Chapter VII: Front Matter (7)

Eustachia de Say and her son Osbert Fitzhugh, having given the church here to the abbey of Font-Evraud in Normandy, an abbey closely connected with our Norman kings, and where several lie buried, and having, during the reign of Henry II., granted them various lands, Osbert is styled the founder of the church of St. Mary at Westwood, in the ancient deeds. Shortly afterwards was erected a small priory, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, for six nuns of the Benedictine order, which, when once established, shared the usual favours bestowed on such foundations during the middle ages; it ultimately numbered seventeen or eighteen inmates. The grants of property, as recited by Nash, do not appear to have been of such great value as ever to have given great riches or importance to the priory, but they were of a kind to ensure a certain amount of comfort and worldly prosperity to the nuns who inhabited it; and some of the grants are curious, inasmuch as they shew the kindliness of feeling with which they were regarded, and the simple usefulness of many donations; all indicative of a period when the necessities of life were more dependent on the interchange of individual courtesies than they are at present. Thus, “Jocelyn Fitz Richard, of Wich (Droitwich), gave them free passage for corn and hay over the bridge of Brerhulle, as far as his meadow extended, from hay-time to Michaelmas, and for wood from hay-time to All Saints.” Others made them various grants for things in return, which they wanted, and which, being of considerably less value, became a profitable quit-rent. Thus “Stephen de Elmbrug gave land in Ruinestreet, Droitwich, for one pound of cummin or pepper yearly, at Michaelmas; which was confirmed at his death by his son Inard.” Ralph Hacket, “a dole of salt, with a salt-pit and wood-place, for three shillings and a mit of salt; Ralph Huson confirmed this, and gave an acre in Broadmead, with seven butts adjoining, for a mark of silver (13_s._ 4_d._); also six sellions of land without Guerston Ditch, belonging to their church of St. Nicholas, at Wich. Osbert Fitz Osbert Bende, of Wich, gave lands in Wich, which he held in fee of Derhurst, with two helflings (four pounds) and a half of salt at Northernmost Wich, for a pair of white gloves yearly to his heirs, and fourpence halfpenny and six baskets of salt.” Other lands were also held by the same grant of salt from Droitwich, and remittances of rent by the same means. The change in the value of money is strikingly visible in some grants; thus, “William Fitz Aldred Fikemore gave 4_d._ yearly rent,” and “Adam Fitz Adam Luveton, of Wich, gave 12_d._ yearly rent;” sums which now appear almost ludicrous.

Of the various prioresses of this retired and remote establishment, but few notices or even names occur. The only noted one was Isabella, who ruled between 1360 and 1370, and died under excommunication, for having joined with the antipope Clement VII. The last prioress, Joice Acton, received at the dissolution, in 1553, an annual pension of 10_l._ At this period the revenues were valued at 78_l._ 8_s._ in the whole, and 175_l._ 18_s._ 11_d._ clear, which is Dugdale’s valuation.

After the dissolution of religious houses, Westwood with its demesne lands was granted, in the thirteenth year of Henry VIII., to Sir John Pakington, knight, in whose descendants it still continues. The Pakingtons resided first in their mansion at Hampton Lovet; when that was much damaged in the civil wars, they enlarged the house at Westwood, which had been built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, as a lodge or banquetting-house, and made it the place of their abode.

One of the most interesting features of the place is the gate-house immediately in front of the mansion; it consists of a double lodge of red brick, with ornamental gables and pinnacles; the gate in the centre is ornamented with the heraldic bearings of the family, the mullet or star of five points, and garb or wheatsheaf; their arms being,--“party per chevron, sable and argent, in chief three mullets, or, in base as many garbs, gules.” These bearings are again sculptured on the parapets, the wheatsheafs doing duty as pilasters, and the mullets serving in place of balusters. The timber work over the gate, with its high pointed roof and pinnacle, is exceedingly picturesque and striking; and is all the more interesting from the rarity of such examples.

Passing through the gate and crossing the small lawn we reach the principal door, to which a flight of stone steps lead. The stone portico is decorated in the style of the Renaissance, but is more purely Italian in its taste than is usually the case in works of that period. An open balustrade is on each side of the steps. Over the centre arch is a regal figure on an eagle. It was probably erected after the civil wars, when Westwood was enlarged and improved.

