Most strangers pay a visit to the light-house, which stands on an
eminence about three quarters of a mile to the eastward of the town, and
commands an extensive sea-view, the inland prospect is confined by a
range of hills forming an amphitheatre around it. The tower built of
brick is only three moderate stories high, crowned with a lantern lighted
by fifteen patent lamps, each placed in a large copper reflector three
feet in diameter and finely plated on the inside; these placed round an
upright axis are kept in continual motion by jack-work, wound up every
five hours and a half, by which means a set of five reflectors are
presented to the eye in a full blaze of light every minute, the axis
being three minutes in performing its rotation.
The house was formerly lighted up with coals, which was not only an
uncertain light, but also a fixed one and was frequently mistaken; it was
therefore thought necessary to have it upon a principle differing from
any other upon this part of the coast to prevent such mistakes, the
consequences of which might prove so very fatal. The lamps all the year
are lighted up at sun-set and extinguished at sun-rise; during the
longest nights in winter, the consumption of the best oil each night is
three gallons.
It is kept by two young women who receive from the Trinity-house an
annual salary of fifty-pounds, besides perquisites, and who constantly
reside on the spot, which for perfect neatness may vie with any place.
From the lantern a door opens to a light iron gallery which surrounds it,
and commands a sea view of many leagues.
Extending the walk a little further you get a pleasing view of the
village of Overstrand. Shipping, also, is seen to much greater advantage
above than below the cliffs; and those who are fond of looking down
precipices may find amusement, their situation being between three and
four hundred feet perpendicular above the level of the sea.
Cromer Hall, the residence of George Wyndham, Esq. is a respectable old
house; there is nothing in the inside to repay curiosity, but the
sequestered walks in the wood near the house are very delightful.
These plantations make a very pleasing appearance from many places; taken
in front they are too formal and circumscribed, notwithstanding which
they prove the greatest possible ornament to the town of Cromer, and in
autumn are extremely beautiful.
_Section the Second_.
GOING down cliff at low-water the beach to the north of the jetty
presents a very pleasant walk of a mile and a half to the village of
Upper Runton, where ascending by a path cut through cliffs of a very
romantic form, on the edge of which stand some fishermens' cottages, you
return to Cromer by a foot path close to the sea side; the country on the
right is cultivated and interspersed with hills covered with furze.
Approaching within half a mile, the town with the light-house, and hills
as a background, Mr. G. Wyndham's woods and the mill make a pretty
appearance.
A little further on is the Battery, which as it belongs to Cromer should
have been mentioned in the foregoing section. It occupies a very fine
eminence commanding more than a semicircle and mounts four eighteen
pounders, which are exercised by the Cromer Loyal Volunteer Artillery;
being also well supplied with stores it affords excellent protection to
the shipping upon this part of the coast which bring up under it in cases
of danger. It is but justice to add, also, in many instances the corps
have proved themselves extremely active in giving every assistance in
their power; and by the liberal allowance of powder and ball, provided by
Government, solely for practice, they are become very expert gunners.
I cannot here omit to mention the almost miraculous escape of Mr. Richard
Cook, a corporal, belonging to the corps, who was blown from the cannon's
mouth while a salute was firing on the 4th of June, 1799, in honour of
his Majesty's birth-day. The gun at which he was stationed having been
badly spunged, the succeeding cartridge took fire and carried him over
the platform to the very edge of the cliff. This unfortunate accident
happened as he was in the act of withdrawing the rammer, from the head of
which (it being driven into numerous splinters) he received at least
fifty wounds, most of them were very severe; notwithstanding which I am
happy to say, that by the blessing of a fine constitution, he is at this
time perfectly recovered without suffering even the loss of a finger or
being scarcely blemished.
_Section the Third_.
LEAVING Cromer take the Aylmerton or as it called the upper road to Holt,
which is preferable to the lower road running through Runton, Beeston,
and Sherringham, both because it is in itself better, and because the
views of the sea and country are more amusing.
