke, Lord Cobham, in the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth, as appears by various dates, from 1582 to 1599, and by the quarterings of Brooke and Cobham, sculptured in several places both within and without. It has been the aim of the present proprietor, without destroying any part of the edifice, to render the whole of this incongruous architecture somewhat more uniform in character and appearance. Great improvements in the interior of the House have, for a length of time, been going on, and a considerable collection of Pictures has been made, and placed for the most part in a Gallery which occupies a portion of the principal floor of the North Wing, being 136 feet in length and 24 in width, exclusive of two recesses in the centre of the room, in one of which is a magnificent picture of Danae by Titian. There are also in the Gallery six other Pictures by the same great master. The Gallery is furnished with crimson, and contains four Fire-places with Marble Chimney-pieces of the same date as the house, some of which are remarkable for their size and richness of decoration.* In the same wing, under the Gallery, is the Dining-room, 50 feet by 24. In this room the old wainscot has been retained, and the ancient Chimney-piece is striking in its appearance and large dimensions. Another room adjoining, on the ground-floor, has been restored to its ancient use of a Chapel; the entrance-door to this, which opens into the Garden-court, is highly ornamented, and shews by several inscriptions its original destination. In the centre building is the Great Hall or Music-room, connected en suite with the Vestibule, as it is called, and a Library lately fitted up. The dimensions of these rooms are as follow :— Great Hall, 50 feet by 36, 32 feet high; Vestibule, 36 feet by 20; Library, 50 feet by 19. In the Great Hall, the original ceiling, by Inigo Jones, is still preserved, the ornaments of which are peculiarly bold and grand, and their general effect has been improved by gilding, under the direction of the present proprietor. In this ceiling are the Arms of Charles Duke of Richmond and Lennox, with the Garter, and the motto — " Avant Darnley." The ornaments on the upper part of the walls are also gilt, and the base is entirely cased with marble. Here is a very fine Picture by Vandyke — whole-length Portraits of Lord John and Lord Bernard Stuart.f There is also in this room a fine Copy in marble of the Venus de' Medicis, a good antique Statue of Antinous, Mercury, or Meleager; and other pieces of Sculpture, both ancient and modern. The Vestibule (so called because it was originally one of the entrances to the house,) is fitted up with Turkish sofas. It contains a handsome statuary marble Chimney-piece, adorned with sculpture, two large Vases of Verd Antique, and a celebrated Tazza of Antique Serpentine of extraordinary size and beauty: the piece of which it is formed was found in the ruins of Adrian's Villa. Tke Library contains a fine collection of books ; in this room also are two sculptured Chim ney-pieces of statuary marble, over one of which is a Portrait, by Sir Peter Lely, of the Chan cellor Clarendon, of whom Lord Darnley is the immediate descendant and representative. * At the end of the Gallery is an apartment in which Queen Elizabeth is reported to have slept in one of her progresses through Kent; in the centre of the ancient ceiling are still preserved her arms, and the date, 1599 ; the Chimney-piece is of the lofty and massive character of many others in this house, and appears to represent some allegorical compliment to that great Princess. t Lord John Stuart was slain in the civil war in arms for Charles I in 1644 ; and Lord Bernard lost his life in the same service, in 1645 : they were both interred in the Cathedral at Oxford. 3p Uttiw Castle, WLtnt; THE SEAT OF FIENNES WYKEHAM MARTIN, ESQ. This Castle stands in a Moat, which covers about eleven acres of land, and contains within its walls about three more. It is approached by three causeways, from the north, south-west, and south-east, leading to the outworks of the gateway, which, from what now remains, appear to have been contrived with considerable skill. These outworks, containing the Castle Mill, were erected by William de Leybourne, or by Edward I., after the surrender into his hands. It is not easy to ascertain the date of the Bridge, which connects the outworks with the gateway. The Gateway itself, except the machi colations of later date, together with the lower part of the buildings adjoining on each side, must have been erected at the same time with the outworks. The upper part of the building, seen on the left of our vignette, has the appearance of having been erected in the reign of Edward III. On the right of the base-court were two square towers, pulled down in 1822, the northernmost of which had a communication with the Moat originally defended by a portcullis. Its date was in the reign of Edward I., with some later inser tions by Sir Henry Guldeford ; the lowest part of it is now used as a boat-house, in completing which, a curious narrow passage, between two walls, was found under the ground ; it ran north and south. Next to this is the Maidens' Tower, its name a corrup tion of the old French word " magne," or " mayne." The building, which stood on the site of the present southernmost of the two grand divisions of the Castle, was erected in the reign of James I., by one of the Smyth family, their arms being on the water-spouts. This front originally exhibited a line of gable- ends, until it was, in the strictest sense of the word, made " Gothic" by Lord Burlington, under whose direction, as it is believed, the spaces between the gable-ends were filled, the front cased with rustic work, &c, the windows arched with pointed plaister arches, and some of the lower rooms fitted up in the Roman style. The Drawing-room, how ever, escaped this latter discipline, and was a very handsome chamber, lined with oak wainscot, but painted white, and having a very richly ornamented ceiling. The whole of this part of the Castle was, in 1822, pulled down, but the very richly- carved chimney-piece of the Drawing-room has been preserved. The cellars, probably erected in the reign of Henry III., certainly the oldest part of the Castle, are under this building. There was a Norman entrance to them, which unfortunately, in the late alterations, has been entirely covered up ; it was a plain semicircular arch of Caen stone. The oldest part of the Castle, the age of which can be ascertained, appears to be of the time of Edward I., viz., two lancet windows near each other, on the south-west side, west of the Clock Tower, the upper stage of which was added in 1823 ; another, on the west side, south of a small slightly projecting round tower, and also the lower part of that tower. Two windows on the south-west side, and west of the Clock Tower, rank next in date, one only is nearly perfect, the tracery extremely beautiful, but appears of rather later date tljan the arch in which it is inserted. There is also another window, of the same age, at the north-west angle of the building: these are all temp. Edward III. There are two other windows on the south-west side, east of the Clock Tower, of which, from the absence of weather-mouldings, &c, the date is not so easily ascertained. The whole of the rest of the building, with the exception of a small window at the south-west angle, was built by Sir H. Guldeford in the reign of Henry VIII. In 1822, the whole of the interior of the ancient Castle was taken down and rebuilt : all the chimney-pieces were preserved, with the exception of two, one of which had, in the spandrils, the arms of Sir Henry Guldeford. The door-heads have also been preserved ; the carvings in the spandrils of the chimney-pieces and door-heads consist of armorial bearings and devices of Henry VIII. and Catharine of Arragon. With respect to the alteration, and building, which have taken place since 1822, if the praise of absolute perfection cannot be given to the structure, still, upon the whole, there is much to admire ; the front, which possesses the least architectural merit, is most fortu nately but little seen from the surrounding Park. The principal objection is its monotony ; happily the nature of the ground prevented a repetition of that fault in any othem part of the building ; so that the Leeds Castle presents, in most points of view, a very noble and interesting appearance. 3-p2 DraTm. t>7 J. I !'¦¦:-- le cLtrvT Jearons. Engraved. "byT.Jea.vous. GODMERSHAM PARI, Jones St C°Teim51eof iheMusesKtisbiiTy Square LonSon. Mtxt'moxti ®astle> Mmt; THE SEAT OF LORD LE DESPENCER. This very elegant Mansion was erected by John Fane, seventh Earl of Westmoreland ; upon the site of an ancient castle, which had belonged to the Lords Abergavenny, and is built after a design of Colin Campbell, in imitation of the much-admired Villa Capra, of Palladio. It stands upon an eminence of easy ascent, watered by a stream running into the Medway, and encompassed by the most agreeable risings, cultivated and improved to the utmost perfection. The principal structure is an exact square of eighty-eight feet. There is a portico of six columns in each of the four fronts. The hall, or grand saloon, is in the centre of the building ; it is circular, and receives light from above. A gallery continued round the saloon communicates with the upper apartments ; and the state rooms, divided off from it, open one into another all round the house, and are richly furnished. The annexed engraving represents the principal front, upon which two noble wings, containing domestic offices, project, and enclose three sides of a spacious court, which adds much to the grandeur of the building. The portico opens upon a vestibule leading to the saloon, at the opposite end of which is the picture gallery. The Mansion is situated about seven miles from Maidstone, in a delightful and wooded part of the country. Mereworth anciently gave name to a family, and we find John de Mereworth, sheriff of Kent, in the 15th and 16th of Edward III. They held the manor about two centuries, when it descended to the Malmaines, Bohuns, and Bambres, who built a castle, which passed from the Earls of Arundel to the Lords Abergavenny and Le Despencer ; and from them, with the title of Le Despencer, to Francis Fane, first Earl of Westmoreland. At the death of John, seventh earl, in 1762, without issue, he was succeeded in the earldom of Westmoreland, and barony of Burghersh, by a distant branch, and in the barony of Le Despencer by his nephew, Sir Francis Dashwood, Bart,, from whom the estate, as well as the ancient title, has devolved upon the family of Stapleton. Among the splendid Paintings at Mereworth Castle, the following may be enumerated — The Dining-Room. — King Charles I. and his family — Francis, late Lord Le De Spencer, Lance — Penelope, daughter of Henry, Earl of Southampton, Cornelius Jansen — William, son of Robert, first Lord Spencer, who married Penelope, the daughter of the Earl of Southampton, and father of Henry, Earl of Sunderland, who married Dorothy Sidney, Waller's Sacchrissa, Ditto — Robert, first Baron Spencer, Ditto ¦ — Elizabeth, daughter of Robert, first Lord Spencer, wife of Sir George Fane, of Burston, Kent, Ditto — Robert, the youngest son of Robert, first Lord Spencer, Ditto — Mary, Countess of Westmoreland, daughter and heiress of Sir A. Mildmay, of Ape- thorpe, Northamptonshire, and her son Sir Francis Fane, K.B. of Fulbeck, progenitor of the present Earl of Westmoreland — Sir G. Fane, of Burston, Kent, Vandyck — The late John Philip Kemble, and Mrs. Siddons, Sir Wm. Beechey, R.A. The Library. — The ceiling, Diana and Endy- mion — The Death of Adonis, Scarcellino de Ferrara — A View of the City of Venice, Canalelti — A Portrait of himself, Rubens — George, Duke of Buckingham, and Sir Anthony Mildmay, Oliver — A Portrait of himself, Vandyck — A Drawing after a picture of Teniers, Countess of Westmoreland. The Breakfast-Room.— The Ceiling, Flora, &c. — The Head of St. John the Baptist, a mezzotinto, very curious and fine impression by the inventor of the art, Prince Rupert — The Death of Marc Antony, A. Kauffman — A Female Prisoner before a Roman Consul, A. Kauffman— A Pig and Dog, G Morland. 4 The Gallery. — Ceiling, Apollo and the Muses, by Sclater- — A small piece, Bassano — A View of Windsor — A Battle piece, Borgognone — A View of Venice, Canalelti — Two Landscapes, Piemont — Christ restoring the Blind, Tintoretto — A Group of Lions, Breughel— Fishing, Vender Cazi — His own Portrait, David My tens — Two Landscapes, JVouvermans — Romulus and Remus, Cantarini — An Old Lady seated in a Chair, Rembrandt — A Landscape, Italian School — Fishermen, Teniers, very fine — A Battle piece, very curious — The Crucifixion, /. de Bruge, very curious — Sir Walter Raleigh — Assumption of the Virgin, Le Hyre — A Boulangois Doctor, Frank Hals. The Drawing-Room. — Portrait of Mary, daughter and heiress of Lord Abergavenny, to whom the barony of Le De Spencer was adjudged; she married Sir Thomas Fane, K.B. — An Old Man's Head, Teniers — Erasmus, Holbein — The Marriage in Cana, Jan Franke — A Large Landscape, Paul Brill— A Dutch Fair, Teniers — Sir Thomas More — A Vapoured Lady, Ant. de Coreggio — The Carnaval, Titian — The Holy Family, Raffaelle — Christ entering Jerusalem, Lan~ franc — Saint Francis, Guido — A Landscape, Swanevelt — Venus and Cupid, Rubens— A Landscape, Paul Brill — A Landscape, Claude — The Children of Israel in the Wilderness, Bassano — A Landscape, Clavde — Noah after the Flood, Bassano — Sigismunda, Coreg gio — A View of- Southampton, Morland — An Old Man's Head, Teniers — Lord Abergavenny, Holbein — A Flower piece, Baptista. H THE SEAT OP EDWARD KNIGHT, ESQ. Godmersham is most beautifully situated in the vale of the Stoure, in Fel- borough hundred, Scray Lathe, at the distance of six miles from the town of Ashford, and about eight miles and a half from the city of Canterbury, in a part of the county which is delightfully varied in its surface, being surrounded by eminences chiefly covered with wood, while the intermediate plains are rich, and productive in a high degree. The House was built about the year 1732, by Thomas Knight, Esq., on the site of the old mansion, which had been the residence of his ancestors for many generations. We have given a view of the principal front, taken from the road which runs between Canterbury and Ashford. The original name of this family was Brodnax, who bore for arms — Or, two chevrons gules, on a chief of the second, three cinquefoils, argent, surmounted by the crest in a mural coronet, a demi-eagle, or, winged gules and gorged as the chief in the arms. The founder of the present Mansion, a descendant of Sir William Brodnax, Knight, and who was sheriff of this county in 1/29, relinquished his name for that of May in 1727? when he came into possession of a considerable estate in Sussex and London ; of which last, May's Buildings, in St. Martin's Lane, formed a part. This second name he again exchanged for that of Knight, in 1738, on a still greater acquisition of landed property at Chawton, in Hamp shire, now one of the seats of the family. He died February 26, 1781, set. 80, leaving issue by his wife Jane, eldest daughter and co-heiress of William Monk, Esq., of Buckingham, near Shoreham, in Sussex, a son, Thomas Knight, Esq., LL.D. and M.P. for the county, who constantly resided at Godmersham, and married Catherine, the daughter of the Rev. Wadham Knatchbull, D.D. Chan cellor of Durham, and a Prebendary of Canterbury, but had no issue. He was an accomplished gentleman, and at his decease, October 23, 1794, bequeathed his fine collection of medals and a series of English coins to the University of Oxford. The manor of Godmersham is reported to have been granted to the monks of Christchurch, Canterbury, by Bernulf, king of Mercia, as early as the year 820, and that Archbishop Agelnoth confirmed the same in 1032. Archbishop Arundel appropriated the rectory to the Priory of Christchurch, by a license from King Richard II., to support and maintain the said monastery. The parish church is situated on the banks of the Stoure, and contains, on the south side, a large pew belonging to the family, which is adorned by a collection of very curious painted glass, forming a wide border to the window. On the north side of the church are the remains of Godmersham Priory, built by Thomas Goldstone, Prior of Christchurch, who died in 1517* 4-h2 MERSHAM HATCH, 'Jvnr.VTL i J.J K0L"70 03, Jones 8c C° Temple of the Muses Rnsbury Square London Mtxtfbant f^atcft, $£tnt; THE SEAT OF SIR EDWARD KNATCHBULL, BART. M.P. Mersham Hatch, four miles south-east from Ashford, and about the same distance south from Wye, has been the principal seat of the family of Knatchbull, ever since the year 1486, the second of the reign of Henry VII., at which time it was purchased by Richard Knatchbull, Esq., of the executors of Edwards, its former proprietor. The House, in that deed, and in several of much older date, is called, sometimes, Mersham Hatch, and some times Mersham le Hatche. The present building was begun to be rebuilt by Sir Wyndham Knatchbull, the sixth Baronet of this family ; but he dying, in 1763, it was completed according to the original design, by his uncle, Sir Edward Knatchbull, Bart., who succeeded to the title and estates. It is constructed with brick, and consists of a centre and wings, being a large and handsome edifice, situated in a Park, not large, but finely disposed ; sheltered on the north by an eminence, at the foot of which is a lake, nearly a quarter of a mile long. The park is about three miles and a half in circuit, and situated in a part of the county which is most pleasingly diversified by hill and dale, producing great quantities of hops and fruit : corn fields and meadow lands give great interest to the surface of this tract; which if viewed from the chalk hills, on the north of Mersham, presents a most delightful scene of picturesque fertility. Philipot, in his " Villare Cantianum, or Kent Surveyed and Illustrated," published in 1659, in folio, states, that the family of " Knatchbull extracted originally from Limne, where I find the name by deeds very ancient, and owners of a plentiful patrimony." The above • mentioned Richard Knatchbull, who purchased this estate, was the father of another Richard, who died in 1523, and had issue, William, who had issue, John Knatchbull, who died in 1540, and was the father of Richard, John, Reginald, and William, and a daughter, Mary. Richard Knatchbull, Esq., eldest son and heir, had two wives ; by the second wife, Susan, daughter of Norton Green, Esq., of Bobbing, in Essex, he had issue, Sir Norton Knatchbull, and Thomas ; and dying in 1582, was buried in the chancel of the Church, at Mersham. Sir Norton Knatchbull, Knt., his son and heir, was Sheriff of Kent in 1606, and M. P. for Hythe ; he had three wives, but had no issue by any of them, and died in 1636. Sir Norton founded the Free School at Ashford, which was finished and endowed by his successor, Sir Norton Knatchbull, Knight and Baronet. His brother, Thomas Knatchbull, Esq., married Eleanor, daughter and coheiress of John Astley, Esq., chief gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth ; and Master and Treasurer of Her Majesty's jewels and plate, who was descended from the Barons Astley ; he died in 1 623, leaving Norton his son and heir, who was knighted at Whitehall, and afterwards advanced to the dignity of Baronet, 4th August, 1641. Sir Norton Knatchbull was M.P. for the County in the time of Charles I., and was author of "Annotations on the New Testament." The present, and ninth Baronet, married Annabella Christiana, daughter of Sir John Honywood, Bart., of Evington, Kent, who died in 1814, leaving five sons, Norton Joseph, Edward since dead, Charles Henry, Wyndham, and John, and one daughter, Mary Dorothea. Sir Edward married, secondly, in 1820, Fanny Catherine, eldest daughter of Edward Knight, Esq., of Godmersham Park, in this county, by whom he has one daughter, Fanny Elizabeth, born in 1825. 4-h3 the seat op JOHN WARD, ESQ. The new mansion at Hohvood was erected in the year 1825, by the present proprietor, from the designs and under the superintendence of that eminent architect, Decimus Burton, Esq. The exterior presents a uniform architectural elevation in the Grecian style ; the walls being faced with the light-coloured bricks brought from Southampton, and with the columns, pilasters, entablatures, window-dressings, and the plinth, of solid Portland stone. The south front, the part selected for our View, extends 180 feet in length, and has a circular portico of four columns of the Grecian Ionic order, and of the height of the building; in the wings are Doric columns in recesses. The principal apartments are in this front, and consist of the Dining-room, Saloon, Library, Drawing-room, Billiard-room, and Conservatory, en suite. The kitchen offices also occupy part of the south front, but so concealed under the same elevation as to avoid the incongruity sometimes observed, where, either from injudiciousness, or with the idea of economy, the domestic offices are seen attached to the mansion in a character of architecture totally different. A hand some Conservatory, principally constructed of Portland stone and iron, and 40 by 17 feet wide, forms the termination of the western wing. The north or entrance front is of the same extent, but of a plainer character than the south front, with a recessed portico of two Doric columns. The interior presents several well-contrived vistas through the suites of apartments. The Saloon, which has an extremely pleasing appearance, occupies the centre of the house, and extends two stories in height, surmounted by a large lantern light, and supported by columns. Although the rooms are not large, yet it may be truly said that the architect has constructed at Holwood one of the most ornamental, convenient, and sub stantial mansions in this county. The scenery around Holwood is very varied and extensive, owing to the elevation of its site, the broken and undulating surface of the ground in the immediate vicinity, and other local advantages. The present proprietor has likewise been at great expense in embellishing the park and pleasure-grounds, and has entirely enclosed the former with a strong oak fence, extending about four miles in circumference ; he has also built two ornamental rustic lodges. The old house, which was pulled down in the year 1823, had formerly been the favourite residence of the late Right Hon. William Pitt. It was a small old plastered brick building, but had long been tenanted by various gentlemen, who delighted in fox-hunting at the time the Duke of Grafton kept a pack of hounds in this neighbourhood. It afterwards came into the hands of the late Mr. Cal- craft, and served as a house of rendezvous for the heads of one of the parties which at that time divided the House of Commons. From Mr. Calcraft it came into the possession of the Burrell family ; by them it was sold to Captain Ross, and was purchased of him by Burrow, Esq., nephew of the late Sir James Burrow, who stuccoed the house, added greatly to the grounds by various pur chases, grubbed and converted considerable woods into beautiful pasture and pieces of water, and planted those ornamental shrubberies which rendered it so justly admired. An eminent ship-builder, named Randall, purchased it of Mr. Burrow, and he afterwards disposed of it to the Right Hon. William Pitt, who was a native of the adjoining parish, and under whose own personal super intendence most of the ornamental plantations were made, which rendered the park so justly admired. 4-h4 J%&^Si& Dr^Tni bv XUfeale JErLfftaveiliv" TMntttiews. r,VIK LAW!1 XX. vr. 'Dx amity JnT. HIL3L PA1K, KE.YT ..'lie.'. Sc C" n--nj|iie tC i >,*- Murvs Tiu;- trcrtr Gqusxe.Lor.clon "EnJi-avecLby I Hifiriam. iFaiv ftaton, Mtnt; the seat op JOHN SIMPSON, ESQ. Fair Lawn is situated in the parish, and within half a mile of the village, of Shipborne, on the road from Wrotham to Tunbridge ; from the latter town it is distant four miles. The Mansion is large, and owes its present appearance to its successive possessors. But the principal portion, which has evidently undergone many alterations, is believed to have been built about the latter end of the seventeenth century, and subsequently great additions have been made to the building. It is now a large, substantial, and convenient edifice, adorned with very extensive shrubberies and pleasure grounds, and most excellent gardens, and seated in a finely wooded park, the smooth verdure of which may account for its name. The Estate is in Wrotham hundred, and in Aylesford lathe. In the early part of the reign of Edward I., it was in the possession of Adam de Barent, in whose family it remained until the latter part of the reign of Edward III. It was then transferred to the family of Colepeper, who retained possession of the Manor until early in the fourteenth century, when it became the property of the Chown family. It was next sold to Sir Henry Fane of Hadlow, who died at Rouen 1596; and whose son, Sir Henry, also purchased the Mansion of Sir George Chown. Sir Henry now resumed the name of his ancestors Vane, which his posterity have since continued. Sir Henry Vane became principal Secre tary of State to King Charles I., and also Treasurer of the Household, from which he was dispossessed on his appearing in the prosecution of the Earl of Strafford, who had personally offended him by taking the title of Baron of Raby, the seat and estate of Sir Henry Vane ; an act of unnecessary provoca tion. Sir Henry, before the death of Charles I., retired from the confusion of the times to Raby Castle ; where he died in 1654. Sir Henry Vane, his eldest surviving son and heir, upon whom Milton has bestowed terms of high com mendation, in a beautiful sonnet, was beheaded on Tower Hill soon after the Restoration, a sacrifice to the shade of the Earl of Strafford. Christopher Vane, his son, was by King William created Lord Barnard, of Barnard's Castle in the Bishopric of Durham ; probably as a reward for his father's sufferings in the • cause of liberty. His Lordship married Elizabeth, sister and coheir to John Hollis, Duke of Newcastle, and died at this seat, October 28, 1723; and was buried in the church of Shipborne, which he had rebuilt at his own expense from a design of the celebrated architect, James Gibbs : he left two sons, Gilbert, his successor in the title, and ancestor of the Earls of Darlington ; and William, who inherited the seat at Fair Lawn : he was created Viscount Vane and Baron Duncannon June, 11, 1720, and died here in 1734, having, three days before his death, been elected Member of Parliament for the county of Kent : his son and successor was the eccentric Lord Vane, who married the widow of Lord William Hamilton, and daughter of Francis Hawes of Purley, in Berks ; a lady whose singular charms placed her in the very first rank of admired and fashionable beauties during twenty years : he died possessed of considerable estates totally unembarrassed, as well as of this beautiful seat, which, at his decease in 1789, was let on lease to Henry Lyell, Esq. the father- in-law of Earl Delawar. The whole of his property, after the payment of the legacies, was bequeathed to David Papillon, Esq. of Lee, a relation of his Lordship, who sold it in 1799 to Mr. Simpson, the present proprietor, who, in 1807, was High Sheriff for the county of Kent. — The father of poet Smart was possessed of an estate in the neighbourhood of Fair Lawn, and acted as steward to Lord Barnard, whose patronage was exerted in favour of the son. 4-i mm Parii, litatt; THE SEAT OF THOMAS JESSON, ESQ. Valons, or Valence, now called Hill Park, is situated in the parish of Wester- ham, in the county of Kent. It was formerly the residence of a family called, in deeds of great antiquity and without date, De Valoniis; after Vhich it continued for many years in the family of Casinghurst, one of whom conveyed it in the reign of King Henry VII. to John Islip, Abbot of Westminster. After having passed through several hands, it was conveyed in the year 1766, to Arthur, Earl of Hillsborough, who changed its ancient name of Valons to Hill Park, after the surname of his family. It was the favourite retreat of that accomplished nobleman from the toils of office ; and few places seem more qua lified by nature to afford repose and tranquillity after the hurry of public life. The House is an elegant and spacious structure, in the Italian style of architecture, but will not require particular description, unless, indeed, it be the superb chimney-piece in the Dining Room, of about the date of 1700, adorned with festoons of fruit and flowers, in alto relievo, exquisitely carved. The key- stone presents a head of Aurora, very highly relieved, and of first- rate sculpture ; over the chimney-piece is a curious carving in oak, of very high antiquity, representing the offering up of Isaac by Abraham. Near to the House is an elegant dairy and summer-house, built by Lord Hillsborough after those at Frogmore near Windsor, the retirement of the late Queen Charlotte. The Park, however, is the distinguishing beauty of this delightful residence. To begin with its western extremity, its principal features are a winding valley, encompassed on each side by considerable hills, sometimes almost precipitous, at other times forming a broad and level slope to the edge of the lake below ; in some places studded with majestic single oaks, in others presenting dingles filled with broken masses of timber, which gradually recede, and are finally lost in the woods behind. A stream of pellucid water brawls along the bottom of the valley, winding its way through well-dispersed groves of alder and other aquatic trees, and in its progress expands itself into a lake of several acres, the resort of water-fowl of various descriptions. The wild accompaniments of this water, secluded from human research, present in a calm summer evening a delightful scene. The distant murmurs of the rooks, the silent flapping of the moor-hen over its unruffled surface, excel lently harmonize with the still and peaceful landscape around. The brook having escaped once more from the lake, after many meanderings, is at length conducted into a wood of ancient forest trees, among which one beech is of the prodigious girth of twenty-eight feet. Here is formed one of the most pleasing features of the park. The brook tumbles over a precipitous rock of natural production, the depth of thirty feet, into a dark pool below, immediately opposite, and within a hundred yards of the Dining Room windows. The House stands in a recess, backed to the west by a bold eminence, covered with magnificent oaks ; on the south is the fine wood, ani mated by the cascade ; on the east and north are open sweeps, which are gradually lost in the horizon or in the surrounding country. The scenery of this spot — the murmur of the cascade, its tremulous and silver form contrasted with the dark foliage of the forest trees which clothe it — the classic form and appearance of the House — the rich concert of innu merable birds, from the hoarse note of the rook to the rich tenor of the dove, and the sweeter treble of the thrush and blackbird — excite feelings in the mind, which, though perpetually experienced by the lover of nature, never have been, nor ever will be, adequately described by the feeble efforts of the pen. 4-i 2 Dra,wu t-yJ.J::MejLLe. LUgrayed bj-'tiif-er THE MOTE, hi hm : i- _ De avm. "by Geo . SKepteE d. . Hn graved, "by J Rogers. ,E ASTWBlLILi PARK.