Chapter V: Front Matter (5)

Aston Hall, the residence of James Watt, Esq.--whose name has been rendered “famous for all time” by the genius and enterprise of his great father--is situate about two miles from the town of Birmingham, on an eminence which overlooks the river Tame. Although erected during the reign of James the First and his successor, it is certain that a baronial mansion previously existed adjacent to the present edifice: authorities are conclusive on this point, and its site was indicated until recently by some venerable trees, the relics of at least three centuries. Prior to the Norman conquest (according to Dugdale) the manor of Aston, or, as it was then written, Estone or East Town, was possessed by Edwin earl of Mercia. Upon the distribution of lands which followed that event, it was bestowed by the Conqueror upon William Fitz-Ausculf, lord of the neighbouring castle of Dudley, for whom it was held by one Godmund. It was certified to contain, at that time, viii. hides of land, valued at 100 shillings, a mill rated at iii_s._, a church, and woods extending three miles in length and half a mile in breadth. After passing through the hands of several successive lords of Dudley, it was presented by one of them, named Ralph Someri, in the beginning of the reign of King John, to William de Erdington and his heirs for ever; and we find the following curious grant respecting it, viz. “That the manour-house and demesne at Estone, with divers tenements thereto belonging, should be held by him, by the service of a pair of gilt spurs, or the value thereof, viz. vi_d._, payable yearly at Easter, for all services or demands whatsoever.” From the Erdingtons it passed to the family of Maidenhache, whose daughter Sibel conveyed it by marriage to Adam de Grymesurwe, whose daughter sold it in 1367 to John Atte Holt of Duddeston near Birmingham, and in whose family it subsequently continued for upwards of four hundred years. Originally of the people, they became powerful and wealthy “lords of the soil,” eminent for worth and probity, and occupying offices of high trust in Warwickshire and the neighbouring counties. Thomas Holt is especially mentioned as an eminent lawyer in the reign of Henry the Eighth; he was Justice of North Wales, and in commission as a justice of the peace for his native county during the greater part of that monarch’s sovereignty. To this “worthie gentleman” succeeded his son Edward, who, dying in the thirty-fifth of Elizabeth, was succeeded by his son Thomas, who was Sheriff of Warwickshire in the forty-second of Elizabeth, was knighted by King James on his accession to the throne, and in the tenth year of his reign advanced to the dignity of a baronet. It was this Sir Thomas who enclosed the spacious park, and erected the present mansion. The date and circumstances of the building are thus recorded over the entrance doorway:--

“Sir Thomas Holte, of Duddeston in the countie of Warwick, Knight
and Baronet, began to build this house in Aprill, Anno Domini 1618,
in the 16th yeare of the raigne of King James of England, &c., and
of Scotland the one and fiftieth; and the said Sir Thomas Holte
came to dwell in this house in May, in Anno Domini 1631, in the
seaventh yeare of the raigne of our soveraigne Lord King Charles,
and he did finish this house in Aprill, Anno Domini 1635, in the
eleventh yeare of the raigne of the sayde King Charles.

“LAUS DEO.”

We may hence infer that “Sir Thomas Holte of Duddeston,” until the building of the mansion, chiefly resided at the old house at Duddeston, which, though still standing, is so completely altered that barely a trace of its ancient character remains. It is now used as a public place of recreation under the title of “Vauxhall.”

Sir Thomas was emphatically a good man and a loyal subject. He endowed alms-houses, which, to this day, give shelter to some aged people; and though too old to appear in arms for his sovereign during the wars of Charles with the Parliament, he was represented by his son in the army of the king, whom he received and entertained in his house a few days prior to the battle of Edgehill. For his devotion to his master he, of course, endured persecution; heavy fines were levied on his estate, and his mansion was more than once plundered. Sir Thomas was succeeded by his grandson and heir, Sir Robert Holt; subsequently the estate came into the possession of Sir Lister Holt, who, dying without issue the 8th of April, 1770. was succeeded by his eldest brother Charles, from whom it passed into the family of Bracebridge;[54] by them it was sold a few years ago to some parties in the neighbourhood of Warwick, who leased it to its present occupier.

The mansion, which is built of brick, with stone quoins and dressings, forms three sides of a square, and bears some resemblance to the letter E, a practice which originated in compliment to Queen Elizabeth, and was not altogether in disuse during the reign of her successor. The eastern or principal front derives its principal features from the massive character and judicious display of details; and a highly pleasing effect is given to the structure by its gables, numerous picturesque chimneys, bay windows to the wings, and, especially, the stately grandeur of the central and side towers.

The south, or garden front, is also an interesting portion of the structure; the appended vignette affords a correct idea

of it. It will be seen that its principal feature is an open arcade, around which are several antique carved seats, so placed as to facilitate views of the garden, with its quaint and venerable trees and shaded walks. Passing through a small door at the termination of this arcade, we step upon a noble terrace, which extends the whole length of the back or western front of the edifice. From this point we obtain an unbroken view of the park in nearly its whole extent. The house is, from this side, very imposing, from its great width and massive character.

Returning to the principal front, passing through the great doorway, which is elevated on four steps and is of good character, we enter the great hall. It is richly decorated; the fireplace is remarkably fine; along the sides are ranged various old pictures, which, combined with antique furniture profusely scattered about, take us back to the days of its early grandeur, when the mansion was the residence of a true and hospitable baronial lord. The apartments are fitted up in good keeping; the dining and drawing-rooms, entered from the hall, retain their ancient aspects; the panelling and ceilings are in excellent preservation, the chimneypieces comparatively unimpaired by time, and the whole interior is of a character sound and true.

