THE STORY OF SOME ANCIENT MANOR–HOUSES—BADDESLEY CLINTON—PACKINGTON OLD
HALL—MAXSTOKE CASTLE—ASTLEY CASTLE
In the north–western portion of the county lies a group of historic
houses and churches which present many unique features. One of the
most interesting of these, distant some seven miles from Warwick
and situated amidst lovely scenery, is Baddesley Clinton, a typical
old moated manor–house, such as a few years ago was associated in
Christmastide publications with stories of ghosts and midnight
villainy. This exquisite survival of ancient domestic architecture
is a low–built house with grey stone walls, timbered gables, and
battlemented parapets. It forms an unusually fine specimen of the old
fortified manorial dwellings dating from the fifteenth century, and
nowadays, alas! becoming fewer and fewer by reason of destruction by
fire or the exigencies of the times.
During its early history the manor appears to have had several owners.
From the middle of the thirteenth century, for a period of about a
hundred years, it belonged to the Clinton family of Coleshill, becoming
in the last years of the fifteenth century the property of one Nicholas
Brome, at whose death it passed in 1517 to his daughter and co–heiress,
Constantia, who had married in 1497 Sir Edward Ferrers, a grandson of
William Lord Ferrers of Groby, in which family the estates have ever
since remained. It is the boast of the family that their ancestry came
over with the Conqueror, and there is little doubt that the boast is no
idle one.
The Ferrers family of Baddesley Clinton are descended from the second
son of the Earl who met his death so unromantically on the bridge at
St. Neots; Groby passing into the hands of the Greys. A younger son of
the Ferrers of Tamworth was the father of Sir Edward Ferrers, who by
marriage with Constance Brome became the possessor of Baddesley Clinton.
During the Civil War Baddesley Clinton, although its owners appear
to have sided neither with the King nor the Parliament, was plundered
by the forces of the latter; and in a MS. of the period one finds a
statement of some of the booty which was acquired by the Roundheads.
This included a grey and a bright bay horse, which were led away by the
troopers, one of them with a rich plush saddle trimmed round about the
skirts with gold lace and gold fringe; arms and armour; gunpowder; cash
taken from a desk; a Geneva Bible, and even the linen from the drying
room! But the family appear to have succeeded in maintaining their
neutral attitude, and at the Restoration were still in quiet enjoyment
of their estates; which, however, had become smaller, and from the fact
of their fidelity to Roman Catholicism were little likely in succeeding
centuries to be added to.
The last squire of the line was Marmion Edward Ferrers, a noted
antiquarian who lived quietly at Baddesley Clinton, and died leaving no
heir; his widow married a second time Edward Heneage Dearing, Esq., the
present owner of the property.
As was the case with most manor–houses of ancient times, and more
especially with those belonging to Catholic families, there were
several secret hiding–places at Baddesley Clinton, constructed
for the salvation of the ministering Romish priests, or for other
fugitives in times of need. Near the chapel is a well–like shaft of
stone, formerly provided with steps or projecting stones, by means of
which a fugitive was able to reach a secret passage extending round
nearly the whole length of two sides of the house, and giving access
to a small water–gate opening on the moat, at which a boat was kept
at hand for use in cases of emergency. On the eastern side of the
building adjoining the banqueting room is a secret chamber some six
feet square, which has a bench running round it. This of recent years
has been walled up, but the narrow staircase leading to it behind the
wainscoting remains in its original condition.
There are probably other chambers in this ancient building, the
existence of which may possibly at some future time be diescovered
quite by accident, as have so many other hiding–places in similar
houses throughout the country.
[Illustration: ANNE HATHAWAY’S COTTAGE.]
The house, one of the most ancient in Warwickshire, is approached by
a brick bridge of two arches crossing the moat, and the entrance is
through an archway under an embattled tower, which although giving
a distinction to this, the north–eastern front of the building, is
apparently of no great age. The door is an ancient one, studded thickly
with iron bolts, guarding the house at the inner end of the bridge; the
stabling being at the outer end and separate from the house.
The building within the bounds of the moat forms three sides of a
quadrangle, which encloses a quaint garden with paths running between
close–mown turf and clipped yew bushes. The old mansion is rich in
beautiful panelled rooms and wonderful carved mantelpieces. On the
left–hand side of the entrance to the house itself is an anteroom
leading to the great Hall. In this beautiful oak–panelled chamber is
an unusually handsome Renaissance fireplace of carved stone, dating
from the middle of the seventeenth century, and ornamented with seven
shields of the family arms painted on the stone–work, the last shield
commemorating the marriage of Edward Ferrers and Ann Peyto in 1611. The
chief features of the room, however, are the heraldic devices of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries which adorn the windows; an old
seventeenth century cabinet of quaint design, the front of which is
divided into twenty small panels and ornamented with groups of cupids,
nymphs, and satyrs; several dower chests; and a silver twisted horn,
traditionally stated to date from the year 1400, and to have been
presented to the Lord de Ferrers of that time by the French Ambassador
at the Court of King Henry IV. There is also an interesting leather
bottle fished out of the moat a few years ago; and an old buff leather
coat which may have been a relic of the unwelcome visitation made by
the Parliamentarians during the Civil War.