From the hall, which is an oblong room, presenting no particular features of interest, and from which the library, containing many choice and curious volumes, is reached, and which is situated in the wing to the left, the principal apartments are reached by the staircase, a view of which is here given, and which is chiefly remarkable for the Corinthian capitals, supporting globes, which are placed on the banister. The whole of this staircase is of carved oak, in a fine state of preservation, and exhibiting great finish in execution. By this stair we reach the saloon, a noble apartment, with a double bay-window situated immediately over the hall, and having its walls hung with fine old tapestry of the Elizabethan era, filled with symbolical representations of various kinds, and resembling, in style and character, that exhibited in the great hall at Hampton Court. A magnificent fireplace of elaborate detail, decorated with the royal arms, is in the centre. The roof is of plaster, but is not the original one; it is very florid and elaborate, in the style of Louis Quatorze, yet, however good as a specimen of that peculiar taste, it does not harmonise with the rest of the building.

From the windows of this room a noble view of the country is obtained, which is very undulatory and beautiful; the lake, the avenues, and the antique oaks which surround the house, also add to the beauty of the prospect. The effect of the pavilion opposite each wing of the building is here seen to good effect, surrounded as they generally are with trees and flowers. We engrave one of them. The chimney upon its exterior bracket is a peculiar feature in their design.

Among the portraits preserved in the mansion may be noticed particularly a curious one of Sir John Perrott, Knight of the Bath, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1583 to 1588, who was descended from a very ancient family in Pembrokeshire; his mother was Mary, daughter of James Berkeley, Esq., second son of Lord Berkeley. Sir Robert Naunton, in his “Fragmenta Regalia,” intimates that he was a natural son of Henry VIII. “If we compare,” says he, “his picture, his qualities, gesture, and voice, with those of the king, which memory retains yet amongst us, they will plead strongly that he was a surreptitious child of the blood-royal.” His first appearance at court was early in the reign of Edward VI. He was arraigned of high treason at Westminster, April 17, 1592, and received sentence of death; but did not suffer, for he died five months after in the Tower. He left one son, Sir Thomas Perrot, knight, who married Dorothy, sister to the favourite Earl of Essex, by whom he had one or more daughters. Sir Thomas dying early, his widow married Henry Percy, the ninth Earl of Northumberland, and his estate came afterwards by marriage to the Pakingtons.

Sir John Pakynton, knight, son of the first grantee, was sheriff of this county in the reign of Elizabeth, and a favourite with that queen, who first took notice of him in her progress to Worcester; he followed her to court, and was made a Knight of the Bath. On one occasion he betted with three courtiers, for 3000_l._, to swim against them from Westminster to Greenwich, but the queen, by her especial command, prevented it. His only court favour on record was a monopoly of starch. Fuller says of him, that, “being a fine but no assiduous courtier, he drew the curtain between himself and the light of the queen’s favour, and then death overwhelmed the remnant, and utterly deprived him of recovery; and they say of him, that had he brought less to the court than he did, he might have carried away more than he brought, for he had a time of it, but was no good husband of opportunity.” He died of gout at the age of seventy-seven, and was buried at Aylesbury, 1625.

Sir John Pakyngton, Bart., knight of the shire 15 Charles I., was a confirmed loyalist, and was tried for his life by the Parliament, his estates were sequestered, and he was plundered for his loyalty, but he ultimately compounded with the parliamentary committee for 5000_l._, and died in 1679. His house was an asylum for all learned men in these troublesome times. Nash says, “Dr. Hammond, Bishops Morley, Fell, Gunning, and others, always met with hospitable entertainment here, during the troubles of the kingdom. In concert, with some of these, Dorothy, “the good Lady Pakington” as she was called, is supposed to have written “The Whole Duty of Man,” one of the most popular of religious volumes. In defence of her supposed authorship, it is said that Lady Pakington’s letters and prayers are marked with the easy familiar language of that book; and it has been asserted that the original MS. in the handwriting of this lady, and interlined with corrections by Bishop Fell, was sometime in possession of her daughter, Mrs. Ayre, of Rampton, who often affirmed it to be the performance of her mother, adding that she was also the authoress of the “Decay of Christian Piety,” another celebrated religious work. But “upon the whole,” adds Nash, “it still remains a doubt, and it is much easier to prove who was not the author than to assert who was.”

At the Revolution, the doors of Westwood were open to some persons who scrupled to take oaths to King William. Dean Hickes wrote here great part of his “Linguarum Septentrionalium Thesaurus;” and the preface to his “Grammatica Anglo-Saxonica” is dedicated to Sir John Pakington. In it he gives the following declamatory description of Westwood,--“Ibi porticus, atria, propylæa, horti, ambulacra clausa et subdialia, recta et sinuosa, omnia studiis commoda; ibi luci, silvæ, nemora, prata, saltus, planities, pascua, et nihil non, quod animum pene a literis abhorrentem et legendum, audiendumve, et quovismodo discendum componere, et conciliare potest.”

From a drawing by Wᵐ Richardson. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ to The Queen.