We must not omit to mention that the fine oak staircase received considerable injury during the great civil war. It appears that a cannon was fired from a little eminence at a short distance from the south side of the house, the shot from which, after passing through two strong walls, lodged on the first landing of the great staircase, shattering in its course a considerable portion of the richly-carved balustrade--which, as a memorial of the event, has not been since repaired.

The house is reached from the main road by a noble avenue of finely-grown trees; these extend for nearly half a mile.

The entrance gates, of which we append an engraving, are directly opposite the very venerable church; and this church must be associated with the mansion, for it is the resting-place of nearly all its ancient owners. It is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, and consists of a nave with north and south aisles, a spacious chancel, and a substantial tower, surmounted by a tall spire, at the western extremity of the nave. The church bears evidence of being built at two distinct periods, or, at least, of having undergone considerable alterations. We find, according to Dugdale, that the south aisle was built by Henry de Erdington; for in the 12th Edward II. he gave a certain rent-seck of _vid._ per annum to the maintenance of the gutter betwixt the church and it. In this grant he terms it “Nova capella beatæ Mariæ de Aston;” thus proving it to have been (with the north aisle, which is precisely similar) erected during the prevalence of the decorated style. But, unfortunately, owing to some injudicious repairs a few years since, the whole of the windows, of which there are three, on each side, and one larger, at the eastern and western ends, were deprived of both mullions and tracery, and, no doubt, at the same time of several interesting portions of stained glass, of which we have a description in Dugdale, but which is now nowhere to be found. This, combined with the loss of the high-pitched roofs, gives a poor appearance to the interior. The tower and spire are by far the finest portions of the building, and add greatly to the beauty of the whole. The tower is of four stories, with battlements and pinnacles; but its chief peculiarity is the belfry story, which is decorated on three sides by six long and narrow compartments, the two centre ones of which are pierced, and have louvre boards for the better distribution of sound; on the fourth or south side are only four of these compartments, the space for the two others being taken up by an octagonal turret staircase, that adjoins this portion of the tower. The spire is octagonal, plain, but of a good substantial character; and from its details, with those of the tower, which exhibit some deviations from the true principles of pointed architecture, we may safely trace their erection to the early portion of the sixteenth century.

The pillars and arches of the nave, of which there are four on each side, seem to belong, like the exterior, to a transition period, as their general character is decorated, whilst there are several mouldings that may be ascribed to the early English period. Among the modern barbaric “restorations and improvements” to which this fine church has been subjected, may be mentioned the plaster ceilings, the altar-screen of Roman design, and an odious assemblage of pews of all shapes and sizes; but it may be hoped, from the good spirit that has lately directed the introduction of some ancient stalls from Leicester at the entrance of the chancel, a richly-carved lecturn, and last, though not least, the establishment of a choral service, that in a few years this noble edifice may resume its pristine splendour and magnificence.

In monumental architecture this church will be found to possess an interesting series. The most ancient, from the character of its design, evidently belongs to the latter part of the fourteenth century; it is supposed to be to the memory of one of the now extinct but once powerful family of Arden. It is an altar-tomb of alabaster, supporting effigies of a knight and lady, and is situated against the north wall of the chancel. Towards the eastern end of the north aisle are two monuments that will next require our attention. The first, an altar-tomb, around the side of which are angels bearing shields, and still retaining traces of their original painting and gilding; on the top are the painted effigies of William Holt, Esq. and Joan his wife, and the inscription (now obliterated) originally bore the date of 1423. Against the north wall, near this tomb, is a mural monument containing the effigies of Edward Holt, Esq. and Dorothy his wife, under an arch of Roman design, kneeling one on each side of a small lecturn or desk. This monument bears the date of 1592. In the pavement near is a large slab, containing the effigies in brass of the Thomas Holt and his wife Margaret, who, as we have mentioned, was Justice of North Wales during the reign of Henry the Eighth. The next monument demanding notice is situated against the north wall

of the chancel, and forms the subject of the accompanying vignette: it is of a bold character, but, in its minor parts, exhibits a sad falling off in execution as compared with the more ancient ones to which we have referred.[55] It is to the memory of Edward Devereux, Esq. of Castle Bromwich Hall in this neighbourhood (a seat now possessed by the Earl of Bradford), and the Lady Katherine his wife, and was erected A.D. 1627: it bears their effigies, with those of their children, painted and habited in the costume of the early part of the seventeenth century. There are also two other monuments, which, though not immediately connected with the text, may not be left unnoticed. One of these bears the effigies of Sir Thomas de Erdington and his lady, Joyce; the other is also supposed to belong to a member of the same family. They originally stood in the south aisle, which was erected by their ancestor, Henry de Erdington, in the reign of Edward II., and used as a chanting chapel for the family, but were removed a few years since to their present position on the south side of the chancel. They are both good specimens of the monumental sculpture of the middle ages.

Recently a beautiful memorial window of stained glass has been erected at the west end of the south aisle, which for excellence of design and richness and harmony of colour, is hardly surpassed by the best specimens of ancient days.

Among the very numerous series of mural monuments with which this church abounds, we need only observe that there are several to the different members of the Holt family, and one, in particular, to the good and worthy knight Sir Thomas, the builder of the present hall; but from their wholly unsuitable character for a Christian temple, and from their abounding in pagan emblems and decorations, they serve only to disfigure the walls of the sacred and very venerable edifice.