The distance by either is ten miles. Concluding therefore that the
Aylmerton road is taken, at the distance of about a mile and half from
Cromer are the plantations of the Rt. Hon. Wm. Wyndham, of Felbrigg,
which accompany the traveller on his left for more than half a mile,
during which space the views of the sea on the right are very pleasing.
The fore-ground being high, the eye is carried down a pretty steep
descent towards the shore, and being also a very unequal surface, a
constant variety is produced, the inequalities forming themselves into
vallies, through which is frequently seen, a church, a cottage or a
village to great advantage.
This is a very common species of landscape. The towns and villages with
their churches situated on the verge of the coast, must consequently
often assume this appearance when seen from situations more inland, but
more particularly, when, as is here the case, the surface of the country
is uneven and sometimes woody.
It is a very happy circumstance in views of this kind when a woody knoll
presents itself as a fore-ground, this with a church or village in the
second distance, having the whole backed by the sea, is a composition
that can scarcely fail to please.
A little beyond the plantations before mentioned, which form a part of
the belt round Felbrigg Park, the sea is lost for about a mile, but ample
compensation is made by the country on the left which is very rich and
fertile. The Felbrigg woods with the village of Aylmerton and its church
form a noble fore-ground, beyond which the view extends upwards of twenty
miles over a highly cultivated country; amongst the numerous churches,
the cathedral at Norwich is very conspicuous.
I entirely agree with Mr. Gilpin that a country retiring into a remote
distance is amongst the most pleasing circumstances in landscape, but
when it happens, as it does here, to be supported by objects near at hand
it is enchanting. It is not unfrequent that a dreary heath is terminated
by a very pleasing distance, and it is certainly a very happy
circumstance for the traveller who views a country with a picturesque eye
when it is so, but it loses much for want of a fore-ground to support it;
sometimes here and there how an accidental group of cattle form a
pleasing substitute.
The most beautiful effect given to a distance I ever saw was one evening,
in my return from Holt, in the month of April. The forepart of the day
had been cold and gloomy with frequent squalls, but towards the evening
the sun broke out at intervals with the utmost brilliancy, lighting up in
succession different parts of the landscape; the fore-ground was
principally in shadow, as was the second distance, but the remote
distance partook of the colour of the horizon which was a bright yellow,
but kept down by the mistiness of the atmosphere;--the utmost keeping was
preserved, producing at once the most sober and yet the most brilliant
picture that can possibly be conceived. The clouds, except those in the
western hemisphere, floated in large dark masses, intermixed with smaller
light ones of the tenderest blue.
The view towards the sea, though, but faintly illuminated, was no less
pleasing, so that three or four pictures, all completely differing in
circumstance and detail, might have been painted from a scene with little
to recommend it, except where the sea formed a part of the view.
Upon the disposition of the air depends the colouring of the landscape,
of which no part of it partakes so much as the remote distance, and to
this it is that we owe that exquisite obscurity and tenderness which
stamp such value upon a distant prospect.
The study of nature by the rules of painting is capable of bestowing
other benefits besides what acrue to the arts; it leads us to inspect
every object with the minutest care, and by so doing learn to appreciate
its value. The stump of a decayed old tree, the formation of a tussuck
of grass, or in short, innumerable things which pass unnoticed by the
casual observer, afford to the lover of nature a most delicious repast.
But, perhaps, there is nothing that tends more to harmonise the foul and
render it susceptible of the finer feelings, than a distant view melting
into the horizon, tinged with gold and diffusing its serenity over the
face of nature.
The pleasure of such moments, when the heart is filled with every
sentiment of benevolence, is frequently felt but can never be described:
the imagination following, the eye is naturally carried to that part of
the horizon which invelopes the habitation of those we admire and esteem;
it takes its seat by the social fire-side or its place in the friendly
evening's ramble, it recalls past scenes of happiness, the amusements and
the friendships of our youth and paints them with a force inimitable: in
short such an unbounded scope is there allowed for the illusions of
fancy, that I am not altogether certain but that such ideal enjoyments
are more than equal to the majority of real ones which are anticipated
with so much ardour. However if they do not exceed or equal, they must
at least be allowed to approach very near them; and I am inclined to
think that the number of those is not small who will concur with me in
this opinion.
