Chapter VI: Front Matter (6)

portraits of the King and Queen of Bohemia, by C. Honthorst; and of Charles I. and the Princes Maurice and Rupert, by Vandyck. There is also a very fine bust of the present earl, by Behnes. Adjoining this room is the grand staircase, the ceiling of which is enriched by an oval garland of fruit and flowers, modelled with the most exquisite taste and delicacy of execution. Around the walls of the landing are suspended whole-lengths of William the first Earl Craven, Charles II., James I. and II., and others. From thence we enter the Elizabethan room, the subject of our illustration. It is said to have been fitted up for the reception of Queen Elizabeth, and is well worthy of such repute. The fire-place, of most elaborate design and execution, contains on each side the initials E. R. The ceiling is richly ornamented, and on the walls are hung five very fine landscapes, by J. Lootens, with other pictures of considerable merit. In the window is the bust of the Princess Elizabeth, with the following inscription:--

“Ælis Reg. Boh Fil Jac Rex Mag Brit 1641.”

And also another bust, on the base of which is carved,--

“La Sereniss Princ Sophia Pal. Fig: Di: Fred. A D 1643 Re Di Boenia Æ S 17.”

From thence, passing a small ante-room, which contains a most curious picture of the “Decollation of John the Baptist,”

said to be by Albert Durer, the long gallery is entered--one of those apartments so judiciously attached to the houses of the wealthy of this period, for the purposes of recreation and exercise during inclement weather. It is about one hundred feet in length and sixteen in width, lighted from the court-yard side, and filled with portraits of the early part of the sixteenth century. M. Mirèveldt and G. Honthorst are the principal contributors, and in the historical series here presented to view are subjects for much reflection. The Queen of Bohemia, whose destiny seems so closely interwoven

with the house of Craven, appears more than once.[65] The gallant and chivalrous William Earl Craven--the wise Chancellor Oxenstern--Charles XII. of Sweden, grim, stern, and forbidding--Archbishop Laud,--all are here; and last, not least, are the painters; besides many others, whose names are registered in the pages of history. Connected with this apartment is the elegant porch which forms the subject of our vignette, and was, no doubt, a garden-approach to the principal apartments. “It is constructed of very friable stone, the same apparently as that used in the principal buildings at Coventry. Some of its enrichments can no longer be made out.”

Descending to the opposite wing we find the dining-room, which is fitted up in panelled compartments of oak, and contains some beautiful carving in the sideboard, &c. Fine portraits of the Craven family, the Duke of Richmond, and Prince Henry (son of James I.), adorn the apartment, which also contains two transcendent pictures by Rembrandt. Adjacent to this room is a very handsome

apartment, ornamented by columns, and containing two pictures by Canaletti, which may be classed with the finest examples of that master.

There are numerous other rooms particularly rich in old carved fire-places, bedsteads (of which we give a specimen), tapestry, antique furniture, and all things which correct taste and refined judgment could accumulate.

We may recur to the almost romantic interest which attaches itself to this house, from the chivalrous exertions of one of its early possessors in behalf of the illustrious but unfortunate princess, who is frequently recalled to memory within its walls. At each step we are reminded of the fact; and it is a melancholy, yet most pleasant reflection, in looking back through the vista of two centuries, to find the youthful and early devotion of Earl Craven not merely a transient and evanescent impulse, but enduring to the end, and manifesting itself in studious care to protect and soothe that royal lady in the decline of her fortunes and the close of her life. Well did he establish the truth of his family motto,--

VIRTUS IN ACTIONE CONSISTIT.

From a drawing by J. D. Harding. Day Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.

WARWICK CASTLE, WARWICKSHIRE.]

WARWICK CASTLE,

WARWICKSHIRE.

The early history of the town of Warwick is involved in the mists of past ages, and carries us back to the period prior to the invasion of Britain by the Romans; if Rous and other old historians of the county be correct, who declare it to have been a British town of considerable importance before that great event. Dugdale says, “as it hath been the chieftest town of these parts, and whereof the whole county, upon its division into shires, took its name, so may it justly glory in its situation beyond any other, standing upon a rocky ascent, from every side, and in a dry and fertile soil, having the benefit of rich and pleasant meadows on the south part, with the lofty groves and spacious thickets of the woodland on the north: wherefore, were there nothing else to argue its great antiquity, these commodities, which so surround it, might easily satisfy us, that the Britons made an early plantation here to participate of them.” The reader will not be expected to place implicit reliance on the statements of Dugdale concerning its foundation by Cymbeline, by whom it was termed Caerleon, and its destruction by the Picts and Scots, “till Caractacus, the famous British Prince, rebuilt it, making a mansion-house therein for himself.” After the defeat of Caractacus in A.D. 50, the Romans, in order to secure their conquests in Britain, erected several fortresses on the banks of the Severn and Avon, and Warwick is said to have been one of these, but this is not very clearly proved. During the Saxon period the town was included in the kingdom of Mercia, and fell under the dominion of Warremund, who rebuilt it and called it Warrewyke, after his own name. Warwick was subsequently destroyed by the Danes, and, according to Dugdale, “so rested until the renowned Lady Ethelfled, daughter to King Alfred, who had the whole Earldom of Mercia given her by her father to the noble Etheldred in marriage, repaired its ruins, and in the year of Christ DCCCCXV, made a strong fortification here, called the doungeon, for resistance of the enemy, upon a hill of earth artificially raised near the river side;” and this forms the most ancient part of the present building. But the most important reparations of the castle were the work of the famous Guy, Earl of Warwick, although Dugdale tells us that the great tower at the north-east corner, called Guy’s Tower, the walls whereof are ten feet thick, was built by Thomas, Earl of Warwick, about the 17th of Richard the Second, on whose banishment the custody of it was granted to John de Clinton, and in a short time after to Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent. In the reign of Henry the Third, the extraordinary strength of this building was alleged as a reason for particularly prohibiting the widowed Countess of Warwick from re-marrying with any other than a person approved by the King; but in the furious contests which occurred in the latter years of this reign, William Mauduit, the then Earl, neglecting to keep proper guard, the fortress was surprised, and all the building, except the towers, levelled with the ground, while himself and his Countess were carried prisoners to Kenilworth. The family of Beauchamp shortly succeeded to the Earldom, and by Thomas Beauchamp, in the reign of Edward the Third, the castle was repaired, strong gates were added, and the gateways fortified with embattled towers. Thomas de Beauchamp, his son and successor, passed a great portion of his time here, during his exile from Court; he had, thus, leisure to repair and strengthen the castle; and he it was who built the tower as stated above, on which he bestowed the name of Guy’s Tower; it is a fine relic of early castellated building, and is represented in our initial letter.[66]

