were all his foibles kindly looked upon and administered to, and his
life made happy by allowing him in everything—even his attendance on
worship in the private chapel, and his leaving before the sermon—to
have, literally, “his own way.” In December, 1679, the earl and
countess went from Chatsworth to Hardwick Hall, probably with the
intention of keeping up their Christmas festivities there, and even
at that time the old man—for he was ninety-one years of age—would
accompany them. “He could not endure to be left in an empty house,
and whenever the earl removed he would go along with him, even to his
last stage from Chatsworth to Hardwick; when in a very weak condition
he dared not be left behind, but made his way upon a feather bed in a
coach, though he survived the journey but a few days. He could not bear
any discourse of death, and seemed to cast off all thoughts of it. He
delighted to reckon upon long life. The winter before he died he had
made a warmer coat, which he said must last him three years, and then
he would have such another. In his last sickness his frequent questions
were whether his disease was curable; and when intimations were given
that he might have ease, but no remedy, he used this expression:—‘I
shall be glad then to find a hole to creep out of the world at;’ which
are reported to have been his last sensible words, and his lying some
days following in a silent stupefaction did seem owing to his mind
more than to his body. The only thought of death that he appeared to
entertain in time of health was to take care of some inscription on his
grave. He would suffer some friends to dictate an epitaph, among which
he was best pleased with this honour, ‘_This is the true philosopher’s
stone_;’ which, indeed,” adds the bishop, “would have had as much
religion in it as that which now remains,” and of which we have just
given a copy.
As we have already remarked, it is not our business to discuss the
political or philosophical principles which Hobbes expressed in his
writings: these, both in and after his time, were the subject of much
controversy. We may, however, remark that it was well for those who
were committed to his tutelage and close companionship, that their
minds do not seem to have been corrupted by his avowed rejection, not
only of the Christian faith, but apparently of any faith at all in the
existence of a Deity. Nowhere—and he had abundance of opportunity in
some, at least, of his voluminous writings—does he show any glimmering
even of religious belief; and the history of his latest years, and the
last expression which proceeded from his mouth, testify to his fear of
death, and his dislike to have the subject mentioned in his hearing.
A mere materialist would not thus have been “subject to bondage,”
inasmuch as the conviction of utter annihilation must remove all ground
of apprehension regarding the “something after death.” Hobbes closed
his eyes a resolute doubter, if not an actual disbeliever; and no ray
of comfort or of hope came to brighten his last moments as he passed
into the world of spirits to exchange uncertainty for certainty, the
mortal for the immortal.
The late Sir William Molesworth endeavoured to rekindle some interest
in Hobbes’s writings by republishing an edition of his works: happily,
the attempt was a failure, so far, we believe, as to any extensive sale
of the poison contained in them.
Externally, Hault Hucknall Church, although highly picturesque and
venerable in appearance, presents not many striking features. The
tower, which stands between nave and chancel, was probably terminated
by a spire—the upper remaining part being of much later date than the
lower.
We have thus described the seat, next in importance to that of
Chatsworth, of the long-descended and long-ennobled family of
Cavendish. Their principal residence, Chatsworth, we describe and
illustrate in another part of this volume.
ARUNDEL CASTLE.
ARUNDEL castle takes high rank among the “Stately Homes of England.”
Some of its more prominent features we present to our readers. Of very
remote antiquity—for it traces back to a period long anterior to the
Conquest; deeply interesting in its historical associations—for it has
played a leading part in the principal events of the kingdom; and of
great importance in its family connections—for a long line of noble
and illustrious names, from the reign of Alfred the Great to our own
time, are associated with its history—Arundel stands, a proud monument
of England’s greatness, and of the beauty of England’s fair domains.