Proceeding forward the sea again makes its appearance upon the right, and
continues a most delightful companion till you come within three miles of
Holt; the remaining part of the way is over a heath rather dreary and
uncomfortable.
Holt is a neat little town, with a market on Saturdays; there is an
excellent free grammar school, founded by Sir John Gresham, with a salary
paid to the master by the Fishmonger's Company.
The return from Holt may be agreeably varied by taking the lower road,
and by which a very romantic view is obtained at Sherringham Hill. About
two miles from hence are the ruins of Beeston Priory, the property of
Cremer Woodrow, Esq. which will afford pleasure both to the antiquarian
and the draftsman. A small tower and the whole of the west gable wall of
the church are standing, and having its other parts well broken, of which
a great deal remains, form a very antique and handsome ruin. It also
affords ample materials for an admirable sketch from the west gable,
through which the tower and the internal parts of the church are seen in
excellent perspective. Its aspect too gives it every advantage it can
possibly receive from the vivid illumination of an evening sun.
This gable, one of the finest and most picturesque parts of the ruin, a
few years since was ornamented with a profusion of the finest ivy,
(probably the growth of a century) till unfortunately a thoughtless
wight, employed on the spot, laid his sacrilegious axe to the root of
this venerable appendage, to the great regret of the proprietor and of
every admirer of the reliques of antiquity.
The house to which it belongs, with the barn, stables and farm yard, have
been injudiciously placed close under the walls of the Priory, in fact
some small part of the ruins are converted into outhouses. Had they been
suffered to stand by themselves the effect would have been much better--a
ruin can scarcely be too much sequestered or too distant from the haunts
of men. {33}
Beeston Priory was founded by the Lady Isabel de Cressy, in the reign of
King John, for Canons of the Order of Saint Austin and dedicated to Saint
Mary.
Not far from the Priory, on the right hand, is a house belonging to
Cremer Cremer, Esq. where instead of keeping the direct road to Cromer,
take in at the white gate leading past the house. The road winds in a
very romantic manner between the hills unto Felbrigg Heath, upon which
are the remains of a beacon;--the view from this spot is not altogether
so extensive as from the beacon at Trimmingham, but it is more
diversified.
The foreground is rough and well broken and the dreariness of the heath
removed by the little patches of forest wood with which the vallies are
adorned. Cromer with its light-house and lofty tower, Runton, Beeston
Priory and Sherringham, and as far as Blackney Harbour, the whole being
backed by the sea, form as fine a coast view as can well be imagined.
The same tract which led to the beacon, about half a mile further on,
opens into the Cromer road, under the plantations which were passed in
going to Holt and from which the whole retrospect is very pleasing.
_Section the Fourth_.
FELBRIGG, the seat of the Right Honourable William Windham, makes a very
pleasant morning's excursion; it is three short miles from Cromer,
delightfully situated in the bosom of extensive and venerable woods. The
oak, the beech and the spanish chesnut, seem congenial to the soil; and
the form of the ground, which consists of gently rising hills and vales,
is admirably constituted to shew to the greatest advantage the masses of
light and shade produced by such a combination.
Some of the trees, particularly the oak, bear the marks of great
antiquity, and the venerable state of decay into which they are fallen,
make them truly interesting objects and the ornament of the scene to
which they belong.
The oak stands, indisputably, the unrivalled king of the vegetable
tribe--strength joined to the most perfect beauty are its distinguishing
characteristics; {36} it fills every situation with dignity and equally
adorns the castle or the cottage; but it is when time has placed its
honours on its head, when its
"boughs are mossed with age,
And high top bald with dry antiquity,"
and it is approaching by slow but sure gradation to the period of a
glorious existence, that it becomes an object of the greatest beauty,
presenting to the lover of nature an ample scope of amusement.