The daughter of this Richard Beauchamp married Richard Nevil, son and heir of the Earl of Salisbury, and in consequence of this marriage the Earldom of Warwick came into the possession of the Nevils. This powerful Earl played a conspicuous part in the wars of the Roses, and has been immortalised by Shakspeare, in his drama of King Henry VI.; and, after a life of strange vicissitude and high excitement, he was killed in the battle of Barnet, A.D. 1471. His estates were forfeited, his widow was deprived of all power, “as if she had been naturally dead,” and her vast inheritances were settled upon her daughters, Isabel and Anne, the latter of whom was married to George Duke of Clarence, created Earl of Warwick by his brother, King Edward the Fourth. He chiefly resided at Warwick Castle, and added much to the strength and beauty of its works. On the accession of Henry the Seventh, the jealousy of that monarch to his son Edward, the last of the male Plantagenets, induced him to compass his death, by holding out to him fair promises and a hope of liberty (for he had been imprisoned in the Tower on a groundless charge, to keep him secure), to confess a connection with Perkin Warbeck, after which confession he was beheaded on Tower-hill. From this time until the 1st of Edward the Sixth there was no Earl of Warwick; until John Dudley having been advanced to the dignity of Viscount L’Isle, was so created through the favour of the Duke of Somerset, the powerful Protector; and on the failure of that line, the title was revived by James the First, in the person of Robert Lord Rich, in whose posterity it continued till the year 1759, when it passed into the family of the Grevilles, who now hold the title of Earl Brooke and Earl of Warwick, their seats being Warwick Castle and Brooke House, Dorset.

The Castle occupies the summit of a steep hill, which greatly aided its artificial defences in “the olden time.” The present approach is

by a narrow passage, cut through the solid rock, and extending to the main entrance from the Porter’s Lodge,--the Lodge itself, however, being a place of attraction which few will leave unvisited, for here are collected the marvellous relics of the great Earl--a rib of the dun cow, a tusk of the wild boar, with horse armour, a helmet, breast-plate, tilting-pole, and walking-staff, of such prodigious size and weight that they could have suited only a giant and his steed. Of the two famous Towers, that of Guy is to the right, while that of “Cæsar” (here represented) is to the left: they are connected by a strong embattled wall, in the centre of which is the ponderous arched Gateway, flanked by Towers, and succeeded by a second arched Gateway, with Towers and Battlements, “formerly defended by two portholes, one of which still remains; before the whole is now a disused Moat, with an arch thrown over it at the Gateway, where was once the drawbridge.”[67]

Passing the double Gateway, the court-yard is entered. Thus seen, “the castellated mansion” of the most famous of the feudal Barons has a tranquil and peaceful aspect; fronting it is a green sward, and the “frowning keep” which conceals all its gloomier features behind a screen of ivy and evergreen shrubs. It is only when viewed from the river, when the battlements of the old Castle seem literally towering in air, that a notion is obtained of its prodigious strength. The slopes, however, are now clothed with gently-growing trees; several unscathed cedars speak of long years of rest from strife; the gardens are among the fairest and most fertile of the kingdom; and in one of the conservatories of the rich Park, is deposited “the Vase,” which may be said to have given a second immortality to the name of Warwick.

The interior of Warwick Castle demands but a brief notice. “The Hall” is a restoration; and the apartments, generally, have been subjected to the deleterious influence of the fashionable upholsterer. The rooms contain, however, many rich treasures of art; the collection of pictures, although of limited extent, is of rare value, comprising, perhaps, some of the best examples to be found in England of Vandyck and Rubens; and there is a fine assemblage of costly garderobes, cabinets, encoigneurs, tables

of Buhl and Marquetrie, vases, and bronzes, with many veritable antiques. An object of much interest is pictured in the appended wood-cut. It is “the Warder’s Horn.” Its history is told by the following inscription:--

PHIL. THOMASSINUS. FEC. ET EXCUD. CUM PRIVIL. SUMMI. PONTIFICIS ET
SUPERIOR. LICENTIA ROMÆ. FLORUIT 1598.

It measures two feet two inches across, and three inches and three-quarters diameter at the mouth.