FOUNTAINS HALL, YORKSHIRE]

FOUNTAINS HALL,

YORKSHIRE.

Fountains Hall is situated about five miles west of Ripon, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, and “within two hundred yards” of the famous Abbey, the name of which it “borrowed,” as well as the stones of which it is built. The hall was, indeed, formed out of the ruins of the time-honoured structure; and Sir Stephen Proctor, by whom it was erected, thought, no doubt, he was dedicating to “right uses” the precious relics he had bought, which supplied him with a “quarry”--plentiful and easy of access. It has since passed through various hands; the descendants of the builder held it but a short while: the daughter of Sir Stephen conveyed it, with the manor, to John Messenger, Esq., whose descendant sold it to William Aislabie, Esq.; recently it was the property of the late Miss Lawrence of Studley-Royal; and now, we believe, belongs to the Earl de Grey. Farther than this, little is known of the mansion or its history; and its interest is derived principally, or solely, from the ruined structure--magnificent and beautiful in decay--which it adjoins, and out of the broken columns of which it was raised.

Fountains Abbey[72] ranks among the most picturesque and interesting of the monastic ruins of England. It was founded early in the twelfth century for monks of the Cistercian Order; the locality being then an “uncouth desert,” which supplied no better shelter than “seven yew-trees,” under which the monks made their habitation while their magnificent house was progressing. Yet, long after the stupendous structure was deserted and unroofed, their first dwelling continued in existence; for, so late as the year 1810, six of the seven trees were flourishing above the ground where the builders had congregated, and formed their projects for a great future. In process of time the abbey became richly endowed: such was its repute for sanctity, that princes and nobles “purchased with immense donations” the right of sepulture within its walls; the most illustrious of the northern families were among its benefactors. “Popes and kings seemed to emulate one another in granting to the monks privileges and immunities;” its possessions “stretched from the foot of Pinnigant to the boundaries of St. Wilfred of Ripon, without interruption.” Fountains-fell still retains the name of its ancient possessors; “all the high pastures from thence to Kilnsey were ranged by their flocks and herds;” and “their lands in Craven” amounted to sixty-four thousand acres. At the dissolution, its revenues exceeded a thousand pounds per annum; its site, with the estates thereunto belonging, were sold by the sovereign spoiler to Sir Richard Gresham, who resold them to Sir Stephen Proctor (the builder of the Hall out of the Abbey stones); and the Abbey became a ruin--of deep interest to the antiquary, the artist, and the lover of the picturesque.

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

HELMSLEY HALL, YORKSHIRE.]

HELMSLEY HALL,

YORKSHIRE.

Helmsley Hall is situate about six miles from Kirby-Moorside, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The date is early in the seventeenth century; but it occupies the site, and is, indeed, chiefly built from the relics of a structure of far more remote antiquity. The manor is in Domesday called Elmeslae, “from elm, and slae, a narrow vale,” and was given by the Conqueror to the Earl of Morton. Not long after the Conquest it became the property of Sir Walter de la Espee, from whom it passed to the noble family of Ross or Roos, and from them to the Earls of Rutland. Catherine, daughter of the sixth earl, married George Villiers, first Duke of Buckingham, to whom was thus transferred the estate, which the second Duke wasted by a career of profligacy and vice.[73] From his trustees, Helmsley was purchased by Sir Charles Duncombe, from whom it has descended to the present Lord Feversham.

Helmsley Castle, once a place of formidable strength, was built about the year 1200 by one of the family of Ross--one who, it is said, forfeited by rebellion during the reign of Richard I., but regained his estates by favour of Richard’s successor, the infamous John. The remains are still imposing, and give indications of having formerly covered immense space. They are thus described by the Rev. W. Eastmead:--“The grand entrance on the south has been very strong. Without the outer wall is a ditch, which has added to the strength of the fortification; then the gateway leading into the first court or ballium, which measures twenty feet in thickness. After that a second gateway, leading to the inner court, where were the lodgings, &c.; and then the keep, ninety-five feet high, under which was the dungeon: and these walls were defended by a number of towers, which were strong and magnificent. The walls of this castle were extremely well built, and the vast masses of them which were thrown down yet hang together with amazing firmness. Besides the south gate the remains of two others are yet visible, one on the north and another on the west; and it is said that the waters of the Rye were conducted through the ditches which surround the building. During the Civil Wars the castle, after a severe conflict, was taken by the Parliament forces under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, who, during the siege, was wounded in the shoulder. It was soon afterwards dismantled by order of Parliament.”