-. IEUT, THE SEAT OF LORD "wnsfeHELSEA. . . JPrMislusa. lS29,"by Geo. Virtue, 2G.IyyIaji8 . Drawn ~by Geo.Stephfltd , Engrave! 1-y ILJRoffe. KHT. * THE SEAT OF VISCOUNT SIDNEY. Brasni "by "Geo1. Shepherd ILE.EPS - (CASTILE., *' KB SI. THE, SEAT. OF V MARTIN^ E S Q ? Published 1829 by Geo.Virtoe. 2S .Ivy, Lane "Eii6ra.Ted by Gams Dferoby UGasiiDeauaftcraaketcli Tjy Deeble En^avedtry Gamer. SOUTH' EAST VIEW ©IF- ST S'TJEPffiESIS CHUTE.CH. HACKINGTOM" NEAR, CANTERBURY. KJEK'JL TMUIO^MAM HAILIL, LANCASHIRE UrssmTiv-J.EJIfeali AtirP.Hrath. C H I JL B1Y A JL h II]., 11., 1AMCASHI //. London. Pulilistied "by Jottes S, C l-'i'b >_ / 1,1:',') ¦"¦*•. dmrnttsm Hail ^mxcmUxt; THE SEAT OF JOHN DALTON, ESQ. Thurnham Hall, the seat and inheritance of the Daltons, is two miles from Ashton Hall, the residence of the Duke of Hamilton, five miles south-west from Lancaster, and about seven from Garstang. The Mansion, which stands on an eminence, commanding a prospect of a most fertile and abundant district, is nearly coeval with the possession of the estate by the family, which was as early as the reign of Queen Mary. Our view, taken from a sketch by Captain Edward Jones, to whom we are under many obligations, represents the front, where modern inno vation has demolished the projecting bays of the Old Hall, and deprived the win dows of their mullions ; originally it presented a fair specimen of the Hall-house, in the days of Elizabeth ; but has since undergone several alterations ; the present front, built of free-stone, was completed in in 1823. The Hall in the centre of the house is thirty-nine feet by twenty-four ; the Dining-room, on the right of the Hall, twenty-four feet by twenty-seven ; and the Library, on the left of the Hall, is twenty-four feet by sixteen ; an old oak Staircase leads to the Drawing-room, which is over the Hall, and is of the same dimension. Part of the Manor enjoys the feudal privilege of free-warren. The ruin of Cockersand Abbey, one of the principal antiquities of the county, is situated upon the estate, about two miles from the Hall. It was founded for Cluniac Monks of the Premonstrateusian Order, in the reign of Richard I. by Theobald Walter, Lord of Amounderness, and brother of Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, whose descendants were the Butlers, Earls of Ormonde, the Bulters of RawclifFe, &c. The founder of this Abbey granted all the pasture grounds in Pilling as perpetual alms to his Monas tery, which was dedicated to Saint Mary, and was subordinate to the Abbey of Leicester. It derived its name from its site upon a neck of land which projects into the sea, adjoining to the sands of the Cocker, between the mouth of that river, and the Loyne, or Lune. The original endowment of the Abbey was con firmed by King John, and afterwards by Richard II., and amongst the principal benefactors were the old Barons of Kendal. There is a remarkable circumstance attending the dissolution of this Abbey, for it appears, that within three years of that event, it was actually restored to its ancient privileges by a grant from King Henry VIII. The building formerly occupied above an acre of ground, and was fortified from the encroachments of the sea by a rock of reddish stone, upon which it was erected. Very little architecture now remains to attest its former grandeur, except the Chapter House, in which several members of the Dalton family have been interred : this portion of the Abbey is octangular, having a single pillar in the centre, to support its groined roof; it stands in a commanding situation, with a fine view over the sands towards the Irish sea. The Daltons are paternally descended from the family of Hoghton, long seated at Hoghton Tower in this county. Eichard Hoghton, Esq. of Park Hall, their direct ancestor, being the third son of Sir Richard Hoghton, Knt. of Hoghton Tower, Knight of the Shire for the county of Lancaster, in 1557, 1st of Edward VI., descended from Adam de Hoghton, temp. Henry II. The family derive their maternal descent and name from Sir Robert de Dalton, Knt. -who lived in the time of Edward III. and was the father of Sir John Dalton, Knt, who died in 1369, seized of the Manors of Byspham, Dalton Hall, and other lands in this County, vide Tower RoUs. From him in a direct line came Robert Dalton, Esq. of Byspham and Pilling, who purchased the manor and estate of Thurnham in the year 1556. At his death in 1580, without issue, he was succeeded by his nephew Robert, the son of his younger brother, Thomas Dalton Esq. and Anne, the daughter of Sir Richard Molyneux, Knt. of Sephton. Robert Dalton, Esq. died in 1626, and was succeeded by his only son Thomas, who dis tinguished himself in the cause of Royalty, having raised a regiment of horse at his own expense, to ' support his sovereign, Charles I. He was desperately wounded at the second battle of Newbury, in 1643, of which he soon afterwards died, and was succeeded in his estate at Thurnham Hall by his son Robert, who made some additions to the Mansion, and married Elizabeth, the daughter and heiress of Thomas Horner, Esq. of Middleham in Yorkshire, by whom he had issue two daughters, co-heiresses: Dorothy, the youngest, inherited the Manors of Caton and Aldeliffe, in Lancashire, part of her father's property ; and Elizabeth, the eldest, married William Hoghton Esq. of Park Hall, in this county. The estates of Thurnham Hall, Cockersand Bulk, and lands in the Fryerage, at Lancaster, were limited upon her and her issue, in consequence of which her eldest son John, who succeeded to this estate in 1710, assumed the name and arms of Dalton ; he married Frances, the daughter of Sir Piers Mostyn, Bart, and had issue Robert Dalton, Esq. the father of the present proprietor of Thurnham, &c. T Wtotoall fl>all, Uanta^bixt; THE SEAT OP THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY Childwall is about four miles south-east from Liverpool, most delightfully situated, where the distant country breaks upon the view at every turn of the road. The mansion, which is a castellated edifice, after a design by John Nash, Esq. was built by the present possessor, and contains a suite of apartments both commodious and elegant. The building is entirely constructed with freestone, of a reddish colour, and is entered by a handsome porch on the west front ; the whole is embattled. The porch opens upon a hall, not large, but corresponding in style with the architectural character of the exterior, the chimney-piece being adorned with the arms and quarterings of the family of Gascoyne. On the left of the hall is the principal staircase. The Library, Dining-room, Drawing-room, and Study, are upon the South and East- fronts, which are represented in the view taken from the lawn. In the latter room is a small winding staircase, leading to the top of the turret, from whence is a particularly fine and extensive view all around. At every point, some interesting object meets the eye. On the north-west the prospect extends as far as Aughton Hills, near Ormskirk. On the north is seen the noble woods of Knowsley Park, the spires of Huyton and Prescot churches, and the fine old brick mansion at Roby, while on the south-east flows the broad channel of the Mersey, from Runcorn to Liverpool, bounded by the more distant eminences of Cheshire on the opposite coast. Childwall was the property of noble and distinguished families from a very early period of English history. William Ferrers, Earl of Derby, married Agnes, the daughter of Randle, Earl of Chester ; after whose death he had livery of all Earl Randle's lands, between the rivers Ribble and Mersey, together with the Castle and Manor of West Derby. Sir Robert Holland, Knt. obtained Childwall in 1303, the 32nd year of Edward the First's reign. Henry, Duke of Lancaster, died in 1361, in posses sion of this estate, soon after which the property was transferred to Robert de Lathom, and after his death was granted to Sir John Stanley, K.G. together with the Manors of Lathom, Knowsley, Roby, and Aulasaigh in 1407- More recently, Childwall was the property of the family of Le Grey, from whom it was pur chased by Isaac Green, Esq. of Liverpool, who afterwards married Mary, the daughter and heiress of Aspinall, Esq. with whom he obtained the Lord ship and Seat at Hale. He died in 1749, and left two daughters, co-heiresses, one of whom, Ireland Green, married Thomas Blackburne, Esq. of Orford, and Mary married Bamber Gascoyne, Esq. of Barking, in Essex, M. P. for Liverpool, the only son of Sir Crisp Gascoyne, Knt. who died in 1761, and was maternally descended from John Bamber, M.D. a celebrated physician. Bamber Gascoyne, Esq. died in 1791, when he was succeeded in his estates, at Havering, Ilford,&c. in Essex, together with Childwall and others in Lancashire, by his eldest son, the late proprietor, whose daughter and heiress is married to the Marquess of Salisbury. t2 1LATHOM HOUSE, (general view.) LANCASHIRE. J^i-'-^/^ 6Vr/¥J^^4 /fc/vtt!/tP/?t-f (ivy/'^n^ Dram "by J.F Wealc. Engrcrrea. "bj "V7", Radclyffe LATHOM HOUSE, .ANCAS7IIRE.' )/ r ^jjs , Jeff/ "17/ f'J/1/1/ '/// _l/jrv/Zt;' '//.(/''nzJam.: O-J ff, ' ._ 'I . THE SEAT OF LORD SKELMERSDALE. The situation of Lathom House is that of the ancient castellated Mansion, celebrated in history for the remarkable siege it withstood during fifteen months, in the time of the civil wars, in consequence of the heroic defence maintained by the Countess of Derby during the absence of the Earl in the Isle of Man. It stands in the centre of a pleasant and well- wooded Park, about three miles from Ormskirk, and eleven from Wigan. After the demolition of the old House, which had been a residence of the family of Stanley from the time of Henry IV. a new building was commenced by William, ninth Earl of Derby, who did not live to complete his intentions. At his death, in 1702, the estate became the property of Henrietta, his daughter and co-heiress, who sold it to Henry Fur- ness, Esq. from whom the whole was purchased, in 1724, by Sir Thomas Bootle, of Mel- ling in this county, and from him it has descended to the present proprietor, whose father married the niece of Sir Thomas. The noble Mansion, of which we have given views of each front, was erected about 1725, by Sir Thomas Bootle, who employed in its construction and embellishment an Italian architect, Giacomo Leoni, whose skill in the distribution and ornament of the various apartments, is much to be admired. The plan is that of a grand central building, one hundred and fifty-six feet by seventy-five, with two wings, each one hundred feet by fifty, projecting at right angles on the north or principal front, and united to the main edifice by a curved Ionic colonnade, and at their extreme point by means of a low parapet wall, divided by piers at regular distances, enclosing a court or lawn, diversified with beds of flowers, which wall, and carriage entrance, through iron palisades, is a judicious and recent alteration from the original design. The whole length of the principal front, includ ing the wings, is three hundred and twenty feet. The elevation is bold, and extremely correct in its proportions; but in a Mansion of such noble dimensions, more of ornament in the decoration would certainly have improved the effect. The north front, when seen in perspective from beneath the colonnade, exhibits all the boldness of its architectural character, but its beautiful symmetry is seen to greater advantage from a little distance. The point chosen for drawing is nearly opposite the end of the east wing. The whole of the west wing, of which the front next the court is seen, is appropriated to stabling, with the appendages concealed from view by the rich foliage which environs them. The Central Building, containing the principal apartments, consists of a rustic base ment, having a noble ascent of a double flight of steps to the grand Hall ; the other rooms occupy a principal and upper story. The centre compartment, in which is the entrance, projects about three feet, and is surmounted by a plain pediment; a bold cornice is con tinued round the whole, above which is no attic. The windows, nine on each story, have their appropriate architectural decorations, and the wings correspond with each other and with the body of the Mansion. The whole is built with a fine clear coloured stone. The south, or Garden Front, is simple in its architecture, but of elegant proportion, containing thirteen windows on each story. The only entrance on this front is in the centre of the basement ; but on the east end is a temporary convenient flight of steps leading from the principal story to the lawn beneath, this is concealed in our View by the flowering-shrubs in the garden. At a short distance from this point on the east, is a large and handsome Conservatory, stored with a profusion of exotic plants. It is sixty feet long by twenty in width, and is composed of a continued series of Doric pilasters and entablature. Ground plans and elevations of this Mansion are inserted in the " Vitruvius Britan- nicus," published about the period of its erection by Colin Campbell. A few alterations appear to have been since made from the original designs of Leoni, which are chiefly to be observed in the Dining-room and Library, both of which have been enlarged; the latter is now fifty feet in length, and twenty-two wide : two rooms were thrown into one by the present owner, and the division of the apartments is marked by two scagliola columns which sup port their entablature; the Ceilings are all entitled to notice, from the boldness of the ornamental decoration. t3 Two principal Staircases communicate with the rooms on the east and west of the grand Hall. This magnificent apartment is forty feet "square, and thirty feet high. In each angle, and at equal distances on the sides, are Corinthian columns, three-quarter size, in all twelve in number, with their appropriate frieze ; the intermediate compartments are adorned with busts, and paintings in chiaro-obscuro on the walls, chiefly allegorical sub jects by the hand of Goupy. In this Hall stands a Lettern, or Reading Desk, represent ing an Eagle with expanded wings, which was probably part of the furniture of the ancient domestic chapel. The Dining-room is hung with portraits of the distinguished persons in the time of George II. viz. of his Royal Highness Frederick Prince of Wales, to whom Sir Thomas Bootle, the founder of the Mansion, was Chancellor. William Pulteney, Earl of Bath ; Charles, called the Proud, Duke of Somerset, and his second Duchess, with their two daughters, one afterwards Marchioness of Granby, the other Countess of Aylesford ; Sir Thomas Bootle, in his Chancellor's robes; King George II. and a head of George III. when young, painted in profile by Allan Ramsay, from which there is an engraving by Woollett ; there is also in this apartment a portrait of James Earl of Derby, who was be headed at Bolton for his loyalty to his sovereign, and an interesting head of bis wife, Charlotte de la Tremouille, the celebrated Countess of Derby, who defended Lathom House in 1644, and the Isle of Man in 1651. After the submission of the latter place to the Parliament, this heroine was detained in prison with her young children in poverty, till the Restoration : she died in 1663. It may be remarked, that so far from being the bigoted Roman Catholic she is represented in a late popular and amusing Novel, " Peveril of the Peak," she was actually a Protestant, and was dead before the period to which the narration is confined in that work. The Saloon, forty feet by twenty-four, and twenty-four feet high, is preserved in its original state; it is richly gilt and adorned with whole-length portraits by Vandyck, Lely, and other masters, amongst which are those of Richard Wilbraham, Esq. and of Mary, daughter of Edward Bootle, Esq. the father and mother of the present possessor of the Mansion, by Romney. The Apartments on the principal story are twelve in number, the windows of which command beautiful views of the Park and the country beyond. The Park is nearly four miles in circumference, finely wooded, and well stocked with deer. On the north are seen the course of the river Ribble to the sea, and town of Preston, with the mountains that divide Yorkshire from this County, and those of Cumberland and Westmorland. On the south-east, upon an eminence, is Ash Hurst beacon, a sea mark used by ships entering Liverpool Harbour. It stands in the neighbouring township of Dalton, about three miles from Lathom, and belongs to Lord Skelmersdale, late E.B. Wilbraham, Esq. At about a quarter of a mile distant from the House is a Chapel, founded in the fifteenth century, and now used by the family. Divine service is performed there twice on Sunday : the Chaplain is also the Almoner to a charitable foundation for twelve poor persons, who have residences attached to the Chapel, and are maintained at the expense of the possessor. There is also a Girls' school founded a few years ago. In the Chapel are some ancient seats, and a screen well carved : the more modern decorations are executed in good taste, particularly the small canopies at the east end over the altar. The windows are filled with painted glass, chiefly armorial bearings of the family and their alliances, most of which are the performance of Miss Wilbraham, who has attained great proficiency in an art, which was long considered to be involved in obscurity. The execution of the several compartments are brilliant and delicate, and very considerably improve the architectural effect of the edifice. Burscough Abbey, the ancient burial-place of the Stanley family, is about three miles distant. It was founded by Robert Fitz-Henry, in the reign of Henry II. whose son, Robert, assumed the surname of Lathom from this Seat. Isabel, the daughter and heir of Sir Thomas Lathom, of Lathom and Knows ley, married Sir John Stanley, K.G. who died in 1414, and was buried in the north aisle of Burscough Abbey. At the dissolution, the Abbey was destroyed, and a very small part of the ruins are now to be seen. Edward, the third Earl of Derby, then built the Chapel adjoining the Church of Ormskirk, in which he was interred with much funeral pomp, in 1574. He died at Lathom House, the 24th of October, in that year. Henry VII. visited his father-in-law, the first Earl of Derby, soon after he came to the crown, both at this Seat and at Knowsley. With Lathom he was highly delighted, and, it is said, caused Rich mond Palace to be erected upon the same plan. The Mansion, at the time of the siege, in 1644, Was encompassed with a wall six feet in thickness. A moat six feet deep, and twenty- four in breadth, surrounded the whole. Nine bastions at commodious distances in the outer wall, each mounted with six large guns, commanded the approaches in every part. In the midst rose the Eagle Tower, or Keep, and a Gate-house flanked by the strong Towers formed the entrance to the first court. The parliamentary forces that were opposed to it were unable, from the frequent sorties that were made, to erect a single battery against it, and, after the siege had been raised on Prince Rupert's arrival, other outworks were erected for its better defence. But the whole was afterwards surrendered at discretion, in consequence of treachery on the part of one of the garrison, and the house was ultimately destroyed by the parliament. T 4 ALLERTOl HALJLS LANCASHIRE. Dra-wn "by J. P. Necde . EnfSravwL "by I HAl IB lALL ijAWCASHIRB. Jones & C° Temple of Hhe "Miises , Finsbury Square, London., Oct1! 2,1830 mitxton f^all ULancasInt* ; THE SEAT OF JAMES WILLASEY, ESQ. Allerton Hall, formerly the residence of William Roscoe, Esq., the Historian of the Medici, is pleasingly situated on a slight acclivity, and commands several beautiful and extensive views. On the West, after traversing a well-wooded country, the eye rests upon the broad expanse of the River Mersey, beyond which are seen the level plains of Cheshire, bounded in the distance by the mountains of Flint shire and Denbighshire. On the South the prospect is terminated by the Cheshire hills, amongst which Beeston Castle forms a very prominent feature. The hills of Frodsham, extending towards the East, add greatly to the effect of the morning landscape. The house, which is built of a species of red freestone, found in abun dance in the neighbourhood, is a very handsome structure, about 120 feet in length ; the centre, which is ornamented with four Ionic pilasters supporting a pediment, and resting upon a rustic basement, and one of the wings, were built by Mr. Hard- man in the early part of the last century, but a considerable part of the old Hall, the architecture of which might be referred to the age of James I., remained, until, being in a state of great decay, it was pulled down by Mr. Roscoe, a few years ago. At the same time the grounds, laid out in the old style of gardening, were altered, and assumed their present park-like appearance. On entering the House, a passage on the right leads to the Breakfast-room, a handsome apartment, panelled with oak, the windows of which command a beautiful western view. Adjoining to this are two small sitting rooms. On the left hand of the Hall an Ante-room leads to the Dining-room, a spa cious apartment, now converted into a nursery, and also to a handsome room built by Mr. Roscoe, for the reception of his valuable Library, but now used as a Dining- room. The Library occupied five recesses extending along both sides of the room, and had been selected with great care by its possessor, and more especially with a view to that department of Literature to which he had chiefly devoted himself. In the same room was also contained a valuable Collection of Prints, and of Drawings, by celebrated artists, which were sold, together with the Library, in the year 1816. On that occasion, the printed Books and MSS. produced the sum of 5,150Z, the Prints 1,880/., and the drawings 738/. Several friends of Mr. Roscoe became the purchasers of a portion of the Library, which related more particularly to Italian Literature, with the view of presenting the volumes to their former possessor ; but on his declining to accept them, they were deposited at the Athenaeum, in Liver pool, where they are preserved in separate cases. While the residence of Mr. Roscoe, most of the apartments were adorned with a curious and interesting Collection of Pictures, which had been made by him, for the purpose of illustrating the rise and progress of the art of painting. Over the mantle-piece in the Library hung a magnificent picture of Leo X., now in the pos session of Mr. Coke, of Holkham, who also became the purchaser of a singularly fine picture of our Saviour, by Leonardo da Vinci. Many of the pictures were disposed upon the Staircase, and in the Gallery, which extends along the greater part of the front, and terminates at the western end with a Drawing-room, used for many years as a Library by Mr. Roscoe. In this room he composed his History of the Life and Pontificate of Leo X. In the Gallery, fronting the Staircase, still remains a pleasing antique marble statue, supposed to represent Innocence. The Bed-rooms and offices are spacious and convenient. Allerton Hall was formerly the property of the ancient family of Lathom of Parbold, afterwards of the Percivals, one of whom was latterly an Alderman of Liverpool, and was purchased, together with much other land in the Parish of Childwall, by James Hardman, Esq. of Rochdale, and his brother, Mr. John Hardman, two opulent merchants in the early part of the last century. Mr. Roscoe became the possessor in the year 1799, and continued to reside here until 1816, since which time the estate has been purchased by James Willasey, Esq., formerly of Barton Lodge, near Preston. Allerton Hall is about five miles distant from Liverpool, and between one and two miles from the villages of Garston and Woolton. Speke Hall, an ancient edifice of the Norris family, but now belonging to Richard Watt, Esq., is distant about two miles. G G f^ale f^all, iLamasfnre ; THE SEAT OF JOHN BLACKBURNE, ESQ. F.R.S. This Mansion, which is situated on the east of Speke, the very ancient Seat for merly belonging to the family of Norris, and at the southern extremity of the county, is also very peculiar in its architecture. Our View represents the North Front, constructed of red brick, with quoins and mullions to the windows, of stone ; the east end of which is nearly covered with ivy, and, near the centre, is a porch of stone lately erected. Upon an embattled tower, at the base of which is an Arch, probably the original entrance, but now closed up, is a very large ornamental tablet, sculptured with two oval shields, each bearing the Arms of Ireland, viz. six fleur de lis, and united by clasped hands, surmounted by the crest of a dove, with an olive branch in its beak, and the following inscription : — " BUILT BY SIR GILBERT IRELAND, KT., AND DAME MARG*. HIS WIFE, A°. D™. 1674." The South Front of this Seat has been entirely erected by the present possessor under the direction of Mr. Nash, who has judiciously adopted a corresponding style of architecture, and similar materials in its construction. A large tablet, upon this front, bears the Arms of Blackburne, viz. a fess nebule between three mullets, together with eight quarterings, and is thus inscribed : — "THESE THREE ROOMS AND TOWER WERE ADDED BY JOHN BLACKBURNE, ESQ., IN THE CHARACTER OF BUILDING OF THE NORTH FRONT, A. D. 1806. The principal apartment on the South side is the Museum, 44 feet by 24, con taining Cabinets of Ornithology, Shells, Minerals, and Medals. The Drawing- room and Dining-room are each 36 feet by 22. On the North is the old Hall, the ceiling of which has been raised, and the space above the ancient panelling filled with the principal heraldic quarterings of the family, which illustrate their alliances in blood, chiefly in Lancashire, and in the neighbouring county of Chester, viz. 1. Blackburne ; 2. Norris ; 3. Lever ; 4. Ashton ; 5. Green ; 6. Aspinall ; 7. Ireland ; 8. Hutt; 9. Hesketh; 10. Holland; 11. Collumbers; 12. Walton; 13. Mereton; 14. Bevington ; 15.Hanford; 16. Prayers ; 17. Birkenhead ; 18. Huxley; l9.Done; 20. Kingsley; 21. Stretch. The South Front commands a very fine view of the Mersey, with the oppo site coast of Cheshire, the high grounds of which are backed by the mountains of North Wales. The river here swells into a broad estuary nearly four miles across, and, below Liverpool, unites with the sea. The Lord of the Manor of Hale is entitled to a customary duty upon all vessels casting anchor upon the northern shore within this district, and to a tithe of the fish caught on the coast. The estate, at the Conquest, belonged to Gilbert de Walton, Lord of Hale and Halewood, from whom it passed to the family of Columbers, and afterwards to the Hollands, which family terminated in a daughter and co-heiress, Avena, who mar ried Adam de Ireland, of Hutt, who was living in 1315, from which period, the lordships of Hutt and Hale have continued in the same family. Sir Gilbert Ireland, the founder of this Mansion, married Margaret, the sole heiress of Sir Thomas Ireland, of Bewsey, near Warrington. Sir Gilbert died in 1675, set. 50, without issue, after which the estate went to the family of Aspinall, the heiress of which married Isaac Green, Esq., of Childwall, who died in 1749, when this mansion came into the possession of Thomas Blackburne, Esq., of Orford, who married his eldest surviving daughter and co-heiress, Ireland Green ; he died in 1768, when it descended to John Blackburne, Esq., its present owner, who also possesses another seat at Orford, near Warrington, together with considerable estates in the county. He represented the palatinate in parliament from 1784 to 1830, and his attention to the interests of his constituents caused them to place his portrait in the Sessions Hall of Lancaster Castle, as a testimony of their high sense of his unwearied exertions. gg 2 KTOWSMETT TPAM1 LANCASHIRE . Irawn hy.T. P [Teal KITOWSMTf FA IRK, fWEST 1' HON l1' LAN CASH IK hi. Jodck& C° London. 