Chapter VI: FOURTH DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND, from 1854 to 1865: complete (1)

restoration of the entire castle. The important works erected by Duke Algernon along the lines of the circumvallation, and to the south and the south-west of these lines, have already been described; in addition to these, the duke rebuilt the range of apartments extending from the Keep southwards to the Edwardian Gateway from the first to the second baly; and he built the noble Prudhoe Tower, with the chapel adjoining it, the Ante-Room, the Guard Chamber, the present Dining-Hall, and the completion of the Keep.

The governing idea of this restoration was _really to restore_, in all their leading and most characteristic features, the mediæval arrangements and aspect of Alnwick Castle so far as its exterior was concerned; while, at the same time, the whole of the interior of the restored edifice was to be planned, fitted, and adorned, in the most sumptuous style, after the manner of a cinquecento Roman palace, and with all the luxurious splendour and the various skilful contrivances required and suggested by the taste and the usages of the present day. The only important deviation from the former part of the duke’s plan, was the removal of the Edwardian Towers, and the adjoining curtain-wall between the Abbot’s Tower and the Postern Tower, in order to open the view from the windows of the new Prudhoe Tower towards the north: but the Italian portion of the scheme was accomplished in its integrity. The whole of the architectural restoration and rebuilding was carried out with the most perfect success, under the direction of Mr. Salvin, an architect eminently distinguished for his practical knowledge of the Early Gothic of England in its military aspect, as also for both the conscientious fidelity of his restorations and the judicious consistency of his original designs. We can easily understand with what satisfaction Mr. Salvin must have removed the Strawberry Hill pseudo-Gothic of the first duke, as well as the far higher gratification which must have attended the progressive realisation of his own truly admirable compositions.

The project for causing the thoroughly English mediæval military-Gothic casket of Mr. Salvin to enclose contents that should be in every respect the very reverse of what is either English or mediæval or military or Gothic, was discussed and finally adopted at a congress held in the castle under the presidency of Algernon, Duke of Northumberland, and attended by the English professors of classic architecture, Cockerell and Donaldson; the Roman antiquary, the Commendatore Canina; and the Italian architect, Signor Montiroli. It is to be regretted that such masters of Gothic Art as Scott, Waterhouse, Street, and Burges had not also been present, who might have saved the Border Castle of the Percies from the magnificent anomaly of being externally English and internally Roman. The execution of the whole of the interior can be described only in terms of the highest commendation; and it is especially satisfactory to know that the profusion of carved work in an Italian style which was required for the various purposes of decoration, and which has been pronounced to be “a marvel of delicacy and finish,” was produced under the direction of Signor Bulletti of Florence, by a staff of English and Scottish carvers, who worked for several years in a studio established for that particular purpose in the castle. There also was a second studio, in which the more important of the decorations in plaster were modelled and cast. It is scarcely necessary to add that in all the minor details of furnishing, the grand original plan has been fully and faithfully carried into effect. While we cordially recognise as well the enlarged views and the princely munificence of the duke himself, as the skill, the taste, and the ability of every individual who took part in his great work of restoration, it is impossible not to regret that so glorious an opportunity for vindicating the versatile and comprehensive powers of true Gothic art should have been permitted to pass away. There can be no question as to the capacity of the same great style to have rendered the interior of Alnwick Castle a type of splendid, and yet agreeable, magnificence, which on the exterior has displayed its structural resources in a manner at once so noble and so consistent. But, as this was not to be, we rejoice in knowing that what has been done within the Percy walls has been done so well; and our gratification is the more sincere and the more hearty, because at every point the Percy walls themselves, true to their grand traditions, wear such an aspect as Hotspur might have recognised with an approving smile, and the old Earls of Northumberland would have been proud to accept as becoming their northern home.[23]

And here we resume our survey of the castle, setting forth towards the Keep from within the Gate-House, which is itself situated within the Barbican. We proceed eastwards to the gateway (No. 2 in plan), which admits us to the second or inner baly. From this we approach the entrance to the Keep, and pass between the Edwardian flanking towers with their octagonal fronts (No. 3 in the plan): thus we reach the grand old Norman arch, De Vesci’s work, massive and deeply recessed, rich with zig-zags and bands of sharp indentations, which forms the main entrance to the innermost court or ward of the Keep itself. Immediately adjoining the Norman archway is the draw-well constructed by the first Percy. Now we have before us the new Corridor, carried round a part of the court on piers and corbels. We pass the inner porches, and the entrance-halls, and reach the Grand Staircase (No. 5 in plan), worthily so called, and we find that we have entered such a palace as might overlook, not the Aln, but the Tiber. At the head of the noble flight of steps, each one of them a single block of white Rothbury stone, twelve feet in length, is the Guard-Chamber, with its floor of rich Venetian mosaic, its panelled ceiling, and the deep frieze reflecting the memories of Chevy Chase. Corridors lead to both the right hand and the left from the Guard-Room; and it also gives access to a gorgeous Ante-Room, placed between the great Library, 54 feet long, which occupies the entire range of the Prudhoe Tower, and follows its contour; and the Saloon, another magnificent apartment, in length 42 feet with a bay formed by a circular tower. Next succeeds the State Drawing-Room, of irregular form, its largest measurements being 46 by 34 feet. Then we enter the grand Dining-Hall, 60 feet long, and in both width and height 24 feet, which covers the site of the old baronial hall of the early Percies. The Breakfast-Room adjoins this most princely hall, and, passing it, the Corridor leads us in succession to the State Bed-Rooms and Dressing-Rooms, and to the private apartments of the duke and duchess, together with other staircases. Thus, on the principal floor there are two staircases besides the grand staircase, and eighteen chambers, exclusive of the chapel. The Chapel (No. 12 in plan), of which we give a view from the outer baly, is a building of great beauty and interest, having a stone-vaulted ceiling within a roof of a high pitch, a semi-octagonal apsidal end towards the south-west, and lancet windows: its total length is 46 feet, and in the interior it is enriched with Italian mosaic, after the manner of the Henry III. work in the Confessor’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey. We must be content, in a single brief sentence (the space at our disposal restricts us absolutely to one such sentence), to state concerning every apartment in the grand range of the entire circuit of the Keep, and also in the southern wing, which extends to the Percy gateway, that the most gorgeous Art of the Italian _Renaissance_, with all its manifold resources, has been taxed to the utmost in order to produce a palace of the highest rank, pervaded throughout with harmonious, yet ever-varied, magnificence.