The Hall, as we have intimated, was built out of parts of the ancient castle. The apartment pictured by Mr. Richardson is the principal drawing-room, but the house has ceased to be inhabited by any member of the family to whom it belongs; it is, nevertheless, a good subject for the artist, and one which he is bound to rescue from the grasp of time.

This “state chamber” is approached by stone steps from the courtyard; several smaller apartments are contiguous to it, but are without decorations, unless their ample bay-windows may be so called. A lofty tower at the south-east angle has been divided into several stories, but the stairs and various floors are gone. Helmsley Hall is rapidly decaying, and will be ere long, like its far more powerful parent and neighbour “the Castle,” but a relic of the past; it will, however, always possess considerable interest. Here revelled the licentious Buckingham,--

“That life of pleasure and that soul of whim!”

And these now lonely walls suggest many a thought to connect the surrounding scenery with the brilliant career of the most famous of Helmsley’s lords.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Holland House is the manor-house of Abbots Kensington. “In Domesday Book (our extract is from Lysons) the place is called Chenisitun, in other ancient records Kenesitune and Kensintune. Chenesi is a proper name; a person so named held the manor of Huish in Somersetshire, in the reign of Edward the Confessor. Kensington manor, which had been the property of Edward, a thane of King Edward’s, was granted by the Conqueror to Geoffrey, bishop of Constance, Chief Justiciary of England, under whom it was holden (when the survey of Domesday was taken) by Alberic or Aubrey de Vere, ancestor of the Earls of Oxford. The manor,” says the Survey, “is taxed at 10 hides, and contains 10 caracutes; on the demesnes are four ploughs, the villans have five, and might employ six. There are 12 villans, holding each a virgate, and 6 who hold 3 virgates jointly. The priest has half a virgate, and there are seven slaves, meadow equal to two plough lands, pasture for the cattle of the town, pannage for 200 hogs and three acres of vineyards, valued altogether at 10_l._--in King Edward’s time at the same. The manor was afterwards the absolute property of the Vere family, and was held by them _in capite_ for several generations, being parcel of their barony by virtue of their office of High Chamberlain. [In 1264, on the death of Hugh de Vere, the demesne was valued at 4_d._ an acre, and the meadow-land at 3_d._; a dovehouse at 3_s._, a court and vineyard 3_s._, fishpond and moat 2_s._ In 1296 the whole value of the manor was 19_l._ 13_s._ 6¼_d._ In 1331 it was somewhat less.] Aubrey de Vere, grand justiciary of England, was created Earl of Oxford by the Empress Maud, and afterwards confirmed in that title by Henry II. Upon the attainder of John, the twelfth earl, who was beheaded in 1461 for his adherence to the house of Lancaster, the manor was seized by the crown and given to Richard, duke of Gloucester. It came afterwards into the hands of William, marquis of Berkley, who gave it to Sir Reginald Bray. John, earl of Oxford, son of the attainted earl, having been restored to his honours, recovered (probably by purchase) the ancient inheritance of his ancestors, and by his will, bearing date 1509, left it to John, his nephew, the next heir to the title. Subsequently it passed to Sir Walter Cope, and from him to Henry Rich, earl of Holland, to whose descendant maternally, Lord Kensington, it now belongs. In 1776 the only surviving son of Francis Edwardes, Esq., who married Elizabeth, daughter of Robert Rich, earl of Warwick and Holland, was created an Irish peer by the title of Baron Kensington.”

[2] Campden House, now a ladies’ school, was built about the year 1612, by Sir Baptist Hickes, an eminent citizen of London, afterwards Viscount Campden. In 1691, it was the residence of Anne, then Princess of Denmark, who lived here for about four years with her son, the Duke of Gloucester, who, unhappily, died at the age of eleven years. Here, it is said, a regiment of boys about his own age was formed for his amusement, “with whom he sported in military evolutions.” The house has undergone many alterations, but retains many of its original features. The palace of Kensington was chiefly built by William III., but “considerably enlarged and altered by succeeding monarchs.” Until his death, it was the residence of his late Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex.

[3] Clarendon, in his “History of the Rebellion,” has drawn the character of this peer:--“He was a very handsome man, of a lovely and winning presence, and genteel conversation, by which he got so easy an admission into the Court of King James,” that he abandoned the life he had previously led--that of a soldier. The favour of James was continued to him by his successor, Charles I.; and “whilst the weather was fair, he continued to flourish above any man about the court; but the storm did no sooner arise, but he changed so much, and declined so fast from the honour he was thought to be master of,” that he grew distrusted by the two State parties, and alternately deserted and betrayed both. Ultimately, however, he took part with the king, was taken prisoner at a skirmish near Kingston, tried, and sentenced to death: “the house being divided upon the question, whether he should be reprieved or not, and the Speaker giving the casting vote against him.” “Thus,” says Lord Orford, “perished the once gay, beautiful, and gallant Earl of Holland, whom neither the honours showered upon him by his prince, nor his former more tender connexion with the queen, could preserve from betraying and engaging against both. On the scaffold he appeared sunk beneath the indignation and cruelty he received from men, to whom and from whom he had deserted.”