1829 i¬osicg Parfc, UmcmUxt: THE SEAT OF THE THE RIGHT HONORABLE EDWARD SMITH STANLEY, EARL OF DERBY, &c Knowsley is in the hundred of West Derby, from whence, and not from the town of Derby, as generally supposed, some authorities state that its noble possessor derives his principal title. The Mansion is situated about half a mile north of the town of Prescot, at the distance of eight miles from Liverpool. It stands in an elevated part of the Park, and forms a conspicuous object from a considerable distance on the West ; upon the other sides, it is environed by thick woods, and the building has evidently been erected at different periods. The Estate, together with that of Lathom, already noticed in this work, came into the possession of the present Noble Family upon the marriage of Sir John Stanley, K.G., with Isabel, the daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Lathom, Knt., in the reign of Richard the Second. The original Mansion at Knowsley, it appears, was very much enlarged by the first Earl of Derby, for the reception of his son-in-law, King Henry VII., in whose service the Earl had so greatly distinguished himself, particularly on the day of the battle of Bosworth Field, where, King Richard the Third being slain, he placed the crown on the Earl of Richmond's head, and proclaimed him King, by the name of King Henry VII. His Lordship afterwards filled the office of Lord High Steward at his coronation. The preparations made for the Royal visit were upon so grand a scale, both at Knowsley and the roads leading to it, that the first Earl, in some accounts, is said to have then rebuilt the Mansion, which is represented to have been constructed entirely of stone, and graced by two massive round Towers. Subsequent altera tions by succeeding Earls of Derby had reduced the ancient building to a small part of its original dimensions, which last remaining portion has lately been pulled down, and rebuilt in the style of the old Baronial Mansion, under the direction of Mr. Foster, of Liverpool. It is wholly of dark freestone, and is embattled ; the basement is partly appropriated to the household, but the principal apartment is a spacious and handsome Dining-room, very much admired. Over an entrance on the South side, the architect has judiciously inserted a fragment of the old edifice, which is sculptured with two of the family badges : The eagle's leg erased, derived from the Lathoms, and the three legs conjoined, armed and spurred, the well-known ensign of the Lords of Man, over which Island the family of Stanley, from the time of Henry IV. to the reign of George II., held absolute jurisdiction, under the Crown, by the service of presenting two Falcons to the King on his Coronation Day. The most considerable part, of what is now standing, of Knowsley House, was erected by James, the tenth Earl of Derby, who lived in the reigns of King Wil- liamj Queen Anne, and George the First and Second. The West Front is a vast range of building regularly disposed in three divisions of equal height, with the principal entrance in the centre, and the whole surmounted by balustrades and scroll ornaments ; the edifice is constructed of red brick, with stone quoins and dressings to the numerous windows. Our view of this Front is taken from the opposite side of the Ha! Ha! fence which bounds the lawn. On the South is seen the new building, projecting at a right angle upon the West Front. On the North side are the Stables and Coach Houses, but concealed in the view by the dark foliage of the Wood. The House is extensive, but very irregular in its plan; a domestic Chapel occu pies a part of the East Front, and on the South is a corridor of the Ionic order, surmounted by the Arms and Supporters of the tenth Earl, with an Inscription, indicative of royal ingratitude. G g 3 Over the centre window, on this Front, is a brass tablet in relief, of Adam and Eve driven out of Paradise. A view of this side of the building is shewn in our second Plate, before it is a fine piece of water, and in the Park opposite is the group of Hercules and Ant*us upon a pedestal. The interior of the Mansion contains a great many splendid apartments of large dimensions, adorned with a curious collection of Family Portraits, and many very fine Paintings by the old masters; the latter were chiefly collected by James, the tenth Earl; twenty-two of them were etched by Hamlet Winstanley, a pupil of Kneller, and native of Warrington, and are published under the title of "The Knowsley Gallery." The Park, the largest in the county, is nearly six miles in circumference. It is pleas ingly varied in its surface, and adorned with a profusion of fine old timber, and numerous plantations; nor is water, so great an addition to the scene, wanting. In the centre is a lake half a mile in length. The eminences and high ground command beautiful prospects of the country, particularly towards the sea, where the view is more open. The Family of Stanley, for a very long period, have possessed considerable influence in the North of England ; they derive their origin from the Baronial House of Audley, whose Arms are Gules, a Fret Or. Adam de Audley, a second son, bore the Arms of his father, with a label of three points Azure, and was father of William Audley, Esq. of Stanley, in Staffordshire, whose great-grand son, Sir William Stanley, Kt., married the daughter and heiress of Sir Philip de Bamville, Kt., and became possessed, by his marriage, of Wirral Forest, in Che shire ; in allusion to which, he assumed for his armorial distinction, Argent, on a bend azure, three Bucks' heads cabossed Or, instead of the Coat borne by his ances tors, with the motto, " Sans Changer," which has been continued ever since by the Noble Family. Hist of rlje principal pictures at JSnotoBleg. A Holy Family — Titian. Belshazzar's Feast — Rembrandt. The Roman Soothsayer— Salvator Rosa. Banditti amongst the Rocks — Ditto. Hagar and Ishmael with the Angel — Ditto. The Angel driving Adam and Eve from Para dise — Denis Calvert. A Wild Boar Hunt — Rubens and Snyders. The Feast in a Gallery, and the Wife of Pilate interceding in behalf of Jesus Christ — Paul Veronese. Christ delivering the Keys to St. Peter — Van dyck. The Descent from the Cross — Vandyck. The Love of the Arts, represented by Cupid con templating rich Armour, Musical Instruments, Pictures, and pieces of Sculpture. A very fine painting, said to be the joint produc tion of Vandyck and Snyders. St. Bartholomew — Spagnoletto. Nicodemus communing with Christ — Tinto retto. ffifje principal jFamils portraits. Thomas Lord Stanley, K.G., afterwards First Earl of Derby, ob. 1504. Margaret Countess of Richmond, the daughter of John Beaufort Duke of Somerset, first mar ried to Edmund Earl of Richmond, afterwards to Thomas Earl of Derby. By the former Husband, she was mother of Henry VII., she died, 1509. George Lord Strange, K.G., eldest son of the first Earl of Derby, who married the heiress of John Lord Strange of Knockyn. He was one of the principal Commanders in the King's Army at the Battle of Stoke, in 1487. Ob. 1497. Thomas, second Earl of Derby, this nobleman was present at the celebrated Battle of the Spurs in 1513. Ob. 1521, Edward, third Earl of Derby, K. G., ob. 1574— Holbein. Henry, fourth Earl of Derby, K. G., ob. 1592. His Countess was Margaret, only child of Henry Clifford Earl of Cumberland, and Alia- nor, the daughter and heiress of Charles Bran don, Duke of Suffolk, by Mary, the youngest daughter of King Henry VII. Ferdinando, fifth Earl of Derby. His near alli ance to the crown exposed him to much danger and intrigue, and he is supposed to have died by poison in 1594. William, sixth Earl of Derby, K. G., Chamber lain of Chester, &c, ob. 1642. James, seventh Earl of Derby, K. G., a Noble man distinguished for his loyalty and heroism ; as a proof of his extraordinary influence in this county, it is stated that in 1642, no less than 20,000 men flocked to his standard. His spirited reply to Ireton, who made him liberal offers to deliver up the Isle of Man to him, is noticed by Lord Orford as a perfect model of brave natural eloquence. He was beheaded at Bolton in 1651. — Vandyck. Charlotte, Countess of Derby, wife of the pre ceding Nobleman, who is famed for her gal lant defence of Lathom House in 1644 ; she survived the Restoration, and died in 1663 — Vandyck. Charles, eighth Earl of Derby, Lord Lieute nant of Lancashire and Cheshire in the reign of Charles II. Ob. 1672— Lely. James, tenth Earl of Derby, in his robes. Ob. 1736— H. Winstanley. James Lord Stanley, called Lord Strange, father of the present Earl of Derby. Ob. 1771— GG4 IHCS B3LHIKID L AIT CAS HIRE IL, JL,, Dra-wn T3y J P Noale Engrs^el "by S. Lasey; 'C m © :&. t w t :ibi. m a )u jl , LANCASHIRE. r ~ p_ ro t„_ i „/- h-k„ **,,„ ^.i „"W™ ftnce, UancmWt; THE SEAT OF CHARLES BLUNDELL, ESQ. Ince, long the residence of the family of Blundell, from which it derives the name of Ince Blundell, is situated nine miles from Liverpool, and near the sea. The House contains a numerous assemblage of paintings and sculpture, collected by the late possessor, Henry Blundell, Esq. Amongst the latter may be remarked a statue, called Theseus ; a group of a Faun and Nymph ; a Torso of Venus, from the Besborough marbles ; a Genius carrying a wreath to the Temple, from the Cawdor collection ; and one of the supports of an antique Tripod, lately imported : — all of the best period of Greek sculpture. There are also in the collection a Minerva and Diana, both in the Hall. In the Vestibule, where the Staircase is, is a sacrificing Priestess, fiom the Egyp tian ; an Egyptian figure of red granite. In the Garden is a Consular figure, unrestored, and a female figure with a turret on her head. These, with some bas-reliefs, the principal of which is in the tympanum of the pediment of the Rotunda, and the other in the recess behind the large figure of Jupiter, are the finest, and various busts, heads, &c. Amongst the pictures are four large landscapes by Wilson, esteemed amongst his best works. The finest Italian pictures are the Holy Family, by Andrea del Sarto ; a repetition of Paul Veronese's Marriage Feast, by himself; a View of the Colosseum, with other buildings at Rome ; a Holy Family (large) by Pinturrichio ; a landscape, of the Caracci school, from the Fisherwick collec tion ; two smaller landscapes, ditto ; four pictures, representing the early Fathers of the Church, St. Jerome, St. Gregory, St. Ambrose, and St. Augus tine, by Lanfranc. Some fine pieces by Canaletti ; and other views in Italy ; a view of the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1779, by Volaire ; besides two landscapes, by Bloemen; and a large Flemish picture of Arms, &c. by Biltius. We are bound to speak in the highest terms of the liberal permission which is readily afforded by the proprietor to view this extensive collection of works of art. 3-e3 Htxoxttfb Parfc, VLmcatibivt; TRE SEAT OF THE EARL OF SEFTON. The principal and west front of this Mansion, represented in the annexed view, was built in 1702, by William Viscount Molyneux, whose arms are over the entrance, in the centre, supported by two lions, with the motto Vivere sat vincere. Above this, in a large compartment, is a sculptured trophy of banners, with the family crest on the keystone. This front is of brick, but all its architectural decorations are stone. Before it is a fine terrace, ascended by a double flight of steps, from whence is a view towards Knowsley and Prescot. On the south-east is the spire of Prescot church, seen in the engraving. The rooms on this front are spacious and lofty, the walls covered with panelled wainscot, and the ceilings stucco, enriched in high relief. The south side of the House is more ancient ; and may be assigned to the period of Elizabeth, and was most probably erected by Sir Richard Molyneux, who was knighted by that queen in 1586, at the age of 26, and was afterwards created a Baronet by King James I. in 1611, being the second person who received that title. On the east, at the back of the present house, was, most likely, the ancient front, as the buildings occupy three sides of a quadrangle, from whence is an entrance leading to a large stair case, the windows of which are still adorned with stained glass, in eight compart ments : — 1. The royal badge of the Red Rose, within the Garter, crowned. 2. The arms of Queen Elizabeth. 3. ¦ quartering, argent, between two bendlets sable, three torteaux. 4. The armorial coat of ten quarterings of Sir Thomas Gerard, Bart, of Bryn, near Wigan. 5. Eight quarterings of the Molyneux family, and beneath it a badge of the cross moline in a circle, supported by two conies argent. 6. The arms of Henry VIII. 7. Twelve quarterings of the Howard family, surmounted by an Earl's coronet. 8. The coat of Henry Stanley, the fourth Earl of Derby, with an escotcheon of pretence for Clifford. Croxteth is pleasantly situated in a large park, four miles from Prescot, and about the same distance from Liverpool. The park entrance is on the south, near which are extensive stables, and the riding-house. The kitchen-garden and farm are on the north-east of the mansion. There are few families in the kingdom who can boast more ample claims to antiquity than that of Molyneux. William des Molines obtained from Roger de Poictiers, who possessed all the lands in this county between the rivers Ribble and Mersey, a grant of the manors of Sefton, Thornton, &c., by consent of William the Conqueror, whereof he made Sefton his chief seat, the site of which ancient mansion is now occupied by a farmhouse. It was originally held as a knight's fee by tenure of castle guard of the Castle of Lancaster. Sir Richard Molyneux, of Sefton, son of Sir Richard Molyneux, who had distinguished himself at the battle of Agincourt, and was knighted by Henry V., was Usher of the Privy Chamber to King Henry VI., who, by patent, dated at Brandon, 28th July, 1446, granted to this family and their heirs, the Chief Forest- ership of the Royal Parks and Forest in West Derbyshire, with the offices of Steward of that and of Staffordshire, together with the Constableship of Liverpool Castle, which grant was confirmed in 1459. Thus the Forest of Simmons Wood, and the two Royal Parks of Croxteth and Toxteth came into their possession, with whom they have remained to the present time ; the latter is now divided into numerous allotments. Through a long line of illustrious ancestors, many of whose names stand prominent on the page of British history, these honours and estates have descended to William-Philip, the tenth Viscount Molyneux, and present Earl of Sefton ; who has also recently been further enobled, by being advanced to the dignity of a peer of Great Britain. 3-E4 HE AT © M H© LABCAS HIKE. EjjSrrared "by ~W. "WoiUuis •AHBKSI IEAILILi, LANCil S HIRE. Joiiea & C° Temple of "the Muses. EnsTjury Square, Londcai. f$taton ffiomt. UmxcmHxt; THE SEAT OP THE EARL OF WILTON, &c The late Earl of Wilton erected this Mansion after the design and under the direction of Samuel Wyatt, Esq. and made it his chief country residence. It stands about four miles from Manchester, on the road to Bury, in a commanding situation, with extensive pros pects on the east and west. The annexed View represents the South Front, which consists of a centre and two wings connected by a corridor; the main building projects in a semi-circular form, the frieze of which is supported by four three-quarter columns of the Ionic order, and is crowned by a dome ; the wings are octangular. Immediately in front are two pedestals bearing cumbent lions, and before it spreads a beautiful lawn, adorned with beds of flowers and shrubs. On the North Front the architectural decoration is of a bolder character, the pediment, which is plain, is supported by four noble columns of the Composite order; the whole contains one principal, and one upper story, and is entirely built with fine freestone. Upon the North Front very great improvements have lately been made, by levelling an eminence, so as to afford a more extended view of the pleasure grounds from the windows. The Park is about five miles in circumference, enclosed with a wall, and is adorned with abundance of fine old timber trees and plantations. On a high spot of ground is a circular Temple, from whence are views over an immense tract of country, bounded by the hills of Yorkshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, and Staffordshire. Heaton is in the hundred of Salford, and is included in the parish of Prestwich, which embraces an area of about fifteen miles in length by three in breadth. It was formerly the property and residence of the Hollands, a family, for antiquity and extraction, inferior to few in the kingdom, and who held considerable possessions in the counties of Lancaster, Northampton, and Leicester. This estate descended to the family of Egerton, in the reign of Queen Anne, by the marriage of Elizabeth, the daughter of William Holland, Esq. and the sister and sole heiress of Edward Holland, Esq. of Heaton and Denton, both in this county, with Sir John Egerton, Bart, the eldest son of Sir Rowland Egerton, Bart, and Bridget, the sister and sole heiress of Thomas Grey, the unfortunate and last Lord Grey de Wilton of that surname; who having been engaged in what is called Sir Walter Raleigh's plot, died in the Tower of London, in 1614. After which, that noble man's estates in Buckinghamshire were granted to George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. Sir John Egerton, Bart, died in 1729, and was succeeded by his eldest son Sir Holland Egerton, the third Bart, of this family, and the twenty-first male heir in a lineal descent from David, Baron of Malpas, in the time of King Edward I., who held his title under the Earl of Chester, and sat in the Parliament of that Palatinate. He being possessed of the Manor of Egerton, near Malpas, in Cheshire, took the name of Egerton from the place of his residence, according to the custom of that age, and transmitted it to his posterity. Upon the death of Sir Holland Egerton, Bart, at this seat, on the 25th of April, 1730, he was succeeded by his son Edward, who dying in 1744 unmarried, the title and estate descended to his brother Sir Thomas Grey Egerton, Bart, who died in 1756, and was succeeded by his only son Sir Thomas Egerton, Bart, who represented this county in three Parliaments, and ultimately succeeded in obtaining the object of ambition to which his ancestors had aspired for nearly two centuries, and to which they had always consi dered themselves heirs, viz. the ancient Barony of Grey de Wilton. Sir Thomas Grey was created Lord Grey de Wilton, 15th May, 1784, and on June 26th, 1801, was advanced to the titles of Viscount and Earl of Wilton, of Wilton Castle, in Herefordshire, by patent, with remainder to the second and other sons successively, of his Lordship's only child Eleanor, the present Countess of Grosvenor. The Earl of Wilton died at this seat, 23d September, 1814, at the age of sixty-five, when the title and large estates devolved to the present nobleman, the second son of Earl Grosvenor, and next brother to the Lord Belgrave, who, November 21, 1821, assumed the name and arms of Egerton, Argent, a lion rampant gules, between three pheons sable, quartering that of Grey de Wilton, Barry of six, argent and azure, in chief a label of five points gules. 52. 3-k $tan*t0lj P^all, Hancaslnrt ; THE SEAT OF CHARLES STANDISH, ESQ. Standish Hall is an irregular brick building, of which the part selected for the subject of the annexed engraving comprehends the most interesting features, shewing the principal front, the domestic offices, and the private chapel, which was an invariable appendage to the mansions of ancient date. The interior of the house is divided into many commodious appartments. The situation of Standish Hall is about six miles south of Chorley, and three from Wigan, in a township of the same name ; the Lancashire canal winds its course along one side of the estate. The ancient and respectable family of Standish have been located at this spot from a period soon after the Conquest ; and several members of it have at different times taken a conspicuous part in passing events. Lingard, one of the most eminent of our modern historians, upon the authority of Holinshed, records a valorous deed performed by John Standish, in the reign of Richard II. It appears that John Standish was an attendant upon the youthful monarch at his interview with Wat Tyler, in Smithfield, and was the individual who inflicted the mortal wound upon the person of the demagogue after he had been stunned by William Walworth, Mayor of London. Upon the disposition of rewards made upon this occasion, John Standish was honoured with the order of knight hood. At a subsequent period, Sir Ralph Standish, belonging to this family, commanded an army in France, in the reign of Henry V.; also during the Pro tectorate of John Duke of Bedford, and rendered important services to his country. A relation of this Sir Ralph Standish was knighted for his valiant behaviour at the battle of Hopton-field, in Scotland, in 1482. Other members of this ancient family have distinguished themselves in a civil capacity. Henry Standish, Bishop of St. Asaph, went out in company with Sir John Baker, upon an especial embassy to Denmark, in 1526 ; and was also one of the committee of bishops who assisted Catherine of Arragon, the first queen of Henry VIII., in her suit concerning the divorce. This estate passed, by the marriage of Cecilia, heiress of Ralph Standish, Esq. to William Townley, Esq., of Townley-hall. Two sons and a daughter were the issue of this alliance. The sons, Charles and Edward, died without chil dren, and in consequence the property went to the issue of the daughter, Cecilia, who had married Charles Strickland, Esq., of Sizergh Castle, in the county of Westmoreland. Their son, Thomas Strickland, of Sizergh, took the name of Standish, and possessed the two estates jointly ; but upon his death the Standish property was inherited by his eldest son, Charles Standish, Esq., the present owner ; and Sizergh castle, by Thomas Strickland, Esq., the second son. The parish church of Standish is a handsome structure, the steeple of which was erected in 1584, by Richard Moodie, the first protestant rector. There is a statue of this pious divine, habited as a Franciscan friar, to which order he belonged before his conversion to the protestant faith, with an inscription declarative of his munificence in repairing the church. It contains several monuments of the family of the lords of the manor, in whose gift is the living, which is very valuable. The township of Standish with Langtree contains about 400 houses, and 3000 inhabitants. Dr. Leigh, in his researches into the antiquities and curiosities of this county palatine, has described a small signet which was found near Standish, in a copper urceolus ; and here have also been discovered several Roman coins, and two gold rings of Roman knights. 3rK2 '*.*>. f GENERA.!. VIEW ) ZZICZS TE2LSHIKE. Engrave cLbyMf He axb.. >3^^1f©25E CASTER. 7. F [OUST /¦: KSTtrsJ! . J: dJw.//;LO'-J, y :'A',Jr,/. London PabHs'hed.'bj- Jones fcC? Jan.71.1829. JSeifooir @wtit, Utitt*ttv*iixt; THE SEAT OP JOHN HENRY MANNERS, DUKE OF RUTLAND, K. G. Belvoir Castle presents a most noble and majestic appearance : situated on the summit of a lofty hill, it overlooks a beautiful valley, (from whence originated its name); its foundations are nearly coeval with the Norman Conquest, being originally built by Robert de Todeni, a noble Norman, standard-bearer to William the Conqueror; and it became the chief seat of his Barony, whose posterity enjoyed it, till the reign of King Henry III., when it devolved on Robert de Roos, a great Baron, by marriage with Isabel, daughter and heir of William de Albini, the fourth of that name, descended from the founder, Robert de Todeni : from the Lords Roos, this ancient seat came to Sir Robert Manners, of Etall, in the county of Northumberland, who married Eleanor, eldest of the three sisters, and coheiress of Edmund Lord Roos. Belvoir Castle has remained in the possession of the noble family of Manners ever since that time. Thomas Manners, Lord Roos, was the first Earl of Rutland, being created in 1520, 12 Henry VIII.: to this Nobleman is to be attributed the restoration and rebuilding of Belvoir Castle, which had continued in ruins from the time of the Civil Wars between the Royal Houses of York and Lancaster, when it was attacked and despoiled by William Lord Hastings. Henry the second Earl also devoted much of his attention to this Castle, and greatly extended the buildings during his life. It remained a noble and princely residence till the unhappy war between the King and the Parliament, during which time it was occasionally garrisoned by each party, and materially suffered from both. After the Restoration, in 1668, the Castle was again repaired and restored. The first Duke of Rutland, as he was master of a great fortune, kept up here the old English hospitality; he resided almost entirely at Belvoir, and, for many years before his death, never came to London. Great alterations were made, and an entire new arrangement given to the interior of this magnificent pile, by the present Duke, chiefly under the direction of the late James Wyatt, Esq., at an expense of at least two hundred thousand pounds. January 2d, 1814, it was visited by his present Majesty, then Prince Regent: His Royal Highness was received amidst a royal salute from cannon on the battlements of the Castle ; at the same time the Royal standard was displayed on the Staunton Tower. The D.uke of Rutland received the Prince Regent at the entrance of the Castle; but the golden key of Staunton Tower, of exquisite workmanship, was delivered to the illustrious guest in the Drawing Room soon after his arrival, on a cushion of crimson velvet, by the Rev. Dr. Staunton, by virtue of the following tenure : The chief strong hold of the Castle is an outwork defence called Staunton Tower, the command of which is held by the family of that name, in the Manor of Staunton, by tenure of Castle-guard, by which they were anciently required to appear with soldiers for the defence of this strong post in case of danger ; or, if required, to be called upon by the Lord of the Castle. And it has been the custom when any of the Royal Family have honoured Belvoir Castle with their presence, for the chief of the Staunton family personally to appear, and present the key of the Strong Hold to such distinguished personage. During the stay of his Royal Highness at the Castle, the Marquess of Granby, his Grace's eldest son, now deceased, was baptized by the Archbishop of Canter bury in the great Gallery : the sponsors were the Prince Regent and the Duke of York, and the Duchess Dowager of Rutland. Previously to leaving the Castle, His Royal Highness named one of the Towers " The Regent Tower," in remem brance of his visit; and was pleased to signify his pleasure that a bust of himself should be placed in the centre. In the year 1816, while the improvements were still going on, a most calamitous fire broke out on October 26, by which this splendid seat was nearly destroyed; the grand Staircase, and, what will ever be regretted, the Picture Gallery, with most of the very fine family pictures, the whole of Sir Joshua Reynolds', among which was the celebrated Picture of the Nativity, were consumed. The loss of property on this melancholy occasion is estimated to have been not less than 120,0001. ; the flames had reached the Regent's Gallery, but that noble apartment was happily saved : it is 127 feet long, and is filled with the choicest productions of art. • A massy golden Salver entirely composed of tributary tokens of Royal and Public respect for National Ser vices performed by the Rutland Family , bearing an inscription expressive of the several causes and dates of these honourable donations, was preserved from the late fire ; but a very valuable service of communion plate was lost. The restoration of the Castle is now nearly complete, and it most certainly exceeds in beauty, unformity , and correctness of architecture, its former appearance. Utet of tf)e llirtum at Belboiv ©asstle. Portrait of King Henry VIII. — Holbein. Gamblers — Manfredi. Gipsy telling Fortunes to a Banditti — Cara- vaggio. The Interior of a Church— P. Neefs. The Flight into Egypt — Luca Giordano. Hercules and Antaeus — Rubens. St. Peter— Guido. Landscape and Figures — Berchem. Virgin, Child, Joseph, and a Female Saint — P. Veronese. Virgin and Child — Carlo Dolci. Ditto — Parmigiano. Brisk Gale — W. Vannervelde. Calm— .Monamy. Agar and Ishmael — Manfredi. A Head — Albert Durer. Portrait of Vosterman — Vandyck. Virgin, Child, and St. John — A. del Sarto. Christ feeding the Multitude — Ferg. Portrait of a Goldsmith — Se ipse. Rembrandt's Portrait — Se ipse. Reconciliation of Jacob and Esau— Ferg. Portrait of Walker — -Se ipse. A Head — Merevelt. Adoration of the Magi — Bassan. Dutch Proverbs — D. Teniers. Landscape by Moonlight — Vanderneer. Storks — Teniers. Landscape — Wynants — figures by Wouvermans. Peasants ploughing — Berchem. Temptation of St. Anthony — Teniers. Shepherd and Shepherdess — Rubens. Landscape (small upright) — Ruysdaal. Virgin, Child, and St. John, small — A. Caracci. Landscape (upright small) — Ruysdaal. Dog and dead Wolf — Weeninx, Landscape (upright) — Claude Lorraine. Farrier's Shop — Wouvermans. The Farmer's