In all respects Warwick Castle holds rank among the most remarkable of our existing remains of the dwellings of the Feudal Barons. Its history is deeply interesting; and from the few changes it has undergone, we require little aid from fancy to read there a full and perfect record of the leading incidents of by-gone ages.

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

WROXHALL ABBEY, WARWICKSHIRE.]

WROXHALL ABBEY,

WARWICKSHIRE.

Wroxhall Abbey. Of Wroxhall there is no particular mention in the Conqueror’s survey--a circumstance for which Dugdale accounts by “the barrennesse of the soil,” which now vies in fertility and beauty with the choicest districts of England. “A monastery of nuns” was founded here so early as “King Stephen’s time.”[68] The founder endowed it with “totam terram loci de Wrocheshale--with large proportions of lands and woods thereabouts: together with the church of Hatton and whatsoever belonged thereto, and so much of his royalty in Hatton as lay betwixt the two little brooks there.” It also received large benefactions from other parties, and sundry immunities and privileges. At the dissolution its value extended to 72_l._ 12_s._ 6_d._ “above all reprises;” the then prioress received a pension of 7_l._ 10_s._ per annum; and the site thereof, “with church, belfrey, and all the lands thereunto belonging,” were given to Robert Burgoyn and John Scudamore, and their heirs.

The present structure is on the original site, the southern and eastern sides having been adapted as offices, and the western front was rebuilt by Robert Burgoyn, and has been subjected to alterations of a later date, as will be seen in our view. The mansion was purchased from the Burgoyn family, in 1713, by the famous Sir Christopher Wren. It is, however, doubtful whether he resided here, as he was at that period actively employed in his official capacity. His son, Christopher Wren, died in 1747. He was buried here, and most probably on this spot he compiled with so much care and diligence the papers of the “Parentalia,” afterwards published under this title in 1750 by his son Stephen.

The mansion, as will be perceived, has a picturesque appearance, and some of the old wainscotting remains in the principal rooms, with some good carving round the chimney-pieces. The Chapel seems to have been formed from part of the cloisters: it is on the north side of the house, and contains some monuments of the Wren family and some good stained glass. It is at present in the possession of Mrs. Wren, a lady who derives her position as well as her property from marriage with the latest male descendant of the great architect. She resolutely closes the doors, not only of the mansion but of the adjacent chapel, against the entrance of all applicants for admission to examine either; and her discourtesy is consequently a proverb in the neighbourhood. We may add to this imperfect description an expression of satisfaction at the probable reversion of the estate into the hands of Chandos Wren Hoskyns, Esq., a gentleman whose acquirements are such as to render him a worthy successor of the great man whose name has imparted interest to this mansion.

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

BROUGHAM HALL, WESTMORELAND.]

BROUGHAM HALL,

WESTMORLAND.

Brougham Hall--the seat of Henry, Lord Brougham and Vaux--is situated about a mile south of Penrith, on the high-road from Lancaster to Carlisle. It is a structure of mixed character--half castle and half mansion--of which there are many examples in the northern districts of the Kingdom. Its origin dates from a remote period; and it has, no doubt, largely participated in the perils that arose from close proximity to “the Border.” The remains of a castle still more ancient than the greater part of the building, and, apparently, of far greater strength, stand at a short distance from the Hall, in the midst of “pleasant scenery”--fruitful fields and a gentle and generous river, the river Eamont. The earliest mention we find of Brougham occurs in the “Itinerary” of Antoninus, and in the “Notitiæ,” from which we gather that it was a Roman station of considerable importance. The remains of the camp may still be traced near the present house, and a field close by appears to have been the burial-place (as usual, without the walls), many tombs and altars having been, from time to time, discovered there.

“Although,” according to Camden, “time hath consumed its buildings and its splendour, the name remains almost entire, for at this day we call it Brougham.” And this so clearly resembles the Roman Brovocum or Brocovum (for it is spelt both ways) that the etymology may be considered settled, although for many centuries both the place and the family were called Burgham--a name considered by Horsley (in his “Roman Antiquities of Britain”) as of Saxon derivation, compounded of _Burgh_, castle, and _Ham_, town. Stukeley in his “Itinerary,” (1725) says,--“The trace of the Roman city is very easily discovered, where the ditch went between the Roman road and the river. I saw many fragments of altars and inscriptions at the Hall near the bridge, all exposed in the court-yard to weather and injuries of every sort.”