[4] The death of Addison is thus touchingly described by Dr. Young:--“After a long and manly, but vain struggle, with his distemper, he dismissed his physicians, and with them all hopes of life; but with his hopes of life, he dismissed not his concern for the living, but sent for a youth nearly related, and finely accomplished (the young Earl of Warwick), yet not above being the better for good impressions from a dying friend. He came, but life now glimmering in the socket, the dying friend was silent: after a decent and proper pause, the youth said, ‘Dear sir, you sent for me; I believe and I hope that you have some commands; I shall hold them most sacred.’ Forcibly grasping the youth’s hand, he softly said, ‘See in what peace a Christian can die.’ He spoke with difficulty, and soon expired.” Dr. Johnson states that “Addison had been tutor to the young Earl, and anxiously, but in vain, endeavoured to check the licentiousness of his manners. As a last effort, he requested him to come into his room when he lay at the point of death, hoping that the solemnity of the scene might work upon his feelings. When his pupil came to receive his last commands, he told him that he had sent for him to see how a christian could die.”

[5] The second son of the first, and brother of the second, Lord Holland, was Charles James Fox, much of whose early life was passed at Holland House.

[6] Francis Cleyn was born at Rostock, and was originally in the service of Christian IV. of Denmark. For a proper education in art he visited Italy, and there became known to Sir Henry Wotton, by whom he was introduced to Prince Charles, afterwards Charles I. Soon after his arrival in England he was employed to give designs, “both in history and grotesque,” for the tapestry manufacture then recently established at Mortlock. At Somerset House he painted a ceiling of a room near the gallery, with histories and compartments in gold; the entrance of Wimbledon House he painted in fresco; Bolsover in Nottinghamshire, Stone Park in Northamptonshire and Carew House at Parson’s Green, were ornamented by him. He also executed several books for carvers, goldsmiths, &c., “made designs for various artists,” and was the master of Dobson. His two sons also were esteemed painters. He died in London--“a most pious man,” according to Evelyn--in 1658.

[7] Whilst mentioning the drama as connected with Holland House, it is worthy of notice that the tragedy of “Jane Shore” was acted there in the “late Lord Holland’s time” (Dodaley’s “Old Plays,” vol. xii. p. 345). The late Mr. Fox supported the character of _Lord Hastings_; his brother, the General, was _Bishop of Ely_; Lady Sarah Bunbury, _Jane Shore_; and Lady Susan O’Brien, _Alicia_.

[8] “The name Blickling,” according to Blomefield, “seems to signifie the low meadows at the Beck.”

[9] Among these odd substitutes for ancient heroes, are carved copies of foot-soldiers of the time of George III. It would seem as if the Earl of Buckingham--writing in 1765--had actually contemplated the “improvements” indicated in the following letter. “I have,” he writes, “determined what to do with the Hall. Some tributary sorrow should, however, be paid to the nine Worthies--but Hector has lost his spear and his nose; David his harp; Godfrey of Boulogne his ears; Alexander the Great his highest shoulder; and part of Joshua has fallen in. As the ceiling is to be raised, eight of them must have gone; and Hector is at all events determined to leave his niche. You will forgive my replacing them with eight worthies of my own times, whose figures are not yet essentially mutilated, viz., Dr. Shebbeare, Mr. Wilkes, Dr. Hill, Mr. Glover, Mr. Deputy Hodges, Mr. Whitfield, Justice Fielding, and Mr. Foote; and as Anne Boleyn was born at Blickling, it will not be improper to purchase her father Henry, the eighth figure (which by order is no longer to be exhibited in the Tower), who will fill with credit the space occupied by the falling Hector.”

[10] We borrow a passage from Mr. Robinson’s “Vitruvius Britannicus,” which conveys a compliment as justly merited as it is well expressed. “On the resignation of the Duke of Sussex, the Marquess of Northampton was elevated to the chair of the Royal Society; and if ardent zeal in the promotion of scientific truth, unaffected affability of manners, liberal and unostentatious hospitality, and exemplary private character, are deemed qualifications for the blue riband of science, his lordship’s claim to the distinguished honour must be universally admitted.”