Dinner — Jan Steen. Landscape, Morning — Claude Lorraine. Ditto, Sunset (small and large) — Ditto. Adoration of the Shepherds — F. Mola. A Storm at Sea — W. Vandervelde. Landscape and Cattle — Pynaker. Head of a Friar — Bronzino. Crucifixion of a Malefactor — Vandyck. Small Landscape, Flight into Egypt — Claude Lorraine. Boy and Girl — Gerard Douw. Holy Family — Schedoni. Quack Doctor (small) — Teniers. A Young Man and Lady, by Candlelight — Sclialken. Silence — Sebastian Bourdon. An Old Lady giving Advice to a Young one— Schalken. Boys' School — Crespi. Woman and Man sleeping — Ostade. The Wise Men's Offering— Murillo. Landscape, Cottage, Children, Evening — Gains borough. Ditto, Mid-day— Ditto. Ditto (figures by Wouvermans) — Wynants. Ditto, and Cattle, Sea in distance— Cuyp. Small Portrait, round Picture — Teniers. Coronation of St. Catharine — Rubens. Peter denying Christ — Caravaggio. Landscape, Peasants ploughing — Berchem. A small Portrait of a Lady (round). Virgin, Child, and Saints — Murillo. A Lady and Attendants, Music Party — Netscher. A Monk at Prayers — Carlo Dolci. Girls' School — Crespi. Small Landscape — Decker. A Lady and her Servant — Mieris. Two Landscapes (small) — Wynants. A Portrait of an Old Man. Adam and Eve expelled from Paradise — Van- derwerf. Buildings and Landscape— Vanderhyde. The Shepherds' Offering — Poelemberg. Battle (small Picture) — Vandermeulen. Portrait of Barbarossa — Vandyck. A Landscape — G. Poussin. A Head (small). Ditto, ditto. A Landscape, after Poussin. Stone Building and Figures — La Naen. King Henry VII., Empson and Dudley. A Friar — Bronzino. Holy Family — Rubens. A small Picture — Teniers. Landscape and Cattle — Vandervelde. Angel appearing to the Shepherds — Bassan. Virgin, Child, and Joseph — School of Corregio. Small Landscape — Elshiemer. Entombing of Christ — Luca Penni. View of a Cathedral — Vanderhyde. Cupid and the Graces — Albano. A Landscape (octagon) — Claude Lorraine. Ponto Molo — Borgognone. A Landscape (figures by Rubens) — Breughel. Farm Yard — Teniers. Merrymaking — Ferg. Landscape and Figures — Vanderhyde. Ditto, ditto — Paul Bril and Reubens. Seven Pictures representing the Seven Sacra ments, viz. — Extreme Unction, — Ordination, — Confirmation, — Marriage, — St. John baptizing our Saviour, — Infant Baptism, — The last Sup per. — N. Poussin. Martyrdom of St. Andrew — Spagnoletto. Two Sea-pieces — Ruysdaal. A Procession at the Installation of the Order of the Garter — Vandyck. The Earl of Southampton — C. Janssen. The Countess of Southampton — Ditto. King John signing Magna Charta — Mortimer. A Case of Miniatures. The Death of Lord Robert Manners— Stothard. Group of Banditti — Mortimer. Ditto of Fishermen — Ditto. The River Thames frozen over — Marlow. Fresh Breeze off Flushing — Marlow. A Landscape, Morning — Gainsborough. The Calling of Samuel— West, P.R.A. The Companion to ditto — Ditto. A View in Florence — Marlow. A ditto near Naples — Ditto. The Holy Family and St. John — Murillo, A View on the Rhine, Boats repairing — Satch- leven. Holy Family — Corregio. Landscape and Figures — Vanudan. The Town of Newmarket and Warren Hill — Seymour. Venus giving the Breast to ' Cupid — Parmi giano. The Birth of Ericthonius — Rubens. q2 COILK OETOST HAJLX., LEICESTERSHIRE Drawn by J P Ueale Engraved hy W. Radclylre PRBSTWOIDJIJ MAHiI^ LEICESTERSHIRE <&olt <®xton f^all, $ttiit&tix&Uxt ; LATE THE SEAT OP SIR GEORGE HOWLAND BEAUMONT, BART. This building was begun in 1804, and finished in 1808, under the direction of George Dance, R.A. architect. It is built of the stone of the country, and decorated with Turrets and an arched Portal for the approach of carriages to the front entrance ; the apartments are commodious and well-disposed. In the centre of the house is a polygonal hall and staircase, which are much admired. Amongst many valuable pictures with which the house was adorned, but which have since been presented to the National Gallery by their noble-minded owner, were the following. Hiat of ttft principal Pictures, In the Dining Room. A Jew Rabbi, by Rembrandt. A Landscape and figures, by Both. A Picture, by Sebastian Bourdon, highly esteemed by its possessor, both on account of its intrinsic merit, and as it is a memorial of the valued friendship of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who be queathed it to him by his will. A View in Venice, by Canaletti. In the Breakfast Room. A Landscape, with the story of Narcissus, by Claude Lorraine, acknowledged to be one of the best specimens of this admirable artist. A well-known print of this picture was engraved by Vivares. Cephalis and Procris, by the same Master. A well-known classical Landscape, by Nicolo Poussin. An Old Man's head, and the head of a Black, two studies from nature, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. A Landscape, by Swannevelt. In the Drawing Room. A Landscape, by Rubens; this extraordinary picture was painted by him for the Balbi fami ly, and hung in their palace in Genoa until the commencement of the French Revolution, when it was brought to this country ; for an accurate and truly poetical description of this work, see the poem called " The Picture," by the Rev. William Lisle Bowles. A small Claude, remarkable for its brilliancy and purity. Ditto, its companion. In the Libbary. A very fine whole-length Portrait of the late Lady Dowager Beaumont, mother of the present Sir George, who was painted in 1809, at the advanced age of 91 : her placid and venerable form is accurately represented, and the picture altogether reflects high honour on its ingenious author, William Owen, R.A. Another Portrait of the above-mentioned Lady, by Gainsborough, painted in 1768. Portrait of Mrs. Howland, sister of the above Lady Dowager Beaumont, by William Owen, R.A. Portrait of the present Lady Beaumont, painted in 17T8, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. Ditto, of the present Sir George Beaumont, painted in 1778, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, both in his best style. Two excellent Landscapes, by Richard Wilson, R.A., one, the famous Niobe, engraved by Smith, and the other a view near Tivoli ; both reflect high credit on British art. A large Landscape and figures, by Gainsborough. Portrait of William Smith, Esq. who came upon the stage in 1753, and continued more than thirty-five years one of the chief ornaments of the British Theatre : he was, in 1818, living in retirement at Bury St. Edmund's, in his 90th year, the delight of his numerous friends. In the Study. A fine old family Portrait, painter unknown, date 1556. Portrait of John Beaumont, born 1410, created Viscount Beaumont 1434, was Constable and Chamberlain of England, and slain at the bat tle of Northampton, July 10th, 1460 : he was the first Viscount created in England. Ditto, of George Villars Duke of Buckingham, grandson of Mary, daughter of Francis Beau mont, Esq. A finished sketch in two colours, of the taking down from the Cross, by Rembrandt ; admirable for composition, expression, and effect. There is a print of it by Picart. Two comic pictures, by Smirke. A game-keeper, admirably painted by Wilkie, R.A. A well-painted Portrait, by Beechey, of the Earl of Mulgrave. An excellent drawing, in colours, of the present Lady Beaumont, by Edridge. The Manor and Estate of Cole Orton, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, came first into the Beaumont family in 1426, by the marriage of Philippa, daughter and heiress of Thomas Maurward, Esq., of Overton, Quartermarsh, and Cole Orton, and Sir Thomas Beaumont, Knight, Lord Basquerville in France, Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Governor of Dover Castle, who died 36th Hen. VI. 1457- — See Nichols's History of Leicestershire, vol. 5th. It may not be uninteresting to remark, that Francis Beaumont, the eminent Dramatic Poet, was a descendant of the same family with the present possessor of Cole Orton. q3 Pmrttooltr f^all, fxitttttrtibltt ; THE SEAT OF CHARLES JAMES PACKE, ESQ. This elegant Mansion is beautifully situated in an amphitheatre of plantations by which it is surrounded, except on the west side, which has been judiciously left open to admit the fine wild scenery of Charnwood forest. It is on the north side of the county of Leicester, in the Hundred of East Goscote, and bordering upon Nottinghamshire ; being about twelve miles from each county town, and three miles north-east from Loughborough. This Estate has been lately con siderably improved by Mr. Packe, who has displayed a fine taste in laying out the grounds, which are now so great an ornament to his residence. The removal of the enclosures in front of Prestwold, which has been effected within these few years, give it a park-like appearance. The House, also, has recently been much enlarged, which has rendered it a most commodious edifice ; two very handsome Lodges have been built at the entrance of an avenue of elms, through which the road to it passes. This family originally resided at Cotes, which is about two miles from Prest wold, and is now a ruin, in the possession of Mr. Packe ; on the destruction of the old Hall at Cotes by fire, they changed their residence to Prestwold. The late Mr. Packe, as well as the present proprietor of Prestwold, had a very great pleasure in planting, and, by their united exertions, the estates around this Mansion are most abundantly ornamented with the finest growing timber ; in addition to the plantations, the hedgerows are so thickly filled with trees, that, from a distance, the Mansion has the effect of being embosomed in one entire wood. The tower of the church has a very picturesque appearance, rising above the tops of the trees by which it is surrounded; in the chancel are several very fine monuments ; among others is a large one of Sir Christopher Packe, Knt., who was a very conspicuous character during the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. There is likewise a most beautiful specimen of sculpture by Rossi, in a monu ment to the memory of Major Packe, who fell in leading a charge of his regiment (the Royal Horse Guards) at the battle of Waterloo. q4 WISTO¥ HALL. LEICESTERSHIRE Drama Tjy J P .Heale Emj^ctsI try "W". Raflctrffe LAICTOI iALt. JjEIOESTKRStUM 'Junes & C° I oniplp of the Mri£Gs,FjuiIurv 8imaro Iai\JoBrA|iril 3,3.630. £att0ton ftall, Utimttxmxt ; THE seat of THE REV. JAMES ORD. Langton Hall is situated on a rising ground, about a mile and' a half distant from the turnpike road leading between Harborough and Leicester: towards the south and west it commands extensive views of a rich and cultivated country, on the north and east sides being sheltered by lofty oak and elm trees. The mansion is a very ancient structure, built at different periods, but within the last fourteen or fifteen years, since it became the residence of the present owner, it has undergone considerable alterations; which, though in some degree depriving it of its original appearance, have tended considerably to the addition of its internal comfort : the rooms, considering the period when they were built, being lofty and well proportioned, and the whole well calculated for the residence of a private country gentleman. In the drawing-room is a good copy by Old Stone, from Vandyke's picture of Charles I. and his Family, the original of which is at Windsor, and a half-length of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, in a black dress, most richly ornamented. There are also a few curious miniatures both in oil and water colours, though the latter have suffered from exposure to the sun : the most remarkable are Henry VIII., in a small circle, most delicately painted on a blue ground; the companion to it, James I., equally highly finished on pink. — Mary, Princess of Orange, mother of William III. — Mrs. Bendish, grand-daughter of Oliver Cromwell. — A head, marked on the back "Ben Jonson," exactly resembling the engraving by Houbraken, now considered as spurious. — Two small heads, one a Lady in the habit of a nun ; the other a Knight of the Garter; both unknown: on the back of each is the following inscription, "50 in | cubbord — within £ cabon'.-room at Whitehall, 1638." — Henry, Prince of Wales, son of James I. — Mrs. Waller, wife of the poet. — But that in most perfect preservation is a portrait of General Ireton, in oil, which, though bear ing no very striking resemblance to any engraving, is an undoubted original : the expression of the countenance is peculiar, and fully answers Lord Clarendon's description, that " he was of a melancholy, reserved, dark nature, communicating his thoughts to very. few, so that for the most part he resolved alone." The view in the Plate exhibits the east front, and the low part towards the left, the more ancient style of the building. Langton Hall was well known during the time in which it was tenanted by the late Mr. Meynell, then owner of the celebrated pack of fox-hounds. Here, among various other characters, the infamous Duke of Orleans passed some time, during one of those intervals in which he retired from the treasons which he was agitating in his own unhappy country. This estate for a great number of years was passed to its different owners by the female line. In 1553, it was the property of the Strelleys, descendants of a family long seated in Nottinghamshire; from them it came by marriage to the Staveleys; in the same manner to the Stantons; and from them to the Picker ings, Nova Scotia Baronets of Titchmarsh, in Northamptonshire : the last Baronet dying without issue, it became the joint property of his two sisters, and was by them bequeathed to their relative, the present owner, whose maternal ancestors, the Dillinghams, had married into that family. The Rev. James Ord is third son of the late William Ord, Esq. of Fenham, in the county of Northumberland: he married Barbara, daughter of the late Charles Brandling, Esq. of Gosforth House, near Newcastle on Tyne, by whom he has issue two sons and three daughters. ' The sketch from which the drawing was made tvas presented, with the account, to the proprietors, by James Pickering Ord, Esq. Wltetoto J^all, Utimttx&ftixt; THE SEAT OF SIR HENRY HALFORD, BART. Wistow has been the seat of the family of Halford for nearly two centuries. Sir Richard Halford was High Sheriff for the county of Leicester in the year 1641, and was raised to the Baronetage by King Charles I., who made Wistow his head-quarters more than once during the Civil Wars, and slept there the night before the fatal battle of Naseby. It is situated to the westward of the high road leading from Market Har- borough to Leicester; and is a conspicuous object about nine miles from the latter place. The plantations, which surround it, were very formal; but, within the last few years, great additions have been made to them by the present pos sessor, Sir Henry Halford, Bart., one of the physicians of the late King and of his present Majesty, and the gardens have been enlarged, and are now very extensive and beautiful. The House consists of a lofty and spacious Hall, an ample Dining-room, Library, Drawing-rooms, Billiard-room, &c. &c, and of numerous Bed-chambers corresponding with such a suite of apartments. It contains some good pictures, and some elegant busts brought from Italy. Amongst the former, we observe portraits of his late Majesty; of Charles I., after Vandyke, by Sir Peter Lely; of James II., by the same, an excellent picture; and a capital one of Lord Clarendon, by Vandyke. — Pilate washing his Hands, by Ludovico Caracci. — Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac, by Luca Jordano. — Rubens, by himself. — A beautiful full-length of William, Duke of Cumberland, in his robes of the Garter, by Sir Joshua Reynolds. — Several fine pictures by Canaletti, &c. &c. The House possesses, also, some relics preserved with religious care; viz. a sword and saddle, with its handsome enamelled stirrups, of Charles I., left at Wistow, when he proceeded to Naseby field. The Church is situated at a convenient distance from the House, and, approached by a gravel- walk, through a beautiful avenue, at the termination of a large sheet of water, is one of the most picturesque views in the county, and contains some handsome monuments of this loyal and ancient family. r2 WHATTOI HOUSE, LEICESTBBSHIEE. Tkavm^Oy J. P. Wealc. Eoflfavccl "W ~&. J. 3ita2mg. CARJLTOH CILmJLHEU MAJLTL. J.I.ICJICTEHSH NIK . Jones & C? temple oI ihe Mnscs ..l^iin-sbury Square. London. Sep1 11 to?'0 fUJattott #ouse, fttitt&ttx&bixt; THE SEAT OF EDWARD DAWSQN, ESQ. This elegant Mansion, which stands on a hill near Hathorn, on the road from Loughborough to Cavendish Bridge, was built about the year 1802, by J. Johnson, architect, of Leicester, for the late Edward Dawson, Esq. The whole is con structed of fine stone, with a rustic basement. In plan the House is nearly quadrangular; but upon the south-east front, is a semicircular projection at the entrance. The architecture is pure, and displays much taste. The Mansion is situated in a picturesque part of the county, commanding views of great variety and interest. On the north the handsome parish church of Kegworth forms a conspicuous object, backed by the Derbyshire hills. On the east, the spires of Sutton Bonnington and Normanton-on-Soar, are both seen across the river Soar, which here divides the counties of Leicester and Nottingham : more to the south appears the fine tower of Loughborough Church, about four miles distant; and a few miles farther, in the same direction, rises Mount Sorrel Rock, the first of a range of hills, called Charnwood Forest, which terminates the view for the extent of several miles, in a westerly direction. The outline of this range appears to peculiar advantage from the pleasure- grounds, and in several points is broken into highly picturesque forms, parti cularly in the direction of Whitwick rocks. The other most conspicuous points are Beacon Hill, Hives Head, and Bardon Hill; which last is the most elevated spot in this part of the country, and commands one of the most extensive panoramic views in the kingdom. The Shrubberies upon the south-west front are laid out with peculiar taste; near the house is a very fine Conservatory, and at a short distance, is a singularly beautiful rustic Summer-House, or small Temple, of the Doric order, with fluted columns ; the whole of classical purity in its architectural particulars, but com posed of the simplest materials, chiefly oak bark, which has the effect of old grey stone ; the interior walls and ceiling are covered with a coat of grey moss, and the floor tesselated in circles with short piles of larch. The grass lands which surround the house are thrown into the form of a Park, by means of sunk fences, and are ornamented with many fine trees, amongst which the ash are remarkable for their size. Whatton, or, as it is sometimes called, Long Whatton, is a rectory in the hundred of West Goscote, about five miles from Loughborough. The late Edward Dawson, Esq., of Whatton, and one of the six lords of Charnwood Forest, was very highly respected in this neighbourhood. He died at Cowley House, near Uxbridge, in Middlesex, 23d October, 1815, and was buried at Whatton. r3 Carlton Curlieu f^all, VLtitt&ttx&bixt; THE SEAT OF SIR JOHN HENRY PALMER, BART. This House is situated about nine miles from Leicester, and seven from Market. Harborough. It stands high ; and a clump of fir-trees, at a short distance from it, is seen nearly thirty miles off. The country round it is chiefly rich pasture ground. By a date upon the edifice, it was probably finished a. d. 1636; but it must have taken many years in building, as it is constructed principally of stone brought from Kelton, near Stamford, twenty miles from the place. The Carlton Curlieu estate was formerly the property of Sir John Bale, whose family became extinct during the civil wars which wasted the country in the seven teenth century. In a small chapel, adjoining the church, is a marble monu ment representing Sir John and his Wife in a recumbent attitude, with hands uplifted as in prayer ; the former, in the military costume of the time. The estate afterwards passed to a person of the name of Prudham, who, in the reign of Charles IL, sold it to Sir Geoffrey Palmer, Bart., the King's Attorney General. The annexed View represents the South Front of the Mansion, which has never before been engraved. Of the West Front there are two prints, one in Nichol's History of the County, coarsely engraved by Longmate, but remark ably accurate ; the other in Throsby's Leicestershire Views, which scarcely bears any resemblance of it. The latter author visited Carlton Curlieu Hall about the year 1791, when it was only inhabited by a housekeeper, and says, not very intelligibly, "It is of stone, but it is grey, seemingly more from neglect than years." The House is now occupied by the Rev. Henry Palmer, the brother of the present owner, who has made considerable improvements in the interior and in the offices. r4 Endr a3-ea.tr T5 A^.'o BAC61BE HAIjL, LEICESTERSHIRE. juoNJij^ciron jhiajul i.r.ic i:sri;HSHjiG> W JK S JS T 1ST. A It )L , T,EICESrK£SHIK£. if, '0) rfy K S jHiv i(H AVJL, JL, , i!::ic:i':aTi..t? sin rj,;. !"? rem]}le of tile -Muses. l'lnsTmnr Square, LoilcIoil Hotocsfcg f|all Utimttxtfbixt ; THE SEAT OF SIR FREDERICK GUSTAVUS FOWKE, BART. Lowesby" Hall is situated on the eastern side of this county, about half way in a direct line between Leicester and Oakham, the county-town of Rutland. The House stands on a healthy and agreeable elevation, in the midst of hill and dale. The valley towards the west affords a picturesque and pleasing pros pect, bounded by the fine outline of Charnwood Forest Hills. Considerable pains have been bestowed upon the pleasure-grounds, which are extensive, and varied with wood and water. They were laid out in the year 1819, and are much admired by all who have a taste for landscape gardening. " Artis est celare artem," ought to be the motto of every landscape gardener : a fair appli cation of this principle is attempted in these grounds, where the chief care has been to avoid distorting the easy undulations and naturally diversified features of the surface selected for improvement. This estate formerly belonged to Colonel Hutchinson, (Governor of Not tingham Castle in 1643,) who devised it to his widow, Lucy Hutchinson, in fee ; of whom it was purchased, in 1668, by Richard Woollaston, Esq., a maternal ancestor of the present possessor. It thence descended to Ann Woollaston, one of the daughters and co-heiresses of Sir Isaac Woollaston, Bart., great-grandson of Richard Woollaston ; Sir Isaac Woollaston's only son, Isaac Lawrence Woollaston, died an infant, when the estate came to his two daughters, Sarah and Ann Woollaston. Sarah married Taylor White, Esq. of Wallingwells, Nottinghamshire ; and Ann married Sir Thomas Fowke, only son of Lieut.-Gen. Fowke, who was Governor of Gibraltar in 1753. Sir Thomas was Equerry and Groom of the Bedchamber to Henry, late Duke of Cumber land, brother of George the Third. Sir Isaac Woollaston's estates in Leicester shire, and elsewhere, were divided, pursuant to act of parliament, between his two daughters, Sarah and Ann. Lowesby was allotted to Ann, the mother of the present owner. Sir Isaac Woollaston inherited the title of Baronet from his uncle, Sir Edward Lawrence, of St. Ives, Huntingdonshire, whose creation took place in^ 1748, with remainder to his nephew, Isaac Woollaston. The title having become extinct on the death of the infant, Lawrence Woollaston, his majesty, George the Third, was graciously pleased to permit its revival, in 1812, in the person of the present Baronet. There is a fine full-length portrait of General Ireton, by Honthorst, in the house, dated 1640. In the interesting memoirs of Colonel Hutchinson, written by his widow, it is stated, (p. 79,) " that Mr. Henry Ireton was kinsman of Mr. Hutchinson, and one that had received so much advantage to himself and his family, in the county, by Sir Thomas Hutchinson's countenance and pro tection, that he seemed a kind of dependant upon him ; being besides a very grave, serious, religious person, there was a great league of kindness and good will between them." — This relationship and intimacy between Hutchinson and Ireton, may account for the picture being at Lowesby, where it is fixed in the wainscot at the west-end of the dining-room. The above-named Richard Woollaston, at his death, made a charitable bequest, (now, land producing £300 a year,) to be applied in clothing pious poor people, in Lowesby, and five con tiguous parishes, together with two parishes in Hertfordshire. The clothing is annually distributed amongst the poor of these parishes, in the month of November. The heir-at-law has the sole nomination of the objects of this excellent charity. 3-t3 )EjNtT©TT house 1j2tcql2tshiee. Uravm. Try J. P. UeaTc sverl Vy W Lacey: IRSiAI HALL; LINCOLNSHIRE. Jones &r C? Temple of "fly? Moses . Finaljury Square, London., Anrf: 21. 1830. $rnjam ffiall, Uintolmfiixt ; THE SEAT OF CHARLES CLIFFORD, LORD CLIFFORD OF CHUDLEIGH. The manor of Irnham was one of the fifteen manors in the County of Lincoln, bestowed 'by William the Conqueror on Ralph de Paganel, or Paynell, in whose male descendants it continued until the year 1220, when it passed to Sir Andrew: Luttrell, Knight, son of Sir Godfrey Luttrell, who had married Trecethinta, daughter and heiress of William Paynell, of Hoton Paynell ; whose grandson, Sir Robert Luttrell, was summoned to parliament, as Baron of Irnham, 23 Edw. I. A. D. 1298. The manor Continued in his line until the year 1419, when Sir Geoffrey Luttrell, seventh Baron of Irnham, dying without issue, it devolved by the marriage of his sister and heir, Hawisia, to'Sir Geoffrey Hilton, Knight, who; died in 1460. His son Godfrey, dying in 1472, left an only daughter, Elizabeth Hilton, who became the wife of Richard Thimelby, of Polham^ whose descend ants possessed the estate till about the year 1700, when the right line once more failing on the death of Mary, only surviving daughter and heiress of Sir' John Thimelby, and widow of Thomas Gifford, of Chillingtoii, in the county of Staf-' ford, Esq^ who devised it by will to her cousin Benedict Conquest, Esq., of Houghton Conquest, in the county of Bedford, whose ancestor, Richard Conquest, had married Elizabeth Thimelby, Lady of the Bedchamber to Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles the First. Benedict Conquest, Esq., dying 27th October, 1753, left an only daughter, Mary Christina, who, 31st May, 1763, married Henry, eighth Lord Arundell of Wardour, who died 4th December, 1808. Having had two daughters and co-heirs ; Maria Christina, married to her cousin, James Everard, afterwards ninth Lord Arundell; and Eleanora, the wife of Charles, the seventh Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, who is now the possessor of Irnham, by virtue of the will of the Dowager Lady Arundell, who died in June, 1813. The Mansion House of Irnham is recorded by Leland in his Itinerary, to have been built by Richard Thimelby, Esq., who became possessed of the estates on his marriage with Elizabeth, the heiress of Godfrey Hiltori ; and; died in 1531. It is substantially built of stone in the form of the letter L, facing south and east. On the eastern side, a Porch of more modern date than the Tudor Arch of the Door, gives admittance into the ample and lofty Hall, open to the roof, 52 feet 10 inches, by 29 feet 3 inches. On three sides of which runs a Gallery of communication to the Apartments of the First Floor ; the walls of "which are hung with a numerous series of Family Pdrtaits of indivi duals of the families of Thimelby, Markham, Conquest, and others ; among, which may be distinguished : A fine full-length of Thomas Darcy, First Lord Darcy, of Chich, Lord Chamberlain to Edward VI. A. D. 1551, by Gerbicius Flick. A full-length of Thos. Savage, first Earl Rivers. John Thimelby, Esq., last of his name, by Joseph Michael Wright, A. D. 1688. Benedict Conquest, Esq., by Romney. Henry, Eighth Lord Arundell, by Romney. Mary Christina Conquest, wife of the Right Honourable Lord Arundell, by Romney. A Portrait, exquisitely wrought in tapestry, of Sir Francis Crane, who established a manufactory' of tapestry at Chelsea, in the reign of James I. ; and also St. George and the Dragon of the same manufactory. IN THE CHAPEI. A Crucifixion, by Murillo. An Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, by Fran cis Solimena. An Ivory Crucifix is religiously preserved, which the constant tradition in the family asserts to have been the very same held by Mary Queen of Scots at her execution. (For this account of Irnham we are indebted to the Right Honourable Lord Arundell.) LL Mtrtton f^ouac, UitttolmUxt ; THE SEAT OF SIR WILLIAM EARLE WELBY, BART. The family of Welby is of great antiquity in the county of Lincoln, deriving its name from the manor of Welby, near Grantham, which manor is now the property of Sir William. John, Lord of Castleton, ancestor of all the Welbys, assisted Robert de Todeni, Baron of Belvoir, in the defence of his castle, in the time of William the Conqueror. In the ninth year of the reign of Henry the Fifth, Richard Welby represented his native county in Parliament ; and in the twelfth of Henry the Sixth, when commissioners were appointed by the crown, in divers counties of England, to summon all persons of quality before them, and to tender to them an oath for the better keeping of the peace, and observing the King's law, both in themselves and in their retainers or dependants, we find William Welby the ninth person in the list of those gentry of Lincolnshire, who took the oath. The direct ancestors of the present proprietor have resided at Denton, anciently spelt Dentune, from the time of King Henry the Eighth, whence they came from Gedney, near Holbeach, in the fen part of this county. The Mansion is well situated, standing on a fine elevation; its present appearance is entirely owing to very considerable alterations and additions lately made. Its interior is well arranged, and contains some good family portraits. The Park is much admired for its beautiful undulations ; it is adorned with fine woods, and most luxuriant plantations ; and the scene is farther diversified by water. On the Estate is a spring much frequented, from the medicinal virtue ascribed to its water ; it is very pure, and similar to that of Malvern Wells, in Worcestershire : it bears the name of St. Christopher's Well. Denton Park is situated in the division of Kesteven, and soke of Grantham ; it adjoins the road from Melton Mowbray to Grantham, from which place it is five miles distant. In the village is an alms-house, erected and endowed by William Welby, Esq., in the year 1653, and a Free School, maintained at the charge of the Welby family. In the year 1727? a Mosaic pavement was discovered in Denton Fields, at the depth of eighteen inches, and extending thirty feet ; it was composed of white, red, and blue tesselse, and was supposed by Dr. Stukeley to indicate the site of a Roman villa, near which passes a Roman Via, now called Salter's Road. In the Church of this Village, as well as at Gedney, are monuments to the memory of the Welby family. ll2 GMMSTMOMPE CASTILE. "LlrHOlllS'.'HIRE. l^gravciTrj "W. Ta^Onr. je 3L- nr o n itiLOitrs e L1NCOI.NS1FLRK. Jones A C? Tetople of the Moses. Fmsbary Square. London . 