The house has of late undergone considerable alteration, and when
finished will be both elegant and convenient. It contains some good
pictures by Rembrandt, Bergham, Vanderveldt, &c.
The dining-room is decorated with good portraits of the Windham family.
In the drawing-room are several pictures; a Usurer by Rembrandt, and the
portrait of an Old Woman by the same master, supposed to be his Mother,
deserve particular attention; the latter is placed over the door by which
you enter the room but hangs too high. There are, also, some good
representations of Sea-Fights; one in particular a pretty large picture,
by Vanderveldt, Jun. is a very spirited performance; the effect of the
smoke, from the vessels in the foreground, which is made to receive the
light, is very masterly; the subject is the Engagement between the
English and Van Tromp, in which Sir Edward Spragge was killed. Its
companion by the elder Vanderveldt, is, also, a Sea-Fight, but a confused
and wholly uninteresting performance. Over each of these pieces, is a
Storm, by Vanderveldt, Jun. in his usual stile of excellence.
At the other end of the room are two very fine Views of the River Thames,
one at Billinsgate Market, the other before the alteration at London
Bridge;--over one of these pictures is a Landscape by Bergham, and over
the other a small but highly coloured picture, the Finding of Achilles at
the Court of Lycomedes, said to be by Reubens.
From the drawing-room you proceed to the cabinet. The small pictures are
by much the best; two or three Storms, by Vanderveldt, jun. in his best
manner; Cows Stalled, by Sagtleven, Scheveling Market, and a small
Landscape, by Paul Brill, are excellent; the trees of the latter are very
finely touched.
Some of the larger pictures are very good, particularly two Views, by G.
B. H. Busuri,--one of which is the Cascade of Terni.
The rest of the collection in this room is chiefly composed of Italian
Landscapes, and small Views of Italian Ruins in opaque colours.
One of the best pictures in the house is at present set aside; it is an
Italian Sea-Port in a Hazy Morning, every part of which is delicately
expressed.
The pictures above stairs are of little worth, neither is there much else
to attract the attention, except the library, which is fitted up with
much gothic elegance and admirably corresponding with the old stile of
building of the south front. The gloom thrown into the room by the
stained-glass windows and the sombre hue of the wainscot, which is of its
natural colour, make it a very proper retirement for study.
Two miles from Felbrigg stand the ruins of Beckham Old Church, which for
its size is one of the most elegant things which fancy can imagine. The
walls of the middle aisle and the chancel are standing, and, also, the
south porch. Beautiful fragments of the old gothic windows, in different
states of decay, are seen peeping through the ivy, which mantles in the
most luxuriant manner over almost the whole of its mouldering walls.
It is rendered still more delicious by the sequestered spot in which it
stands; there is but one house near it and that at such a distance as not
to interfere with the loneliness of its situation; and though it must
have been long, very long since its choir has rung responsive to the
notes of the parish clerk, joined by the simple rustic swains, raised to
the praise of their Creator, its little cemetery covered with turf
remains the sacred repository of the dead, many of whose peaceful ashes
lie shaded by the long arms of several venerable oaks. Here
"The mopeing owl does to the moon complain."
Change the elms of Mr. Gray to oaks and his elegant poem exactly applies
to Beckham Church Yard. {41}
"Beneath these rugged elms, that yew-tree's shade,
Where heaves the turf in many a mould'ring heap,
Each in his narrow cell for ever laid,
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep."
To a mind fond of retirement, the lonely ruin covered with ivy, the
cottage or the grove have infinite charms; they seem to be a refuge from
the storms of life and to have the power of soothing the mind, disordered
by discordant passions, to serenity and peace.
The imagination at liberty to enjoy its own reflections, revolves its
misfortunes, draws conclusions and compares the present with the past,
and is inspired by the situation with that kind of pleasing awe that bids
him look forward to brighter prospects.
_Section the Fifth_.