[11] Among the pictures are portraits of Bishop Compton, Sir Stephen Fox, a “conversation piece,” by West, including the eighth Earl of Northampton, his lady, and two children. There is also a portrait of Spenser, second earl (in armour), who, as we have seen, devoted himself so bravely to the royal cause in the civil wars, and was killed at Hopton Heath: at an advanced age he raised a regiment of foot and a troop of horse at his own expense. Other portraits at Castle Ashby are, a curious and finely-painted head of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who was killed by Felton. In the Long Gallery are portraits of John Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury, and his countess, painted on panel; these are valuable as examples of the art of the time of Henry VI. This Talbot was one of the most renowned heroes of his time, having gained no less than forty battles and skirmishes. At his death he was above eighty years of age. Walpole ranks these pictures among the most ancient specimens of English painting.

[12] “Kirby Hall is situated in Corby Hundred, about nine miles north-west of Oundle, partly in the Parish of Bulwick, and partly in that of Gretton--the Church of which contains several monuments to members of the family of Hatton.”

[13] The family of Hatton is stated to be descended from Ivon, a noble of Norway, whose sixth son, Wolfaith, obtained the Manor of Hatton, in Cheshire. Sir Christopher Hatton is said to have danced himself into Court favour; mightily pleasing the fancy of “the virgin Queen” by the graces of his person; and consequently rising with great rapidity through the several offices of Captain of the Guard, Vice Chamberlain, Privy Councillor, &c., until, in 1587, he obtained possession of the seals as Lord Chancellor. He died not long afterwards--and, it is believed, of a broken heart, in consequence of a demand, on the part of his fickle and heartless mistress, for the payment of an old debt, which he was unable to discharge. He was a liberal patron of learning,--one of the worthies of the Elizabethan age; “so great, that his sentence was a law to the subject; and so wise, that his opinion was an oracle to the Queen.”

[14] The name has been said to be compounded of _Bent_, an old English word for brow of a hill, and the Celtic _al_, or _hal_ (Lat. _altus_), a termination commonly found in names of hills. The motto of Benthall, “Ten_de_ _Bene et alta_ pete,” seems to allude to this interpretation of the name; but as, in Domesday Book, the name is spelt “Benhale,” the first syllable may be derived from the Gaelic word _En_, or _An_--water, the letter _B_ being only the prefix importing the article _the_. This suggestion receives some weight from the fact that the Benthall estate, and one of the same name in another part of Shropshire, are washed by a river--the Severn. The derivation of the second syllable is too plainly correct to be interfered with.

[15] Benthall MSS. Dugdale’s “Monasticon.”

[16] Polyd. Virg.

[17] Heralds’ “Visitations of Salop.”

[18] It is remarkable that a superior seigniory or lordship in this estate was retained by the Burnell family till so late a period as the close of the reign of Richard III., while the Benthalls, the subtenants, were lords of the manor, as appears by their descriptions in deeds and on the court-rolls.

So early as in the reign of Edward III., lords of manors began to neglect the military services, on condition of which they held their lands under the tenant _in capite_ (in most instances a powerful baron), who, on his part, owed and neglected services to the king, the supreme owner of the lands. The rights of the superior or intermediate lords becoming disused, the lords of manors gradually acquired the tenure which, in the present day, supposes only a superior right in the sovereign; yet it was not till Henry VII. had grasped the sceptre that the feudal system of military service was totally suppressed.

In effecting national improvement, that sagacious monarch acted on the just conviction that his own paid army was better to be relied on than the retainers of his nobles: he wisely conceived that, having already dethroned their sovereign, they might be little scrupulous of removing his successor, whose personal pretensions to the throne, though strengthened by his marriage, were by no means universally admitted.

[19] Buried in the family vault, near the altar of Benthall Chapel.

[20] This gentleman and his wife, Ann, daughter of Piers Cariswall, Esq. of Lilleshall, were interred in St. Clement’s Chapel, in the south aisle of the parish church of Much Wenlock. There is a small estate in the parish belonging to their descendants, the Benthalls of Buckfast, in Devonshire.

[21] Rot. Hund.

[22] At that time the head of the family of Cassey of Wightfield, Cassey Compton, and Kilcot, in the county of Gloucester.

These manors descended to John Cassey, Chief Baron of the Exchequer in the reign of Henry IV., and from him to Thomas, the subject of this note, who died while on a visit to his son-in-law at Benthall, A.D. 1634, and was buried in Wenlock Church.

[23] Hulbert’s “History of Shropshire.”

[24] This tower was erected by one of the family of the Phelips. The ascent to it is so gradual, that he is said, upon one occasion, to have visited the summit in his coach and four. The road winds round the hill.

[25] The family suffered considerably, in consequence of their devotion to the royal cause during the unhappy reign of Charles the First; and, afterwards, their loyalty being unchilled by their losses, Colonel Richard Phelips united with Colonel Wyndham in secreting, and subsequently conveying out of the kingdom, the Second Charles.