1831 . l&xiw&fboxpt <&mtU> ^LintolmUxt; THE SEAT OF PETER BURRELL, LORD GWYDIR. The principal front of this Mansion was erected about the year 1723, from a design and under the direction of the celebrated Sir John Vanbrugh : it consists of a noble centre and two lofty wings, surmounted with balustrades. This elevation is towards the north ; it is magnificent, and is said to display much boldness of imagination. The building is large and irregular, and appears to have been erected at different periods. Our View was taken from the centre of the large Court in front ; this Court is entered by iron gates guarded by two Lodges. The south and west fronts are divided into numerous small chambers ; on the east front is the principal drawing-room ; this apartment is adorned with a fine collection of portraits and other pictures ; on the ground-floor are the offices. In the north-east wing is the kitchen, and the north-west wing contains a beau tiful chapel. The south-east tower is ancient, and within it is a winding stone staircase, which leads to a chamber that has the appearance of having been erected as early as the time of King Henry III. Leland observes : " The place of Grimsthorpe was no great thing afore the new building of the second court ; yet was all the old work of stone, and the gate-house was fair and strong, and the walls on each side of it embattled ; there is also a great ditch about the house." Itin. vol. i. fol. 26. The principal part of the house was erected, and the park laid out, in the time of Henry VIII by Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, who married the sole heiress of the Willoughbys, in whose patrimonial possession Grimsthorpe was included. Fuller, speaking of the house, calls it an extempore structure, raised suddenly to entertain King Henry VIII. in, during his progress though this part of the kingdom. The great hall, which was built at this time, was then decorated with hangings of the Gobelin tapes try, which had come into the possession of the Duke by his first wife, Mary, Queen of France : about the same time the east and south fronts were erected ; these have embattled turrets at the angles. From the gates of the north, or principal front, is an avenue which extends near a mile in length ; on the south are the gardens and pleasure grounds, and an the west a beautiful sloping lawn descends to two lakes, comprising about a hundred acres, beyond which is a rising ground terminated by a grove of forest trees. On the east side the View embraces the hamlet of Grimsthorpe, with the lordship of Edenham. The whole of the parish of Edenham, which contains 6,424 acres of land, with the exception of about 100 acres, belongs to Lord Gwydir. The park, which is sixteen miles in circumference, is beautifully varied with noble and very spacious woods. In a valley, about a mile from the mansion, is the. site of Val Dei, formerly a Cistercian Abbey, founded by William, Earl of Albe marle, about the year 1451 ; it is now covered by a small wood; not a single wall of the building remains, except three or four large sculptured stones. The country around Grimsthorpe abounds with that inequality of surface, that diversified interchange of hill and dale, wood and lawn, which constitute the picturesque in natural scenery. In the Church of Edenham, are many curious monuments of the Bertie family. Grimsthorpe Park descended to Lord Gwydir by right of his wife, Priscilla Barbara Elizabeth Lindsay, Baroness Willoughby de Eresby, daughter and co-heir of Peregrine, Duke of Ancaster. ll3 Mtlton fflomt, Qitxtolmiixt; THE SEAT OF JOHN CUST, EARL BROWNLOW. The estate at Belton, which is very extensive, devolved to Richard Brownlow, Esq., who was prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas, in the" reigns of Elizabeth and James the First ; the reversion having been purchased of Sir Henry Pakenham, and Jane his wife in 1620. The Mansion was rebuilt by Sir John Brownlow, the third Baronet of this family, that dignity having been granted by Charles II. , in 1662, to William Brownlow, Esq. ; the design was by Sir Christopher Wren, and the building was commenced in the year 1685, and completed in 1689 : it is of stone, of an excellent and durable species, and presents four uniform elevations, originally surmounted by a balustrade and cupola ; the apartments are well proportioned, and ornamented with the excellent carving of Gibbons. The founder of this stately fabric had the honour of a visit from King William III., who, in his progress through the northern counties, after the death of his queen, was entertained at Belton House, October 29, 1695 ; previous to that event, he had obtained in 1690, a license of the king and queen, to form a park of his lands in Belton, Londonthorpe, and Telthorpe, which he enclosed with a wall five miles in circumference ; at the same time he made numerous plantations, and it was then considered one of the most regular and beautiful seats in the county. Sir John Brownlow, the fifth Bart., who, in 1718, was created Baron of Charleville, and Viscount Tyrconnel, made many improvements of his seat at Belton ; he laid the foundation of the valuable library, and formed gardens of great extent and magnificence agreeably to the prevailing taste, consisting of straight walks and clipped hedges : these it has been found necessary to alter, and the grounds have received every embellishment that refined taste can confer on the natural beauties of the situation, which partakes both of the beautiful and picturesque, and abounding with a diversified interchange of wood and dale, hill and lawns. In 1754, the estate descended to Sir John Cust, Baronet, eldest son and heir of Sir Richard Cust, Bart., by Anne Brownlow, sister and heiress of John, Lord Viscount Tyrconnel, and father to the late Lord Brownlow, who, soon after his accession to the estate, employed the late James Wyatt in some necessary alter ations and improvements in the Mansion : by his direction the cupola and balustrade were removed from the roof; the Drawing-room, which measures forty feet by twenty- seven, was raised to the height of twenty-two feet, and a new entrance was added at the south front. In several of the apartments are many good pictures by eminent masters of the Flemish and Italian schools, with numerous family portraits by Sir P. Lely, Sir G. Kneller, Sir J. Reynolds, Romney, and others ; among them is a peculiarly fine one of Sir John Cust, Bart., Speaker of the House of Commons, in his robes, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, a half-length copy of which by Ruyssen, a present from the late Lord Brown low, is in the state apartments of the Speaker of the House of Commons. In the neighbourhood of Belton, considerable remains of ancient buildings, tessellated pavements, and other indications of a Roman station, have been discovered, through the exertions of Lord Brownlow, who has the reputation of an accomplished and polite scholar ; his lordship accompanied the late Rev. John Chetwood Eustace in his classical tour through Italy, in 1802. ll4 ILEtSJKILIIHCS- MAILIL, C-EJTERAi "TIE tr. NORFOLK Unarm try J. P Hi; alt: Engrayeo."trj- J. B. Allen IB IL H (f." IK IL. 31 .W (f J- IHI A IL IL , N () HP OI, B MHcftlittfl tail moxfolk ; THE SEAT OF LORD SUFFIELD. The Manor of Blickling is in the Hundred of South Erpingham, and is situate about two miles, north-west of the town of Aylsham. In the time of Edward the Confessor, it was" owned. by Harold, afterwards King of England ; and, when the- Domesday survey was made.-one part of.it belonged to. Beausoc, 'Bishop of Thetford, and the other moiety was possessed by the crown : both were invested with the privileges of ancient' demesne, were exempt from the Hundred, and had the lete with all royalties. William, the Conqueror settled the whole town and advowsbn on the See, the seat of which, in 1088, was removed from Thetford to Norwich, and the Bishops had' in early time a country residence at Blickling. The Manor was successively in. the possession of the families of Dagworth, Erpingham, and Fastolf,and, in the latter end of the fifteenth century, it belonged to Sir William Boleyne, Knt., second son of Sir Godfrey Boleyne,. Knt., who was Lord Mayor of London, in 1458.. Sir William married Margaret, sister and:co-heir of James Butler, Earl of. Ormond: hedied in 1505,. leaving Sir. Thomas Boleyne, Ki's eldest" son and heir, who, the 18th of Henry VIII., was advanced to the title of Viscount Rochford, and, the 21st of the s,ame reign, was created Earl of Wiltshire ; honours to which he had certain hereditary pretensionsy but which . were : most, likely, soorapidly conferred by reason of the king's fascination with the beautiful Anne, his daughter, whom Henry VIII. married from this House : its connexion with the history of that unfortunate queen contributes to give an air of interest to the spot. The honours of the Boleyne family terminated upon the death of the old Earl in 1538, worn out with sorrow and melancholy reflection ; soon after which event, the estate was purchased by Sir Henry Hobart, Bart., Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, who built the present stately Mansion, which, as to external appearance, and general arrangement, is still preserved in its original character. Sir John Hobart, third Baronet, was Knight of the Shire for Norfolk, in the three last Parliaments called by King Charles II., and had the honour of a visit from that King, together with his Queen, at this seat, in 1671 ; at which time His Majesty knighted Henry, his eldest son. John, only son of Sir Henry Hobart, fourth Baronet, was advanced to the Peerage May 28, 1728, by the title of Lord Hobart, Baron Hobart, of Blickling, in the county of Norfolk, and, September 5th, 1746, was created Earl of Buckinghamshire: his Lordship married to his first wife Judith, daughter to Robert BretifFe, Esq.,: of Bacons- thorpe, in this county, by whom he had John,' second Earl of Buckinghamshire, who married Mary Anne, eldest daughter and co-hei.r.of Sir Thomas Drury, Bart.,' by whom he had four daughters ; Caroline, second daughter, marriedthe Hon. William' Asheton Harbord, eldest son of Lord Suffield, and who has since succeeded to that title. Blickling Hall is a, perfect and interesting specimen of architectural taste in the.reign of James I. ; and it is with much pleasure we are enabled to give a full description, and views of this ancient noble Mansion ; its ground plan is quadrangular, with two: open courts in the centre, having a square turret; at each angle of the building, terminated by a vane ; the Clock-Tower over the entrance is of more modern erection, but contributes to the importance of the building. The'eritrancfe from the Court in.front, formed by the Offices andStables, is over a bridge of two arches^ crossinga moat: on either side the bridge, upon a pedestal, is represented a Bull bearing a Shield. The principal feature in the front, is the beautiful entrance which anadmirable example of the characteristic ornament used at that period : - on the ancient oak door is the date' " Ano. Do. 1 620," -this .is. -within, an- arch ;• in . the spandrils of which are figures' of,, victory : .the key-stone' bears , a , grotesque figure, and over the entablature, supported by two Doric columns, on. pedestals, is.a rich compartment, bearing the arms and quarterings of Sir'Henry Hobart, Bart.i, surmounted by the helmet and 'ancient :crest ; , the mantling is very rich, bulls holding blank shields are at each extremity. The upper story contains a large window of twelve divisions, formed by stone mull ions ; Ionic pilasters on pedestals 3-k 3 BLICKLING HALL, NORFOLK. support the upper frieze, ornamented with birds, their wings extended ; the whole crowned with a balustrade, and the figures of Truth and Justice gracefully executed. After crossing the Bridge, we enter the Hall,* which measures 42 feet by 33, and is 33 in height, opening to the great staircase of oak, the newels of which are crowned with the heraldic symbols of the Hobarts ; this branches off to the right and left, and conducts to a grand gallery of communication, containing full-length statues of Anne Boleyne and Queen Elizabeth. The Hall leads to the Antechamber, 22 feet square : in this room are six portraits of the Hobart family. The Study is a delightful apartment, furnished with a selection of the best authors, and ornamented with very fine drawings : its dimensions are 50 feet by 21. In the Organ-room is a curiously carved chimney-piece, bearing the arms of Fastolf within the garter ; it was formerly the arch of a window at Caistor Hall, in this county. One chamber is called the tapestry-room, from the circumstance of its being decorated with hangings of that description. In the old Dining-room, on each side the fire-place, are several full-length portraits by Sir Joshua Reynolds ; also portraits of Lord Towshend, the Countess of Suffolk, the Earl of Leicester, and Sir Robert Walpole. The new Drawing-room is a noble apartment, measuring 42 feet by 25, and is 22 feet high. Among the pictures are — a large equestrian portrait, in tapestry, of the Czar Peter, a present from Catherine IL, Empress of Russia, to John, second Earl of Buck inghamshire ; a very fine painting of King George the Second on horseback, by Jarvis, the horse by Wootton ; and a whole-length portrait of Lord and Lady Buckinghamshire, by Gainsborough. The State Bed-chamber is 33 feet by 21 ; the cornice and mouldings on the ceiling are richly ornamented with gilding. The state bed stands within an alcove, supported by four fluted columns of white and gold. At the head of the bed is embroidered the royal arms. Under a beautiful mirror stands a marble table, in a gilt frame ; and over the chimney-piece is a tine portrait of Lord Chief Justice Hobart, in his robes, by Corne lius Jansen. The Library is not inferior to the other apartments in its decorations, which are suitable to the antiquity of the mansion : it measures 127 feet in length, and 21 feet wide ; the ceiling is divided into compartments, the principal of which contain figures emblematical of the five senses. It contains upwards of 10,000 volumes, being the collection of the late Sir Richard Ellys, Bart., of Nocton, in Lincolnshire ; many of them are very curious, and valuable from their scarcity. The Building, though commenced in the reign of James the First, was not finished till the reign of Charles, in 1628, when the domestic chapel was consecrated. The offices in front, of corresponding style, are of more modern erection ; and the west front of the mansion was rebuilt by the Earl of Buckinghamshire, in 1769. The Park and Gardens comprehend about one thousand acres, and surround the house on three sides. The park is nearly divided by a wood of old forest trees, consisting of about one hundred and eighty acres : on one side is a two-mile race-course ; the lower part is abundantly decorated with large old timber trees ; the upper part is diversified by various plantations, and contains several buildings. The conduit and statues which formerly adorned the platform of the gardens at Oxhead Hall, are preserved here ; also a pyramid upon a base, 45 feet square, in which are the remains of John, Earl of Buck inghamshire, and his two wives. Here is one of the finest pieces of Water in the kingdom : its form is that of a crescent, and extends about a mile in its greatest length, and about four hundred yards in breadth. What renders this lake so uncommonly beautiful is, the noble accompaniment of wood : the hills rise from the very edge in varied forms ; in some places they are steep and bold ; in others, they hang in waving lawns, and are so crowned and spread with wood, that the whole scene is environed with a dark shade, finely contrasted with the extreme brightness of the water. The Pleasure Garden, about a mile in circumference, is surrounded on three sides by a terrace, commanding a pleasing, though confined landscape, of which the adjacent town of Aylsham forms a principal feature. The Green-house is spacious and elegant, and the orange trees and other exotics particularly thriving. 3-k4 TffiLTUlRgE'OlffiJD EL AILIL it ORP 0 L K. . IVa«a.Jby J. P. iloale Engraved ~by 11, J or den. »'.B UT IK 6H IE A 3L IL WOR.FOLK. Tories &• C? Temple oC the .Mjises, FmsbLTry Square, London, Sburefotfr ?#aU, jUarfelit ; THE SEAT OF SIR CHARLES CHAD, BART. Thursford is situated four miles and a half from Great Walsingharrt, and twenty-six miles from the city of Norwich, in the Hundred of North Greenhoe, in the northern part of the county. The House bears marks of great antiquity in its appearance, and was most probably erected during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The long embattled front has its uniformity judiciously broken by three large projecting bay windows to the height of two stories; the intervening space is also occupied by mullioned windows, apparently of that early period. Many alterations have been made by the successive owners. The Porch, with its columns, pediments, and circular arch of entrance, is of more modern character; the large piers, surmounted with balls at the gate of the office-court, are probably of the same date. The whole presents a venerable and picturesque appearance, and the grounds have been adapted to our improved ideas of taste in landscape scenery. The place seems to take its name from its ford, or pass over the water of Thur, on which it stands. In Domesday-book it is written Turesford, and was considered a wick or village to Great Snoring. It was then the king's manor, and Godric was his steward of it, but Ketel was lord of the manor previous, and was deprived at the Conquest. After this it was held by the family of Burgolion, and in the reign of Queen Elizabeth it was possessed by the Haydons of Baconsthorpe, in this county. In the reign of Charles n. it was the residence of Thomas Guybon, Esq., originally of Lynn, whose son, Sir Thomas Guybon, Knt. died here in 1666. The last of this family who possessed this seat was Francis Guybon, Esq. ; after whose decease, in 1704, the estate was sold in 1753 by his descendants to George Chad, Esq., Recorder of Lynn, who retired here from the arduous duties of his profession. He was created a Baronet, July 21, 1791, and resigned the office of Recorder of Lynn, which he had long.honourably enjoyed, together with other important situations he held in the county in 1792. He was twice married : by his first wife, Sarah, daughter of John Rowls, Esq. of Kingston, in Surrey, he had three sons and. two daughters ; she dying in 1786, he married Mary, only daughter of Richard Fletcher of Richmond, Surrey ; but by his last lady he had no children. He died at this seat in his 85th year, November 24, 1815, and is succeeded in his title by his second son, Sir Charles Chard, the present Baronet ; his eldest son, Robert-John, having died near Florence in the year 1793, is buried at Leghorn. The Parish Church is dedicated to Saint Andrew; it has a venerable tower, and in the chancel is a handsome monument to the Guybon family, formerly possessors of this seat. 3-M <©xfcu?36 fi^all, Norfolk; THE 8EAT OF SIR RICHARD BEDINGFELD, BART. The family of Bedingfeld takes its name from a town in Suffolk given to their Norman ancestor Ogerus de Pugeys, who came into England with the Con queror. They obtained the estate at Oxburgh by the marriage of Sir Edmund Bedingfeld, Knight, with Margaret, sister and co-heiress of Robert de Tudden- ham, in the time of Henry V. Their grandson Edmund obtained a license or grant from King Edward IV. July 3d, a.d. 1483, to build a Hail at Oxburgh, with towers, battlements, &c. " JfHorc <£a&ttW." The building surrounded a quadrangle 118 feet long, 92 broad, encompassed with a moat. Aground plan, taken in 1774, by the Rev. Mr. Homfray, is engraved in " The Architec tural Antiquities." It is built of brick ; the moat is crossed by a bridge leading to the most interesting portion, the grand entrance Tower Gateway, seen in our Engraving, which remains nearly in its original state ; the Towers are eighty feet high, of a truly majestic appearance; the battlements are peculiar, and in the centre of the pediments are the bases of two chimneys. In the Tower, on the right hand of the entrance, is a spiral staircase of brick, leading to the top ; it is lighted by small quatrefoil apertures. The other Tower is divided into four stories, three of which have groined brick ceilings with pro jecting ribs. The Chamber in the centre, and over the entrance, is spacious, having a large mullioned window to the north, and two bay windows to the south, looking into the court; it is curiously paved with small fine bricks, and the walls are hung with tapestry representing many figures in the costume of the age of Henry VII. Sir Edmund Bedingfeld, who had been created a Knight of the Bath at the coronation of Richard III. was also highly in favour with his successor, Henry VII., who is said to have visited Oxburgh Hall, and to have slept in this room, which is now called from that circumstance the King's Chamber ; the tapestry with which the walls are covered, is remarkable, and is considered an heir-loom, being mentioned in many of the old family wills. In a turret projecting from the East Tower is a small closet in the solid wall, mea suring 6 feet by 5, and 7 feet high, entered by a trap-door concealed in the pavement. Lady Bedingfeld, in her communication upon this subject, con ceives "this hiding place to have been formed during the persecution of Catholic priests, as many such places of concealment are to be found in old Catholic mansions." In the Library is a manuscript containing " Meditations on the Passion of our Saviour," written by Sir Henry Bedingfeld, Knight, while a prisoner in the Tower, where he was confined a year and three quarters, and his estates sequestered for 47,194/. 18s. 8d. for his adherence to the cause of Charles I. in the civil war. The Moat by which the Mansion is still surrounded, is about 52 feet broad and 10 deep, and is supplied with water from an adjacent rivulet. The Hall contains a collection of ancient armour, and there are preserved some ancient portraits, and other pictures by old masters ; among which are — Mary Queen of Scots — Judge Lyttelton— The Earl of Arundel and his Countess, Vandyck — Two Large Landscapes, Paul Brill — Two ditto, Gaspar Poussin — Secretary Cromwell, Holbein — A Cascade, Rysdael — Two Landscapes, with Horses and Figures, Wouvermans — Sir Thomas Gresham, Zucchero — i Christ holding a Globe, Salvator Rosa— Also Portraits of, William De la Pole, Duke of Suffolk ; Henry, Earl of Surrey ; Sir Anthony Denny ; King Edward IV. ; King Henry VII. when young, &o. &c. — In the church are several ancient monuments of the family of Bedingfeld. 3-m2 uonroxiL. Brawn ~by J E Be ale ¦raTEd. "byHi. "fty*1""8. IHIOlIKSIHnr'©!5!' MAIL Id . Jon.eS & C? TemiiLe of "the Muses, TiosTDury- Scpaie.Loiicloii . mmttxltv ?#ail, Bottom: THE SEAT OF LORD WODEHOUSE. Kimberley is situated in an extensive and beautiful Park, profusely garnished with a multitude of the most venerable oaks in the county. The Park is bounded on the west and north sides by a rivulet, which winds its course for about a mile; The declivity of the hill on the northern part is a fine lawn, with a serpentine canal at the bottom; this forms a most delightful view from the grand entrance to the House. Sir Armine Wodehouse, Bart., to whose taste in the improvements the Park owes its present appearance, died in 1777. His son, Sir John, was created a peer, October 26, 1797, by the title of Lord Wodehouse, of Kimberley, in Norfolk. The family of the noble possessor of this Mansion claims great antiquity, and held the rank of gentleman as early as the reign of King John. Sir John Wodehouse, a younger son, was knighted by Henry IV., and having married the daughter and sole heir of Sir Thomas Fastolf, of Kimberley, Knt., inherited this estate, upon which he demolished the ancient seat, and built a noble mansion. The circumstance is thus noticed in a curious pedigree of the family, in which the arms of all the matches are blazoned in old English verse. " fcemg matttjea to jf astolf's heir, fje fjatr enlarges Ijts eltoto room : 'ttoas tie totjo raaoe tlje iffloateo p^all, anH Coiner toitfjin ffje $arft,. at tf}e east eiur of tfje totott, of more remarft tfjan rTjeolu one tit ttje toest, Wsnarft'ti long since." This continued the principal seat of the family till 1659 ; it was a large quadrangular building, with an open court in the centre : falling into decay, it was pulled down by Sir Philip Wodehouse. The decay and demolition of this is also described in verse : " First fell Queen Elizabeth's brave Lodging Koome, Then the fair Stately Hall, to ruin came. Next falls the vast great Chamber arch'd on high, With golden pendents fretted sumptuously ; Yet of four parts, three still remained the seat Unto that heir who first was Baronet ; And to his son, till the Long Parliament Nobles and Gentry sunk to discontent : In which sad humour he lets all the rest Of this fair Fabric sink into it's Dust. ' Down falls the Chapel, last the goodly Toure, Tho' of Materials so firm and stoure, Time scarce uncements them : like dismal Fate, Does England suffer both in Church and State ; But these may God rebuild and raise again By Restauration of our Sovereign." The family then removed to the present Mansion, built by Sir John Wodehouse, the fourth Baronet, which is a very handsome brick edifice, with offices detached. Very great additions and improvements were made by Sir Armine, his son ; in particular, four rooms at each angle of the building : it contains several noble apartments, and a very excellent Library. A very fine portrait of Vandyke, when young, painted by himself, is preserved here; also a pair of necklaces, given by Catharine, Queen of HeUry V., to the Lady of Sir John Wodehouse, the gallant Knight who distinguished himself at the battle of Agin- court; they are very large, all of coral, except every tenth bead, which is wrought gold, there being seventy in all, with a cross of gold hanging to them; also a large hilt of a sword, adorned with silver, together with a long knife or poniard, of the same workman ship, considered to be those used by Sir John in the above memorable battle. There is still in the family a noble throne, which was erected for the Queen in the grand Hall at Kimberley ; it is of crimson velvet, richly embroidered with gold, having on it the arms and quarterings of Wodehouse, with the supporters, very curiously worked ; above are the same arms, impaling Corbet. 