The drawing–room is panelled oak and has oaken benches in the recesses
of the window, and is rendered notable by the large carved oak
fireplace, which is ornamented by the arms of the Ferrers of Groby. In
this room, too, is a fine portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh, attributed by
several authorities to Marc Garrard.
In the southern angle of the hall is a handsome staircase leading to
the enclosed gallery running round the inner part of three sides of the
house, and giving access to the upper story rooms.
The State bedroom, which contains a very fine and elaborately carved
chimney–piece, reaching from the floor to the ceiling, is on the left
of the staircase, and this room is finely panelled in oak, as are so
many of the others of this most interesting house.
In the Oratory or domestic chapel of the house is a most curious and
interesting Flemish Sanctus bell, dating from 1555, and having on it a
small incised female effigy, supposed to represent the wife or daughter
of Nicholas Brome; there is also an inscription, IHESVS ES MINEN NAEM.
The banqueting hall of the house is situated over the gateway, and is
a fine room lighted by a mullioned window, and containing some good
and very ancient oak carving and panelling, and also some beautiful
tapestry. Unfortunately the high pitched roof of open timber–work has
been covered by a plaster ceiling.
A touch of romance still hangs about the adjoining room, which is the
library, but is traditionally known as the “Ghost Room,” and was in
former times popularly supposed to be haunted, possibly by the spirit
of Nicholas Brome or that of the parish priest he found, according to
Dugdale, “chocking his wife under the chin, whereat he was so enraged
that he presently kil’d him.” For this offence the murderer had to
obtain the King’s pardon and also the Pope’s, who enjoined him to do
something towards expiation of his crime. In pursuance of this mandate
he built the “tower–steeple,” and bought three bells for it, as well as
carrying out other additions and alterations to the thirteenth–century
church of Baddesley.
In the church are many monuments of the Bromes and Ferrers, and also
some beautiful and ancient stained glass in the east window. In
connection with the manor of Baddesley Clinton there is an interesting
entry in the Manor Rolls, recording that the Shakespeare family held
lands in Baddesley as early as 1389, and it is possible that these were
the remote ancestors of the poet himself.
It seems not improbable that much of the oak panelling and most of the
carved mantelpieces in the house were placed there by Edward Ferrers,
son of the antiquarian, about the middle of the seventeenth century,
or perhaps rather earlier. The decorations within the house make
plain for the student of architecture, and to the eyes of the skilled
antiquarian, the three chief periods of its history. The outer walls
are those of the ancient home of the Bromes, as it came into possession
of the Ferrers family; but inside the house are many evidences of
the money spent in its fittings and beautifying by Edward Ferrers
towards the middle part of the seventeenth century. Then there is the
last period, comprising the black and white timber–work and other
restorations carried out by Captain Dering, who found on his accession
to the property the building suffering from the ravages of both age and
neglect.
Few manor–houses in Warwickshire possess greater charms than Baddesley
Clinton, and the views from the upper windows into the ivy–covered
courtyard, with its wealth of flower–beds and blossom, are charming to
a degree.
Some eight miles north–east of Baddesley Clinton, through a stretch of
pretty country, lies Packington Park, famous for its ancient oaks, and
made unusually picturesque by the presence of its sheets of ornamental
water. Packington Hall is now the seat of the Earl of Aylesford, a
substantial building, set amid a pleasant park, built by Sir Clement
Fisher in 1693, and enlarged and faced with stone three–quarters of a
century later. About a mile to the north–east of Maxstoke Priory lies
Maxstoke Castle, surrounded by fine trees, so retired that its very
existence might be unsuspected by those who pass along the road at the
foot of the avenue.
Few houses in England can be exactly compared with this wonderfully
preserved survival of medieval times, which is set in so picturesque
a position, surrounded by trees of a deer park of considerable size.