[26] “Skimmitting, or, as it is called in the north of England, stang-riding, is still kept up in many parts of the kingdom, for the purpose of exposing to shame and ridicule, the man who has been guilty of cruelty or infidelity towards his wife.” In the basso-relievo at Montacute, the wife, accompanied by a crowd of villagers, is represented bestowing a few sound blows with her shoe upon her faithless partner, and “the artist has with happy effect introduced a church in the back-ground, to intimate that certain vows and promises which had been there solemnly pledged ought to have been kept in remembrance.”

[27] “It would appear from the introduction of the elegant screens or door-cases in the principal living rooms, that the cold draughts of air, caused by the long passages, the extent of the rooms, and the great size of the windows, must have been felt even in the time of Elizabeth; these screens could have been made only for warmth and comfort. They are beautifully painted, and their effect is very quaint and pleasing.”--C. J. RICHARDSON.

[28] On a mural monument in the chancel of Caverswall Church, adjoining that of his father, which we have engraved, is the following singular inscription to his memory:--

“M.S.

“George Cradock, Esq., (for his great prvdence in yᵉ common lawes
well worthy to be beav-Clarke of yᵉ assizes for this Circvit), did
take to wife yᵉ most amiable, most loving Dorothy, yᵉ davghter of
John Savnders, Doctor of Physicke, by whom he had a Pair-royall of
incomparable davghters, to wit, Dorothy, Elizabeth, and Mary.

“It is easie to gvess that he lived in a splendid degree, if I
shall bvt recovnt vnto you that

Sʳ. Thomas Slingsby, Baronet, } { Dorothy } yᵉ Right Honᵇˡᵉ Robt. Lord Cholmondely } Maried { Elizabeth } Coheir. Sʳ. John Bridgeman, Baronet, } { Mary }

“But! but! to our grief, George Cradock is assavlted by death in
yᵉ meridjan of his age, not far off from his Castle of Caverswal
(lately bvilt, even to beavty, by Mathew Cradock, Esq., his father,
who lies inter’d near this place).

“And dying of yᵉ small pox yᵉ 16th of April, 1643, he tooke
himselfe to yᵉ private masion of this tombe, erected for him at yᵉ
cost of Dorothy, his obseqviovs wife, where he now rests (vnder the
protection of an Essoine) vntil he shall be svmmon’d to appeare at
yᵉ last great and general Assizes.”

The Sir Thomas Slingsby, of Scriven, Bart., who married Dorothy, the eldest of this “pair-royal,” was beheaded by Oliver Cromwell.

[29] William Chetwynd, who was Gentleman Usher of the Chamber to Henry the Seventh, in the ninth year of that king’s reign was barbarously and treacherously assassinated on Tixal Heath, near Ingestre, by Sir Humphrey Stanley, of Pipe, from motives of jealousy, having inveigled him from his house by a counterfeit letter. Pennant says:--“It does not appear that justice overtook the assassin, although his widow perseveringly evoked it.”

[30] The fertility and other natural advantages of “the vale,” and, we may believe, its picturesque beauties also, in remote times, determined the ancient nobility of Staffordshire to make it their chosen seat. This, and a lower portion of the river, are adorned with that graceful bird the swan. Ingestre, and the neighbouring royalties, have had “games of swans” immemorially. Amongst the distinguishing marks on the beaks of the birds used in 1785 in the several royalties adjoining the Trent, enumerated by Dr. S. Shaw, we find that of “Earl Talbot, Ingestre; two notches on the right side.”

[31] Walter Chetwynd, Esq., of Ingestre, the celebrated antiquary, was the son of Walter Chetwynd, Esq., and married Ann, daughter of Sir Edward Bagot, Bart., August, 1658. He introduced the learned Dr. Plot, from Oxford, into Staffordshire, to write its Natural History. Dr. Plot exhibits in his work (1686) a Plan of Ingestre Hall, and gives an account of the rebuilding of Ingestre church by his patron.

The first person who undertook to write upon the history and antiquities of Staffordshire was Sampson Erdeswick, Esq., of Sandon, near Ingestre, venerandæ antiquitatis cultor maximus, as Camden describes him; _i. e._ an eminent encourager of venerable antiquity. He died in 1603, and was buried under a handsome monument, having his effigy, “cut to life,” erected by himself in his lifetime, in Sandon church. His MS. papers fell into the hands of Walter Chetwynd. This latter gentleman obtained in addition the collections of Mr. Ferrers, of Baddesley, and of William Burton, the Leicestershire historian, and brother of the Anatomist of Melancholy. To these he added very large collections of his own. All these MSS., upon the repairing of Ingestre Hall, were put in a box, for safety, by the Rev. James Milnes, rector, and were unfortunately lost. They were, however, subsequently found at Rudge; but continued in obscurity, till rediscovered at Ingestre, when they were placed in the hands of Dr. Stebbing Shaw, the learned and indefatigable historian of the county, whose premature decease unhappily interrupted his elaborate work. There is a good portrait of Walter Chetwynd, Esq., the antiquary, by Lely, at Ingestre Hall.