In the earliest records belonging to the family, or to be found in the Tower of London, the place is spelt Broham and Bruham; and this, singularly enough, while it differs from the spelling of the Roman word (which, as Camden says, was in his time changed into Brougham), yet in sound it is absolutely identical with the pronunciation, which has probably always been, and certainly is at the present day, given to the name. We are enabled from original documents preserved in the Charter-room at Brougham, in the Tower, State-paper Office, Rolls Chapel, and Chapter-house, and from other authentic sources, to trace with accuracy the descent of Brougham in a family of the same name, who have been settled there from times long antecedent to the Norman conquest. An ancient pedigree preserved in a copy of Cranmer’s great Bible (1540), now at Brougham, states Walter de Broham to have held Brougham in the time of Edward the Confessor; he was succeeded by Wilfred; and he by Udard, who was appointed keeper of Appleby Castle on the degradation of the previous governor, in consequence of his participation in the death of Thomas à Beckett. This border-fortress was held by Udard until 1175, in which year he was defeated and the castle taken by William, king of Scotland. Soon after this we find him taking part against Henry II. for which he was fined eighty marks, “because he was with the king’s enemies.” Udard was succeeded by Gilbert, who, in the year 1200, “made fine with the king” that he might not go with him to Normandy. This Gilbert, to get rid of the burden of Drengage, gave up to King John no less than one half of the town of Brougham, together with the mill, the advowson of the church of Brougham, a great part of the forest of Whinfell, and the tower which formed the original building of Brougham Castle. The name was at this period changed from Broham to Burgham. From Gilbert, after Henry and Thomas, we come to Daniel, who commanded the king’s forces against Roger Mortimer in Kent. In 1378, Sir John Burgham was Lord of Brougham, and settled the boundary of the Lordship with Sir Roger Clifford; the record of which, after noting the particulars of the agreement, thus ends:--“And so thys ambulacyon was veiwyd and merkett in the secund yeare of King Richard the Secund, by the assentt and consentt of Sr. Rogere Clifforth, knight, and Sr John Burgham, in thayre time.” In 1383, Sir John Burgham was member for Cumberland. He was succeeded by his son John, who represented Carlisle. His son, Thomas, was one of the king’s judges in 1433, as appears by a record of assize taken at Penrith in the 12th Henry VII. John, the son of the above Thomas, was member for Cumberland, and was succeeded in the fourth generation by Thomas, who in 1553 married Jane, heiress of John Vaux of Cattulun and Tryermagne. The next possessor of the name was Henry, who signalised himself in the family records by alienating part of the ancient estate; which, however, was repurchased in 1726 by John Brougham, the then representative of the family.

Henry was succeeded by his son Thomas, whose name we now find changed from Burgham into Browgham, according to the spelling of the place in the deed of 1567; he died in 1607, and was buried in the chancel at Brugham: his widow, Agnes, having Brugham assigned to her for her life, by a deed dated 29th March, 1608. The heir-male of Thomas was Henry Browgham, of Scales Hall in Cumberland, who married a Wharton. His son, Thomas, married a Fleming; and in the deeds of that time his name is spelt Browham. His son, Henry, married the daughter of Lamplugh of Lamplugh, ultimately heir-general of that ancient family (and whose descendant, Peter Lamplugh Brougham, enjoyed their estates). From him descended John Brougham, of Brougham in Westmorland, and Scales Hall in Cumberland, who, dying without issue, was succeeded by his nephew, Henry Richmond Brougham, owner also of Highhead Castle, derived from his mother, the heiress of the Richmonds, and dying in 1749 was succeeded by Henry Brougham, the grandfather of Henry, Lord Brougham and Vaux, the present owner of Brougham, Scales Hall, and Highhead Castle; a nobleman to whose genius the world owes much, and by whose active industry, science and literature have been so extensively served, and so largely promoted, for nearly half a century.

The castle-mansion is irregularly built, and with the court-yards and outer offices covers a vast extent of ground. The garden-court comprises on two of its sides nearly the whole of the buildings occupied by the family. At the lower end of this court is a massive arched entrance-gateway, which, together with the surrounding buildings, is very old and picturesque, clothed with a garb of most luxuriant ivy: of this we append an engraving.

In our lithotint print is shewn the western side of the Hall, considered to be the most ancient part of the structure. It is singularly solid in construction, the works being several yards in thickness. The large tower in the perspective contains the apartment formerly the Armoury. The terrace commands an extensive view of scenes rich in historic interest, and of great natural beauty; comprising in the distance the whole of the mountains of the Lake district, which rear their airy summits, chain upon chain, peak above peak, in almost countless numbers. Nearer, the eye ranges over thick woods, chequered here and there with grey rocks and quiet holms; while nearer, unseen, but plainly heard, the Lowther brawls over its rocky bed and through the wide arches of Lowther Bridge--a famous and most picturesque structure. Higher up the river, the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway passes over an immense viaduct, of which the three or four most central arches are distinctly visible from the Hall. Nothing can exceed the beauty of this scene on a clear sunny afternoon, when the dull red bridge is in shade; the light touched clearly but delicately along the parapet and down the inner sides of the shafted piers: the whole framed, as it were, in ponderous masses of richly coloured foliage, subdued and harmonised by ever-recurring passages of most delicious shade.

The interior contains many apartments of high interest: several of them having been renovated in the best possible taste, and in perfect harmony with the edifice. Our space will not permit us to describe them in detail. The Great Hall (of which we append an engraving) is a double cube forty feet by twenty, and twenty high; the roof supported by arches, with open spandrels, made of walnut-wood. The ceiling has been lately restored, having (at least the greater part of it) fallen to pieces through age and decay. The fireplace also has been restored. The windows (six in number) are filled with very fine stained glass, chiefly of the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century; the colours are singularly rich: it appears to be of German manufacture, and closely resembles the old glass at Nuremberg. There is a good deal of curious armour here; especially a very old and very perfect suit of Edward IV. or Richard III.’s time. The Armoury was a room about sixteen feet square at the top of the highest tower, with a fine oak roof, but is now used as a bed-room. All its contents were recently moved into the Hall, where, although seen to greater advantage, they have no longer the picturesque effect they must have had in their original situation.