All who have visited Maxstoke are agreed concerning the almost unique
interest that this ancient fortified residence possesses for students
of architecture and of the manners and customs of past ages. In
Maxstoke, indeed, there is little to break the medieval spell which
seems to hang so closely about its time–worn walls, and be so in
keeping with its retired situation. As one approaches it by the fine
avenue of elms leading, for the last portion of it, in a straight
line to the gate–house and bridge, one almost, indeed, expects to see
watchers upon the twin towers, and to find one’s ingress barred by
closely–shut doors and lowered portcullis.
A beautiful survival of a past age, now the residence of the Tangye
family, whose name is so intimately connected with the neighbouring
city of Birmingham, the house has been closely identified with many
historic names and strenuous deeds of English history.
It dates from the period when the great and strongly fortified
castles—more fortresses, indeed, than residences—were giving place to
dwelling–houses, well–defended, it is true, but which, though still
protected by walls, towers, and even drawbridges and portcullises, were
yet an indication of the change bound to come when such defences became
unnecessary.
The foundations of the Castle, which is completely enclosed within
an embattled _enceinte_, and is protected by a deep and broad moat
and defended by strong angle towers, were laid by William de Clinton
under a licence from Edward III. in 1345. The great entrance, a
survival of the old barbican, is beneath or rather between two tall
and formidable towers; the ancient drawbridge having been replaced by
a stone bridge crossing the moat, and leading from the avenue of elms
to the courtyard. But although both drawbridge and portcullis are gone,
the grooves in which the latter was lowered still remain, as do the
ancient oaken doors scarred by the weather of centuries, and perhaps
by evidences of attack. The Castle itself lies in one of the most
beautiful districts of England, almost midway between Birmingham and
Coventry.
At Maxstoke in ancient times resided a family of the name of
Oddingsells, who were evidently of great importance in the district, as
they possessed all the feudal privileges of gallows and tumbril, and
assay of bread and beer. Edmund Oddingsells, who died without issue in
Edward I.’s reign, had, however, several sisters, to whom he left his
property; Ida the eldest having Maxstoke for her share, which passed to
John de Clinton on her marriage with him.
This John de Clinton was one of the great barons of his time, and
he accompanied Edward I. on his invasion of Scotland in 1296, and
for his assistance had conferred on him some of the possessions of
Malcolm Drummond. Thus it is seen Maxstoke in very early times became
identified with the doings of men who played a conspicuous part in
the affairs of their country. The mother of Ida, the wife of John de
Clinton, was Elizabeth, daughter of the famous William Longespée, Earl
of Salisbury. John de Clinton left two sons, the second of whom was the
builder of the castle in its present form, although there undoubtedly
was an older house standing on the site, of which some fragments have
been discovered incorporated into the base of the existing building.
William de Clinton was a man of note, for he held the office of
Justice of Chester, Constable of Dover Castle, Warden of the Cinque
Ports, and Admiral of the Western Seas. He also had the custody of the
King’s forests from the Trent southward; and in 1337 was made Earl
of Huntingdon. By his will, dated 1354, the Castle was left to his
nephew, a Sir John de Clinton, for whom he appears to have designed
it. This John de Clinton was the son of his elder brother John, and
was, therefore, the grandson of the first possessor of Maxstoke of
the Clinton line. The family were barons by writ, and the new owner
was a soldier, who had fought through the French war, and was present
at Poitiers and other battles, and was also at one time Constable of
Windsor Castle. His grandson, who succeeded him, was known as Lord Say,
his mother, the first wife of Sir John de Clinton, having been Idonia,
the sister and heiress of William de Say.
Lord Say was, like his grandfather, a soldier, and proved a great
benefactor to Maxstoke Priory. He was succeeded by his son, another
John, who in 1437 exchanged the castle with Humphrey, Earl of Stafford,
for other manors in Northamptonshire, the reason for which exchange is
not known.
The last of the De Clintons of Maxstoke was also a soldier, who had
the misfortune to be captured in the French war and to suffer a long
term of imprisonment. Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, the new owner of
Maxstoke, who was made a Knight of the Garter in 1429, and was created
Duke of Buckingham in 1444, was Lieutenant Governor of Normandy and
Calais, and Ambassador to France. He had also another distinction
conferred upon him, that of precedence before all other Dukes who might
thenceforward be created, excepting only descendants of the King.
He was a warm supporter of the Lancastrian cause and, owing to his
marriage with Margaret Beaufort, daughter and heiress of Edmund Duke
of Somerset, was related to the Royal House. He fell at the battle
of Northampton, July 10, 1460, when leading the Lancastrian forces,
one of his sons having been killed at the battle of St. Albans five
years previously; and he proved on his death a great benefactor to the
destitute poor, some of whom he directed should carry tapers at his
funeral, and pray for the repose of his soul.
[Illustration: SHAKESPEARE’S BIRTHPLACE.]