On the ground-floor, which is on the same level with the entrance-hall, are the various apartments, consistently grouped and classified, required by the principal domestics of the household, together with the wine-cellars, pantries, and such other chambers and appliances as would be necessary to complete this department of the ducal establishment. Once more we return to the Prudhoe Tower, and ascend above its two upper floors of bed and dressing-rooms, to the Banner-turret, which rises to the height of two additional floors; and here, having gained the leads, standing beneath the proud insignia of the Percies, heavily blazoned upon their broad silken banner, we lean over the embattled parapet, and look down upon the Keep, and around upon the cordon of towers and walls, and the fair domains and the silvery river beyond, and so we bid farewell to the lordly castle of Alnwick.

Until the middle of the fifteenth century was near at hand the town of Alnwick remained unprotected by a wall, and open consequently to all perils incidental to its position on the Border. About the year 1433, however, the good town was fortified with walls, and the four entrances were defended each by its own strong tower-guarded gateway. One only of these early gateways still remains in a fair condition of preservation; this, the Bond Gate, sometimes (but without any other reason than a lingering delight to associate any fine old relic at Alnwick with that name) is called “Hotspur’s Gate.” It bears a badge of the second Percy lord of Alnwick, and in all probability was erected by him; its outer face is represented in the engraving.

The other gateways have disappeared;[24] and from the time that border-strife passed into the domain of history, the walls of Alnwick gradually ceased to exist, until now traces only of their former existence, and of these “few and far between,” remain to attest the record of their having ever existed. Devoutly it is to be hoped that the one relic of the town of the olden time, the Bond Gate, will be cherished, simply because it is such a relic—because it links the town to the castle, and the castle to the town, with the strong tie of historical association. Again space, or rather the want of it, constrains us to leave unnoticed the fine church of St. Michael, the church of St. Paul, founded and erected by Duke Hugh, and the other public buildings in Alnwick; and, with them, the privileges, usages, and the entire local history of the town.[25]

Of the remains of the early edifices, both ecclesiastical and castellated, which are closely associated with Alnwick Castle, all of them of great interest, and all of them also no less worthy of detailed description than of careful examination, we must be content briefly to notice two—Alnwick Abbey, and Hulne, or Holn, Priory.

Built to the north of the Aln, at an easy distance from the castle, upon a rich soil and in a scene of sequestered beauty, Alnwick Abbey, founded in 1147 by Eustace de Vesci for Premonstratensian Canons, was richly endowed by the founder and also by his successor. The Percies, in like manner, were in every respect as munificent as the earlier benefactors of the abbey, so that it long occupied an honourable position among the religious establishments of the country. The canons of Alnwick, however, did not rise to distinction in consequence of any eminent attainments; but, on the other hand, while in earlier times they were somewhat notorious for a turbulent spirit, the report on their abbey made to Henry VIII. contains a truly deplorable record of the degrading superstitions by means of which, in common with but too many of their brethren, the monks imposed on the people, and sometimes even succeeded in deceiving themselves. Of the buildings of the abbey, which, without doubt, were worthy to take rank with those of the castle, the sole relic that is still in existence is a turreted and embattled gateway, a structure not earlier than the middle of the fifteenth century. The eastern face of this gateway displays the quartered arms of Percy and Lucy; on the other faces are the insignia of De Vesci. The other buildings have altogether disappeared, except here and there some sculptured stones which have found their way into the walls of houses constructed by modern masons. The site of the abbey, with the Northumberland estates once annexed to it, after various vicissitudes, has become the property of the Dukes of Northumberland.

Distant from Alnwick Abbey about two miles along the northern bank of the Aln, and like the abbey placed in the midst of the most lovely scenery, the Priory of HULNE, or HOLN, has so far been more fortunate than its more dignified neighbour, that it yet possesses considerable remains of its original buildings in a condition of picturesque ruin. A lofty wall still encircles the entire area of the priory—a feature sufficiently significant of the lawless character of early Border-life, and of the stern necessity which constrained even a religious community to rely for security upon the strength of its fortifications. In our engraving we show the present aspect of the tower, built, as will be seen, with massive solidity, by Henry de Percy, fourth Earl of Northumberland, in the year 1488; and in another engraving, we give a general view of the ruins of the church, as they are seen from the north-east. It is pleasant to be able to add that the remains of Hulne Priory are carefully preserved and freely shown. The brethren, who for more than three centuries found a secure dwelling-place surrounded with the most beautiful scenery, were Carmelite or White Friars; and a romantic story (of which several versions are in existence) is told concerning their order in connection with the foundation of this priory. The site of the priory was given by the second William de Vesci about 1240; but the chief endowment came, between 1252 and 1289, from John de Vesci; the house itself, however, appears to have been erected by Ralph Fulborne, a wealthy landholder of Northumberland, who lived in the stirring times when the lords of broad and fertile acres went armed to fight in the Holy Land against the infidels.[26] In after times the Percies confirmed the grants of the earlier benefactors of Hulne, and made to them some slight additions. The Carmelites of Hulne were men who, according to the light of their times, cultivated learning; this is shown by the still existing catalogue of the numerous manuscripts that once formed their library. There has also been preserved another equally curious and interesting document, formerly the property of these Carmelite brethren; it is an inventory of their vestments and of the fittings of their church, which must have been very costly as well as numerous and splendid. Inventories and catalogues such as these possess a peculiar value, as illustrations of the intellectual pursuits and character of the monastic age, and also in consequence of the light they throw upon the sentiments and usages that then were prevalent in our country.