3s f^ouaiiton J^aii, Boxtolt; THE SEAT OF THE MARQUESS OF CHOLMONDELEY. The survey of this truly sumptuous pile fills the mind with every thing that magnificence can inspire, and excites strong images of the power, wealth, and grandeur of the illus trious builder, Sir Robert Walpole ; it was erected during the time he was Prime Minister. The original designs were furnished by Colin Campbell, the author of " Vitruvius Britanniciis ;" but the Mansion was erected by Thomas Ripley> an architect who, from having been patronized by the ministry, fell under the lash of that severe satirist, Pope : he very much improved the designs for Houghton ; and, in the execution, was superior even to the Earl of Burlington himself, in the opinion of modern critics. It was commenced in 1722, and finished in 1735, as an inscription, over the entrance, at the south end acquaints us :— " Robertus Walpole has ;edes : anno s. m.d.ccxxii. inchoavit; anno m.d.cc.xxxv. perficit." The principal front, a view of which we have given, is towards the west. The centre, or main building, is quadrangular, and is 166 feet square. The basement story is rustic, this is ascended by a double flight of steps, with a balustrade. The wings, containing the offices, are connected with the main body of the edifice by a Tuscan colonnade ; and the extent of the whole front, is 450 feet. The great Hall, a cube of forty feet, is certainly a very noble room ; the ornaments of the ceiling are by Altari, as also the frieze, in which are bas-reliefs of Sir R. Walpole, and Catharine, his first lady; and Robert, Lord Walpole, their eldest son; and Margaret Rolle, his lady : over the chimney, a bust of the Earl of Orford, by Rysbrack : opposite is an exceeding fine cast of the Laocoon, in bronze, by Girardon; the figures over the great door, and over the lesser doors, are by Rysbrack ; round the Hall are numerous busts of the heroes of antiquity, real and fabulous. The great Staircase is painted in chiaro obscuro, by Kent; in the middle, four Doric columns support a fine cast in bronze of the Gladiator, by John of Boulogne, a present from Thomas Earl of Pembroke, to Sir Robert Walpole. From the Hall, we enter the Saloon, 40 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 40 feet in height. Here is a whole-length portrait of the Empress of Russia, by Bromp- ton ; also (Edipus Colonus, Castor and Pollux, and Philoctetes. The Drawing-Room is 30 feet long by 21 feet wide; the ceiling is taken from one that was in the Dining-Room at the old House, built by Sir Edward Walpole, grand father to Sir Robert : over the chimney, the Holy Family, also portraits of the Cholmon- deley family and Sir John. The blue damask Bed-Chamber is hung with tapestry, and contains a portrait of Lady Malpas, daughter of Sir Robert Walpole, by whom the estate descended to the Cholmon- deley family. The Library, 221 feet by 21-J-: over the chimney, is a whole-length of George I., in his coronation robes, by Sir Godfrey Kneller: this is the only picture for which that monarch ever sat in England. The Dining-Parlour is ornamented with some fine pear-tree carving by Grinling Gib bons, and a portrait of that artist by Sir G. Kneller — it is a master-piece ; also portraits of King William, Locke, and Carreras, a Spanish poet, by the same hand. The suite of apartments on the other side of the saloon, consist of— The Carlo-Maratt Room, 30 feet by 21 feet: the pictures are, the Holy Family, by A Del Sarto, a St. Jerome ; , and over the chimney, a portrait of Lady Cholmondeley. The velvet Bed-Chamber : the bed is of green velvet, richly embroidered with gold ; the hangings, of tapestry, represent the loves of Venus and Adonis, after Albano. A room, called the Cabinet, leads to the Marble Parlour ; one entire side of which is marble, with alcoves for sideboards : over the chimney is an alto-relievo, by Rysbrack, after the antique. The Plantations that surround this princely edifice are laid but to give the greatest possible effect, for they are so disposed as to appear one beyond another, in different shades, to a great extent. In the road from Syderstone, they appear, it is thought, to the greatest advantage. 3-s 2 WEST LJE HIGH EroiTSE VOREOLK Engraved by S Lacey DrawiLlryTP^rea'le . Eng^r e d ly K . Hot s on. .STANTIELB HALL .Tones fc C? Temple of the Muses, Finslraiy Sqoare.London. Sliest ®txt, ?#tg6 i£ou0c, NorMfc ; THE SEAT OF ANTHONY HAMOND, ESQ. This Mansion derives its name of High House, from the circumstance of its being situated on some of the highest ground in the county of Norfolk : it is distant six miles and a half north from the market town of Swaff ham, twelve miles east from Lynn, and is thirty-one miles west of the city of Norwich. Two miles south of the house, in the valley, lies the village of West Acre, through which the river Nar winds its course, and was formerly navigable at this place ; hence it runs to Narborough, where it now becomes navigable, and thence passing Pentney and Scetchy bridge, falls into the Ouse at Lynn. The country around High House is open on every side, affording the greatest advantage to the enjoyment of field sports, particularly those of coursing and partridge shooting, and the ancient amusement of hawking is here still kept up. The Mansion is a handsome uniform building on the Italian plan. The Park and grounds in the immediate vicinity are adorned with shrubberies and plan tations well imagined, and the venison from the Park is much esteemed. In the reign of William Rufus, a Priory was founded at West Acre, by Ralph de Tony, for Canons of the Order of St. Augustin, the remains of which are still standing ; this, at the suppression, was valued at three hundred and eight pounds, nineteen shillings, and eleven pence halfpenny. In the time of King Charles the Second, West Acre was the residence of Sir E. Barkham, who was created a Baronet by that Monarch, July 21, 1661. Sir Edward gave to this parish its communion plate, and the same to the adjoining parishes of South Acre and Castle Acre. 3-x3 tfanfieltr $all, jRotfolfc; THE SEAT OF THE REVEREND GEORGE PRESTON. The Manor of Stanfield, in the Hundred of Launditch, at the Conquest fell into the hands of Earl Warren, and afterwards was in the possession of the Bigods. In 1249, the Prior of Wymondham, in consideration of divers bene factions to the Priory, granted leave to Sir Richard Curzon to have a chapel and chaplain to his house at Stanfield ; and it seems that the manor was not a part of Wymondham, but expressly excepted. In 1460, it belonged to the Appleyards ; in 1516, to the Flowerdews. In the year 1642, the estate was purchased by Sir Thomas Richardson, who became Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and Baron of Cramond, in Scotland. In 1735, Wm. Jermyn, Esq. of Bayfield, in Norfolk, married the Honourable Miss E. Richardson, the only surviving sister of the last Lord Cramond, and became the possessor of the estate. After the death of his wife, he married a second time, to Frances, daughter of Jacob Preston Esq. of Beeston St. Lawrence, and dying without issue by either of his wives, the estate fell to the Prestons, of Beeston, of which family the present proprietor is the representative. The common ancestor of the Prestons, of Norfolk, who lived in the reign of King Charles I., and who shewed great attachment to the person of that monarch, even to his death, lies buried at Buckenham, in this county. The family have resided for several generations at Beeston ; and one received from King William the honour of knighthood. The Mansion, which early received the name of Stanfield Hall, is partly the remains of the house inhabited by the Flowerdews in the reign of Queen Elizabeth ; and the present owner, in a most judicious manner, has preserved the peculiar character of that period in his additions. The porch at the entrance exhibits the arms of the family ; the large windows divided by mul- lions, and the clustered chimneys with the spiral ornaments to the gables, give a correct representation of the architecture of that early time : our engraving represents an east-south-east view of the building ; the interior contains various specimens of architecture, from the plain groined to the most florid style, the whole of which is executed in composition imitative of stone, and was the work of Mr. Wilkin s, of Norwich. The house is surrounded by a moat, and stands in the midst of a cheerful and well- sheltered lawn ; the situation is considered the highest in the county of Norfolk. 3-x4 Drawn by J. F. Neale 'UIDDENHAM HAJLJL, ArO RFC LIC. Drawn 17 J P JtfeaL IT ON HAUL, Jor.-'s Sr Oc" Teir/ple of the l-.vuses. imsOurj" Sgiiare. London. ©urtfttttfjam f^all, Norfolk; THE SEAT OF THE EARL OF ALBEMARLE. Quiddenham is a large and noble Mansion, principally composed of brick : the Park Front, shewn in our View, consists of five divisions ; the two wings project with a gentle curve, the centre recedes, the lower part of which is brought parallel with the rest of the front by a Doric stone portico, surmounted with balustrades. The Garden Front, shewn also in the Engraving, consists of a centre, with four columns of the Ionic order, sup porting an entablature and pediment ; at the extremity of the wings are two corresponding pilasters. The House is situated about three miles and a half from Buckenham, in the hundred of'Giltcross. The estate, since it has been in the possession of the present noble family, has been very greatly improved in value. Blomfield, in his History of Norfolk, considers its original name to have been Guiden- ham, Villa Guidonis ; but has not explained who Guido or Guy, that held it, was! The Manor belonged to William de Quiddenham, in the reign of Henry II., Adam de Quiddenham, his son, who succeeded him, granted divers lands, to be held by the service of four annual suits at his manorial courts here. About the year 1500, the whole became the property of Sir Edmund Bedingfeld, Knight of the Bath, in right of Margaret, the daughter and heiress of Sir Robert Tudenham, Knt. ; he left the estate to Peter Bedingfeld, Esq., his fourth son, whose grandson, Humphrey, sold the property, in 1572, to John Holland, Esq., of Wort- well Hall, in this county, a descendant of John, the third son of Brian Holland, Esq., of Denton House, in Lancashire. John Holland, Esq., who purchased Quiddenham and Bokenham Park, is commended as an ingenious painter, in a book called " The excellent Art of Painting," p. 20 ; he was living in 1586, and, by Mary, the daughter of Sir Edmund Wyndham, Knt., of Felbrigge, he had Sir Thomas Holland, who was knighted by King James, at Greenwich, 24th May, 1628 ; he married Mary, the daughter of Sir Thomas Knivet, Knti, of Ashwell Thorp, and died 25th February, 1629, leaving a son, John, who was created a Baronet by King Charles I., 15th June, 1629. Sir John Holland married Alathea, the only daughter and heiress of John Panton, Esq., of Denbighshire, widow of William, fourth Lord Sandys, of the Vine, by whom he had a son, Thomas, who died before his father, in 1698, leaving a son, who, upon his grandfather's death, in 1700, succeeded to the title. Sir John Holland, the second Baronet, married Rebecca, the youngest daughter of Wm. Paston, Earl of Yarmouth, and left a son, Sir William Holland, the third and last Baronet of this family ; after whose death, without issue, the estate devolved upon his two sisters, Isabella Diana and Charlotte, who sold it to Mr. Bristol, a merchant, of whom the whole was purchased by George, third Earl of Albemarle, in 1762. The family of Keppel is descended from a noble House in Guelderland, resident at a Castle, near Oldyssel. Arnold Joost van Keppel, Lord of Voorst, accompanied King William III. to England in the year 1688, as page of honour, and attending his Majesty in several campaigns, wherein he distinguished himself by his courage and fidelity; he was created, 10th February, 1696, Baron Ashford, Viscount Bury, and Earl of Albemarle, in Normandy, a title formerly borne by the Princes of the House of Plantagenet. His Majesty presented him with his fine seat at Loo, in Holland ; and his Lordship was elected a Knight of the Garter, 14th May, 1700. After the death of King William, the Earl of Albemarle was entrusted with offices of dignity by Queen Anne and George I., and died at the Hague, 30th May, 1718. His son, William Anne, second Earl of Albe marle, also filled many public stations, both civil and military, and died when Ambassador at Paris, 22d December, 1754; George, third Earl of Albemarle, was Commander-in- chief at the reduction of the Havannah in 1762, and was installed a Knight of the Garter in 1771 ; he died 13th October, 1772, at. forty-eight, and was buried at Quiddenham., His youngest brother was Admiral Augustus Viscount Keppel, so created in 1782, who was the early friend of Sir Joshua Reynolds ; he died in 1786. His Lordship was succeeded in his title and estates by his. only son, William Charles, the present Earl of Albemarle. Arms, Gules, three escallop shells, argent. 3-z 3 Mtxton Sail &oxM&; THE SEAT OF LORD WALSINGHAM. This ancient Mansion, above twenty miles nearly west from the city of Nor wich, stands in a small but interesting park, diversified with clumps and plantations. The Manor is situated in the hundred of Wayland; and, in ancient deeds and charters, has borne the various names of Meretuna, Martin, or Merton, which may be derived from some meer or large standing water within its bounds, and of which the nature and appearance of the ground east of the mansion, and south of where the church stands, seems to bear evidence. In the time of Edward the Confessor, it belonged to Ailid ; but, at the Conquest, it fell to the Conqueror, who gave it to Ralph Baynard, a Norman, who accompanied him in his expedition. Sir Thomas de Grey, Knight, married Isabel, daughter and co-heir of Fulk Baynard, Esq.; and, upon the partition of her father's lands, she having Merton allotted to her, Sir Thomas de Grey came and settled at the ancient seat of the Baynards ; and, in 1337, they settled the manor of Merton, &c. on themselves in tail, Merton manor being then held by Katherine, widow of Fulk Baynard, in dower. It has ever since been the principal residence of this family. Thomas Grey, clerk, held the manor of Merton and the whole estate of the Greys in Norfolk, and died possessed thereof before the year 1404. From him was descended, by a series of honourable alliances, the late Lord Walsingham, son of William, the first peer, who was born at Merton, July 7, 1719? and was educated at Cambridge, where he applied himself to the study of the laws, and afterwards became so eminent in his profession, as to be appointed one of hi* Majesty's Counsel, Jan. 30, 1758; was made Solicitor-General, Dec. 16, 1764; Attorney General, Aug. 6, 1766; had the honour of knighthood conferred upon him, and was constituted Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, Jan. 26, 1771 ; and was created Lord Walsingham, Baron of Walsingham, in the county of Norfolk, by letters patent, bearing date October 17, 1780. His Lordship was married in the chapel belonging to Somerset House, on November 12, 1743, to Mary, daughter of William Cowper, Esq. of The Park, near Hertford, and first cousin to William Cowper, the poet. His Lordship died May 9, 1781, and was buried at Merton, being succeeded in his title and estate by the late noble and distinguished proprietor of Merton Hall, who died the 16th of January, 1818. The Parish Church, at all times an interesting object, stands upon a rising piece of ground, at a short distance from the Mansion to the north-east : it contains several ancient memorials of the family of de Grey, and is their present burial-place. 3-z4 Wiolttxton Sail, Norfoife ; THE SEAT OF THE EARL OF ORFORD. Wolterton Hall, near Cromer, was built by Horatio, Lord Walpole, under the direction of Ripley, the architect, in 1730 : the centre is surmounted by a pediment, containing the arms and supporters of his Lordship ; the basement story is rustic. From the Offices being concealed under ground, the House does not make an appearance corresponding to its real magnitude : it is in every respect a commodious mansion, extending in front 100 feet, and 75 feet in depth ; the principal floor may be termed magnificent. The Saloon, 30 feet square, is hung with tapestry, the sofas and chairs are also covered with richly-wrought needlework ; the subjects are taken from the Fables of .ZEsop, admirably executed. The Hall is a, spacious and noble apartment, its dimen sions are 50 feet by 27- The Dining-room, measuring 30 feet by 27, contains a fine picture of King Charles. The Dressing-room, 21 feet by 11, is hung with tapestry of lively and spirited colours ; another Dressing-room is 21 feet by 18. The Drawing-room is 25 feet long and 21 feet wide, also hung with tapestry, very fine : the pier-glasses, throughout the house, are large and handsome. From the south-east front of the Mansion, the view is beautiful over the Park, which is adorned with some very fine plantations, and a piece of water fourteen acres in extent : the distant woods of Blickling bound the prospects. Upon thinning the woods of Wolterton, some years ago, was cut down a Spanish chesnut, which had been transplanted in 1724, and measured, upon an average, 44 cubic feet ; one of the same age measured 74 feet. This ancient family derives its name from Walpole St. Peter's, in the county of Norfolk, where its progenitors were settled even before the Norman Conquest. The title of Earl of Orford, which had been granted to that cele brated statesman, Sir Robert Walpole, in 1742, became extinct in 1797, on the death of Horace, Lord Orford, a nobleman distinguished for his refined taste, politeness, and ingenuity. The title was then revived in the person of Horatio, Lord Walpole, of Wolterton, who was created Earl of Orford, April 1, 1806. 4-A4 *tttokatoortt Sail, JBtottoift; THE SEAT OF THOMAS THORNH1LL, ESQ. Riddlesworth is six miles south-east from the town of Thetford. It stands in a plea sant park, in a fine sporting country. The House, though not large, is constructed upon a plan that admits every requisite, to render a country residence agreeable ; the rooms are both airy and convenient. An ancient mansion of the Drurys was taken down by Sylvanus Bevan, Esq., who erected the present building, and expended a considerable sum in the improvement of the estate, of whom the whole was purchased by- the present proprietor. The Manor of Riddlesworth, at the Confessor's survey, belonged to Orgar, a. freeman, and at William the Conqueror's, to Humphrey, the son of Alberic. In Domesday Boke, it is called Redelefuorda, or the village abounding with reeds, according to Blomefield, the historian of the- county. It afterwards became the Lordship of Ralf Peverel, and was held at the fourth part of a fee of the Honor of Peverel. In 1255, Jeffrey Tregoz held it of the King, of whom Peter de Mealings, of Burston, held it by knight's service, and settled it on Henry de Bathon, from which family it went by marriage to John de Bohun, and from his heiress, Agnes, in 1341, to Roger, son of Roger de Archer. In 1384, Sir John Roos possessed the Manor in right of Beatrice his wife, heiress of Roger de Archer. Anne, the daughter and co-heiress of Sir John Roos, married Thomas Sackville, Esq., who in her right possessed the estate. The family of Rookes were finally Lords of the Manor from 1456 to 1515, when it was sold to the Waldegrave and Calthorpe families, and, by intermarriage, it came to that of Drury. Sir Drue Drury, Knt., third son of Sir Robert Drury, of Egerly, married first Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Philip Cal thorpe, with whom he had a moiety of the Manor. He was Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber to Queen Elizabeth, and was one of the keepers of Mary Queen of Scots, for a short time before she was beheaded. He built Riddlesworth Hall, and constantly resided here. When Blomefield wrote his History of Norfolk, this ancient Mansion was standing, and contained many family portraits, and other pictures, of which he gives a list; amongst them are mentioned two particularly *worthy of notice. One is described as a curious old painting on board, containing the portraits of ten persons, each having his arms or cypher over his head, and an inscription at his feet. The other picture consisted of a portrait of Sir William Drury, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, by whom hangs an old plan of Edinburgh Castle, and two armies before it, round which is inscribed, " Sir William Drurye, Knt., General of the English, wanne Edenburghe Castle, 1573." Upon the picture was also this inscription, " Sir William Drurye, Knt., Marshall of Barwicke, Lord Generall of this Jorny, and after Lord Presi dent of Munster, and lastly died Lord Justice of Irland, a0. 1579 ;" together with the arms and crest of Drury, with fourteen coats, and the arms and names of the following persons, all of whom were with the Lord General at the siege : " Mr. Henry Killigray, Ambassador; Sir Geo. Carie, Knt. ; Sir Thos. Cecill ; Sir Francis Trusbill, Knt. ; Sir Henry Lee, Knt. ; Mr. Michael Carie ; Mr. Henry Carie ; Mr. William Knowles ; Mr. Dieyr ; Mr. Cotton ; Mr. Thos. Sutton ; Mr. Kelwaye ; Sir William Selbye ; Mr. Til- ney ; Sir William Killegray :" amongst the family portraits was that of Sir Drue Drury, that built the house, his wife on one side, and upon the other, a lady, daughter of Lovell; on the house was painted the arms of Drury quartering Finch and Waldegrave, impaling Derham. In the north aisle of the church is a mural monument to Sir Drue ; he is represented in armour, kneeling at a prie dieu, with a Latin inscription : he died at this seat, April 29, 1617.. Upon the death of his great-grandson, Sir Robert Drury, Bart., without issue, April 7, 1712, Sir William Wake, Bart., whose mother was a sister of Sir Robert Drury, succeeded to the estate, and sold it to Sylvanus Bevan, Esq. Blomefield observes, that the family sum amed de Redelesworth, is very ancient, and had a good estate here, and in Gatesthorp, where they were sometime Lords : they bore for their coat armour, vert, a bull passant or. 4-b 3 eosscg l^aii, Norfolk ; THE SEAT OF LORD STAFFORD. The Lodge at Cossey Park stands about two miles from Norwich Turnpike, on the road to Lynn. The House is placed in a beautiful valley, the gentle acclivities of which are studded with woods and plantations, happily disposed, while the winding of the river Wensum, at the foot of a delightful lawn, and through meadows, visible from the rising grounds to a great distance, adds considerable interest to the scene. From a tower, upon an eminence, is an extensive prospect of the surrounding country ; the city of Norwich, very distinctly seen, lies about four miles from Cossey. The local beauty of the neighbourhood of this venerable seat was much increased by the tasteful improve ments of the late Sir William Jerningham, Bart., which were conducted upon a grand scale. The Mansion was erected by Sir Henry Jerningham, Knt., Vice-Chamberlain to Queen Mary, and was commenced in the reign of that princess ; but from the date of 1564, over the porch, it appears not to have been finished until that of Elizabeth. The plan of the edifice is that of an half H, with the front towards the east, and projecting wings terminating in gables, crowned with low pinnacles : the Porch in the centre is not without decoration, but there is none of the exuberance of architectural ornament so frequently introduced at that period. Its style has been strictly preserved, and no innovation permitted upon its antique front. The Mansion contains several spacious apartments, adorned with numerous family Portraits, and others of distinguished characters in English history ; a very fine original portrait of Queen Mary the First, and a Cabinet of Miniatures of the Family, some originals, and others copies from large paintings, formed by the late Edward Jerningham, Esq. There is also a most exquisite original drawing, by Vandyck, of Thomas Earl of Arundel, and Alathea his countess, seated under a canopy, with all their children before them. One room contains a library of elegant and well chosen books. The ancient Hall, now used as a Dining-room, opens upon a Conservatory, upwards of ninety feet in length, which extends to the entrance of a splendid Chapel, lately erected. The domestic Chapel was an invariable appendage to Mansions of early date, and is now particularly necessary as a part of the establishment of a Roman Catholic family. It is 90 feet in length, 35 wide, and 20 feet high ; and in the annexed View, taken from the south-east, forms a prominent object. The Chapel is built in the pointed style of architecture, with all its appropriate decora tions and members, its mullioned windows, ornamented buttresses, and pinnacle termina tions, derived from pure models ; nor has the customary heraldic embellishments been omitted: in sculptured compartments, under the battlements, are shields alternately bear ing the arms of Jerningham and Stafford; also over an entrance on the north-side are some of the family quarterings. The interior is arranged in exact conformity to ancient custom, all the seats being of oak, ornamented at the ends with carved finials, and the noble windows, twenty in number, filled with very fine old stained glass, collected from various monasteries on the Continent, and executed after designs of the German and Flemish school. In a series, beneath the windows, are carved in oak the armorial coat of Jerningham, three arming buckles, impaled with those of the various alliances of this illustrious family. The groining of the roof is at once simple and elegant. The design of this chapel was formed by the correct taste of the late Edward Jerning ham, Esq., the younger brother of his Lordship, a man pre-eminently distinguished for every generous virtue and talent, of heart and head, that can adorn the character of a perfect gentleman. Through Mary, eldest daughter and heiress of Francis Plowden, Esq., by Mary the daughter of the Honourable John Stafford Howard, younger son of William Viscount Stafford, beheaded in 1680, the late Sir William Jerningham inherited the baronial castle, with several estates in the counties of Salop and Stafford, belonging to the ancient Barony of Stafford. 4-b4 B ' IBB Wm WW AYLESF KBTfT. p'.'JiL1sLl>c 1829. V Geo. "Virtue. 26. Ivy Lane. THE PEW CMUROT MAKTCTOKt." THE COUNTY OF KENT. 57 of an Act passed for the greater safety of the powder works, the stoves were removed into the marsh, at a considerable distance below the town. The Oyster Fishery of Faversham is of great consequence, and forms the principal source of its trade. The dredgers, or oyster- fishers, are under the jurisdiction and protection of the lord of the manor, who appoints a steward, which officer holds two admiralty courts annually, where all matters relating to the good government of the society are transacted. No person is admitted as a free dredger, unless he has served an apprenticeship of seven years to a freeman, and is a married man. In times of peace, great quantities of Faversham oysters are exported to Holland. According to the returns made under the Population Act, in the year 1821, Faversham con tained 683 houses, and 2019 males and 2189 females, making a total of 4208 souls. THE BRIDGE AND CHURCH OF AYLESFORD. The Bridge of Aylesford, a structure of some antiquity, is built of stone, and supported at the public charge of the County, whence the grounds rise with a gentle ascent, being beautifully wooded and picturesque. The Medway, which flows through this district in a north-westward direction, pursues its course upwards from Woldham and Burham, presenting a pellucid stream of fresh water, as the tide there loses its rapidity, the element is divested of a saline taste. The vil lage of Aylesford occupies the northern bank of the river, behind which the ground rises suddenly to a considerable height, and, in consequence, the Church and its cemetery, together with the vica rage, stand more elevated than the tops of the chimneys of the houses beneath. A quarter of a mile westward, close to the stream, stands the Priory, a considerable portion of which remains entire, as, previous to its dissolution, it was converted into a private residence, having all the offices requisite annexed thereto. The Church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a handsome structure, having a square turret at the west end. Henry the First gave this edifice to Saint Andrew and Gundulph, bishops of Rochester, and subsequently confirmed the same to those ecclesiastics. After bishop Gundulph had separated his own maintenance from that of the monks of his priory, he assigned this Church to the fraternity for their support, and afterwards granted them the free disposition of the vicarage also. In that state the Church of Aylesford continued until the dissolution, when, devolving to the crown, it was by the dotation charter of Henry the Eighth, in his thirty-third year, settled with the advowson of the vicarage, together with all the other possessions of the late Priory of Rochester in this parish, on his newly-erected dean and chapter of Rochester, in whom the inheritance still continues vested. Aylesford is noted in ancient history for the sanguinary battle fought there, between the Britons and Saxons, in the year 455, being five years subsequent to the first.landing of the latteran Britain. In the conflict alluded to, Horsa, the brother of Hengist, the Saxon general, and Catigern, or Catigri- nus, the brother of king Vor timer, were slain, fighting desperately hand to hand. It is supposed that the 15. 