In the Hall is a very old iron chest, with a lock in the lid which shoots twelve bolts by one key, that turns in the centre of the lid. This was probably used in ancient times to keep the vessels belonging to the chapel. The most curious relic in the Hall is an ivory horn (introduced as the initial letter), of very early workmanship, and used (as is believed) in the service of Cornage--an ancient border service, by which certain of the lands of Brougham are held. In former times this service consisted in blowing a horn from the top of the high tower, to give notice of the approach of an enemy (most usually the Scotch), so that the neighbouring barons might be prepared to resist the threatened attack; or the nearest beacon (which is on the top of Penrith Fell, and still in existence) might be lighted up to alarm the country. This service in later times was changed into a _Corn_ rent, and hence it has been erroneously supposed that it was called Cornage: the original service, however, was that of blowing the horn. From its workmanship and ornaments this horn is evidently of Saxon times, and was probably used before the introduction of the cornage tenure as a warder’s horn. Over the chimney-piece in the old drawing-room are the arms of Edward VI. This room and many others in the house are rich in tapestry and old stamped leather.

“At the mansion of Browham stands a chapel of very ancient erection. In the year 1377, ‘Johannes de Burgham’ is said to have had ‘Capellam apud Browham, Sancto Wilfrido sacrum, ab antiquis temporibus fundatam,’ and that a Chaplain attended divine offices at it. Through process of time it becoming ruinous and neglected, it was lately repaird and beautify’d by the piety of Anne, Countess of Pembroke, A.D. 1659.”[69] In this chapel there was formerly a holy well, dedicated to St. Wilfred, which rose through the ancient font by a hole bored through the shaft (in which also was the waste-pipe) into the bowl. The hill near the chapel was cut through about fifty years ago, for the purpose of lowering the road, and from that time the spring which supplied the well was cut off, so that the water now only rises to the height of the chapel-floor: the loss of this singular remnant of antiquity is much to be lamented. There still remains the shrine, or a considerable portion of it, now fixed at the west end of the chapel, noticed by Leland in his “Itinerary,” and to which he says there was a great pilgrimage. The shrine at the east end consists of three compartments, of very remarkable carving, said to be by Albert Durer, but apparently, from the architecture of the canopy work, of an earlier date. It is said to have come from the church of St. Cunegonde at Cologne. The windows at the east end are early Anglo-Norman, and are filled with the earliest stained glass known in England. Two appear to have been repaired, and the broken parts replaced with glass of a more modern date. At one side of the altar, in the north wall, is the ancient “ambrie,” or small cupboard cut in the solid wall, in which were kept the vessels; some of these are still preserved, and are of great curiosity--the pix, now very rarely to be met with; the remonstrance, a small oblong box, either used as a reliquary, or, more probably, to contain the cruet or phial of sacred oil. These are gilt and finely enamelled, and are in a state of good preservation. The chalice and paten (silver gilt) are of great antiquity, and are also well preserved. The door of the ambrie is of black oak, curiously carved; on the back is fixed a very singular gilt and enamelled crucifixion, with a very remarkable representation of a glory above the head of our Saviour: this cross is of the very earliest age, probably of the sixth or eighth century. The sedilia, of black oak, still stands upon the raised part of the floor, on the south side of the altar; and the old drain, or piscina, is still to be seen. The oak carving, especially some of the stall ends, and the screen, are very fine, but have been extensively repaired. Some of the oak and stained glass, which appear formerly to have belonged to the chapel, are now in the great dining-hall; but what is left, still shews a richness and abundance of carving rarely to be met with in so small a space. Service is performed here whenever the family are resident, and generally by the Rector, after his duty at the parish church is over.

The situation of the parish church is remarkable. It is placed on the borders of a meadow, close to the river Eamont, at a point where there is a ford, in a direct line from the Roman way to Carlisle, and nearer than by Brovoniacum. It is above two miles from the nearest village, called Woodside, and still further from the place where the town of Brougham formerly stood: there is no trace of any habitations having ever existed near it.

Stukeley, who visited this part of Westmorland about 1724, and wrote his account of it in 1725, after describing the British circus or camp on the banks of the Lowther, called King Arthur’s Round Table, directly opposite to Brougham, says,--“This is the most delightful place that can be imagined for recreation; the rapid river Louther runs all along the side of it: the Eamont joins it a little way off in view. Beyond is a charming view of a vast wood, and of Brougham; beyond that the ancient Roman city, and the Roman road going along under the high hill, whereon is the beacon.”--Vol. II. p. 43.

After describing various British remains which abound in this neighbourhood, he proceeds:--“In the pasture on the eastern bank of the Louther, in the way to Clifton, are several cairns, or carrachs as the Scotch call them, made of dry stones heaped together; also many other monuments of stones, 3, 4, 5, set upright together. They are generally by the country-people said to be done by Michael Scott--a noted conjuror in their opinion, who was a monk of Holme Abbey, in Cumberland. They have a notion, too, that one Turquin, a giant, lived at Brougham, and that Sir Lancelot du Lake lived at Mayborough and slew him.”--P. 45. Stukeley accompanies his description by a view of Brougham, as seen rising from the midst of fine old trees (most of which are now cut down), with King Arthur’s Round Table in the foreground.

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

SIZERGH HALL,

WESTMORLAND.

Sizergh Hall, with its venerable towers, presents to the traveller journeying from Lancaster to Kendal an appearance peculiarly impressive. After passing Levens Hall, famous for its antique gardens and other vestiges of the olden time, two miles bring us to Sizergh, which a sudden turn presents to view, standing about half a mile from the main road, on a fine natural terrace of considerable elevation above the general level of the surrounding country. Fine time-honoured trees are thickly spread around; among them are some noble elms, whose stateliness is, however, rapidly giving way before the inroads of age. The park is small, and not particularly well ordered; it has also the appearance of being much diminished in size, the main turnpike-road having, in all probability, been cut through it, as in the case of Levens, where the house is on one side of the road and the park on the other.