THE Ruins of the parochial Church at Thorp-Market having been lately
taken down and rebuilt in a peculiar stile, by the Right Honourable Lord
Suffield, the impropriator, attracts many spectators from its novelty.
The present structure, which was designed by Mr. Wood, is simple and
elegant; the materials are flint and free-stone, at each of the four
corners is a turret, and the points of the gables are terminated by a
stone cross after the monkish fashion.
The inside, consisting of only a single aisle, is finished with extreme
neatness and in parts with a considerable degree of taste.
The chancel is divided from the body of the church by a light gothic
wainscot screen, and an equal portion of the west end by a similar one.
The upper parts of each are decorated with modern glass paintings; the
subject of those at the chancel end are, in the center, the Dove sent
forth from the Ark, and on each side Moses and Aaron. In the center of
the corresponding screen are the King's Arms, well painted upon copper,
and on each side those of his Lordship's family in painted glass.
The pulpit is placed against the north wall and is entered from a
staircase in the vestry, on each side is a door, over which are painted,
in imitation of bass relief, the symbolical figures of the Saints Mark
and Luke.
The greatest defect in the building is in the disposition of the
stained-glass in the windows, which instead of being concentrated in such
a manner as to throw that devotional gloom into the church which produces
such an evident effect upon the mind, and which appears to me to have
been the original intention of stained or painted glass, is scattered
over the whole window in small pieces, greens, purples, reds and yellows,
regularly intermixed with white, giving to the whole an appearance of too
much gaiety, independent of the unpleasant manner in which, in a day when
the sun is bright, the different colours of the glass are reflected over
the church and upon the persons of the congregation. {45}
There are three family monuments taken from the walls of the old church.
Another small but very elegant one has been added, in memory of Robert
and William Morden, second and fourth sons of the late Sir William Morden
Harbord, Baronet, and brothers to the present Lord Suffield.
This monument was executed by C. Rynart.
As in all human efforts there will be some defects, so it happens that
Thorp Church is not entirely free; but what few there are, are so well
counterbalanced by its beauties, which are numerous, that it cannot fail
to be in a high degree worthy the attention of the curious.
This church, with Gunton Hall, the seat of his Lordship, may be
conveniently inspected in a ride from Cromer to North-Walsham.
The house is by no means equal to the ideas we may be led to form of it
from the plantations which surround it. It is, however, pleasantly
situated upon an eminence which overlooks an extensive sweep of the park
towards the south.
The description of the house, offices, and Gunton Church, which stand but
a small distance from each other, I shall quote from the History of
Norfolk, having myself never seen more than the outside, it not being, I
believe, publicly shown.
"Gunton Hall, the seat of Sir Harbord Harbord, is at present a small
house but is going to be enlarged and has lately been ornamented with
new offices, under the direction of Mr. Wyatt. They are by far the
most complete buildings for the purpose of any thing in this kingdom;
the new stile of architecture is by its lightness and extreme
elegance well adapted to offices, and these are particularly worthy
the attention of strangers, from the studied contrivance for
conveniency in the apartments, as, also, for the slate covering,
which consists of small square pieces of slate, each fastened by wood
skrews."
"Not far from the house is the parish church which by the late Sir
William Harbord was taken down and rebuilt, with a magnificent
portico of the Doric order; this receives an additional degree of
sanctity from two venerable druidical oaks which grace the front of
it."
North-Walsham is situated about three miles from Gunton, it is a dull,
unpleasant town with a market on Thursdays, a turnpike road has lately
been established from this town to Norwich, from which it is distant
fourteen miles.
Two miles from Gunton is Hanworth, the seat of Robert Lee Doughty, Esq.
an excellent modern house, situated in a small but very pleasant park,
well wooded and laid out with taste; a farm house and the parish church
which stands on an eminence, both in the park, are very pretty objects as
seen from the road.
_Section the Sixth_.