Descending from the secluded hill-side where the ruins of Hulne Priory nestle amidst the thick woods, and crossing both the vale below, and the river beyond it, a roadway leads to the beautiful pleasure-grounds of Hulne Park. Here on one of the highest of the many elevated points, and rising above the surrounding trees, is the Tower on the Hill, or Brislee Tower, erected by the first duke in 1781. This structure is a characteristic specimen of the _Gothesque_ architecture, of which so much was happily removed during the recent restorations, from Alnwick Castle. From the upper balcony of this tower, at a height of about 70 feet from the ground, the view is singularly fine, and in its extent truly extraordinary. At different points of the compass, and at varying distances, this panoramic view comprehends the vale of Whittingham and the windings of the Aln; the range of the Cheviots, with a glimpse of the hills of Teviotdale forty miles away; the memorable high land of Flodden may also be distinguished; and, towards the sea, are the castles of Warkworth, Bambro’, and Dunstanburgh; and beyond them, in a fringe-like line, lies the sea itself.

It is needless to say that the hospitality for which the lords of Alnwick have been renowned since the first stone of the castle was laid is still maintained within its princely walls; its list of “visitors” during many centuries past has contained the names of those who were not only the loftiest in rank but the most eminent in Art, Science, and Letters.

Its park and grounds are among the most perfect in the kingdom;[27] successive lords have laboured to make them beautiful, and Nature had given auspicious ground on which to work—hill and dell alternate; a lovely and rapid, though narrow, river runs through them; on either side are green banks, in many places overhung by the rich foliage of varied trees; here and there views are obtained of the distant hills—the Cheviots—with their thousand traditions of times happily gone by, but which excite interest by their associations with heroic deeds—and not unfrequently their “opposites”—of which every spot is fertile on the border that separates Scotland from England.

Happily, there is now no sensation of jealousy or envy, nothing that can either humiliate or exasperate, when the Scottishman boasts of triumphs over his southern neighbours; nor when he admits that, often, before the bold men of Northumberland he shrunk back in mortal dread. The glories of the one have long ceased to be the degradations of the other; and the spirit of rivalry is only that which has for its aim and object the supremacy of the country of both. Will the happy time ever arrive when the three kingdoms shall be as essentially one as the two have been for centuries past?

HARDWICK HALL.

HARDWICK HALL may take rank among the more stately of the “homes of England.” Stately in its outer aspect, stately in its antique furniture and its interior fittings and appointments, and truly stately in its associations, it is one of the most historically interesting, and one of the most singular and picturesque, of the many “homes” whose countless stores of natural beauties and acquired treasures are, through the kindness and liberality of their owners, made accessible alike to peer and peasant; while it is one of the fullest in its historical associations, and in its power of carrying the mind of the visitor back through a long vista of years to those stirring times when “Good Queen Bess,” the strong-minded and strong-headed “master” of its noble owner, sate on the throne of England. Hardwick and its surroundings belong essentially to those times, and to the people who moved prominently in them: the very furniture we see to-day pertains to that eventful era—for not only is the building itself of the period to which we refer, but so are even the “fittings;” the beds—for here is the very bed used by Mary, Queen of Scots, and covered with needlework, the work of her own fair hands; the tables around and at which sate “Bess of Hardwick” with her historic family and brilliant friends; the tapestry is that which then hung around them, and on which the eyes of royalty and nobility have rested and “feasted with admiration;” the screens, the chairs, the couches,—nay, almost all the objects that meet the eye are of those stirring times, and have about them an historic air which seems irresistibly to subdue the mind and to expand the thoughts of the visitor.

Even a _glance_ at the graces and beauties of Derbyshire would demand far greater space than we can accord to them: for it is the shire of all the English shires in which natural beauties are most happily combined with cultivated graces; hill and dale alternate at every mile; rich valleys, through which run fertilising rivers, shut in by mountain rocks, tree-clad from base to summit; singular peaks, that seem as if not formed by Nature, but the work of giant hands; delicious dells, where rivulets sing perpetually, and myriad birds rejoice in spring or summer. Other counties may be more sublimely grand, and others more abundantly fertile, but there is none so truly rich in the picturesque; whether of distant views or of by-paths up hill-sides, or through lanes clothed in perpetual verdure.

And then its history, a page of which may be read at every turn—the Celt, the Roman, the Saxon, the Dane, the Norman, all the “peoples and nations” that have made Britain their home, have left in this shire enduring evidence of possession and progress; and many of its customs remain unchanged, not only since the beacons were lit on Blakelow or on Bruncliffe, but since the Baal fires were burning on Axe-Edge or Chelmorton.

Proofs of a milder occupancy, too, are to be found in abundance. Nowhere are peaceful “Halls” more numerous—remains of prosperous epochs: Haddon, of an early date; Wingfield and Hardwick, of a later period; Chatsworth, of a time comparatively recent; and Kedleston, of an age scarce removed from living memory,—are but a few of the many that glorify this beautiful shire. No wonder, therefore, that it is the county of all others to which the tourist is most frequently attracted.