The palmy state of this place belongs to other days; nevertheless much is left to shew what it has been, with the added interest of increasing years and antiquity to throw its halo of mystery around the scene. The hall front faces the east: the lithotint view will shew that it is singularly irregular and picturesque in its general outline, the whole being a collection of parts belonging to various eras; exhibiting here and there incongruities of style, particularly in the ugly modern windows, which, about eighty years ago, were introduced to supplant those that were mullioned. These abominations, we were informed, are shortly to be removed, and their places supplied by windows in keeping with the structure. By far the oldest parts of the building are the two southern towers, of the erection of which, it is said, no record remains; these towers are embattled, and are of amazing strength, the walls and the floors that divide the several stories being of great thickness and solidity, displaying a lavish use of materials in their construction: the beams are particularly remarkable in this respect. The smaller tower rises considerably above the other: in the upper part there is a guard-chamber, capable of containing a dozen men--a necessary precaution in feudal times to prevent sudden attacks. Behind, is a large square courtyard, one hundred and eighty feet from side to side, and enclosed on three sides by the back buildings of the mansion. These large yards were a necessary part of the old Border strongholds; they were generally large, as in this case, fortified by strong walls, and were used to protect the cattle, which were regularly secured therein at night, and during the frequent inroads of the turbulent and ever-watchful enemy, whose visits were not by any means either few or far between. In front a double flight of steps leads from the garden-terrace to a second terrace, leading direct into the Hall, a large room fifty feet in length, hung with rich tapestry and some good family pictures, many of the latter being of considerable artistic merit, as well as of historical interest. Among these the most “noticeable” are--Sir Robert Strickland, a zealous adherent of the Royalist party in the civil wars of the time of Charles I.; Sir Thomas Strickland, knight-banneret, and one of the privy council to James II.; and of his third son, Roger Strickland; Thomas Strickland, bishop of Namur, and ambassador to England from the Emperor Charles VI., by Rigaut. There is also a good portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, said to be by More. The drawing-room contains portraits of James II. and his queen, and one of Charles II., a royal gift from James himself to the family.

In the Great Tower are two rooms of much beauty and importance; one is the drawing-room, the other is called the Queen’s Chamber. Both these rooms are profusely decorated with rich carving, particularly in the chimneypieces. Of that in the drawing-room we procured a sketch. It is exceedingly rich and quaint, the centre compartment being occupied by a well-executed carving of the arms of the Stricklands. The fireplace is, as the reader will perceive, of recent date, and quite out of harmony with the more ancient part above. There is scarcely a room of any importance in the Hall that is not decorated with a rich chimneypiece and other carvings, all of great merit, and some of them of rare beauty and originality. These carvings are of the time of Elizabeth, in whose reign Walter Strickland, Esq., the then owner, refitted the greater part of the rooms. They are all exceedingly interesting. The Inlaid Chamber--a bedroom in the great tower--is, perhaps, the most curious of all; it is panelled with rich dark oak, inlaid with holly in curious arabesque devices. The bed is of the olden time, exceedingly massive, and magnificently furnished, the pillars being quaintly carved and very elaborate, supporting a canopy covered with rich draperies. There is not much old movable furniture, but some chairs attracted our attention; on the back of one was carved the date 1571. In one angle of the tower we were shewn a deep dark hole, constructed in the wall, with which tradition has connected some strange stories of secret violence committed in times when might was right; of which, however, there is no more direct evidence than rumour and the suspicious look of the place. No ancient Baronial Hall could be complete without its ample kitchen, and accordingly we find Sizergh in this respect well supplied. The important adjunct to hospitality is of large dimensions, with an enormous fireplace, in which, no doubt, was once placed an old-fashioned and most capacious cooking apparatus: all this has given way to the modern range, which had a look so undeniably recent and _patent_ as to preclude all particular examination from us. The kitchen is low, and approached from the corridor by a broad flight of stairs.

Sizergh Hall has been for many centuries the property and place of residence of the Strickland family. At what time they first came here is not exactly known; they were originally from Great Strickland, in the parish of Moreland. “The son and heir of Walter de Stirkland was a hostage, in 1215, for the good behaviour of Roger Fitz-Reinford.” The erection of the great tower is attributed to Sir Walter de Stirkland, in the reign of Edward III., during which he procured from the king a license “to enclose his Wood and Demesne Lands on this estate, and to make a Park here.” This supposition is supported by the sculptured shield of arms on the north side of the tower, “placed corner-wise, D’Aincourt quartering Strickland: three escallops, the crest a full-topped holly-bush on a close helmet.”[70] Sir Walter was thrice returned to Parliament, an honour which several of his descendants also enjoyed. This was in the time of Edward III., when the name was spelt Sirezergh. The family took part in the Border Wars; and it is said that in the time of Henry VI. they mustered “bowmen, horsyd and harnessed, lxix; bylmen, horsyd and harnessed, lxxiiii; bowmen, without hors harnesse, lxxi; bylmen, without hors harnesse, lxxvi; totalis numerus, cclxxxx.” The Sir Thomas Strickland, whose portrait is mentioned above, went into France with the king, where he died, and was buried in the church of the English nuns at “Roan” in Normandy. “His third son, Roger Strickland, was page to the Prince of Condé, when he went from France to be elected king of Poland.” The fourth son was the already mentioned Bishop of Namur. In Kendal church, “Strickland’s Aisle” contains tombs of members of this family; “one of them is remarkable for the figure of Walter Strickland, a fat lad in a loose gown, with a most fulsome epitaph, dated in 1656.”