It was Buckingham who strengthened the oaken doors of Maxstoke by
sheets of iron bearing his arms and supporters, and also the “burning
nave and knot,” which was the ancient badge of the house.
It does not appear that Buckingham made Maxstoke by any means his chief
residence, but the names of many of the constables he appointed, and of
those who came after him, have been placed on record.
The castle and estates were forfeited by the second Duke and have had
during its history many owners.
The dwelling–house occupies the north–west angle of the inner court.
It is a partly timbered house, the front portion having been rebuilt
in the seventeenth century, and some changes have been made since that
date.
At the south end of the Great Hall was formerly the chapel, the west
window of which, in the late Decorated period, still remains. The
kitchen was somewhat strangely placed adjoining this, and communication
between it and the hall must have been carried on across the chapel,
the lower part of which is nowadays used as a butler’s pantry, and the
upper part a corridor to the Great Hall. In the chapel the marriage of
John Talbot, afterwards Earl of Shrewsbury, and Catherine, daughter of
the Duke of Buckingham, took place in 1457.
The great Baronial Halt, with a dais at one end, is on the first
floor, and forms a handsome apartment lighted by three windows. On
the west side there is a fine carved mantelpiece of coloured stone,
ornamented with the numerous quarterings of the Dilke family, and
bearing the following quaint inscriptions:—
Pennatus Sidera Morte
Where no woode is, No tale–bearers,
Ye fire goeth out; Strife ceaseth.
The room contains some good pictures, amongst which is a full–length
portrait of Charles II. by Sir Peter Lely. In the hall are also some
interesting relics of former times, such as stone cannon balls, iron
balls, pipe bowls found in the moat, some fine armour, and a pair of
jack–boots worn by one of the family at the Battle of the Boyne.
The Oak Drawing–Room is a beautiful apartment, distinguished by a
magnificently carved mantelpiece, and a unique carved doorway forming a
sort of inner porch, and with the door very deeply panelled. There is
in this room a curious picture of the last jester of Maxstoke, 1681,
one Tom Grainger, who is depicted with an owl perched on his shoulder,
and pipe in hand.
A relic which never fails to interest the visitor is an antique oak
chair, which tradition states was brought from an old house at Bosworth
Field. It bears on the brass plate attached to it the following
inscription: “In this chair King Henry VII. was crowned at Bosworth
Field, A.D. 1485.”
The Tower Drawing–Room is also oak panelled, and contains a fine
mantelpiece. Above it is the bedroom known as Henry VII.’s; and over
that again is the top tower bedroom, from which beautiful views of the
park and moat are to be obtained.
The Dining–room on the ground floor contains a sideboard which is
stated to have been made out of a tree at which Oliver Cromwell
practised marksmanship in Coleshill Park, and also some interesting
portraits of the Fetherstons and Fetherstonhaughs.
Scarcely a room at Maxstoke but contains something either in its
decorations or its furniture of great interest; and, indeed, it is
a matter for congratulation on the part of all those interested in
architectural survivals and the preservation of historic houses that
the castle presents in this twentieth century so interesting and
perfect an example of the fortified manor–houses of ancient times.
Maintained, let it be added, with all the loving care which such a
unique treasure–house of antiquity deserves.
Some six miles to the north–east of Maxstoke is situated Astley Castle,
prettily placed in Arbury Park. Although known as a castle, it is in
reality rather an example of the defensive manor–house which came into
being when residences of a more formidable nature had become no longer
necessary. The house is surrounded by a moat, which is picturesquely
overhung with foliage, and spanned by a bridge admitting to the house
through an arched gateway.
Within a mile and a half of the church, and reached by a lovely avenue
through Hawk’s Wood, is South Farm, where, on November 22, 1819, was
born Mary Ann Evans, afterwards to become famous as “George Eliot.” The
building is quite a small farmhouse, having one bay and a gabled east
wing, and is coated with rough cast. It stands pleasantly situated a
little distance on the right of the Park Road to Griff.
“George Eliot’s” father, Mr. Robert Evans, was agent for the Arbury
Estate, and the family afterwards, whilst the future novelist was quite
a child, removed to a larger house at Griff.
As was perhaps not unnatural, “George Eliot” drew much of her early
inspiration and local colour from the immediate neighbourhood in which
she was born, and in “Mr. Gilfil’s Love Story,” which she commenced to
write on Christmas Day 1856, Astley Church appears under the disguise
of “Knebley Church”; whilst Sir Robert Newdigate, who collected so many
Art treasures for his beautiful home of Arbury, figures in the same
story under the name of “Sir Christopher Cheverel.”