From a drawing by G. Cattermole. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.

THE BEAUCHAMP CHAPEL, WARWICK.]

BEAUCHAMP CHAPEL,

WARWICK.

Beauchamp Chapel ranks among the most exquisitely beautiful examples of sacred edifices in Great Britain. It was founded by that famous Earl of Warwick, who, early in the fifteenth century, upheld the glories of his line, and transmitted his abundant honours unimpaired to his posterity,--the Talbots, the Dudleys, the Willoughbys, the Grevilles, and the Nevils.[56]

The purpose of its erection was to supply a fitting mausoleum for the noble family of its founder; yet few of his successors are there interred; for, having subsequently become entitled to the patronage of the Holy Abbey of Tewkesbury, they preferred it as their place of sepulture--and the great Earl is nearly the only one of his proud and lofty race whose ashes moulder beneath the fretted roof of the graceful and magnificent structure. It was commenced 21st Henry VI. and finished 3d Edward IV.; occupying a period of twenty-one years, and costing £2,481 4_s._ 7_d._--an enormous sum, of which some idea may be formed from the fact, that, at the time, “the value of a fat ox was 13_s._ 4_d._” The Chapel was not, however, consecrated until the 15th Edward IV., when John Hales, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, was specially commissioned for the purpose by John Carpenter, Bishop of Worcester.

The Church of St. Mary, Warwick--to which the Beauchamp Chapel is attached--is of very early date. Of its foundation, prior to the Conquest, there is conclusive evidence; for in “the Survey,” it was certified to have “one hyde of land in Myton, given to it by Turchil de Warwick, which land was then valued at ten shillings.” It was made collegiate by Hen. de Newburg, first Earl of Warwick; and his son Roger, in 1123, largely augmented its revenues.

The riches and piety of subsequent Earls of Warwick contributed to its grandeur and importance; and at the survey, 26th Hen. VIII., previous to the dissolution, its revenues were certified to amount to £334 2_s._ 3_d._ A fire, in 1694, destroyed the whole of the edifice, except the choir and the Beauchamp Chapel; and when the Church was rebuilt it was from a design of Sir Christopher Wren. It is, nevertheless, conspicuous for no architectural beauty, except the fine proportions of its Tower.

The choir--a part of the ancient church--is a rare example of the architecture of the period. It was built by Thomas de Beauchamp, about the 43rd Edward III.; and his remains, with those of his Countess, a daughter of Roger Mortimer, Earl of March, were interred in a sumptuous tomb, placed in the centre of the edifice erected for their reception. Nearly five hundred years have passed since the Earl was laid there, and the mason, the gilder, and the sculptor, laboured to perpetuate the memory of a great soldier, who led the van at Crecy, bled at Poictiers, “did great service in a sea-fight,” “warred against the infidels,” and drove a besieging army from before Calais, by the mere sound of his name,--yet the monument endures almost unimpaired by time; telling its high tale of glory after a lapse of half a thousand years.[57]

A vaulted corridor extends from the transept nearly the whole length of the choir on its north side. This has been divided by a screen of blank panelling, and the eastern portion formed into a “Vestrie.” The remainder is used as a north entrance to the Church, having also an entrance into the Chapter House. This building is hexagonal on its exterior end, and is now appropriated as a mausoleum, to which those who love the muse will resort as to a place of pilgrimage, for here repose the earthly remains of that “servant to Queen Elizabeth, Chancellor to King James, and friend to Sir Philip Sidney,” whose name will be as imperishable as that of the dear brother of his heart, whose friendship was the climax of his fame, and the consummation of all his ambitious hopes. The monument to the memory of Fulke Grevill consists of a sarcophagus, placed beneath a heavy canopy, supported by Corinthian columns. It is a heavy and ungraceful erection--rendered picturesque, however, by the ancient helmets and glaives laid upon it, and the moth-eaten banners, and rusted armour, that hang above the tomb.

The entrance to the Beauchamp Chapel is by a descent of several steps, from the south transept of the Church, beneath a doorway of finely-carved stone--the work of a

native artist, “a mason of Warwick,” in 1704. Entered, the spectator beholds a sepulchral chapel, built in the “style of the later Gothic,” of limited extent--its size being 58 feet in length by 25 in breadth, and its height being 32 feet--but of surpassing beauty. The light is supplied by three large windows in the upper part of the side walls (north and south), on the west by a window which looks into St. Mary’s Church, and by a large window on the east. Formerly, they were all richly adorned with painted glass, of which some valuable relics yet remain. The east window is, however, even now, nearly perfect, and may be considered one of the finest examples of the art to be found in the kingdom. “Indeed,” (we quote from a writer in “The Antiquarian and Architectural Year Book,”) there are few windows of painted glass remaining in ecclesiastical or other buildings

in England that can, for its dimensions, exceed, either in beauty or general treatment, this Eastern Window of the Beauchamp Chapel.” Its value has been diminished by carelessness in repairs; some parts having been displaced: but the figures, which form its primary objects, are gorgeous specimens of art, on many accounts of rare value to the antiquary. The ceiling of the Chapel is ornamented with groined ribs, at the intersections of which are bosses elegantly painted and gilt. Old oak seats, richly carved, antique desks, niches--which, according to Dugdale, formerly held images of gold, each of the weight of 20 lbs.--and various other objects--minor, though of considerable interest--demand attention; but their examination may be postponed until a small oratory--of exquisite beauty--has been inspected. It is reached by a short flight of stone steps--the roof is fan-work, groined--peculiarly light and elegant; and a range of high and narrow windows open into the Chapel. Scattered about are some reliques--save for their antiquity, out of keeping with the peaceful and secluded character of the small confessional--glaives and head-pieces--one of which bears indisputable evidence that the wearer died not in his bed. From this oratory, some half-dozen steps, “worn by the knees of fervent devotees,” afford ascent to a small confessional, formed in the thickness of the south wall of the choir. Both these interesting objects, are represented, by woodcuts, on the preceding page. The ceiling and sides partake of the elegant character already described; and here could the holy father, through a small opening, unseen, witness the elevation of the Host, or listen to the o’erburthened penitent.