There is a tradition that Sizergh was once the property of the Crown; and this supposition seems in some degree supported by the fact of the royal arms being placed among the decorations of one of the chambers, and placed there it is said by Catharine Parr: but for this there is no sufficient authority.

For some years Sizergh has been the residence of D. Crewdson, Esq., in whom the old Hall has had a worthy and careful keeper, shewing its various matters of interest with a courtesy and kindness not too common among custodians of English antiquities. There is a moat in front of the house. This place was visited by the poet Gray when on his tour of the Lakes, in 1769, and its fine situation and antique appearance seem to have had a powerful impression on his mind--proved by his letters to Dr. Wharton. From the Hall two avenues diverge to the highway, one towards Kendal, and the other southward, in the direction of Levens, Milnthorpe, and Lancaster. The gardens are on the southern end of the terrace, and contain, in addition to the usual modern flowering plants, some fine old trees, clipt into the fantastic forms of other times, and also an old summer-house, fast falling to decay. Altogether the old place is a deeply interesting relic of times now happily gone by. The feudal tower--the varied and somewhat rude magnificence of the time of Elizabeth and James--the spoliating barbarism of the eighteenth century--all mingle here in curious contrast; carrying the mind rapidly through a long series of years, and exhibiting, as if in mockery, memorials of men, whose works remain, but whose hands--many of them, at least--had mingled with the dust before the arrival of periods of which even the antiquary speaks as “the past.”

From a drawing by C. J. Richardson, F.S.A. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.

CHARLTON HOUSE, WILTS.]

CHARLTON HOUSE,

WILTSHIRE.

Charlton House, the seat of the Earl of Suffolk and Berkshire, stands in the centre of a spacious park, a short distance from the ancient town of Malmesbury. The manor in “old times” belonged to the abbey of Malmesbury, and subsequently passed to the family of Knevit. Thomas Howard, the first Earl of Suffolk,[71] having married Catherine, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Knevit, the estates became the property of that noble house; and the Earl, soon after entering into possession, commenced building the mansion we here engrave. It is considered an excellent example of the style of architecture of the time of James I.; the house was, however, enlarged and modernised by Henry Earl of Suffolk and Berks., who was Secretary of State for the Northern Department, in the reign of George III. The principal front is ancient, with the exception of the attic over the centre portion between the two towers. A plan of the building preserved by the family shews the colonnade quite open, and forming one side of a large quadrangular court, sixty-five feet square, in the centre of the building: at the end of this court was the porch leading into the entrance-hall, which appears to have been in the style of Inigo Jones (the reputed architect of the building). This court-yard is now enclosed, and is formed into a saloon, which still remains unfinished, the works before their completion having been suddenly interrupted, probably by the death of the Earl in March 1799.

The only portion of the interior retaining its original character is the gallery; it runs through the whole front of the building immediately over the colonnade: the ceiling, which is ancient, is an extraordinary specimen of elaborate decoration; it is 115 feet in length, and between the edges of the cornice, 17 feet in width. An old fire-place, with the arms of the first Earl of Suffolk, brought from the Charter House, London, has been placed here. A collection of superb full-length portraits of this illustrious family adorn this fine apartment. It is said that the ceiling of this gallery once saved the building from destruction: previous to the alterations, the Earl, not liking the situation of the house, thought of having it pulled down, and rebuilt in another part of the park; the impossibility, however, of removing the ceiling determined the rejection of the idea. The additions externally (with the exception of one front) are closely copied from the older portions of the structure. The house abounds in furniture of antique character, in harmony with the character of the interesting building. One of these examples, consisting of a clock and cabinet, we here engrave.

The architect under whose directions the repairs and additions were made, is well known among the profession as an “Architectural Plagiarist,”--one who was accustomed to affix his name to the designs of other men. This person, thinking probably that the architecture of James I. would never be studied, put up the following inscription at Charlton; it is inscribed on an iron plate inserted in the wall above the roof of the saloon:--

“This edifice was rendered such as it is under the skilful direction of Matthew Brettingham, Architect, and the careful superintendence of James Darley, Clerk of the Works.

(Thomas Carter, Steward.)

Began A.D. 1772, finished A.D. 1776, by Henry, Earl of Suffolk and
Berkshire, the principal Secretary of State to the best of Princes.”

The mansion, taken altogether, is of fine character and of very considerable interest: as the baronial residence of the noble representative of an illustrious family, it retains some of the most striking and important of its ancient features, conveying the (at all times pleasant) idea, that antiquity is reverenced for its actual worth.

From drawing by C. J. Richardson, F.S.A. Day & Son Lithʳˢ to The Queen.

THE DUKE’S HOUSE, WILTSHIRE]

THE DUKE’S HOUSE,

WILTSHIRE.