Surrounded on all sides by charming scenery, and the richest and most abundant land, Hardwick stands in all its majesty and grace, and forms—both in the distance, when a first glimpse of its bold outline is gained from Brackenfield or other heights, or when viewed from nearer points—a striking feature in the landscape. When approached from one of the great centres for Derbyshire tourists, Matlock, the drive is of peculiar interest, and may be, with profit to the future visitor, briefly described. Leaving Matlock by way of Matlock Bridge, the road passes through what is called Matlock Town, whose picturesque church is seen overtopping the rocks to the right, where the graceful bend of the river Derwent adds its beauties to the scene; thence passing along the roadway, Riber—an immense and very steep hill—rises to the right, and will be noticed as surmounted by the massive modern erection of Riber Castle, the residence of Mr. Smedley, the hydropathist.

The road continues by Tansley, with its church, its mills, and its pretty dales; Tansley, or Dethick, Moor, a wild unreclaimed tract of moorland, purple with heather and untrammelled with fences; Washington, with its village-green, its stocks, and its duck-ponds; Higham, a picturesque village with an ancient cross; Shirland, with its fine monuments, some of which are of remarkable character and full of interest; Morton, with its pretty church and charming cottages; for a short distance the coal district, with their pits and shafts and ever-creaking engines; Pilsley and its pleasant lanes; Hardstoft and Deeplane, to the lower entrance to the Park: through these and other places of deep and varied interest we go, until we reach the Hardwick Inn—a pretty house of entertainment close to the entrance to the Park, from which a winding ascent of less than a mile leads to the Hall. By this route some curious transitions from the lead-mining district to that of coal, and from the limestone to the sandstone, with their varied scenery and their diversified aspects, will be noticed; and Derbyshire, rich both in minerals beneath the surface and in arable, meadow, and pasture land on its face, as well as in rock, and tree, and wood, and hill, will be seen to great advantage. From Chesterfield, too, the road is beautiful; and the visitor may make a delightful “day’s round” by driving direct to Hardwick by way of Temple Normanton; Heath, with its truly picturesque and interesting church and parsonage; Ault Hucknall, in the church of which are many monuments of the Cavendish family, and where lies buried that sometime “world’s wonder,” “Hobbes of Malmesbury;” thence through the lodge-gates and down the fine old deer-park to the Hall, and then returning by way of Bolsover Castle, a magnificent old building, the former residence of the Cavendishes, Earls and Dukes of Newcastle, and rendered famous in the Duke of Newcastle’s work on horsemanship, 1658, and now for many years the residence of Mrs. Hamilton Gray, the authoress of “Etruria.” But from whatever side Hardwick is approached, the land is full of beauty, and rich in the picturesque.

Hardwick Hall is one of the many princely seats—Chatsworth, Bolton Abbey, Lismore Castle, Holker Hall, Compton Place, Eastbourne, and Devonshire House, London, being among the others—of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, in which resides the duke’s eldest son and heir, the Marquis of Hartington, M.P., at this time Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Ireland. It is distant from London about 140 miles, from Derby 20 miles, from Chesterfield 9, and from Matlock 15 miles, and these are perhaps the more general routes by which visitors will proceed. Whatever road is taken, they will find natural beauties in abundance greeting the eye at every mile of a delicious journey.

Before we describe the venerable Hall, we give a brief history of the noble family to which it now belongs, reserving that of its predecessors for a later page.

The family of Cavendish, of which his Grace the present Duke of Devonshire, K.G., Lord Lieutenant of the county of Derby, is the representative, traces back to the Conquest, when Robert de Gernon came over with the Conqueror, and so distinguished himself in arms that he was rewarded with considerable grants of land in Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, &c. His descendants held considerable land in Derbyshire; and Sir William Gernon, who was one of the witnesses to a confirmation charter of Henry III. to Basingdale Priory, obtained a grant of a fair at Bakewell, in that county. He had two sons, Sir Ralph de Gernon, lord of Bakewell, and Geoffrey de Gernon, of Moor Hall, near Bakewell. From the second of these, Geoffrey de Gernon, the Cavendishes are descended. His son, Roger de Gernon (who died 1334), married the heiress of John Potton, or Potkins, Lord of the Manor of Cavendish, in Suffolk, and by her had issue, four sons, who all assumed the name of Cavendish from their mother’s manor. These were Sir John Cavendish, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, in the time of Edward III., Chancellor of Cambridge, 4th of Richard II.; he was beheaded by the insurgents of Suffolk in that reign; Roger Cavendish, from whom descended the celebrated navigator, Sir Thomas Cavendish; Stephen Cavendish, Lord Mayor, member of Parliament, and Sheriff of London; and Richard Cavendish. Sir John married Alice, daughter of Sir John Odyngseles, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, who brought to her husband the manor of Cavendish Overhall, and by her, who died before him, had issue, two sons, Andrew and John, and a daughter, Alice, married to William Nell. Sir Andrew Cavendish, the eldest son, was Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk. By his wife, Rose, he left issue, one son, William, from whom the estates passed to his cousin. Sir Andrew was succeeded by his brother, Sir John Cavendish, Esquire of the Body to Richard II. and Henry V., who, for his gallant conduct in killing the rebel, Wat Tyler, in his conflict with Sir William Walworth, was knighted by Richard II. in Smithfield, and an annuity of £40 per annum granted to him and his sons for ever. He was also made broiderer of the wardrobe to the king. He married Joan, daughter of Sir William Clopton, of Clopton, in Suffolk; and by her had issue, three sons, William, his successor; Robert, Serjeant-at-Law; and Walter. William Cavendish, who was a citizen and mercer of London, and of Cavendish Overhall, married Joan Staventon, by whom he had two sons, Thomas and William. This Thomas Cavendish, who was of Cavendish and Pollingford, in Suffolk, married Katherine Scudamore, and left by her, as son and heir, Sir Thomas Cavendish, who, having studied the law, was employed by Thomas, Earl of Surrey, Treasurer of the King’s Exchequer. He was also Clerk of the Pipe in the Exchequer to Henry VIII.—the office of the Clerk of the Pipe being to make out leases of Crown lands, accounts of the sheriffs, &c. He married twice, and left, by his first wife, Alice, daughter and co-heir of John Smith, of Podbrooke Hall, besides other issue, three sons, George Cavendish, Sir William Cavendish, and Sir Thomas Cavendish.