The grand object of attraction in the Beauchamp Chapel, however, is the gorgeous tomb of its founder. It is an altar-tomb, of Purbeck marble, bearing the recumbent effigy of the Great Earl, in fine latten brass, gilt. His head, uncovered, rests upon a helmet, and at his feet are a Bear and a Griffon. The tomb is surmounted by one of the few “hearses” that yet remain in our churches. It consists of six hoops of brass, kept extended by five transverse brass rods, on which formerly was hung a pall “to keep the figure reverently from the dust.” Around the tomb, in niches, are fourteen figures, in “divers vestures, called weepers”--friends and relatives of the deceased, who mourn his loss. Between each weeper are smaller niches, raised upon pillars, containing whole length figures of angels, holding scrolls inscribed--

Sit deo laus et gloria: defunctis misericordia.

The following inscription is on the edge of the tomb, running twice round, in the old English character, and freely interspersed with the Earl’s crest, the bear and ragged staff:--

“Preieth devoutly for the Sowel whom god assoille of one of the
moost worshipful Knyghtes in his dayes of monhode and conning
Richard Beauchamp late Eorl of Warrewik lord de spenser of
Bergavenny, and of mony other grete lordships, whos body resteth
here under this tumbe, in a fulfeire vout of Stone set on the bare
rooch, thewhich visited with longe siknes in the Castel of Roan
therinne decessed ful cristenly the last day of April the yer of
oure lord god M. CCCCxxxxix, he being at that tyme Lieutenant
gen’al and governer of the Roialme of Fraunce and of the Duchie of
Normandie. by sufficient Autorite of oure Sov’aigne lord the King
Harry the vi. thewhich body with grete deliberacon’ and ful
worshipful condiut Bi See And by lond was broght to Warrewik the
iiii day of October the yer aboueseide, and was leide with ful
Solenne exequies in a feir chest made of Stone in this Chirche
afore the west dore of this Chapel according to his last will And
Testament therein to rest til this Chapel by him devised i’ his
lief were made. Al thewhuche Chapel founded On the Rooch, And alle
the Membres thereof his Executours dede fully make and Apparaille
by the Auctorite of his Seide last Wille And Testament And
thereafter By the same Auctorite They dide Translate fful
worshipfully the seide Body into the vout aboveseide, honured be
god therfore.”[58]

The effigy may be considered as one of the finest works of this class executed during the middle ages, and it derives additional interest from the fact of the original contract for its construction being still in existence. Of this beautiful work the late C. A. Stothard executed four views, in his magnificent volume on the Monumental Effigies of Great Britain, in a spirit worthy of so fine a subject. He ascertained that the ponderous figure of latten or bronze which lay upon the altar-tomb was loose, and with considerable effort succeeded in turning it over, when the armour at the back was found to be as carefully and accurately represented as in front, having all the parts of a suit, its straps and fastenings, displayed with singular minuteness. It is, in this respect, a perfectly unique effigy, and of great value to the historic painter, or student in ancient armour. On the preceding page we have given the two views of the effigy, as pictured by Mr. Stothard.

The Chapel contains other monuments of rare beauty and exceeding interest. The most remarkable is that to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester--“Queen Elizabeth’s Leicester”--and his Countess. It is erected against the north wall, and consists of a heavy canopy, profusely ornamented, supported by Corinthian pillars, beneath which is an altar-tomb supporting the recumbent figures--that of the Earl being in armour, over which is a mantle bearing the badge of the Order of the Garter on the left shoulder, the French order of St. Michael on the left breast, and the Garter is round the knee--that of the Countess is attired in the robes of a Peeress, a circlet of jewels round the head, and wearing the high ruff of the period. A Latin inscription gives us in full the proud titles of the famous favourite of the “Maiden Queene,” who “gave up his soule to God his Saviour on the 4th day of September, in the year of Salvation, 1588,” and informs us also that “his most sorrowful wife, Lætitia, daughter of Francis Knolles, Knight of the Order of the Garter, and Treasurer to the Queen, through a sense of conjugal love and fidelity hath put up this monument to the best and dearest of husbands.”

Of the other tombs “of note,” may be mentioned that to Ambrose Dudley, the virtuous brother of Elizabeth’s Peer; that to the infant son of Robert Dudley,--“a noble impe,” a “childe of grete parentage, but of farre greter hope and towardnes;” and that to the Lady Katherine Leveson, one of the Dudleys, who “taking notice of these Tombes of her noble Ancestors being much blemisht by consuming time, but more by the rude hands of impious people, were in danger of utter ruine by the decay of this Chapell, if not timely prevented, did in her life time give fifty pounds for its speedy repair.”