The Duke’s House, at Bradford, in Wiltshire, is so called from the Duke of Kingston, to whom it formerly belonged. It subsequently descended to Earl Manvers. It is now a dilapidated farm-house; but even in its present condition of neglect, approaching ruin, it exhibits interesting indications of its early architectural character. In its pristine state, when the whole of its ornaments were perfect, it must have presented an appearance peculiarly imposing and grand; for it is seated on the side of a steep hill, with a lofty terrace in front, approached by a flight of steps, adorned with balustrades and vases: there were other terraces, walled gardens also, and orchards in the rear and on either side of the house, which is built of the fine white stone of the district.

The principal front--to the south--exhibited in the annexed view, is divided into two stories, with attics in the gables. The entire front is, as it were, one window: the three projecting bays are crowned with boldly sculptured open balustrades. The effect is remarkably striking and picturesque. The windows have all the mullions and transomes of stone like the rest of the building. The centre bay, on the ground-floor, serves as a porch, and has a fine large sculptured doorway, the upper part of which is seen in the print.

At the time John Aubrey visited Bradford, in 1686, he described this house as inhabited by John Hall, a wealthy clothier of the town, connected by marriage with the family of Sir John Thynne, of Longleat. Mr. J. Britten supposes that Bradford House was built by the architect who erected the grand mansion of Longleat, the foundation of which was laid in 1567; but the style of the building is that of a much later period; it was probably built by the Duke of Kingston. A shield of arms, with what appears to be a ducal coronet above it, is over the fireplace in the entrance-hall, and the same shield is repeated in the other apartments. This shield, no doubt, belongs to the nobleman who erected the mansion.

The palace at Longleat is a structure in style almost pure Italian, and the architect is well known to be John of Padua, a very celebrated man. It is the fashion with the antiquaries in Wilts, so proud they are of the name, to ascribe to him every building and every separate fragment of Elizabethan architecture in the county; but the Duke’s House is not by him: it is pure English architecture, of the latest and most polished period of the style of James I. Aubrey’s description of the house is curious; he calls it “the best house for the quality of a gentleman in Wiltshire.” The house has two wings; two, if not three, elevations or ascents to it, adorned with terraces, having either rails or stone balustrades.

The interior contains numerous fragments of the old building: the entrance-hall has a noble stone fireplace in two stories; one of the upper rooms had, till within the last few years, a very handsome oak and stone fireplace, elaborately carved. Some of the rooms contain oak panelling; and there are a few ornamented ceilings, in which are pomegranates, the fleur-de-lis, English rose, &c. The desertion of the house appears to have been caused by the increase of the town, which rendered it anything but a rural retreat.

Bradford is situated on the banks of the Avon, near the middle of the western boundary of Wiltshire, on the borders of Somersetshire, within a cove formed by the surrounding small hills, which screen the town from the cold northern winds. The Avon here is generally called the Lower Avon, and is considerably increased by the waters of the Were from Trowbridge. The name is supposed to be derived from the Saxon word Bradenford, signifying the broad ford. Over this ford there is now a handsome stone bridge. The Duke’s House is close to the town, which contains more than 10,000 inhabitants, of whom the greater part are employed in the cloth-manufactories. The church is a large and ancient building, in the chancel of which is an antique altar-piece, coarsely ornamented with a painting that was intended to represent the Last Supper. In the church are two windows of painted glass, said to exhibit the actions of Christ and His Apostles. These windows were a present from John Ferret, Esq., of London, a native of Bradford, who died in 1770. Near the church is a charity-school, for the education of sixty-five children, which was opened in January 1712. There is an almshouse at the west end of the town, founded by John Hall, Esq., the last of a family which had resided at Bradford ever since the reign of Edward I.

From a drawing by F. W. Fairholt, F.S.A. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.

WESTWOOD, WORCESTERSHIRE]

WESTWOOD HOUSE,

WORCESTERSHIRE.

Within two miles of the ancient town of Droitwich, whose salt-springs have been famous since the time of the Romans, stands Westwood House, in the centre of an extensive park, well wooded, and consisting of about two hundred acres. To the east of the house is a lake extending over sixty acres, but which was originally intended to cover one hundred acres of ground. The principal front of the house commands a view of this lake; and being situated in the centre of the park, commanding on all sides the vistas produced by the fine old trees, whose radiating avenues surround it, it is as happily placed as any mansion in the kingdom. Nash, in his “History of Worcestershire,” thus describes it:--“Westwood House consists of a square building, from each corner of which projects a wing in the form of a parallelogram, and turretted in the style of the Château de Madrid near Paris, or Holland House. It is situated on a rising ground, and encircled with about two hundred acres of oak timber. The richness of the wood combining with the stateliness of the edifice forms a picture of ancient magnificence, unequalled by any thing in this county.” The house is of brick, with stone quoins and parapets, and bears a striking resemblance to an old Norman château. Our plate exhibits the peculiarities of its design as seen in the principal front. The body of the house is a solid square of three stories in height, the saloon occupying the first floor, and being lighted by large bay-windows. Wings project in a line from the centre of each corner of the house, and communicate by doors with each floor of the central building. Opposite each wing, at some distance from them, are erected small square towers, which were originally connected with the main building by walls, which have now been removed, and the small garden surrounding the house entirely thrown open. This garden is encircled by an open railing, and immediately in front of the house, and still further in advance, is the entrance-gate. Our cut exhibits the construction of the central pile as it appears from the garden, with the principal front and one side, taking in a view of three of the wings. The offices and stabling are at some short distance in the rear of this, and where the kitchen-garden now stands originally stood an ancient nunnery, of which no remains exist; but Nash tells us that, in digging, they sometimes find stone coffins and foundations of buildings.