George Cavendish, the eldest of these three sons, was of Glemsford, and Cavendish Overhall, and is said to have been the author of “Cavendish’s Life of Wolsey,” although the authorship of that work is also attributed to his brother Sir William Cavendish. He received a liberal education, and was endowed by his father with considerable landed property in Suffolk. His character and learning seem to have recommended him to the special notice of Cardinal Wolsey, who “took him to be about his own person, as gentleman usher of his chamber, and placed a special confidence in him.” George Cavendish was succeeded by his son William; the latter was succeeded by his son William, who passed away the manor of Cavendish Overhall to William Downes.

Sir Thomas Cavendish was one of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and died unmarried.

Sir William Cavendish, the second son of the first Sir Thomas, became the founder of several noble families. He was married three times: first to a daughter of Edward Bostock, of Whatcross in Cheshire; secondly, to a daughter of Sir Thomas Conyngsby, and widow of William Paris; and thirdly, to Elizabeth, daughter of John Hardwick, of Hardwick, and widow of Robert Barley, of Barley. He was “a man of learning and business,” and was much employed in important affairs by his sovereigns; filling the posts of Treasurer of the Chamber and Privy Councillor to Henry VIII., Edward VI., and Mary. At the suppression of the religious houses under Henry VIII., he was “appointed one of the Commissioners for visiting them, and afterwards was made one of the auditors of the Court of Augmentation,” which was instituted for the purpose of augmenting the revenues by the suppression of the monasteries; for his services he received three valuable manors in Hertfordshire which, later on, he exchanged for other lands, in Derbyshire and other counties. He was also knighted by Henry VIII. By his first wife he had issue, one son and two daughters who died young, and two other daughters, one of whom, Catherine, married Sir Thomas Brooke, son of Lord Cobham, and Anne, who married Sir Henry Baynton. By his second wife he had three daughters, who all died young, and she herself died in child-birth. By his third marriage, with “Bess of Hardwick,” he had a numerous family, viz.:—Henry Cavendish, of Tutbury, Member of Parliament for Derbyshire, who married Grace, daughter of George, Earl of Shrewsbury, but died without lawful issue; Sir William Cavendish, created Earl of Devonshire, of whom hereafter; Sir Charles Cavendish, of Bolsover Castle and of Welbeck Abbey (whose son, William Cavendish, by his first wife, was created Duke, Marquis, and Earl of Newcastle, Baron Ogle, Baron Cavendish, of Bolsover, Viscount Mansfield, K.G., Commander-in-Chief, &c., &c., and was the author of the splendid work on Horsemanship, &c., and whose life was charmingly written by his wife, Margaret Lucas, Maid of Honour to Queen Henrietta), ancestor of the Dukes of Newcastle, Portland, &c.; Frances, married to Sir Henry Pierrepoint, ancestor to the Dukes of Kingston; Elizabeth, married to Charles Stuart, Duke of Lennox (younger brother of Lord Darnley, the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, and father of King James I.), the issue of which marriage was the sadly unfortunate lady, Arabella Stuart; and Mary, married to Gilbert, Earl of Shrewsbury.

Sir William Cavendish was created Baron Cavendish, of Hardwick, and Earl of Devonshire, by King James I., “at which time of his creation, his majesty stood under a cloth of state in the hall at Greenwich, accompanied with the princes, his children, the Duke of Holstein, the Duke of Lennox, and the greatest part of the nobility, both of England and Scotland.” His lordship was one of the first adventurers who settled a colony and plantation in Virginia, and on the discovery of the Bermuda Islands, he and others had a grant of them from the king, one of the cantons being called after him. He married twice—his first wife being Anne, daughter of Henry Kighley, of Kighley, by whom he had issue, besides William, his successor, Gilbert, who died without issue; Frances, wife of Lord Maynard; and three others, who died in infancy: by his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward Boughton, and widow of Sir Richard Wortley, he had a son, Sir John Cavendish. His lordship’s successor was his second son, Sir William (who had been under the tuition of Thomas Hobbes, of whom more will be said on subsequent pages); he married Christian, only daughter of Edward, Lord Bruce, of Kinloss, a kinswoman of the king, “who gave her, with his own hand, and made her fortune ten thousand pounds.” By her he had three sons and one daughter, viz.:—William, his successor; Charles, who was Lieutenant-General of Horse to his cousin the Earl of Newcastle, and was slain at Gainsborough; Henry, who died young; and Anne, wife of Lord Rich, eldest son of the Earl of Warwick.