In all respects the Beauchamp Chapel ranks among the most interesting of the venerable Ecclesiastical remains yet existing in Great Britain. Time has done it little injury; and it escaped the perils incident to the civil war--when all external tokens of piety were considered insults to the Deity they were designed to honour. Moreover, its history is nearly perfect: the very estimates, bills, and discharges of the builders, the gilders, and the glaziers may be examined, in the actual presence of the works they executed centuries ago.

Viewed in association with “the Castle,” of which it may be said almost to form a part, its importance is greatly enhanced. And, in reference merely to actual beauty of the design, and the exquisite character of the work, it may be said to vie with any structure of the kind, not only in Great Britain, but in Europe.

From a drawing by F. W. Hulme. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.

CHARLECOTE, WARWICKSHIRE.]

CHARLECOTE,

WARWICKSHIRE.

Charlecote--famous in association with the early history of William Shakspere--has undergone little change since he who was “for all time” wandered along the thick-hedged lanes. So primitive is the “ancient neighbourhood,” that Fancy may, almost unbidden, call up the old glories of the place,--may hear the voice of Sir Thomas Lucy chiding his keepers for the loss of his fallow-deer, and the half-suppressed “chuckle” of an unnoticed bystander who, thereafter, was to fill the world with his fame. The Mansion seems quite unaltered; the village church precisely as it was at “the Reformation;” the humbler dwellings, of red brick, are only a little older the park palings merely made picturesque by overgrowing lichen; and the Park, as well as the “sweet Avon,” exactly as they were two centuries and a half ago; the one

“flowing gently;” the other supplying, as of yore, many--

“An oak, whose boughs are moss’d with age,
And high top bald with dry antiquity;”

while the same deer--“dappled fools”--only look more conscious than they did, of assured safety in

“their assigned and native dwelling place.”

Art and Nature seem both to have stopped short of all “improvement;” there has been no need of the one to disturb the renown which the locality receives from the other; even the “stocks” that stand under a group of “Patrician trees” at Hampton Lucy, are suffered to die of natural decay; and it is as certain that the “bonny sweet Robin,” whose song we heard from the hawthorn in the churchyard is the progeny of him who sung there when Elizabeth was queen, as that the lord of the mansion is the descendant of that very Sir Thomas Lucy who sat in judgment upon the youth who

“obscur’d his contemplation
Under the veil of wildness.”

This unity of character has been most carefully preserved in the new buildings erected on the estate, of which the annexed wood-cut will afford evidence.

It is difficult to descend to simple facts while describing a neighbourhood so suggestive of thought--so redolent of fancy. The Lucys, who occupy to-day the manor in which they lived three hundred years ago--“good old English gentlemen” of the present, as of the olden time--have inherited, without break, from father to son; adding little to their hereditary property, and losing no part of it by carelessness, profusion, or vice; generally, they seem to have been peaceable and liberal manorial lords, studious to make their tenantry prosperous and their dependants comfortable; dwelling apart from the bustle of action, and the stir of contentious life, even rumours of “oppression and deceit” seem rarely to have reached them; “exempt from public haunt,” they passed their days happily and slept together--a long line of kindly, if not great, men--under the roof tree of the little church where monuments loftier than their own ambitions have been raised to perpetuate their names.[59]

The history of Charlecote and its Lords, is given with great minuteness by Dugdale. Charlecote, Cherlecote, or Cerlecote, as it is written in Domesday Book, was, previous to the Conquest, in the possession of one Saxi, but afterwards became the property of the Earl of Mellent, and doubtless came from him to Henry de Newburgh, Earl of Warwick,

From a drawing by F.W. Hulme. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.

CHARLECOTE GREAT HALL.]

whose son, Roger, (23rd Henry I.), gave half a hide of land lying in Cherlecote, with the tithes of the whole lordship, and “two mills” to his newly founded Collegiate Church of Warwick. He also enfeoffed Thurlestane de Montfort of large possessions in this county, whose son, Henry, with Alice de Harecourt, the widow of Robert de Montfort, his elder brother, gave all the village of Cherlecote to Walter the son of Thurlestane de Cherlecote, which grant was confirmed to him and his heirs by letters patent from Richard the First, with divers immunities and privileges thereto: all of which were ratified by King John, in the fifth year of his reign. From this Walter de Cherlecote (who was a knight), by Cecily, his wife, descended William, who assumed the name of Lucy, she perhaps being heir to some branch of that family.

Our space may be better occupied than in carrying their history from this remote age to the present day.

The Mansion was erected in 1558, by Thomas Lucy, who, in 1593, was knighted by

Queen Elizabeth. It stands at a short distance from, and at some little elevation above, the river Avon. The building occupies three sides of a quadrangle, the fourth being formed by a handsome central Gatehouse, which, with its octangular turrets and oriel window, constitutes an interesting portion of the façade, and as seen in the accompanying view, backed out by the Mansion and connected by the terrace wings, presents a very pleasing and picturesque appearance. The House retains its gables and angular towers, but has suffered from the introduction of the large and heavy sash-windows of the time of William III., or George I. The entrance porch runs the whole height of the building, and is ornamented by pilasters and a pierced parapet, having over the arched entrance the family arms and the crest at each angle. From this porch or loggia, you enter the Hall, of which Washington Irving in the “Sketch-book” gives a graphic description as it existed at the period of his visit. The present apartment, however, forms a portion of the extensive alterations and additions carried into effect by the refined taste of the late Mr. Lucy. The “Gallery” and “Organ” are gone, but the large and lofty proportions of the room, as also the huge Bay Window, are preserved. The interior--of which we have given an engraving--will convey an accurate idea of this fine Hall. In the centre, on a highly polished marble floor, stands a most elaborate and splendid table, purchased at the price of 1500 guineas from the late Mr. Beckford’s collection at Fonthill, composed of lapis lazuli, jasper, &c., intermixed with the rarest marble: it is a worthy rival to that at Warwick Castle. The room contains many family portraits--the most interesting of the collection being one which represents Sir Thomas, his lady, and his children, painted by Cornelius Jansen.[60]

The Fire-place is modern, but of Elizabethan design, and finely carved. Above are busts of Sir Thomas Lucy the elder, and his son, and in the centre is one of Queen Elizabeth. The chairs, tables, &c., are all handsome, and strictly according in style with the Hall, which is connected by folding-doors with a fine oak staircase. The new apartments consist of a dining-room and drawing-room, serving also as a library.