THE ride from Cromer to Mundesley will present the traveller with some
pleasing scenes; the road runs almost entirely along the coast, taking in
its course the villages of Overstrand, Syderstrand and Trimmingham. On a
hill, about a mile through the latter village, stand the ruins of an old
beacon, which commands a noble prospect both of the sea and land; in very
clear weather Yarmouth is discoverable, and the cathedral spire at
Norwich very plainly to be seen. Few, who pay a visit to Cromer, omit
seeing this view, which is, perhaps, the most extensive in the county of
Norfolk.
About two miles further on is Mundesley, a straggling village, little
worthy of notice. There is one bathing machine, and some few, though the
number is very small, frequent Mundesley in the bathing season. The
accommodations are very confined, four or five houses at the utmost
appear at all calculated for the purposes of lodgings, and those are
situated close to the side of a dusty road.
The beach seems to be equally as good for bathing as at Cromer, and the
walking much the same, the tide at low water leaving a fine firm land.
The prospect upon the beach to the southward differs in appearance from
Cromer, by the land at Happisburgh jutting into the sea, forming a
promontory, which with the church and the two light-houses has a good
effect.
Every one who has made a study of nature is well aware of the different
appearance of the same spot as it is affected by the times of the day and
the changes of the weather; so much so, indeed, that it not unfrequently
happens that the whole beauty of a view depends upon such accidental
causes. This was the case with the promontory at my first seeing it; the
clouds at its back were dark and heavy, opposed by a bright sun-shine
from the west, giving it a strong opposition of light and shadow, which
being harmonized by the fine purple tint with which it was overspread,
rendered it a very pleasing object.
In a few moments, the sun declining behind a cloud, the beauty of the
prospect vanished, and a heavy mass of apparently shapeless earth was
left to the view; and even of that the outline was almost obliterated by
the cloud descending over it in a hasty shower.
Excellent effects of light and shadow are sometimes produced even in a
dull gloomy day when the sun makes an attempt to break from his
obscurity; the clouds in that part becoming brilliant, their light is
strongly reflected upon distant objects.
Sea views are particularly adapted, when well adorned with shipping, to
give full effect to such partial lights; you will at such times, perhaps,
see the vessels on the fore-ground in deep shadow, and those in the
second distance strongly illuminated, while those in the last distance
shall be invested with a grey or purple tint. These are called the
accidents {52} of painting, and the artist cannot be too careful in his
observations upon these effects, as he must entirely depend upon his
memory for producing them on canvass, which from continually changing
will seldom allow him to fix them on the spot.
It is a very common method in sketching a landscape (and where dispatch
is required by much the most ready) to make a mere outline and to
strengthen the memory by written references; and it is certainly an
excellent one when the shadow of objects are in some degree permanent,
but in the present instance they are so momentary and fleeting that
before an outline could be sketched the very shadows which gave a value
to the landscape would be lost.
It frequently happens that a spot without one beauty in itself acquire so
much, under the influence of these partial lights, as to appear the
"thing it is not." These appearances however, are often very beautiful,
but it is to be regretted that like all other borrowed ornaments they
only serve when laid aside to render the defects of the wearer the more
conspicuous.
_Section the Seventh_.
THE Cottage at Northrepps or as it is some times called the Hermitage,
the country residence of Bartlett Gurney, Esq. might have been included
in the excursion to Mundesley, but as it is within a walk of Cromer,
being only distant about a mile and half, it will be doing no more than
justice to the beauties of the place to give it a section by itself.
The house which is flinted and thatched, with a gothic porch also
thatched, is fitted up with the greatest neatness and simplicity, and the
stained-glass which occupies the upper parts of the arches of the windows
throws a very pleasing light into the apartments. The parlour which
commands an elegant view of the sea, is decorated with coloured prints,
extremely appropriate to the situation; such as the sailor-boy's return,
the ship-wrecked sailor-boy telling his tale at a cottage door, &c. on
the chimney-piece are shells and pieces of polished lava.