William Cavendish, third Earl of Devonshire, was only ten years of age when his father died, and he was placed, as we have just said, under the care of Hobbes, who travelled and remained with him, and was, for the rest of his life, supported by the earl’s family. The earl married Elizabeth Cecil, daughter of the Earl of Salisbury, by whom he had two sons, William (who succeeded him), Charles, and one daughter. William, fourth Earl of Devonshire, before succeeding to the title, sat in the Long Parliament for Derbyshire, and, as a youth, he was one of the train-bearers to the king at his coronation. He was among the principal persons who brought about the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688, and the placing of William III. on the throne. He married Mary, daughter of the Duke of Ormonde, and had issue by her, William, his successor; Henry, James, and Elizabeth. His lordship was the rebuilder of Chatsworth, and was by William III. advanced to the dignity of Marquis of Hartington and Duke of Devonshire. He was succeeded in his titles and estates by his son. His Grace died in 1707, and his funeral sermon, preached by White Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough, has been many times printed, and is attached to the memoirs of the family of Cavendish by that prelate.

William Cavendish, second Duke and fifth Earl of Devonshire, was Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard, and succeeded to all his father’s appointments, among which were Lord Steward of the Household, Privy Councillor, Lord Warden and Chief Justice in Eyre of all places north of the Trent, Lord-Lieutenant, K.G.; he was also constituted one of the regents of the kingdom. He married Rachel, daughter of William Lord Russell, and by her had issue, with several others, his successor, William, who became third Duke of Devonshire, and married Catherine, heiress of John Hoskins, by whom he had a numerous family. His Grace held many important posts in the State; among which were those of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal, Lord Steward of the Household, and Lord Justiceship for the administration of Government during his Majesty’s absence. He was succeeded by his son—

William, fourth Duke of Devonshire, who was, during his father’s lifetime, called to the Upper House by his title, hitherto of courtesy, of Marquis of Hartington. He was appointed Master of the Horse and a Privy Councillor. In 1754 he was one of the Lords of the Regency, and Governor of the County of Cork; in the following year he was Lord High Treasurer of Ireland; and in 1756 was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and First Commissioner of the Treasury. In 1757 he was Chamberlain of the Household to the king, and held, besides, many other offices. His Grace married Charlotte, daughter, and ultimately heiress, of Richard Boyle, Earl of Burlington and Cork, by which union—the lady being Baroness Clifford in her own right—the Barony of Clifford came into the Cavendish family. By this issue he had three sons and one daughter, viz.:—William, who succeeded him; Richard, who died unmarried; George Augustus Henry, created Earl of Burlington, from whom the present noble representative of the House of Cavendish, the seventh Duke of Devonshire, is descended; and Dorothy, married to the Duke of Portland.

William, fifth Duke of Devonshire, the eldest son of the last named peer, was married twice: first, to the Lady Georgiana, daughter of Earl Spencer, one of the most accomplished and elegant women of the time, and who is perhaps better known as “The Beautiful Duchess” than by any other name; and, secondly, to Lady Elizabeth Foster, daughter of the Earl of Bristol, and widow of John Thomas Foster, Esq. By the “Beautiful Duchess” his grace had issue, one son, William Spencer Cavendish, who succeeded him, and two daughters: Georgiana, married to the Earl of Carlisle; and Harriet Elizabeth, married to Earl Granville. On his death, in 1811, the title and estates passed to his only son—

William Spencer Cavendish, sixth Duke and ninth Earl of Devonshire, one of the most liberal-minded of men and one of the most genuine patrons of Art and Literature. His Grace, whose career earned for him the proud title of “The good Duke”—a title which, with all his others, has descended to his successor—was born in Paris in 1790, and besides holding office as Lord High Chamberlain, &c., went in a style of more than princely splendour on an embassy to Russia from the British Court, and so conducted that important mission as to gain exceeding distinction and general applause. His Grace, who never married, died in 1858, and was succeeded in his titles and estates—with the exception of the Barony of Clidord, which fell in abeyance between his sisters—by his second cousin, the present noble peer, who, as we have said, was grandson to the first Earl of Burlington, brother to the fifth duke.

The present peer, William Cavendish, Duke of Devonshire, Marquis of Hartington, Earl of Devonshire, Earl of Burlington, Baron Cavendish of Hardwick, Baron Cavendish of Keighley, &c., &c., K.G., LL.D., F.R.S., Lord Lieutenant and Custos Rotulorum of the County of Derby, Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Steward of the Borough of Derby, &c., &c., was born in 1808, and was educated at Eton, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated as M.A., and was Second Wrangler, Senior Smith’s Prizeman, and in the first class of the Classical Tripos, 1829. In the same year he became M.P. for the University of Cambridge, which he held until 1831, when he was returned for Malton, and afterwards for North Derbyshire, for which constituency he sat until he succeeded his father as Earl of Burlington, in 1834. In 1856 he was made Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, a post he held until 1858, when, on attaining to the Dukedom of Devonshire, he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. From 1836 to 1856 he was Chancellor of the University of London, and he has held, and still holds, several other important offices. In 1829 his Grace, then Mr. Cavendish, married his cousin, the Lady Blanche Georgiana Howard, fourth daughter of George, sixth Earl of Carlisle, by the Lady Georgiana Dorothy Cavendish, daughter of the fifth Duke of Devonshire. By this truly estimable lady, who died in 1840, his Grace had surviving issue, three sons and one daughter, viz.:—Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquis of Hartington; Lord Frederick Charles Cavendish, M.P. for the West Riding of Yorkshire, Private Secretary to the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, married to the Hon. Lucy Caroline, daughter of Baron Lyttelton; Lord Edward Cavendish, late M.P. for East Sussex, married to Emma, daughter of the late Hon. William Lascelles; and the Lady Louisa Cavendish, married to Rear-Admiral the Hon. Francis Egerton, M.P. for East Derbyshire, brother to the late, and uncle to the present, Earl of Ellesmere.