From the House we cross the quadrangle. This is laid out as an ornamental flower-garden, with very charming effect. From thence the Park is entered, which is agreeably diversified by hill and dale, wood and water. The Avon winds its way irregularly through the plain, while ever and anon the “careless herd” come sweeping by, calling up involuntarily to the mind remembrances of the “melancholy Jaques” and his sad musings, as, in “the forest of Arden,”

“he lay along Under an oak, whose antique root peeps out Upon the brook that brawls along the wood.”

Under a close avenue of trees a private walk leads to a corner of the Park, where, snugly embosomed among “scented limes” stands the little Church of Charlecote--with

its belfry, simple as a dovecote, and its somewhat grotesque exterior.

There are three monuments--each being of an elaborate and costly character, with no inconsiderable pretensions to merit as works of art. The one nearest the altar is that of the Sir Thomas Lucy who is reported to have “threatened” Shakspere with punishment for deer-stealing, and is said to have been the object of a lampoon penned by the “immortal bard.”[61] The grave underneath contains also the ashes of his lady. They are represented in the usual recumbent posture, on a tomb of variegated marble, their hands uplifted in prayer. He is clad in armour, the lady in the ruff and dress of the period. Two smaller figures are kneeling below, and a tablet of black marble in the recess above their tomb has the following touching and beautiful inscription:--

“Here entombed lyeth the Lady Joyce Lucy, wife of Sir Thomas Lucy,
of Cherlecote, in the County of Warwick, Knight, daughter and heir
of Thomas Acton, of Sutton, in the County of Worcester, Esquire,
who departed out of this wretched world to her heavenly kingdome,
the tenth day of February in the year of our Lord God 1595, and of
her age lx and three. All the time of her life a true and faithfull
servant of her good God, never detected of any crime or vice; in
religion most sound; in love to her husband most faithfull and
true; in friendship most constant; to what in trust was committed
to her most secret; in wisdome excelling; in governing of her house
and bringing up of youth in the feare of God that did converse with
her, most rare and singular. A great maintainer of hospitality;
greatly esteemed of her betters; misliked of none unless of the
envious. When all is spoken that can be said, a woman so furnished
and garnished with virtue as not to be bettered, and hardly to be
equalled by any. As she lived most virtuously, so she dyed most
godly. Set down by him that best did know what hath been written to
be true.

“THOMAS LUCY.”

Except the effigy, there is no tribute of any kind to the memory of Sir Thomas himself. On the opposite side of the chancel, in a small vestry, or chapel, stands the tomb of his son Thomas, erected by Dame Constance, his lady, daughter and heiress to Richard Kingsmill; but having no inscription. It is one of the painted monuments of the period, and represents him armed, and in the usual recumbent attitude. On a pedestal in front, is a smaller-sized kneeling effigy of his lady, and in two panels, one on either side, are the figures of eight daughters and six sons in low relief. In the chancel, also, is another monument carved very elaborately; where, under marble pillars and arches, are the figures of his son Thomas and Alicia his wife, daughter and heiress of Thomas Spenser, Esq., of Claverdon. The figures are gracefully disposed, and most beautifully executed; all the details being highly finished. Behind, on one panel, is a bas-relief of a figure on horseback, and in a corresponding niche are sculptured shelves, on which are placed the works of various authors, the central niche being occupied by a very long Latin inscription, recording his virtues and death, which happened the 8th December 1640. A further inscription states that the monument was erected by his lady.

In the church there are a circular plain font, apparently of very early date; two small brasses of the 16th century, on the floor of the nave, and two bells in the wooden turret, one bearing the date of 1625. Beyond these it contains nothing worthy of notice.

Yet, as long as one stone shall stand upon another, will the little plain Church of Charlecote be linked with a glorious memory of the past; the lofty trees that grow around it conceal it effectually from sight; not so the Hall, which, standing on a gentle elevation above the Avon, is seen from all points of the adjacent scenery. It adjoins the pretty village of Wellsbourne; near to which, on the road between Warwick and Stratford, commences a double avenue of finely-grown elm-trees, which reaches, for more than half a mile from the public road, to the house;--from Warwick it is distant six miles, and from Stratford five. The Avon winds immediately around the mansion,

through the Park; close to the entrance-gate it is crossed by a pretty bridge, which heightens the striking effect of the landscape.

The whole neighbourhood, indeed, between Wellsbourne and Stratford, is full of beauty; the land seems passing rich; while, here and there, distant glances are caught of the Avon, or it accompanies the wayfarer along the road; there are few more delightful walks in England--and none so pregnant with “happy and glorious” associations. Amid these dells and by these hill-sides, was Shakspere taught of Nature.