58 PICTURESQUE BEAUTIES OF GREAT BRITAIN. former was buried about three miles north of Aylesford, at a spot which, from that circumstance, acquired the appellation of Horsted, that is to say, the place of Horsa, near which numbers of large stones are dispersed over the soil, some remaining erect, while others, from the lapse of time, have been thrown down, which were, no doubt, in the first instance, collected there to serve as memorials for those who fell on the side of the Saxons, during that memorable encounter, and were buried there. Catigern is conjectured to have been interred near the field of slaughter, upon an emi nence, a mile northward from the village, and a quarter of a mile west of the high road leading from Rochester to Maidstone. SANDLANDS, THE SEAT OF WILLIAM DEEDES, ESQ. This mansion is beautifully situated near the town of Hythe, being the elegant modern-built residence of William Deedes, Esq. descended from a family so called, which has for some genera tions flourished in this part of Kent. The first mention we find made of the name is in the person of Thomas Deedes, Esq. that gentleman, by Elizabeth his wife, sister of Robert Glover, Esq. Somer set herald, a learned and judicious antiquary, having had one male heir named Julius Deedes, whose youngest son Robert had a grant of arms confirmed to him and Julius, his nephew, and their heirs, in 1653, which have ever since been borne by the different branches of that family. The surrounding district is well watered by two streams ; one of which, named the Slabrook, rises from different springs near Postlingvents, and under the hills near Brockhull Bushes, when having united, at no great dis tance, it flows across the parish, and thence into the ocean, west of the town of Hythe, at the north-east end of the extremity of the great bank of sea beach which there lines the shore, being two miles in length, and a quarter of a mile in breadth. The other, called Saltwood Brook, flows from beneath Brechborough Hill, down under Saltwood Castle ; the capacious moat of which fortress, though at present dry, was formerly supplied from that source, which thence flowed eastward, on the opposite side of Hythe, into the sea, with the former current. Sandlands, or Great Sandling, as it is denominated by Mr. Hasted, is a structure possessing all the requisites necessary for a mansion inhabited by a gentleman of affluence and refined taste ; while the park, pleasure-grounds, and plantations whereby it is environed, are laid out with due attention to every thing appertaining to the picturesque and beautiful in decorative scenery. SAWBJLAHDLS, THE SLAT OF WILLIAM DEEDES ESQOrEAK. HTTHE. KENT., • •,<*FabMie& 1839-, ty Geo THrtae,26 ly Lme Ifca-rr; by Geo Sb/ MWOHHB'S -TWEI& AT" WISTEMSANfflE: NEAR. H?T.HE THE COUNTY OF KENT. 59 ROSAMONDS TOWER, WESTENHANGER HOUSE, NEAR HYTHE. The parish of Westenhanger is united to that of Stowting, and situated in the Hundred of Street, The major part of this district is low and unpleasant, at a little distance below the down hills. The greater part consisting of pasturage is very wet, and contiguous to the hill the soil is poor, but lower down becomes richer, having excellent fertile meadows. The high road along the Stone Street way from Canterbury, over Hampton Hill, conducts through this parish towards New Inn Green, whence it proceeds straight forwards to'JLymne, the Partus Lemanis of the Romans, and to the right and left to the towns of Ashford and Hythe. This district is watered by the stream which rises above Postling Church, being that branch of the river called Old Stour, that meanders thence in this direction, having been augmented by the waters of numerous tributary streamlets, when from the north west it crosses the high road westward, below Stanford Street, towards Ashford. The bridge over the river at this spot having been broken down in the seventh of Edward the First, the jury decided that all reparations necessary should be completed at the sole charge of Nicholas de Criol, and not by the populace of the adjacent hundreds. At no great dis tance westward from the bridge in question, stand the remains of the ancient mansion of Westen hanger, presenting a sombre appearance, in a low, unpleasant, and swampy situation, surrounded by a flat country, with pasture lands in front. Westenhanger House, on the authority of tradition, was a kingly palace in the reign of Henry the Second ; the mutilated statue of a royal personage, displaying one hand grasping a sceptre, having been found among the ruins, supposed to have represented the monarch in question. Part of the ancient building was also denominated Rosamond's Tower, from the celebrated beauty of that name, who is reported to have inhabited Westenhanger Palace, previous to her removal to Wood stock. A chamber, denominated Rosamond's Prison or Gallery, formerly existed here, an hundred and sixty feet in length, said to have been destroyed in the course of those alterations which at different periods have nearly removed all traces of its pristine splendour. The old house, which was moated round j; had anciently "a drawbridge, a gatehouse, and a portal, of which the arch was lofty and strong, springing from polygonal pillars, arid secured, by a portcullis. The outer walls were high, and strengthened with towers, some square, "others circular, the whale being embattled. Over the door was a carved' figure of St. George; on horseback, and under it four shields, one bearing the arms of England, and another a key and crown, supported by angels. . ' ,, i A flight of steps led to the chapel, erectfed by Sir Edward Poynings in the reign of Henry the Eighth, and vaulted with stone. The great hall was fifty.feetlong, havinga gallery at one end, and at the other cloisters which -communicated with the cbap~el and principal apartments, of which there are reported to have been no less than an hundred and twenty^sixj with the old story of as many windows as there are days in the year.' 60 PICTURESQUE BEAUTIES OF GREAT BRITAIN. In the year 1701, more than three parts of this venerable pile were pulled down, for the sake of the materials, which, when disposed of, produced a thousand pounds sterling. All now remaining of this once-magnificent structure, and its extensive out-buildings, are the walls, and two towers on the north and east sides, which being undermined by lapse of years, are precipitated in huge masses into the adjoining moat. The under part of the grand entrance is yet remaining, the arch over the same having been taken down to admit the entrance of loaded waggons, bearing hay or wheat from the fields in harvest time : innumerable fragments of carved stone are also scattered about in every direction, exhibiting an awful and melancholy spectacle of mouldering grandeur. The whole edifice was built of quarry stone, said to have been dug up in the adjoining manor of Otterpoole, in iLymne ; those portions ornamented by rich sculpture having been conveyed from Caen, in Normandy, to decorate the edifice. The park once belonging to this mansion extended over the east and south parts of the parish, rather upon a rising ground, formerly comprehending the entire parochial district of Ostenhanger ; at the southern boundary of which is New Inn Green, so denominated from a new inn erected there in the time of Henry the Eighth, contiguous to which is a small hamlet, built on the road leading from Hythe to Ashford. Near the western boundary of this district is a small green, surrounded by dwellings, called Gibbin's Brook, situated in the borough of Gimminge, such being its proper appellation, the whole occupying a very wet and swampy country. Westenhanger is a very eminent manor, once constituting a parish of itself, though now united to Stanford. Its ancient and more proper name, as appears by the register of St. Augustine's Abbey, was Le Hangre; yet we find it designated, in records as far back as the time of Richard the First, by the titles of Ostenhanger and Westenhanger, which, no doubt, originated in its having been divided, and in the hands of separate owners, as it was held by the two eminent families of the Criols and the Aubervilles. Bertram de Criol, Constable of Dover Castle, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, and Sheriff of Kent for several years, under Henry the Third, who, in consequence of his immense possessions in this County, was usually styled " The Great Lord of Kent,'''' is entered on the Pipe Rolls of the twenty-seventh of that reign, as of Ostenhanger, where, it is stated, he rebuilt a great portion of the then ancient mansion. He leaving two sons, Nicholas and John, the former marrying Joan, daughter and heir of Sir William de Auberville, in her right inherited the other portion of this manor, called Westenhanger. Ostenhanger subsequently passed in marriage to Sir Richard de Rokesle, Seneschal and Governor of Poictou and Montreuil, in Picardy, a man of great note under Edward the First, who created him a knight banneret, at the siege of Carla- verock, in Scotland. By marriage, this estate afterwards went to the Poynings, in which line it continued to the reign of Henry the Sixth, when, by the marriage of Alianore with Sir Henry Percy, afterwards Earl of Northumberland, he became possessed of this large inheritance, together with the baronies of Poynings, Bryan, and Fitzpain, still enjoyed by the Dukes of Northumberland. Westenhanger, as before stated, was held under Richard the First by Sir William de Auberville, descended from William de Ogburville, mentioned -in the survey of Domesday as having attended William the Conqueror in his expedition hither, who resided in that reign in the borough of Westenhanger, and founded the Abbey of West Langdon. The estate subsequently AL T 1CH.P NORTHiJffTOM .ITFjjtF. e^%€5/c=s'2z^ er &tjy/-J JjAc Dnuraty J.P.'NeaJ' >. JL T Ef to !(\ : WORTliAJvU? 1 ON.S I ! IRE, Jones £ Cc Louden. i\Lv 23.1829. Noxt$am$tQm%ixt; THE SKAT OP GEORGE JOHN EARL SPENCER, KG., &c. &c. Althorp Park is situated in the parish of Brington, about five miles north-west of Northampton. The first of the two Views of this mansion represents the east front, being the principal entrance ; the second shows the south-west aspect, and the situation of the library, taking up nearly the whole of two of the angles on the ground-floor. In the reign of Henry VII. Althorp was in the possession of John Catesby, second son of John Catesby of Legers Ashby, Esq. who sold it to John Spencer, Esq. which John levied a fine of it in the 24th year of the same reign. This gentleman, who was afterwards knighted by Henry VIII. was the son of William Spencer, Esq. of Wormleighton, in "Warwickshire, descended from a younger branch of the Despencers, anciently Earls of Gloucester and Winchester ; the head of which family was Ivo, Viscount Constantine, who married Emma, sister to Alan, Earl of Brittany, before the Conquest. The estate has continued, uninterrupted, in the Spencer family, from the reign of Henry VII. Robert Lord Spencer was succeeded, in 1627, by his. son William, and he, in 1637, by his son Henry, created Earl of Sunderland, after the battle of Edge Hill, in 1642, and slain at the battle of Newbury, in the same year. Mr. Bray, in his " Tour into Derbyshire and Yorkshire," (2d edition, 1783,) states — " About five miles to the west of the town (Northampton) is Althorp, an old seat of the Spencers (now Earls,) built in the shape of a half H. It stands low, and in the approach you go through, and cross, those straight avenues of trees, which were once deemed the line of beauty. The rooms are not large, except the library and gallery, the latter of which is 138 feet by 20. In this is a collection of portraits, hardly, perhaps, exceeded by any in the kingdom, not only in point of number, but of beauty. The famous beauties of Hampton Court are far short of those which the pencils of Cornelius Janssen, Vandyck, Lely, Kneller, &c, have placed here. ' A small piece of Henry VIII. by Holbein, (in this gallery,) a small round portrait of that master by himself, (in the picture closet,) and a boy blowing a lighted brand, are reckoned of very great value." Althorp House was built by the Earl of Sunderland, in 1688. It is remarked by Mr. Dibdin, " There is neither colonnade, nor vestibule, nor terrace, nor fountain, nor lake, as you approach the mansion : nor studied grandeur of architectural decoration, as you enter it ; but comfort, order, peace, unanimity, good management, choice society, and splendid cheer. — These are the interior attractions which supply the place of silken hangings, Gobelin tapestries, gilt balustrades, and all the pomp and circumstance of elaborate and overwhelming furniture." The number of volumes at Althorp is computed at about forty-five thousand. We are happy in having it in our power to present our Subscribers with the following Catalogue of the splendid Collection of Pictures at Althorp. PORTRAIT GALLERY. Present Earl Spencer, Copleyo Ado, Countess of Suffolk, Lely. Portrait of herBelf, Artemisia Gentileschi. Duchess of Orleans, daughter to Charles the First, by Henrietta Maria. Biauca di Capello. Lady Morton. Henry VIII. with Mary, Queen of Eng land, and Somers his jester, Holbein. Duchess of Cleveland, Lely. Elizabeth, Countess de Grammont, Lely, Sir Peter Paul Rubens, Vandyck, Nell Gwyn, Lely. Duchess of Portsmouth, Lely. Unknown Portrait, Vandyck. Penelope, Lady Spencer, Vandyck. Lady Deoham. Sir Kenelm Digby,' Cornelius Janssen Anil, Countess of Arran, Kneller. Two Apostles' heads, Vandyck. Ann Spencer. Elizabeth Spencer. Lady Georgiana Carteret.Countess Cowper. Duchess, of Devonshire, Sir J. Reynolds. Mary, Queen of England, Holbein. Sir Anthony Vandyck, Rubens. Horteoae, Duchess de Mazarin, Kneller. . Henry V/fiothesly, Earl of Southampton, Myttens. A woman's portrait, Sir Anthony More. Henrietta, Queen of Eugland, Vandyck. Lady Jane Grey, Lucas de Heere. Henry VIII., Holbein. Frobenius the printer, Holbein. Colonel Russell, Dobson. Mons. de St. Evremond, Kneller. Duchess of Tyrconnel. Present Earl Spencer, at 17. Sir J. Reynolds. Verrio the painter, by himself. An Apostle's head, Vandyck, William, Duke of Newcastle, Vandyck. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, Kneller. Henry, first Earl of Sunderland, Walker. Dorothy, Countess of Sunderland, Vandyck. Elizabeth, Countess of Falmouth, Lely. Portrait unknown, Sir Antlumy More. Mary d'Este, Queen of James II., Lely. Rachel, Countess of Northampton, Vandyck. Mrs. Jennings, mother to Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. • Ann Hyde, Duchess of York, Lely. Ann, Countess of Bedford, Vandyck, Lady Elizabeth Thimbleby, and Catha rine, Countess of Rivers, her sister-in- law, and a Cupid^ Vandyck. Cardinal Pole, by Perino del Vaga. King Charles the First. Gibbon, the historian. - Pedro' Van Mot, by himself. Oliver Cromwell,* Walker. Philip II. king of Spain, Sir An. More. Ann Genevieve de Bourbon, Duchesae de Longueville. Fourth Earl of Roscommon, C. Maratta. Digby, Earl of Bristol, and Francis I. Duke of Bedford, Vandyck. Robert, Becond Earl of Sunderland, Carlo Maratta. A boy's portrait, Lely. Old man s head. Venetia, Lady Digby, Sir Kenelm s wife, Vandyck, copy. SamBon, Giactnio Brandt. Woman and child. A Man's portrait. An old man, Rembrandt. ¦ "No" dyci. Algernon, Earl of Northumberland, Van- Third Earl of Southampton. ¦ Robert Smithe, of Bounds, Kent, Esq. Dorothy, Countess of Sunderland, mar ried to the above Robert Smithe when a widow, Lely. Philip Sydney, Earl of Leicester, Lely. Dorothy Sydney, afterwards Countess of Sunderland, Vandyck. . Ann Digby, Countess of Sunderland, IMy. Robert, second Earl of Sunderland,, hus band to the above, ,Lely. \ Henry, Lord Percy, of AlOwick. Countess of Northumberland, Lely. Anthony, Earl of Shaftesbury, Lely. u argaret opeuutsi -, ^u bury, his wife, Lely. Catalogue of Pictures at Althorp — continued. Lord Crofts. t n , , „ Earl of ¦ Leicester, Lady Sunderland s Father. Henry Howard, 3rd eon to the Earl of Berkshire. Algernon Sydney, Lely. Hon. John Spencer, and his son, 1st Earl Spencer, Knapton. A Man's Portrait, Florentine Softool. Do. Do. Ignatius Loyola, Titian. Mrs, Middleton, — Vide Memoirs de Grammont, .Lely. Countess of Shrewsbury, an Italian by birth, Lely. Countess of Sunderland, and Robert her son, Kneller. Lady LoDgueville, Kneller. Charles, Duke of Marlborough, Slaughter. Lady Bateman, sister to the above. Slaughter. Countess of Sunderland, and Diana her daughter, afterwards Duchess of Bed ford, Jarvis. Duke of Roxburgh. Lady Granville. Margaret Willoughby, 1st Lady Spencer. Children to the Earl of Leicester, Lely. Robert Spencer, 1st Lord Spencer. Earl Granville. Queen Anne, and the Duke of Gloucester her son. John, Duke of Marlborough. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough. Prince George of Denmark. Juliana, Countess of Burlington, Kneller. Lady unknown. Hon. John Spencer, Slaughter. GREAT STAIRCASE, LOWER PART. Sir Henry Spencer, of Offley. Lord Brackley, William Godolphin, and Lady Ann Egerton, grand -children to John, Duke of Marlborough, Jarvis. Ellen, Lady Spencer, of Offley. Sir Brocket Spencer, of Offley. Lady Godolphin, afterwards Duchess of Marlborough, Jarvis. Lady Bridgewater, her sister, both daughters to John, Duke of Marlbo rough, Jarvis. Lady Cliocarty, daughter to Robert, Earl of'Sunderland, Lely. Lady's Portrait, unknown. Colonel John Morgan. Mary, Duchess of Richmond, daughter to George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. Parker, Lord Chancellor Macclesfield. Georgiana Carteret, wife to the Hon. John Spencer, afterwards married to Earl Cowper, John, his only son. afterwards 1st Earl Spencer, and Lady Masham Slaughter. Charles, 3d Earl of Sunderland, Jarvis. Lady Elwell, Jarvis. Mrs. Godfrey, sister ,to John, Duke of Marlborough, Kneller. Duke of Manchester. Sir John Spencer, father to the 1st Lord Spencer. Sir John Spencer, of Offley. Ann Bondenelle, Countess of Shrewsbury, Lely. LOWER PART. Duke of Shrewsbury. Lady's Portrait, unknown. Do. Do. King Charles II., Lely. Marquis of Blandford, John, Duke of Marlborough's only son, Kneller. Charles, Duke of Marlborough. Ann, Countess of Sunderland, wife to Charles, the 3rd Earl, Jervis. Sir Robert Spencer, of Offley. Nell Gwyn, mother to the Duke of Monmouth, by King Charles II. Lady Howard. Ann Hyde, Duchess of York. Princess Mary, afterwards Queen of England, wife to William III. Henrietta and Ann Churchill, daughters of John and Sarah, Duke and Dachess of Marlborough, Kneller. Queen Mary, wife to William III. Portrait unknown. Mrs. Middleton. Portrait unknown. The Nativity. Noah sacrificing after the Flood, B. Castiglione. Hermits in a cave, D. Teniers. St. Charles Borromeo celebrating high mass, Domenichino. The miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, G. Bassano. Moses found in the bulrushes, T. Perner. Portrait of a woman, Tintoretto. Portrait of a young man, Rembrandt. A bust of Ceres, surrounded tby fruit and animals, Snyders. A man shaving, Bamboccio. A landscape, Sal. Rosa. Soldiers at Play, Bamboccio. An old man's head, Rembrandt. A young girl fancifully dressed with flow ers, Rembrandt. Portrait of old Luigi Cornaro, Titian. Portrait of one of L. Cornaro's great grandchildren, Titian. Shipping at anchor. Van Ditbbel. A poultry yard, M. Hondekoeter .' A Magdalen's head, Domenichino. A skirmish, Jacob Kuyp. Holy family, Rubens. A landscape (morning), N. Berchem. A girl playing with kitten and puppy, Maratta. A calm, ships in port, Vandervelt, A boy blowing a torch, Scalken, A storm, Vandervelt. A Lucretia, Guido Reni. Acis and Galatea, N. Poussin. A Cleopatra, Guido Reni. Diana and her Nymphs, dead game, dogs. Arc. Van Balen and Bringa. A shipwreck, Bon. Peters. A ball and mask. Cor. Poelenberg. A bag-piper, Velasquez. Christ presented in the Temple, Luca Giordano. Hero and Leander, nymphs, &c. D. Teniers. A battle, B, Castiglione. A sea - port, architecture, and figures, Vivtant. A woman's head, a vase in her hand, Giorgini. Daedalus and Teams, Vandyck. A landscape, D. Teniers. St. Jerome, a skull, books, and a trumpet; The Descent from the Cross, Seb. Bourdon. A portrait of a man, Frank Hals. A landscape, St, Anthony, of Padua preaching to the fishes, Sal. Rosa. The death of the stag, Snyders. Day-breaking on revellers, Simon de Vos. Her own portrait, Soplionisba d' Anguiscida. A Jewish sacrifice, Rubens. The five senses personified, Simon de Vos. A landscape (setting sun), Claude Lorraine. Portrait of his mistress, Titian. Morning, Diana beginning the chase, Jean Asselyn. Evening, Diana ending the chase, ditto. Crucifixion of St. Andrew, Le Brun. Portrait of his mother, Rembrandt. Landscape, (evening, cattle, &c.) A. Kuyp. Portrait of himself, Holbein. Sea-port, boat and boatmen, &c. Pynaker. A shepherd's head, Bramer. A shepherdess's .head, Bramer. A landscape, G. Poussin. A boy playing on the bag-pipes, Bloemart. A landscape, Decker. A girl tending sheep, Bloemart. The Virgin and child, St. Francis, &c Rothenhamer. Hawkers setting off in a morning to sport, P. Wowwermans. Magdalen, birds, insects, &c. P. Brill, Jig by A. Caracci. Cattle, (morning.) Van Bergen. Cattle, (evening,) Van Bergen. Storm and shipwreck, Bon. Peters. Vertumnus and Pomona, D. Teniers. Landscape, (ferry and many figures,) Micham. Venus, nymphs.and tritons, C. Poelenberg. Pantomimical characters, Watteau. A landscape, (grotto of Pausilippo,) Maratta. A concert, Watteau. A dead Christ, &c. A. Schiavone. A riding school, P. Wouvermans. A Virgin and child, P. Perugino. A landscape, (nymphs bathing,) B. Bruberg. A landscape, VanMosker. A concert of birds, Van Kessel. Holy family, (very fine,) Raphael. Frances, Countess Camden, Sir Joshua Reynolds. St. Jerome writing in a Sacristie, Steen- wzck. John Charles, Viscount Althorp, aged four years, Sir J. Reynolds. Landscape, (fishermen, &c) Glauber Pohdore. Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, Draw ing in Chalk. Lord Althorp, Sarah Ladv Spencer, and Hon. Richard Spencer. Westall, A battle, Bourguignoni. A copy of the Transfiguration by Raphael, Barocci. z2 Part of Raphael's picture painted in fresco, at the Vatican, of the miracle of Bolsena, N. Poussiit. A school-mistress and three boys, A. Caracci. Georgiana, Countess Spencer, Pompew Battoni. A Scripture story, School of A. Sacchi. Holy family, Albano. Landscape, Huysum. Margaret, Countess Lucan, Ang. Kauff man. Landscape, Huysum. St. Augustine, St. Dominick, Virgin and child, A. Caracci. Lady Anne Bingham, Sir J. Reynolds. A Bacchanalian triumph, Julio Romano. Richard, Earl of Lucan, Sir J, Reynolds. Woman's Head, fragment of a lost car toon, by Raphael, of the massacre of the Innocents, Raphael. Charles, Earl of Lucan, Sir R. Reynolds. An old man moralizing over a skull: a cardinal's hat, and various other articles on his table : on the right hand side, a compartment of the picture represent ing the salutation of the Virgin ; on the left compartment, the portrait of Ludo- vico Sforza, Duke of Milan, and his son Maximilian, Albert Durer. A bunch of grapes, "J A young man's head, * ««2™„™ An old man's head, called Oli- 1 MK™^- rer Cromwell's Porter, J Figures (4 different pictures), Bamboccio. Holy family, School of Parmeggiano. Holy family, Venetian School. Mountebank and rustic dresses, Lucas Van Leyden. Wise Men's Offering, (a sketch,) Rubens. Tailor's shop, (two pictures,) Messis. Ballad-singer, Van Ostade. Cupid and Psyche, B. Spranger. Banditti, Wootton. Two oval landscapes, Unknown. Solomon worshipping false gods, Rem brandt. An artist's study, Simon Luttihays, St. Peter released from prison. Holy Family. St. Theresa. Old woman's head, Bramer. Woman's head, Bramer. Boy and a ram, Leonino di Spada. Resurrection (on slate), Leandro Bassano, Christ and Zaccheus. A woman and two children, (small). Dutch Peasants, Van Goyen. Rustic figures and cattle, J. Mtel. Landscape, Breughel. Woman and three children, Carlo Cignant. Sea view.' Piping goat-herd, J. Mid. Sacrifice on leaving the Ark, B. Castiglione. Job, and his wife taunting him, Spagno- let to. An old man's head. Architecture, Paulo Panini. Witches at their incantations, Salvatsi Rosa. St. Jerome, School of Rubens. Hagar and the angel, Domtnico Fcti. Assumption of the Virgin, Rothenhamer An .old man's head, Scfiool of Rembrandt. A moon-light (much injured), Vandci Meer. Christ carrying the Cross, Bassano. Flagellation of Christ, ditto. A Bacchanal, with a glass in his hand. Landscapes, (four pictures,) Edelma. Turk reading, Gerhard Doiao. The Day of Judgment, copied from Michael Angelo's famous fresco altar-piece in the Sistine chapel at Rome. This copy is mentioned by Vasari, as having been painted under Michael Angela's inspection, by his sc/iolar, Venusti. Virgin and child, Scalken. Joseph explaining the baker's dream, Spagnoletto. Sketch of the Flight into Egypt, B. Castiglione. Sketch, (its companion.) ditto. St. Luke painting, attended by angels ; probably intended for an altar-piece, Guercino. An allegorical composition— youth, sensual pleasure, time, fraud, hatred, disease, Bronzino.N.B. This picture, of established fame, was painted for Francis the First, King of France. Landscape, moonlight, cascade of Terni, Moore. Landscape, noon-day, cascade of Tivoli, Moore, Portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devon shire, Sir J. Reynolds. Portrait, Stephen Poyntz, Esq. A Nun feeling the point of an arrow, Simone da Pisaro. A soldier in armour, leaning on a drum. Caval. Stronzi, UTTSHTt HALL. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ysL--^/-^, - tfv v'.^tf* Tl 'V <0m HALL "NOR I'llAMVTONSIimK Jorioh &• C° 'lciri|:k' of tJil1 Mises. I'lr^bury Square. T.andaa.NOT^ ?.V. 1830 Hasfom l^all, B^ttbumptm^Uxt; the seat OF GEOR.qE FREKE EVANS, ESQ. At. a very early period of history this Manor and Estate was the property of the baronial family of D'Engaine, who are supposed to have derived their name from the office of chief engineer, held by Richard, under William the Conqueror, and from this family it has lineally descended to , the present possessor. Laxton Hall is a large and handsome building, situated within the limits of Rockingham Forest, between Bulwick and Fineshade, on the left hand of the road leading from Kettering to Stamford, at the distance of about eight miles. south-west from the latter town. On the north and west it is bounded by Wakerley, Harringworth, and Deene Park, the seat of the Earl of Cardigan. Tbe House, which is both elegant and commodious, containing many spacious apartments, was built by the present proprietor, partly after a design by J. If. Repton and son. The North Front, shewn in our plate, displays a hanct some and chaste specimen of the Ionic order, with a noble portico, of sufficient projection to admit carriages. The Entrance Hall, or vestibule, erected after a design by Dance ; is nearly square, but rises in a spherical ceiling, termi nated by a circular Louvre, or lantern, of elegant design: At the end is a very handsome Ionic corridor, communicating with the various chambers. From the Hall of Entrance, on the right, is the Music-room, thirty-eight feet by twenty-four, in which is a very fine organ, built by Green ; on the left is the Drawing-room, of nearly similar dimensions. From the principal Staircase you enter the south Drawing-room, not a large, but a most comfortable and elegant apartment. The Library, which occupies the centre of the South Front, is sixty feet in length, divided into three compartments ; it contains a valuable collection of books, selected with great care and expense. The win dows are constructed after the French plan ; they open upon a handsome stone Terrace, which extends along the whole of the South Front ; from the Terrace is a descent to the Flower Garden and Pleasure Grounds. AH the windows of the principal floor are glazed with plate glass. The West Drawing-room, thirty-six feet long, at present furnished rather as a Museum than a dwelling room, contains, besides many valuable pictures j a very curious collection of conchology. The parish of Laxton is peculiarly circumstanced as to its ecclesiastical jurisdiction ; it is exempt from episcopal authority, and the appointment of the minister rests with the proprietor, who is the lay-rector : he has built a handsome Parsonage at his own expense, and allows the minister a liberal stipend. The village has also been entirely rebuilt, with every attention to the comfort of the inhabitants, as well as the picturesque appearance of the cottages. The School House, a little detached from ,the village, was designed by Repton ; it is a handsome building in the pointed style ; her,e all the children of the parish, beJtween the ages of six and thirteen, are taught reading, writing, and plain work, and are all clothed at Lady Carbery's expense. The Church, dedicated to All Saints, is situated on a rising ground above the village, to the south-west of the House ; its appearance at present does not well accord with the other improvements in the parish, but it is intended to be immediately rebuilt; when this is accomplished, the state of the parish will be complete, and will altogether exhibit, for its extent, one of the most perfect domains in the kingdom. On this and the adjoining property, there have been planted, within these few years, above half a million of forest-trees, ' and certainly nothing can surpass the nourishing state of the plantations and woods. KK Norton ©all, ^xfhamptnmUxt ; the residence of MRS. B. BOTFIELD. Norton Hall is situated two miles N. E. of Daventry, in the midst of a district rarely exceeded in fertility; the remarkable richness of the soil, yielding abundant crops of herbage, for the depasturing of cattle ; the deep red oxen of Devon, the black of South Wales, the whitefaced Hereford, and the little Scotch bullocks, here luxuriate together, and fatten for the market of the metropolis. The surface of the country is elevated and depressed into agreeable undulations, often assuming beautiful forms, and disposed in large enclosures, not unadorned with thriving hedge-row timber, and occasionally clumps, provincially, as in Leicestershire, termed Spinnies. The surrounding estates are extensive and ancient proprietaries. Norton has been a manorial residence for many ages, and in regular succession from the Con quest, may be traced the descents of its lordships. In 1808, the late Mr. Botfield completed various additions and improvements to Norton Hall, which render it, though curtailed of its ancient extent and splendour, both handsome and commodious. The principal fronts are pinnacled and embat tled, and the chief entrance, on the east, is through a cloister of five pointed arches, the spandrils springing from buttresses, the arcade surmounted by an embattled parapet, is shewn in the annexed view from the south-east. This Cloister, decorated with green-house plants, conducts to an elegant brilliant Hall, the columns and chimney-piece of which exhibit curious specimens of Shrop shire marble : the double stone Staircase is lighted from above by richly coloured stained glass, of a scroll pattern : the Apartments are furnished in modern taste and singular elegance : the Gardens, Offices, and Appendages, correspond. The Roman Military Way, the Watling-street, passes through this domain; and nearly contiguous to it, in an enclosure called Great Shawney, in 1814, was dis covered by some labourers digging a trench, a human skeleton, by whose side lay a considerable number of copper coins, chiefly those of the Emperor Constantine. In natural productions, the gravel-pits of this neighbourhood abound, as fossil shells, entrochi, belemnitis, thunder-stones, cornu ammonis, snake-stones of mode rate dimensions, and hodu flints. The botanist will observe with pleasure that rare plant, the sambucus ebulus, dwarf-elder, or dane-wort, flourishing on the verdant sides of the Watling-street, and the eryngium campestre, eryngo, not far from the Dial House, nearly opposite to Brock Hall. On the reservoir of the Grand Junction Canal is sometimes shot the beautiful crested grebe, and other uncommon water- fowl. But, perhaps, no object within a short walk will be found more generally inte resting than Burrow Hill, a commanding eminence, not less worthy of regard for its fine prospects, and the conduit which thence supplies Daventry with water, than celebrated for its extensive double entrenchments, portions of which remained tolerably perfect, till lately nearly levelled by repeated ploughing. This has been a military station, both in ancient and modern times ; a few sepulchral tumuli may still be traced : unequivocal Roman vestiges have there been observed, though the form of the camp may have been in some degree altered during the subsequent occupation of the Saxons, or rather Danes : and from this position, in June, 1645, the Royal army advanced upon the fatal field of Naseby. During the autumn of 1823, examinations of the Burrow Hill were continued for several successive days, under the superintendence of Mr. George Baker, the historian of Northamptonshire. At the first point, called the Norton Corner, Roman tiles and walls, possibly the vestiges of a Praetorium, were exposed to view, and, at the distance of a few hundred yards, a line of about a dozen barrows was distinctly traced ; several of these tumuli were opened, when their contents proved to be funeral urns of elegant proportion, composed of clay, slightly, if at all baked, a lachrymatory, and some beads. KK 2 WAKEFIELD LODGE. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Engraved tv ? R Har iELAPIE AB B TEX. NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Jones* & C° Temple of the Muses. Fin savory Square, London, Jan7 1831 . THE SEAT OF GEORGE HENRY FITZROY, DUKE OF GRAFTON. Wakefield Lodge is situated in the Royal Forest of Wittlebury, which, as well as the Forest of Salcey, was made part of the Honour of Grafton, in the thirty-third year of Henry Vin. In the 17th year of Charles the Second, both these forests were settled on Queen Catherine, for her life, as part of her join ture, reserving all the timber-trees and saplings for the use of the crown. And in the 25th of that king, the several coppices, woods, underwood, and wood1 lands, were granted to Henry, Earl of Arlington, for the term of his life, after the decease of the Queen; and after his death, to Henry, Earl of Euston, (afterwards Duke of Grafton,) Charles, Earl , of Southampton, and George, Lord Fitzroy, otherwise Lord George Palmer, sons of Charles the Second, and their respective heirs male for ever. By virtue of this grant, the family of Grafton became entitled to, and now possess, the underwood in the severalcop- pices, which, after each cutting, are enclosed at the expense of the Duke of Grafton. By grant of Queen Anne, the Duke of Grafton holds the office of Lord Warden, or Master Forester, which gives him the possession of the chief lodge, called Wakefield Lodge, with the gardens, pleasure-grounds, and enclosed meadow lands, containing together about 117 acres, with the pasturage for cattle in common with the deer, in an enclosed lawn, called Wakefield Lawn, contain ing upwards of 245 acres. His Grace has also, as Hereditary Ranger, the custody and management of the deer : no more, however, appears to have been required from the ranger, since the date of the patent, than to answer certain warrants for the supply of the king's household, and the public offices, or others accustomed to have venison from the royal forests. The residue appears to have been left to the disposal of the Lord Warden. The number of deer at present kept within the forest, is computed to be about 1800, and the number annually killed about 238. Wakefield Lodge is delightfully situated on a gentle eminence, which slopes gradually to the margin of a lake. The opposite bank swells into a noble lawn, nearly a mile in extent, the smooth features and soft tints of which are finely contrasted by the bold and abrupt aspect of a dense woodland scene, terminat ing the view. Standing in the centre of the forest, many beautiful rides branch off in almost every direction from the house. The original lodge was built by Claypole, son-in-law to Oliver Cromwell, and ranger of the forest ; the present mansion was designed by Kent, and greatly improved by the late Duke of Grafton, when he came into possession of the property. The present Duke, who resides mostly at Wakefield Lodge during the sporting season, is now making considerable improvements in the interior of the house. i3 IMapre Mbtfo SHoxfbamptQm Uxt ; THE SEAT OF EDWARD BOUVERIE, ESQ. Mr. Pennant, in his " Journey from Chester to London," remarks, page 402, " Reach Northampton, and, after a short stay, pass over the river into the suburbs, called the South Quarters, and into the parish of Hardingstone. On each side is a fine range of meadows ; those on the left are greatly enlivened by the beautiful plantations and improvements of the Honourable Edward Bou- verie, whose house stands on the site of the Abbey de Pratis, or De la Pre, a house of Cluniac nuns, founded by Simon de St. Liz, the younger, Earl of Northampton, in the reign of King Stephen. It had in it ten nuns at the time of the dissolution. The last Abbess, Clementina Stokes, governed it thirty years, and obtained the king's charter for the continuance of her convent ; but fearing to incur the displeasure of the tyrant, resigned it into the hands of Doctor London, the king's commissioner, and got from him the character of a gudde agyd woman ; of her howse being in a gudde state ; and, what was more substantial, a pension of forty pounds a year." By the survey taken in the 26th year of Henry "Vlll. the revenues of the • Abbey were valued at £119. 9s. 7d. over and above all reprises in quit-rents, officers' fees, procurations, and stipends ; the principal officers of the house being at that time Sir William Gascoyne, high steward, whose fee was £1. 6s. 8d. per annum; John Spencer, receiver-general, whose fee was twenty shillings ; and Henry Dudley, auditor, whose fee was also twenty shillings. In the 34th year of Henry VIII. the site of the monastery, with the demesne lands belonging to it in Hardingstone, and the two Cottons, were granted to John Mershe. In the 43d of Elizabeth, Bartholomew Tate, Esq., died seized of them; and he was succeeded by his son William Tate, Esq. : Zouch Tate, the son and successor of Sir William, was chosen member of Parliament for Northampton, in 1640. He took the covenant, and became a zealous enemy to the royal cause. In 1644, he first moved the House of Commons, that no member of Parliament should enjoy any office, civil or military, during the war ; and this was afterwards passed into an ordinance, called the self-denying ordinance. By marriage, the estate passed from the Tates to the family of Clarke, of Hardingstone ; Mary, the daughter of Bartholemew Clarke, Esq. married Jacob Bouverie, Viscount Folkestone, the grandfather of the present Earl of Radnor. This estate devolved to his son, the late Honourable Edward Bouverie, who represented Northampton in Parliament from 1790, to the period of his death in 1810, at the age of 72. His son, Edward Bouverie, Esq. the present pos sessor of Delapre Abbey, was born in 1768, married, in 1788, the only daughter and heiress of Castell, Esq. and has issue. The present mansion, represented in the annexed view, is a large modern edifice of varied architecture. Adjoining to the park of Delapre, stands Queen's Cross, erected by Edward the First, to the memory of his beloved Queen Eleanor ; who, when her hus band, in his expedition to the Holy Land, 1272, was wounded by a Moor with a poisoned arrow,' sucked the venom out of the wound ; by which Edward was cured, and she escaped unhurt. The Queen died at Herdley, Lincolnshire, Nov. 29th, 1290, and the body was carried for interment to Westminster Abbey. At every place where the procession rested, King Edward caused one of these crosses to be erected. The other crosses were at Lincoln, Grantham, Stamford, Geddington, Stony-Stratford, Dunstable, St. Alban's, Waltham, London, and Westminster. n4 AS T L E A S H B T. IT OR 1 B AMP T OH SHIR E . Drawn "by J". P, jNealCy Hn^rowii "by A. Cruse M I JL T O N A' E If. HO RT'HAM PTOKST! 1 M . Jones 8: C" Ttmplc af the Muses Finstmry Square London Jan. 8 "I831 THE SEAT OF CHARLES COMPTON, MARQUESS OF NORTHAMPTON. This Mansion, which is approached by a noble avenue, near three miles in length, is built on a very spacious and magnificent scale, surrounding a handsome quad rangle, the east side of which was originally open with arcades to the garden, but is now closed. The Front, exhibiting considerable grandeur, is chiefly taken up by a gallery of great length, and has the badge of the noble family of Compton, and many military trophies profusely displayed ; it is surmounted by a balustrade formed of the following sentences, in Roman capitals, over the entrance : dominus custodiat introitum tuum, and within the great court a corresponding inscrip tion, dominus custodiat exitum tuum ; in other parts, nisi dominus custos custodiverit domum, frustra vigilat qui custodit eam. — nisi dominus jedificaverit domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui .fledificant eam. it terminates in two small high towers, inscribed in a similar manner, with nisi dominus, the motto of the family, and the date of 1624. The whole is constructed of stone, and though it strongly partakes of the characteristics of an era in archi tecture less pure than the succeeding, has much magnificence of appearance. Inigo Jones was employed on the east and south sides, which he finished, but is said to have been interrupted by the civil wars. The more ancient parts of the building were erected by Henry, Lord Compton, in the time of Queen Elizabeth. Within, the most ample space is allotted to the Hall, Staircase, and Chambers of State. The Drawing-room is remarkably grand, being in length 50 feet 5 inches, 24 feet wide, and 18 feet 10 inches high, and hung with tapestry, the laborious performance of two noble relatives. The chimney-piece, from the draw ing of Inigo Jones, and composed of Weldon stone, polished, is of enormous size, proportioned to the great extent of the room. The Library is in the upper part of the house, and contains many valuable books ; among which is a MS. history of England, supposed to be Caxton's ; Coverdale's Translation of the Bible, with a dedication to Henry VIII., printed in 1535 ; and a most beautiful illuminated genealogy of the Howard family, carefully preserved. The most remarkable pictures are the following : — in the Hall, a full length of Henry Compton, bishop of London, the youngest son of Spencer, the second Earl of Northampton. He was firmly attached to the constitution and religion of his country; and, in the reign of the bigoted James II., underwent the honour of suspension from his see, for not complying with the views of the court : he died in 1713, at the age of eighty-one. In the Hall is also a good head of the Rev. Edward Lye, a learned linguist, patronized by the Earl of Northampton, and author of the Anglo-Saxon: and Gothic Dictionary: he died in 1767; but his work, in 2 vols, folio, was not pub lished till 1772. In the Gallery are two most curious original portraits of John Talbot, first Earl of Shrewsbury, and of Margaret, his second wife, rudely painted on board. A portrait of Spencer, second .Earl of Northampton, the hero of this noble family, represented in armour. His eldest son, James, Earl of Northampton, is also in armour, and with a great dog near him. A portrait of Sir Spencer Comp ton, the third brother of the last-mentioned Earl, is dressed in a green silk vest, a laced band, and with long hair. The celebrated Earl of Sackville is painted in armour. Here is also a singular head of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, represented as dead. The heads of the Duke of Somerset, Protector ; Francis, the first Earl of Bed ford, and Sir Thomas More, are beautifully painted in small size : that favourite of fortune, Sir Stephen Fox, is represented sitting in a long wig and night-gown. There is also a picture of; the late Earl of Northampton, his Countess, and two children, by West, and three small pictures by G. Dow. The Park is well planned, and corresponds in every respect with the stately appearance of the ancient mansion ; it was laid out by Brown. The present nobleman is the ninth Earl, and first Marquess, of this ancient family. He succeeded to the earldom and estates, April 7th, 1796, and was created Marquess in 1812. II Milton &t>teg, Moxfb&mptomUxt ; THE SEAT OF CHARLES WILLIAM FITZWILLIAM, VISCOUNT MILTON. The name of Abbey Milton was given to distinguish this place from the village of Milton, about four miles from Northampton, it having in very early time belonged to the Abbots of Peterborough. The mansion has been a seat of the noble family of Fitzwilliam for some centuries. The present building was erected in the reign of Henry VIII. ; the front built at that period now remains entire. In that reign Sir William Fitzwilliam served the office of Sheriff for this county in 1521. He had been for some time retained in the service of Cardinal Wolsey, and, retiring afterwards to Milton Abbey, here kindly enter tained his old master when he was in disgrace ; and being interrogated by his Majesty, how he durst entertain so great an enemy to the State ? he answered, that he had not contemptuously or wilfully done it in disobedience to his Majesty, but only as the Cardinal had been his master, and partly the means of his greatest fortunes ; at which answer the King was so well pleased, that, saying he had few such servants, he immediately knighted him, and made him one of his Privy Council. He died at his house, in the parish of St. Thomas the Apostle, in London, on August 9, 1534, and was buried at Marham, in a chan cel which had been erected by him at that place. His tomb is adorned with his armorial insignia, and with the effigies of Sir William and his lady. Since that time, Milton Abbey has undergone some alteration and some additions. When the Castle of Fotheringay was demolished, several pieces of stained glass were removed from the windows there, and inserted here. The House still retains all the characteristics of the magnificent period in which it was built; it contains many noble chambers, in which the chimney-pieces, ceilings, wainscot, and , other ornaments, are of corresponding elegance. Amongst many valuable pictures here preserved, is one of Mary, Queen of Scots, painted in 1582 ; another of King James the First when a boy, a curious pic ture ; it bears the following inscription : " This picture was given to Sir William Fitzwilliam by Mary, Queen of Scots, on the morning of her execution, for the humane treatment she had met with during her imprisonment at Fo theringay, whereof he was governor." The noble family of Fitzwilliam is derived from William or Fitz Guilleaume, cousin to Edward the Confessor, who acted as Marshal to the army of William the Conqueror ; from him descended Sir William Fitzwilliam, appointed five times Lord Deputy of Ireland by Queen Elizabeth. His son William was en nobled, as a Peer of that kingdom, by King James I. King George the First granted the titles of Viscount Miltown and Earl Fitzwilliam of the county of Tyrone ; and King George the Second, the English honours of Baron of Milton, Viscount Milton, and Earl Fitzwilliam of Norborough, in the county of North ampton. Lord Milton is the only son of the present Peer of that title, and was many years the representative in parliament for the county of York. n2 <&reat Ctaftftg, Sjkoxfh&mptomftixt: THE SEAT OF SIR RICHARD BROOKE DE CAPELL BROOKE, BART. Great Oakley, which has been the residence of this ancient family for nearly four centuries, is situated about five miles from Kettering, not far distant from the confines of the counties of Leicester and Rutland, and within the bounds of the royal forest of Rockingham. In Domesday Book, Oakley is written Achelau ; and in several curious deeds and early records, it appears to have been spelt differently in each successive reign; as Acle, Akele, Mikel Oclay, Mochel Okley, Magna Oykely, and, in the register of Pipwell Abbey, which, in the reign of Henry VII. held lands of the family, it is called West Acle. The Brookes, or Brokes, which latter was the way in which the name was formerly spelt, have possessed property in Northamptonshire from very early periods ; and as far back as Edward I. Sir Roger de Broke, an ancestor of this family, possessed, in right of his wife, Agnes, daughter of Philip de Covele, the manors of Ravensthorp and Holdenby ; the latter of which, in after-ages, became the splendid residence of tbe Lord Chancellor Hatton, and was, subsequently, both a prison and a palace for royalty. In the reign of Henry VI. they were Lords of the manors of Astwell, Fawcot, and Wappenham ; and in that of Edward IV. of Rushton and Great Oakley; and had estates at Bulwick, Henwick, Stanion, Newton, Weekley, and Little Oakley. William Broke, and John, his son, resided at Rushton, which afterwards passed into the hands of the Tresham family. In the heraldic visitations are given the early descent of the present possessors of this seat from many of the principal families of Northamptonshire ; and through . some of these they trace their descent from our earliest monarchs. The present Baronet, on the paternal side, is also the lineal descendant of the very ancient family of De Capel!, the ancestor of whom, Philip de Capell, accom panied Fitz-Stephen to Ireland, in the reign of Henry II. ; and in consideration of his services at the conquest of the kingdom of Cork, had certain lands granted to him. These lands, comprising the estates of Aghadoe, in that county, are, with the mansion, the remains of the ancient castle, in the possession of the family at this day ; and have continued so ever since the grant was first made, a period of nearly seven hundred years, the property being held by knight's service, namely, the annual payment, at Easter, of a pair of spurs. The approach to Great Oakley is picturesque, only an occasional glimpse being caught of the old manor-house, peeping forth amidst deep masses of wood. Much here has been left to nature, and the few alterations that have been made in the grounds, of late years, harmonize with the character of the building. With regard to the latter, the date of its erection is not precisely known : Bridges states it to be 1555 ; but, judging from its interior, as well as external architecture, an earlier period may be assigned, at least to part of it. The interior, some years ago, underwent several alterations, to render it more commodious. Amongst the family pictures, some of which are not without merit, is a portrait of Arthur Broke, father of Sir Thomas Brooke. This venerable gentleman, who is described in the family records as " Serjeant of Her Majesty's (Queen Elizabeth's) Hart hounds," is represented in his robes of office. He married Catherine, the eldest daughter of Sir Edward Watson, of Rockingham Castle, by Dorothy, his wife, eldest daughter of Sir Edward Montagu, of Boughton, Lord Chief Justice of England, ancestor of the noble families of Montagu, Sandwich, and Manchester. At the distance of rather more than a mile from Great Oakley, and westward of the turnpike road from Kettering to Uppingham, is the site of Pipwell Abbey, formerly a convent of Cistercian monks ; part of whose lands are now held by the Brooke family, being granted at the dissolution. Nothing remains now of the building, except part of the foundations ; from the latter, which are of considerable extent, large quantities of freestone have been dug up for some years past, and with which, different farm buildings in the neighbourhood have been erected, and occasionally coins, &c. have been brought to light. The chief object of notice that has escaped the hand of time and man, is a mound, picturesquely planted, where the ancient inmates of the monastery may probably have resorted, for the purpose of meditation and prayer. At Great Oakley is a spring, which, from time immemorial, has gone by the name of Monk's Well : its water is remarkably pure and sparkling ; and its celebrity in former days was sufficient to induce the monks of Pipwell to resort to it for the use of the Abbey. 3-c4 '^^^¦'^4^^^^^^^^^M^^^^:r':>';''\ ^smsggms. WZSmSS. C A 14 JL. T © EJ H A JL JL . NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Enj^i-avca "bj Wi Jiadclyffe . © ixt \ THE SEAT OF WILLIAM RALPH CARTWRIGHT, ESQ. This House was rebuilt soon after the civil wars in the time of Charles the First. It appears by Oldmixon* and Whitelock,f that the old House was burnt down by the King's forces, on their retreat from Naseby to Oxford, 1645 : and Whitelock says, (page 250,) " Mr. Cartwright petitioned for ten thousand pounds for the losses he had sustained." There is a letter published in Echard's History (vol. ii. page 354,) from King Charles to the Earl of Lindsey, son of the Earl who fell in the battle of Edge Hill, dated Aynho, Oct. 27, 1642 ; and it appears by Clarendon, the army halted here for a short time. The House was afterwards considerably enlarged, in the time of Queen Anne, by Thomas Cartwright, Esq., the then possessor of it, and Member for the county of Northampton; It has been within these few years improved and modernized by W. R. Cartwright, Esq., under the directions of Mr. Soane, the architect. The south front extends 220 feet from east to west, and consists of a hand some Library, Vestibule, Dining-Room, Saloon, Drawing-Room, and a Green- House, which occupies the east wing. A large Entrance Hall and two Staircases are to the north. The Stables and Offices form the corresponding wings. In the principal apartments are some valuable Bronzes and Pictures, by the most celebrated and ancient masters : they descended to this family from Mr. Blackwood, a well-known collector, of great taste. The most remark able pictures are, St. Anthony. — Murillo. St. John.— Ditto. The Assumption Ditto. Tobit and the Angel. — Ditto. Abraham and Isaac. — Ditto. Head of our Saviour. — Ditto. Head of the Virgin Mary. — Ditto. Titian's Mistress. — Rubens. Woman taken in Adultery. — N. Poussin. Landscape. — Ditto. Landscape. — Gaspar Poussir Two Portraits. — Vandyke. Pea Fowl. — Rembrandt. Portrait.— Ditto. Holy Family, on black marble. — Osbett. Ditto, ditto. — Albano. Sea-piece. — Vandervelt. Ditto. — Beckhuysen. Seaport in Italy. — Bourgignon. A small picture of theVirgin and St, Matthe w.- Raphael. Virgin and Child. — Giotto. Virgin and Angels. — Parmegiano. The Manor and Estate have been in the possession of this family since the time of James the First, when the property was purchased by Richard Cart wright, Esq. The Park and Grounds have been considerably improved by the present proprietor, and the Plantations are very extensive. Oldmixon, p. 293. 3-n2 t Whitelock, p. 166. IHCDmTffiKT M©UIS iropiiiAMPToM'SHrai: Engraved "byT.Ji SLi'pherd. WJC (£ K 23 KT IP iUfR IK , MOKTriANO'TONSJIiKE . Jonea fc C? Temple of -die Arises, FiiiJi'b'ury Sqiit Norton f^ouse, Boxfbamptom'bixt; THE SEAT OF SIR ROBERT GUNNING, BART. Horton House is situated in the parish of Horton, about six miles south-east of Northampton. The mansion is a large handsome structure, with a fine front towards the east, and is seated in a park abounding with noble forest trees, and enlivened with a broad piece of water. The Manor of Horton anciently belonged to the family of Salusbury. Mary Salusbury married William, Lord Parr, uncle to Catherine Parr, the last Queen to Henry VHI. He was called to the House of Peers on the marriage of his niece, was appointed her chamberlain, and, during her regency, on the King's expedition to France, in 1544, had the respect shewn him to be named as a counsel to her majesty, occasionally to be called in. He died in 1548, and left four daughters, the eldest of whom conveyed this estate, by marriage, to Sir Ralph Lane. The Lanes kept it for some generations. On the death of Sir William Lane, it was found to be held of Sir Richard Chetwood, as of his manor of Woodhall, by the service of one knight's fee, suit of court, and the annual payment of 6s. towards the guard of Rockingham Castle. The estate passed from the Lanes to Sir Henry Montague, first Earl of Man chester ; and by descent fell to the late Earl of Halifax, whose daughter and heiress, Elizabeth, conveyed it, by marriage, to Viscount Hinchenbrooke, after wards Earl of Sandwich, of whom it was purchased by the late Sir Robert Gunning, Bart., grandfather of the present proprietor. In Horton Church is a remarkably fine monument of William, Lord Parr,, and others, of several of the Salusbury family. 3o the seat of LORD CHARLES FITZROY. Wicken House is situated in the parish of Wicken, about three miles south west of Stony Stratford : the ancient name of the parish was Wyke Dyve, and the estate formerly belonged to a family of the name of Dyve; from whom it passed to Mortimer, Earl of March, and afterwards to Sir Richard Wydville, who was fined £1000, temp, of Henry the Sixth, for marrying without the King's leave, and, the 6th of Edward the Fourth, was created Earl Rivers ; from him the estate descended to Anthony Earl Rivers, and from him to Richard Earl Rivers his brother, the last of the male line of that family ; he died in 1490, and in his will ordered that there might be as much underwood sold in the woods of his manor of Grafton as would buy a bell to be a tenor to the bells then there, for a remembrance of the last of the blood. The estate of Wyke Dyve he left to Thomas, Marquis of Dorset, son-in-law of the first Earl Rivers, who gave it in exchange to Sir John Spencer, of Wormleighton, for certain lands at Bosworth, in Leicestershire. In the 3d of Henry the Eighth, a fine was levied between John Spencer, Esq. and Thomas, Marquis of Dorset, of the Manor of Wyke Dyve. In the 24th of the same reign, Sir William Spencer, his son and suc cessor, died seized of it, and transmitted it to his posterity, with whom it con tinued to the year 1716, when it was sold by Charles, Earl of Sunderland, to Charles Hosier, Esq. who much improved and enlarged the house, which was only a lodge when it came to his possession. The Park, which had been enclosed in the reign of Edward the First, was disparked by Robert, Earl of Sunderland, about 1650, and the deer sold to Sir Peter Temple of Stowe Bucks. The adjoining parish of Wyke Hamon was united in 1587 to Wicken, by petition of Lord Spencer to the Bishop of Peterborough, when the bells were brought to Wicken, and the whole re-cast with appropriate inscriptions upon each ; the fourth has the following : " jfotoer iells are totneti into one, get Insse ffie etiuref) recebeB none. SUhree hunareo toeifffit teas a&uefc more, ano pato t» ffiaatcftins patrons score," 1619. The parsonage house was built in 1703 out of the ruins of Lord Spencer's seat.* Wicken was annexed to the Honor of Grafton, which gives the title of Duke to the head of the Fitzroy family, in the 33d year of Henry VIII., and the pro prietor does suit and service to the Duke of Grafton's court, as chief lord of the manor. The estate is now the property of Sir Charles Mordaunt, Bart, to whom it came by his mother, Lady Mordaunt, daughter and co-heir of Thomas Prowse, of Axbridge, Esq. and who inherited it of her brother, George Prowse, Esq. who resided at Wicken House, and died about 1760. His widow died at Fulham, in 1810, ast. 77; and in the north-east corner of the church-yard is an elegant sarcophagus, secured with iron rails, with an inscription to her memory. From her funeral sermon by the Rev. John Owen, M.A. the following quotation, describing her excellent character, has been extracted : — " Scarcely had she been made a wife, before she became a widow; and derived, by inheritance, a property, which rendered her the independent mistress of a considerable domain, comprehending, with very little exception, the tenantry and population of an entire parish. It was a love of mercy which led her to select, for her own use, the services of those whom others would have rejected, and to give offices in her establishment to those victims of infirmity, whom almost every one else would have been unwilling to employ. It resulted from this principle, that her lawns were mown, her fields were cul tivated, her garden was dressed, by those whom time had superannuated, or misfortune had crippled; and who, but for such provident kindness, must have hung upon society as pensioners, or infested it as beggars." Lord Charles Fitzroy, who now resides at Wicken, is brother to the Duke of Grafton, and a general in the armv. 3-o 2 BIHRILIEI'SII M'DTSBj (south ^ve.^t ^rnrsj SOUTHS ti'TO';!CJITiJ.E r.O Q/,< r 'fL U//C1.J.1 if l'[,.tf,l. 7 Drawn Vy J.P.Uealt d "by ~V\r RaAcIy -NOTLTKAMPTONGBTRE CC ' i,-/ mc- '. . 7/,',n//Mki efc, to;Tr:l:t. Ioiion, PaHisheily Jones k C°Marcli2ll82S YALE UNIVERSITY a39002 002219922b