The Marquis of Hartington, the heir to the titles and estates, was born in 1833, and was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated as B.A. in 1852, M.A. in 1854, and LL.D. in 1862. He is a Privy Councillor, and was Lord of the Admiralty in 1863, Undersecretary of State for War from 1863 to 1866; Secretary of State for War in 1866; and Postmaster-General from 1868 to 1871. He was attached to Lord Granville’s special mission to Russia in 1856, and has filled many important posts. His lordship, who is unmarried, is M.P. for Radnor, and is now Secretary of State for Ireland.

Lord George Henry Cavendish, brother to the Duke of Devonshire, is M.P. for North Derbyshire, which constituency he has represented since the year 1834. He married in 1835 the Lady Louisa, daughter of the Earl of Harewood. Lord Richard Cavendish, another brother of the duke, is unmarried.

His Grace is patron of thirty-nine livings, and in Derbyshire alone is Lord of the Manor of forty-six places.

The arms of the duke are—_Sable_, three harts’ heads, caboshed, _argent_, attired _or_. Crest, a serpent, noued, _proper_. Supporters, two bucks, _proper_, each wreathed round the neck with a chaplet of roses, alternately _argent_ and _azure_.

We now, for the present, leave the genealogical part of our story to turn to the attractions of the interior of the Hall. Of the exterior and interior of the old hall and their surroundings we shall speak later on.

Passing through the entrance gateway, shown in one of our illustrations, the visitor to Hardwick will see before him, across the quadrangular space laid out in magnificent flower-beds in the pure Elizabethan style—the most striking feature of which are two immense beds, one on either side the central pathway, formed in the shape of the letters E and S, the initials of Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury—in all its grandeur, the principal front of the Hall, which bears out to the full the truth of the common saying—

“Hardwick Hall,
More glass than wall.”

The house is in reality “all windows,” and has a peculiarity of appearance possessed by no other existing mansion. Passing under the colonnade, seen in the centre of the building in our illustration on page 122, the visitor arrives at the entrance door, and will, before entering, do well to glance at an inscription, now nearly defaced, on one of the pillars:—

“Hic locus est quem si verbis audacia detur
Haud meum magni dixisse palatia coeli,”

which may be thus freely rendered:—

“Could any adventurous muse these portals sing,
No more to Heaven’s gate her flight she’d wing.”

The GREAT HALL, which is first entered, is of considerable magnitude, and very lofty, taking in the whole height of two stories of the noble building. Its lower part is wainscoted; its upper, hung with fine Gobelins tapestry. Along one side stands an enormous and massive oak table, and carved chairs and seats in abundance are ranged around the room. Over the entrance end a spacious gallery, supported on pillars, leads from the dining-room to the drawing-room, on the first floor; and at the opposite end is a charming piece of sculpture, a full-length statue of Mary, Queen of Scots, by Westmacott, with the inscription—

“Maria Scotorum Regina
Nata 1542
A suis in exilium acta 1568
Ab hospita neci data 1587.”

On the wall over this is a large and very curious cartoon full-length figure of Henry VIII. On the wainscot and in different parts of the hall are some fine antlers, a series of helmets and breastplates, and other relics; while over the fire-place, which is of great size and beauty, and has its original brass fire-dogs, are the arms of the foundress of the house, Elizabeth (Hardwick), Countess of Shrewsbury, of gigantic size, in raised plaster-work. Some remarks here seem requisite concerning the heraldry of the place. The arms represented in the great hall, and shown in our engraving of that splendid apartment, are _argent_, a saltire, engrailed, _azure_; on a chief of the second three cinquefoils of the field. These, which are in a lozenge-shaped shield, are surmounted by an earl’s coronet, and have for supporters, two stags, _proper_, each gorged with a chaplet of roses, _argent_, between two bars _azure_. The arms are those of Hardwick of Hardwick, the maiden name of the Countess; the supporters, which she had no right to assume, the family of Hardwick not being entitled to any, were assumed from the crest of that family, which, with a slight variation, formed those granted to her son, the first Baron Cavendish, of Hardwick, and Earl of Devonshire. The coronet is, of course, hers as Countess of Shrewsbury, the hall being built during the latter part of the life of her _fourth_ husband, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and in the first nine years of her fourth widowhood. From the Great Hall a wide passage to the right leads to the grand staircase, the muniment-room, the sitting and other rooms, on the ground-floor, and, to the left, to the kitchens and offices, and to another staircase. Ascending these massive stone stairs hung with framed pieces of needlework and with curious old paintings, some of which are dated 1576, and were principally brought from the old hall, an open oak screen-work on the landing opens into

THE CHAPEL. In this truly interesting little room, the walls are notable for being partly hung with painted tapestry of extremely good character, and the only examples in the house. On the ceiling is a fine piece of tapestry, representing our Lord, with two of His disciples, blessing the bread. The pulpit is dressed with some of the earliest embroidery—portions of a cope, &c.; and on the rails hangs a very rich and curious altar-cloth, 80 feet long, with figures of saints under canopies, wrought in very rich and early needlework. The chapel is shown in one of our illustrations. On the landing hangs a remarkably curious lantern.