[32] One member of the Talbot family, Charles Talbot (son of the Lord Chancellor), who died in 1733, made the tour of Europe with Thomson, the author of the “Seasons,” to whom Lord Talbot was a liberal patron and kind benefactor.--His poem on “Liberty,” which was conceived during their travels, opens with an affectionate tribute of sorrow to the memory of his friend.

“O my lamented Talbot! while with thee,
The Muse gay roved the glad Hesperian round,
And drew th’ inspiring breath of ancient arts;
Ah! little thought she, her returning verse
Should sing our darling subject to thy shade!
And does the mystic veil from mortal beam
Involve those eyes, where every virtue smiled,
And all the father’s candid spirit shone?
The light of reason, pure without a cloud;
Full of the generous heart, the mild regard;
Honour disdaining blemish, cordial faith,
And limpid truth that looks the very soul.”

Thomson also composed a poem “To the memory of Lord Talbot,” which is equally creditable to the Chancellor and the Poet, and reflects great honour on Lord Talbot’s family, to whom it is addressed.

[33] The village of West Bromwich is remarkable as the birthplace of Walter Parsons, porter to King James I., who appears to have been equally distinguished for extraordinary strength and equanimity of temper. His stature was but little above the common size; yet such was the prodigious power of his arm, that he could easily “take up two of the tallest yeomen of the guard and carry them where he pleased, in spite of their attempts to free themselves from his iron grasp.”

[34] Over the entrance of the Porch leading to the Great Hall from the Court Yard, is a shield cut in stone, with these seven quarterings:--

1. Tollemache, Argent, a Frett Sable.
2. Joyce Argent on a Chevron Gules, 3 escallops, Or.
3. Joyce Or, a Lion rampant, Azure armed Gules.
4. ---- Gules, a Fesse between 3 buckles, Or.
5. Visdeliea Argent, 3 Wolves’ heads, couped Gules.
6. Curzon Ermine a bend checky, Argent and Sable.
7. Peche Argent, a Fesse between 2 Chevrons Gules.

[35] During the lifetime of this Earl, old English hospitality was kept up in a most primitive style, whenever he was residing at the Hall. The tenants and tradesmen employed by his Lordship were allowed to visit the Hall whenever they pleased, and many yet living remember with grateful pleasure the entertainment afforded them there.

[36] The exception should, however, be made in favour of General Thomas Tollemache. In the Church, there is a sarcophagus of white marble, in which stands, upon a pedestal, a bust, and behind it an obelisk of reddish marble, surrounded by military trophies. On the face of the sarcophagus is this inscription:--“Thomas Tollemache, Lieutenant-General (descended of a family more ancient than the Norman Conquest,) second son of Sir Lionel Tollemache, Bart., by his wife, Elizabeth Murray, Countess of Dysart in her own right. His natural abilities and first education were improved by his travels in foreign nations, where he spent several years in the younger part of his life, in the observation of their genius, customs, politics, and interest; and in the service of his country, abroad in the field, in which he distinguished himself to such advantage by his bravery and conduct, that he soon rose to considerable posts in the Army. Upon the accession of King William III. to the Throne, he was made Colonel of the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, and soon after advanced to the rank of Lieutenant-General. In 1691, he exerted himself with uncommon bravery in the passage over the river Shannon, and the taking of Athlone, in Ireland, and in the battle of Aghrim. In 1693, he attended the King to Flanders; and at the battle of Landen, against the French, when His Majesty himself was obliged to retire, he brought off the English Foot with great prudence and success. In 1694, he was ordered by the King to attempt the destroying of the harbour of Brest in France; but on his landing at the head of six hundred men, he was so much exposed to the enemy’s fire, that most of his men were killed, and himself shot through the thigh, of which wound he died a few days after. Thus fell this brave man, extremely lamented, and not without suspicion of being made a sacrifice, in this desperate attempt, through envy of some of his pretended friends; and thus failed a design, which, if it had been undertaken at any time before the French were so well prepared to receive it, might have been attended with success, and followed with very important effects.”

[37] These rhymes are curious and interesting, and possess sufficient merit to justify our devoting to them the space necessary.