The situation is very romantic in a deep narrow valley, through which is
seen the little Church of Overstrand, partly in ruins, and beyond it the
sea. The views from different parts of the estate are many of them
beautiful and even in the present barren state of the hills are well
adapted to the pencil. Overstrand Church and the sea, as seen from the
Northrepps road, is a view which comes into excellent composition;
fortunately there are in that spot a few trees of sufficient consequence
to divest it of nakedness and give it beauty. Indeed, time only is
wanting to make this estate as elegant a situation as can be desired.
Planting has been done with a liberal hand and the healthy appearance of
the young trees, when the situation so near the sea is considered,
promises, hereafter, amply to reward the owner for his perseverance.
The difficulty of raising trees where there two such enemies as the
cutting winds from the sea and a numerous breed of rabbits, deters the
proprietors of estates from planning the number of hills which at present
lay waste; there is, also, another unfortunate circumstance that attends
planting, which is the slow growth of timber. The first expence is
considerable and there is certainly some hazard, particularly where there
are such enemies as before-mentioned, but if it was attended to with
care, there is no doubt, but in time, it would much more than repay the
cost.
It is true, that the profits to the present possessor of an estate are
not very great. He seldom begins to plant till half his life is spent,
but admitting that he begins at the age of thirty or forty, and chuses to
sell his estate at fifty or sixty, the growth of twenty or thirty thirty
years, even if it was little better than underwood, would certainly
considerably augment its value, betides the improvement on the score of
picturesque beauty, which is by no means inconsiderable and not to be
overlooked.
On a hill called Toll's-Hill, not far from the house, is a very fine
echo. This spot, literally speaking, is only a small portion of a range
of hills running towards Syderstrand; they command at all points a good
view of the sea, and in particular parts come into very decent
composition. By descending into the vallies, the hills are brought to
fold over each other, and the land between them and the sea, which forms
the second distance, being interspersed with cottages and a few trees,
(though the latter are scarce articles so near the sea) renders the
situation in many parts very picturesque.
These hills are situated a small distance out of the beaten track, but
the lover of nature in order to see her to the greatest advantage must
often deviate from the high road, where indeed he will seldom see her to
his taste; not but a high road, under some circumstances, has the power
of affording much amusement and of making an excellent picture, but,
generally speaking, beautiful nature like humble modesty, retires from
the general gaze and must be sought for in seclusion.
_Section the Eighth_.
BLICKLING, late the seat of the Earl of Buckinghamshire, but now of the
Honourable Asheton Harbord, must from its external appearance command the
attention of the passing traveller, as also from its having been the
birth place of a Queen of England, Anne Bulleyn wife of Henry the Eighth.
It is a noble old building in the gothic taste, having a square turret at
each corner and one more lofty in the center with a cupola and clock.
The entrance from the court yard (on each side of which are ranged the
offices in the same stile of building with the house) is over a bridge,
of two arches, across the moat, through a gate house and small inner
court, and is very striking in its appearance; from this you enter the
hall 42ft by 33ft and 33ft in height. The staircase, which is ornamented
with small figures carved in wood, branches off to the right and left
having a gallery of communication at the top, where are full length
statues of Anne Bulleyn and Queen Elizabeth.
From the hall you proceed to the anti-room 22ft square, where are
portraits of Sir John Hobart, Sir Henry Hobart, Sir Robert Rich, Sir
William Lemon, General Cope and Sir John Maynard. The portrait of Sir
John Hobart is exceedingly fine, that of Sir Henry is striking as it
brings to our memory his unfortunate death, occasioned by a duel with Mr.
Le Neve, upon Cawston Heath, where a square monumental stone marks the
spot where the event took place.
The portrait of Sir Robert Rich is singular by a black patch over one of
the eyes. From this you proceed to the dining room, over the chimney
piece of which are the arms of the family well carved with this motto
_Qua supra Anno Do_. 1627.
Lady Buckingham's dressing room is adorned with prints; adjoining to it
is Lord Buckingham's bed room in which is a double size chintz bed with a
curtain falling down in the center. This bed is placed in an alcove,
supported by four pillars.