The manor of Arundel was, it is stated, given in the will of Alfred
the Great (“Æthelme mines brother suna thone ham æt Ealdingburnam, &
æt Cumtune, & æt Crundellan, & æt Beadingum, & æt Beadingahamme, & æt
Burnham, & æt Thunresfelda, & æt Æscengum”) to his nephew, Æthelm,
the son of his brother. To Earl Godwine, and to King Harold, it is
also stated successively to have passed. At the time of the Norman
Conquest the possessions and the earldoms of Arundel, Chichester,
and Shrewsbury, were given to Roger de Montgomery, a relative of
the Conqueror, and “one of the council which formed the invasion of
England, leading the centre of the army in that famous battle of
Battle Abbey, wherein the crown accrued to the Norman.” He commanded
the entire army of archers and light infantry in the decisive battle;
and to his superior skill in military tactics was principally owing
the successful issue. To requite him for his valuable services, and
place him in a position of advantage, the Conqueror established him at
Arundel in all the magnificence of the age. Of his immense possessions,
those by which he was immediately surrounded constituted three
lordships, ten hundreds and their courts and suits of service, eighteen
parks, and seventy-seven manors. He took a prominent part in affairs of
state, both in the reign of the Conqueror and in that of William Rufus,
and at last entered the monastery at Shrewsbury, which he had founded,
and where he died. He was succeeded in his possessions in Normandy by
his eldest son, Robert, Comte de Belesme, and in his English earldoms
and possessions by his youngest son, Hugh, who led a turbulent life,
and met with a premature death at Anglesey, in repulsing the descent
made by Magnus, King of Norway, on that island; he was shot from his
horse by an arrow, which pierced through his brain.
On the death of Hugh, his elder brother, Robert, came over from
Normandy to claim the earldoms and inheritance, to which, on paying
a heavy fine, he succeeded. “He was a cruel, crafty, and subtle man,
but powerful in arms, and eloquent in speech, and for fifteen years
seldom out of rebellion; till at length peace being made between the
king and his competitor, he was called to account for all his actions,
but shifted away and fortified his castles, which the king (Henry I.)
besieged, and forced him to sue for clemency, which was granted; but
all his possessions were seized, and himself banished.” He ultimately
died in Warwick Castle—the earldoms reverting to the crown.
Before tracing the descent to a later time, a word on the derivation of
the name Arundel may not be out of place. It has been conjectured to
be derived from various sources. Thus, Hirundelle, from _Hirundo_, a
swallow; from the name of a famous horse, _Hirondelle_, which was the
favourite of its owner, one Sir Bevis, who is said to have been warder
or constable of the castle; from _Arundo_, a reed, which grows in the
river; from _Portus Adurni_; and from _Arun_, the name of the river,
and _dell_, from the valley along which it flows; as well as from
_araf_ and _del_, and other sources.[29]
The estates and earldom having reverted to the crown under Henry I.,
were settled upon that monarch’s second wife, Adeliza, daughter of
the Duke of Lorraine, who married, for her second husband, William
de Albini (son of William de Albini, surnamed Pincerna, who came over
with the Conqueror), who is said to have been called “William of the
Stronghand,” because, when cast into a lion’s den—so the story goes,
in consequence of his refusal to marry the Queen of France—he seized
the lion, thrust his hand into its mouth, and down his throat, and
tore out its heart! He was Lord of Buckenham, and one of the most
powerful of the barons. In the troublous reign of Stephen, Albini and
his royal wife lived at Arundel Castle, and here received the Empress
Matilda, daughter of Henry I. by his first wife, and mother of Henry
II., who, with her half-brother, Robert of Gloucester, and a retinue of
knights and retainers, remained there for some time. Stephen, on news
reaching him of the presence of his rival, the Empress, drew his forces
to Arundel, and laid close siege to the castle. Albini, however, not
only preserved his royal guest from violence, but by good generalship
or caution, secured for her a safe conduct to Bristol, from which she
took ship, and returned to the Continent. Albini was, subsequently,
the meditator between Stephen and the son of Queen Matilda, Henry,
afterwards Henry II., by which the crown was secured to that prince
and his heirs, and so brought about a happy peace. For his loyalty and
good services he was, by Henry II., confirmed in the estates and titles
he had enjoyed through his wife Queen Adeliza, and was, in addition to
the earldoms of Arundel and Chichester, created Earl of Sussex. Besides
taking a very prominent part in most affairs of the nation, Albini
was one of the deputation to the Pope in the matter of the king’s
dispute with A’Beckett; was sent to conduct the daughter of Matilda
into Germany on her marriage with the Duke of Saxony; was one of the
king’s trustees to the treaty of the marriage of Prince John to the
daughter of the Count of Savoy; and commanded the royal forces against
the rebellious princes, taking prisoners the Earl of Leicester, and his
countess, and all the retinue of knights. He and his wife founded the
Priory of Calceto, near Arundel; built the Abbey of Buckenham; endowed
prebends in Winchester; founded the Priory of Pynham, near Arundel; and
the Chapel of St. Thomas at Wymondham. This earl having, in conjunction
with his wife, founded the Priory of Calceto, near Arundel, granted
its priors many privileges: among which were an annual allowance of
timber for the repairs of the bridge, and a right of pasturage for
cattle in common with the burgesses of Arundel. At the dissolution of
the monasteries, the office of bridge-warden, previously held by the
friars, devolved on the Mayor of Arundel, who still continues the
office. The meadows were retained in the possession of the burgesses,
and are still held by them. He died in 1176, and was succeeded by his
eldest son (or grandson), William de Albini, who married Maud, widow of
the Earl of Clare, by whom he had issue, two sons, William and Hugh,
and six daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest son, William, who,
dying without issue, was succeeded by his brother, Hugh de Albini, the
youngest son, who married Isabel, daughter to the Earl of Warren and
Surrey, but died without issue. The estates then passed to his sisters
and co-heiresses; that of Arundel descending to John Fitzalan, son of
the second sister of Hugh de Albini, by her husband, John Fitzalan,
Baron of Clun and Oswestry.