“Here, as with honey gathered from the rock, She fed the little prattler, and with songs Oft sooth’d his wondering ears; with deep delight On her soft lap he sat and caught the sounds.”

Every step to the pilgrim seems “hallowed ground;” he crosses the bridge, built by Sir Hugh Clopton during the reign of the 7th Harry, and is at once “at home” with Shakspere, who must have trodden upon these stones daily when a boy, and passed them often during his occasional visits to his birth-place, or when--“good easy man”--he retired hither from busy life, to die like the deer where he was roused. The very mystery in which his whole career seems inextricably involved, gives the fancy greater freedom: there is no check upon imagination as we tread the streets of the Avon’s old town of Stratford, muse in the small chamber where he was born, think in the school-house where he was taught, or ponder in the church where his bones have lain for two centuries and a half, “unmoved.”

Yet the often-quoted passage from Steevens is almost as correct to-day as it was when he wrote it--notwithstanding every “hole and corner” in England has been ransacked in the hope to find something that concerns him--“all that is known with any degree of certainty concerning Shakspere is--that he was born at Stratford-upon-Avon--married, and had children there--went to London, where he commenced actor, and wrote poems and plays--returned to Stratford, made his will, died, and was buried.”

Of all the poet wrote, during a long and busy life, no scrap remains to our time; and of his autographs but five are known to exist, three of which are affixed to his will in the Prerogative Office, Doctors’ Commons. One of the latter is written in one corner of the three sheets of paper which form that document, and is much injured in consequence, the christian name only being in any degree perfect; the other two are rather cramped in style, and one is much confused in the last letters, as if an error had been made in the spelling. The finest and clearest autograph is that upon the fly-leaf of the Montaigne of Florio, in the British Museum, which has been known but a few years, and was secured to the National Library at the cost of one hundred pounds. The fifth is in the Library of the City of London at Guildhall, affixed to a deed of bargain and sale of a dwelling-house, in the precinct of Blackfriars, to one Henry Walker, dated 11th March 1613; it is written on the slip of parchment inserted to hold the seal, and is therefore cramped; it, however, cost the Corporation of London forty-five pounds more than was paid for that now in the British Museum. There was a sixth known to be in existence to the counterpart of this deed, of which a fac-simile was published by Malone, and which came into the possession of Garrick, at whose death it could not be found.

The small chamber of the humble house in which he was born is still preserved, comparatively unimpaired. It stands in Henley-street, and is kept as “a show house,” by an aged woman who lives in the back apartments. It was some years ago a butcher’s shop, and in possession of Mrs. Hart, a lineal descendant of Shakspere by his sister’s side, who, upon leaving the house, whitewashed the room to obliterate the names which were pencilled over the walls by the many visitors. As this was done “at the last pinch” in the evening before quitting, no size was mixed with the wash, and the next occupant, with great patience, re-washed the walls, took off the coat of white, and the pencilled names became again visible; among them are those of Byron, Scott, the Countess Guccioli, Washington Irving, and a host of others; the effect of the pencilling upon the walls and ceiling, which is very low, is singularly curious: it looks as if they were covered with fine spider-web, so very close is the writing of the various names.

Of Shakspere’s house, “New Place,” where he retired after the turmoil of London life, in the gardens of which he planted the famous mulberry-tree, and from whence he was borne to his last home in the venerable church, was totally destroyed in 1757 by a certain “Rev. Mr. Gastrell,” whose want of reverence to all the world holds dear, will ever deprive his name of any other share of it than the prefix it bears. The whole history of the transaction is disgraceful in the highest degree--the more so as the man was in holy orders. The house was sold to him in 1751, on the death of Sir Hugh Clopton, who had resided in it. Five years afterwards, Gastrell became tired of showing the mulberry-tree, which Sir Hugh delighted in possessing, and by way of saving himself any further trouble, as well as to vex the Stratford people, with whom he was not on good terms, he cut it down, and sold it for firewood. In the year following he rased the house to the ground for the most discreditable of reasons--a refusal to pay poor’s rates.

But the church--the church in which, in 1564, he was baptised, and where in 1616, just 52 years afterwards, he was buried--still exists, not only uninjured but skilfully and judiciously renovated. Here the great object of attraction is the famous bust, “by Gerard Johnson.” It was executed, doubtless, by a literal copyist, who, if he had not the high talent of a great sculptor who endows his work with traces of the mind, will, at least, faithfully preserve all peculiarities of form and feature. The head as here given, if not lit up with the soul of the great Poet, is not unworthy of his calmer moments; the forehead is ample, and the brain large, well-developed, and altogether characteristic of that evenness of temper which, combined with unequalled genius, gave him the title of “the gentle Shakspere.” The great breadth of the upper lip, which might be objected to as unnatural, finds its fellow in that of another genius, the Shakspere of the North--Walter Scott.

The “bones” moulder underneath the chancel; and the memorable inscription remains uninjured upon the slab,--

“Good frend, for Jesus sake forbear,
To digg the dust encloased hear;
Blest be ye man yt spares the stones,
And cvrst be he yt moves my bones.”[62]

Although the history of Shakspere is not necessarily connected with our subject--a visit to Charlecote, the seat of the Lucys--it was impossible to consider the neighbourhood apart from the great genius who has made it famous for all time.

From a drawing by J. G. Jackson Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.

COMBE ABBEY, WARWICKSHIRE.]

COMBE ABBEY,

WARWICKSHIRE.