Opposite to the chapel, a doorway opens into the DINING-ROOM, a noble apartment, the lower part of the walls being wainscoted, and the upper hung with a number of family portraits, amongst which are an interesting painting of “Bess of Hardwick,” with this inscription upon it:—“Elizabeth Hardwick, daughter and co-heir of John Hardwick, of Hardwick, in the county of Derby. To her second husband, Sir William Cavendish, of Chatsworth, in the same county. She settled her third son, Sir Charles Cavendish, at Welbeck, in the county of Nottingham.” Other portraits are those of her husband, Sir William Cavendish, at the age of forty-four; “the Beautiful Duchess,” Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire; the late Duke of Devonshire; Lord George Cavendish, second son of the third duke, known as “Truth and Daylight,” &c., &c. Over the fire-place is a fine specimen of parget-work, a kind of plaster-stone, with figures, &c., and in the centre the inscription, “The conclusion of all things is to feare God and keepe his Commaundementes,” and the conjoined initials E.S. with the date 1597. The large recess of this room is converted into a billiard-room.

The CUT-VELVET ROOM, leading from the dining-room, is a noble apartment, hung with tapestry, and containing a stately bed with plumes. Over the fire-place, in parget-work, as in other rooms, is a series of armorial bearings, among which again occur the arms of Hardwick, with supporters and coronet. Adjoining this is a charming dressing-room, hung with the most exquisite needlework in silk. Passing down the minstrels’ gallery from the dining-room to the drawing-room, some fine specimens of needlework, by the Countess of Shrewsbury, and by Mary, Queen of Scots, are carefully preserved in frames.

The DRAWING-ROOM is a large well-proportioned apartment, the lower part of the walls wainscoted, and the upper hung with fine old tapestry, representing the story of Esther and Ahasuerus. Over the fire-place are the arms of Hardwick, with quarterings, in a lozenge shield, supporters, and coronet. Among the paintings will be specially noticed a fine portrait of Arabella Stuart, several portraits by Holbein, and others of Henry VII. and VIII., Edward VI., &c., &c. There are, also, some curious pieces of needlework, framed.

From the drawing-room the DUKE’S BED ROOM, and other apartments, are reached. This room, so called because it is the room occupied by the late Duke of Devonshire, and in which he died, is a splendid apartment, hung with tapestry representing scriptural subjects. Over the fire-place, which has large carved figures in stone on either side, is a fine piece of parget-work surrounding a painting. On the bed a curious needlework counterpane invites attention. The dressing-room adjoining is one of the most interesting in the house. It is hung with silk needlework tapestry of the finest and most choice character, one piece of which bears the date of 1574. There are also paintings of the entombment of our Saviour, and of the Annunciation, with the arms, in tapestry, of the Cavendishes, Talbots, and others. Near this room is the bed-room occupied, on his occasional visits to Hardwick, by the present duke, on the tapestry of which cupids are represented playing at mall—the progenitor, apparently, of our modern croquet. Near this, too, is the Marquis of Hartington’s room, in which are several interesting coats of arms in parget-work, including the bearings of Hardwick, Cavendish, Talbot, and others. Returning through the drawing-room, the visitor next passes out to the GRAND STAIRCASE, of which we give an engraving. Near the drawing-room door will be noticed a fine old chest, said to have belonged to the Earl of Shrewsbury. The staircase is hung with some of the finest tapestry which any house can boast. One portion represents a classical story; the boar-hunts and similar subjects are fine, and powerful in the extreme. On the second landing is an interesting inlaid table with the arms of Hardwick impaling Talbot, and on the wall by it hangs some of the oldest tapestry in the house. Continuing up the staircase, with tapestry on either side, the state-rooms are approached. The entrance is by a doorway surmounted by the Hardwick arms, over which is the most gorgeously fine piece of tapestry, representing Juno. On the door a marvellously beautiful lock is still preserved. It, with the arms of Hardwick, forms one of our initial letters. This door opens into the

PRESENCE-CHAMBER, State-Room, or Audience-Room, as it is variously called. This splendid apartment, which is 65 feet long, 33 feet wide, and 26 feet in height, is one of the finest proportioned and most imposing in appearance even in this perfect house. The upper portion of the walls of this magnificent chamber is covered with parget-work in high coloured-relief, representing hunting scenes, Orpheus, and the court of Diana. Below this, for full 15 feet in height, the walls are hung with tapestry of the finest character.

Over the fire-place of this room are the arms and supporters of Queen Elizabeth, in coloured relief parget-work. The furniture is remarkably fine, as will be seen from our engraving of this room. At the north end is a majestic canopy, decorated in minute needlework with figures of the cardinal virtues, “Verecundia,” “Prudentia,” “Sobrietas,” &c., alternating with monograms and arms of the family. Under the canopy is a state-chair; and in front, one of the most curious and interesting tables in existence. It is of large size, and elaborately inlaid over the entire surface of its top with musical instruments of various kinds, backgammon and chess boards, cards, and various games, foliage and other devices. In its centre is a tablet with the quaint inscription:—

THE REDOLENT SMLE
OF ÆGLENTYNE
WE STAGGES EXAVLT
TO THE DEVEYNE.

The “stagges” being, no doubt, the stags of the Hardwick arms. On each side of the tablet are the arms of Hardwick and Talbot impaled, &c. From this room a doorway in the tapestry opens into the picture-gallery, and another at the north end leads into the LIBRARY, over the chimney-piece of which is a splendid piece of sculpture, Apollo and the Muses; over the figures on one side are the arms of Queen Elizabeth, and on the other her initials, E. R., in a knot, and crowned. This fine group, found not many years ago in a case in one of the servants’ rooms at Chatsworth, is supposed to have been presented to the countess by Queen Elizabeth, and it has, therefore, been most appropriately brought and placed in its present position. In this room, among other interesting pictures, is a portrait of James V. of Scotland, when very young. It belonged to Queen Mary, and was taken with her from place to place. Passing through the library and the GREEN BED-ROOM, where the majestic state-bed and the tapestry are sure to excite attention, one of the most interesting little rooms in the whole building is gained:—