[Illustration: _The Quadrangle, Arundel Castle._]
He was succeeded in the earldom and estates by his son, John, who dying
two years afterwards, was succeeded by his son, Richard, then only five
years of age. That nobleman greatly improved the Castle of Arundel, and
is thus described in “the Siege of Caerlaverock:”—
“Richard, the Earl of Arundel,
A well-beloved and handsome knight,
In crimson surcoat marked, and well
With gold and rampant lion dight.”
In 1302 King Edward I. was the guest of the earl, at Arundel, and at
that time created Arundel a borough, and granted the earl certain
privileges, of taxes, &c., for the purpose of fortifying it. He was
succeeded by his son, Edmund Fitzalan, who, being taken prisoner by
Mortimer, was beheaded at Hereford. He was succeeded by his son,
Richard Fitzalan, to whom Arundel Castle, which had, on the execution
of the last earl, been giving to the Earl of Kent, was restored, as
were also the baronies of Fitzalan, Clun, and Oswestry. He led an
active and useful life, and distinguished himself at Crescy, Vannes,
Thouars, and other places, and founded a chantry of six priests at
Arundel. He was succeeded by his son, Richard, in his titles and
estates; he died on the scaffold, in Cheapside, in 1397, the king,
Richard II., being present at the execution. Ten days afterwards, “it
being bruited abroad for a miracle that his head should be grown to his
bodye againe,” the king sent, secretly, by night, “certaine nobilitye
to see his bodie taken up, that he might be certified of the truth,
which done, and perceiving that it was a fable,” he had the grave
closed up again. Through this attainder Arundel reverted to the crown,
and was given to the Duke of Exeter.
The earl was succeeded by his son, Thomas Fitzalan, who was, by Henry
IV., restored both in blood and in all his possessions and titles. He
held, among other important offices, those of Warden of the Cinque
Ports, Constable of Dover Castle, and Lord High Treasurer of England.
He married, in the presence of the king and queen, Beatrix, daughter of
John, King of Portugal, but died without issue, when the Arundel estate
passed, by entail, to his cousin, Sir John Fitzalan (or Arundel, as he
called himself), Lord Maltravers. His son, John, succeeded him as Baron
Maltravers and Earl of Arundel, and was created Duke of Touraine, but
being wounded before Beavois, was carried prisoner to that place, where
he died, and was succeeded by his son, Humphrey, who died a minor. The
title and estates then passed to the brother of Earl John, William
Fitzalan, who, in his turn, was succeeded by his son, Thomas, who again
was succeeded by his son, William, who died in 1543. This nobleman was
succeeded in his titles and estates by his son, Henry Fitzalan, who in
the four reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, led
a most eventful life, holding many important offices, and acquitted
himself nobly in all. He left issue, two daughters (his only son having
died a minor in his father’s lifetime), Joan, married to Lord Lumley,
and Mary, married to Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk. But the latter
lady having died after giving birth to a son, Philip Howard, and the
other, Lady Lumley, having been married twenty years without issue,
the earl entailed the estates, &c., on Lord and Lady Lumley for their
lives, and then to Philip Howard, the son of his sister Mary. Thus
ended the Fitzalan family, and from that time the titles and estates
have belonged to the ducal family of Howard.
[Illustration: _Entrance Gate—from the Interior._]
Philip Howard, so christened after Philip I., of Spain, one of his
godfathers, was only son by his first wife, Mary, daughter of the Earl
of Arundel, of Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk, who was beheaded for
high treason in 1572. The title of Duke of Norfolk being lost by his
attainder, Philip Howard did not enjoy it, but was Earl of Arundel and
Surrey. He was also unjustly attainted, was tried for high treason,
sentenced for execution, but ultimately died, during his imprisonment,
in the Tower. This ill-fated young nobleman had married Anne, daughter
and heiress of Lord Dacres of Gillesland, by whom he had an only
child, born after he was cast into prison, and who succeeded him.