Combe Abbey, the ancient and venerable seat of the Earls of Craven, is situate in a pleasant valley on the banks of the river, about five miles from Coventry. The Lordship of Smite, of which the manor at the time of the Conquest formed part, was, during the reign of “the Confessor,” in the possession of Richard de Camvell, who, according to Dugdale, “being a devout and pious man, and much affecting the Cistertian Monks, whose Order had then been but newly transplanted into England; and finding that part thereof which is situate in the valley to be full of woods, and far from any public passage; as also low and solitary, and so, consequently, more fit for religious persons, gave unto Gilbert, Abbot of the Monastery of our blessed Lady of Waverley in Surrey, and to the Convent of that place, all this Lordship of Smite, there to found an Abbey of the Cistertian Order. Whereupon they presently began to build, and out of their own convent planted some monks here, dedicating the church thereof to the blessed Virgin also, and calling it the Abbey of Cumbe, in respect of its low and hollow situation; the word Cumen in the British signifying Vallis or Convallis, as doth Cumbe and Combe in the Saxon.”

The monastery having been thus founded, its power was augmented by various other “pious and bountiful gifts;” among the rest, in the time of Henry II., the Earl of Leicester became so liberal a patron, “that the monks allowed the said earl to be reputed the principal founder,” and agreed to “perform for him and his heirs such duties in his life-time and death as for their chief founder.” Thus richly endowed, and pleasantly placed among fertile fields, thick woods, and beside a productive river, the monks of Combe continued to enjoy life until the “killing frost” of the dissolution not only nipped the shoots, but destroyed the root, of the flourishing tree.

The abbey with its estates then became the property of the Earl of Warwick, to whom it was granted by Edward VI.; and after his attainder, a lease of “the site, and divers lands belonging thereto,” was granted to Robert Keylway, who dying (23d Elizabeth), left a sole daughter and heir, who married John Harrington, Esq., afterwards Lord Harrington,[63] whose daughter inheriting, became the wife of Edward Earl of Bedford; from her, “in consequence of the profuse expenditure in which she indulged,” Combe Abbey passed by purchase into the family of Craven, in whose possession it has since remained.

The family of Craven was, at a very early period, seated at Appletreewick, at Craven in Yorkshire. In 1611, Sir William Craven, knight and alderman, was Lord Mayor of London; his son, William, having served in the army with distinction, was knighted in 1626; soon afterwards elevated to the peerage as Baron Craven of Hampstead Marshall, Berks; and in 1663 created Earl of Craven. This heroic ancestor of the family is immortal in romance as the leading champion of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia, the eldest daughter of James I., who, having married Frederic, the Elector Palatine, became for a short time a queen, when the revolted states, in their attempt to shake off the yoke of the Emperor Ferdinand II., advanced her husband to the regal dignity. The battle of Prague was fatal to their fortunes, the result having been to deprive the elector of his hereditary rank as well as his crown, and to send him forth an outcast and a wanderer, asking the aid of such cavaliers as sympathised with fallen greatness. The appeal was answered by many brave knights, called around the banner of the dethroned monarch chiefly by the charms and virtues of his British wife; and foremost among them was the Lord Craven. They were foiled in their hopes, however; the unhappy king died, and his widow returned to England, where, it is said, she privately married her gallant champion, and to whom she bequeathed a fine collection of paintings, chiefly portraits, which still adorn the long gallery at Combe Abbey.

The earldom became extinct in 1690, but the barony continued in the family; to which succeeded, in 1769, the sixth baron, who married Elizabeth, daughter of Augustus Earl of Berkeley, afterwards the Margravine of Anspach. William, his son, the seventh baron, was, on the 13th of June, 1801, created Viscount Uffington and Earl Craven; in 1807 he married Louisa, daughter of John Brunton, Esq. of Norwich--a lady who had previously “graced the British stage,” whose talents and virtues gave additional lustre to the position to which her marriage raised her, and whose name was not more honoured and respected when elevated to high rank than it had been when fulfilling the duties of a comparatively humble station. This estimable lady became a widow in 1825; when, the Earl of Craven dying, he was succeeded by his son, the present earl, who in 1835 married the Lady Emily Grimston, the second daughter of the Earl of Verulam.

The Abbey is, as we have stated, distant from Coventry about five miles; a plain but neat stone erection forms the entrance lodge. For a short distance the road winds through pleasant and truly English park scenery, interspersed with clumps of trees of various sizes and forms; while herds of deer sweeping across the path, give life and animation to the scene. Adjacent to a large sheet of water stands the house, which forms three sides of a quadrangle, originally the cloisters of the Abbey of Combe.

On the east side of these cloisters five highly

enriched arches still remain of the later Roman character, the most northern being of the transition period. The openings towards the court (now glazed) are of later date, probably about the fourteenth century. After the Reformation, on the property falling into the hands of the first Lord Harrington, he built the Elizabethan portion of the mansion, preserving, no doubt, the cloisters as a means of communication with the several apartments; and, on the whole, with the manors of Combe, Smite, and Binley, being transferred by sale from his daughter and heiress, Lucy Countess of Bedford to Dame Elizabeth Craven, widow of Sir John Craven (which transfer bears date 24th October, 1622); it fell in due time into the hands of the famous William Earl Craven, her son, who made considerable additions to the building, his architect, it is said, being the no less famous Inigo Jones.[64]

To attempt a formal description of the rooms would far exceed our purpose and limits; we shall, therefore, content ourselves with pointing out a few of the more remarkable objects, commencing with the north parlour, a very handsome room, in which are the fire-dogs, forming the subject of the annexed vignette. This room contains very fine whole-length