This was Thomas Howard, the celebrated Earl of Arundel and Surrey
(and afterwards Earl of Norfolk), whose brilliant career and high
attainments are matters of history. His lordship, who is so well known
as the founder of the collection of marbles, &c., married the Lady
Alathea Talbot, daughter and one of the co-heiresses of Gilbert Talbot,
Earl of Shrewsbury, by whom he had issue, Henry Frederick, Lord Mowbray
and Maltravers (who succeeded him), Sir William Howard, ancestor of the
Earls of Stafford, and James, Thomas, Gilbert, and Charles, who all
died unmarried.
Henry Frederick, the eldest son, who, during his father’s lifetime,
had been called to the Upper House by the title of Baron Mowbray and
Maltravers, married the Lady Elizabeth Stuart, eldest daughter of the
Duke of Lennox, of the blood royal, for which, for a time, he incurred
the displeasure of his Majesty, and, with his lady, was placed in
confinement. He had issue, ten sons and three daughters. These sons
were, Thomas, who succeeded him; Henry; Philip, who became a cardinal,
and was variously styled Cardinal of Norfolk and Cardinal of England;
Charles, who married Mary Tattershall and founded the Greystocke line;
Talbot, Edward, and Francis, who died unmarried; Bernard, who married
Catherine Tattershall; and two others.
Thomas Howard, who succeeded his father as Earl of Arundel, Surrey, and
Norfolk, &c., had restored to him, and to the heirs male of himself
and his father, the dukedom of Norfolk and all the honours belonging
to that title. He thus became fifth Duke of Norfolk, a title which
has continued without further interruption till the present time.
He died unmarried in 1677, when the title and estates passed to his
brother Henry, sixth Duke of Norfolk, who had been previously created
a peer by the title of Baron Howard of Castle Rising, Earl of Norwich,
and Earl Marshal of England. He married, first, Lady Anne Somerset,
daughter of the Marquis of Worcester, and by her had issue, two sons
and three daughters; and secondly, Grace Bickerton, by whom he had
three sons and three daughters. Dying in 1684, he was succeeded by his
eldest son, Henry Howard (who had been summoned to Parliament in his
father’s lifetime as Baron Mowbray), as seventh Duke of Norfolk, who
was one of the supporters of the Prince of Orange. He married the Lady
Mary Mordaunt, daughter of the Earl of Peterborough, from whom he was
divorced in 1700, but died without issue in 1701, when the title and
estates passed to his nephew—
Thomas, eighth Duke of Norfolk, who married Mary, daughter of Sir
Nicholas Sherburn, by whom he had no issue; and dying in 1732, was
succeeded, as ninth Duke of Norfolk, by his brother Edward, who
married, in 1727, Mary Blount, but died without issue in 1777,
at the age of ninety-one. The titles and estates then passed to a
distant member of the family, his third cousin, Charles Howard, of the
Greystocke family, who thus became tenth Duke of Norfolk. He married
Catherine, daughter of John Brocholes, Esq., and by her had issue,
besides a daughter who died young, one son, Charles, who succeeded him,
as eleventh Duke of Norfolk, in 1786.
[Illustration: _The Keep._]
This nobleman, who was the restorer, or rebuilder, of Arundel Castle—a
man of considerable literary and scientific attainments—married,
first, Mary Anne Copinger, and second, Frances Scudamore, but had no
issue by either. He was succeeded by his relative, Bernard Edward
Howard, as twelfth Duke of Norfolk, who, marrying the Lady Elizabeth
Belasyse, daughter of Earl Faulconberg (from whom he was divorced), had
an only son, Henry Charles, who succeeded him in 1842.
Henry Charles, thirteenth duke, who was born in 1791, married, in 1814,
the Lady Charlotte Leveson Gower, daughter of the Duke of Sutherland
(she is still living), by whom he had issue, Henry Granville, Earl
of Surrey, who succeeded him; Lord Edward George Fitzalan Howard, of
Glossop Hall, Derbyshire, created, 1869, “Baron Howard, of Glossop;”
Lord Bernard Thomas; and the Ladies Mary Charlotte and Adeliza Matilda.
His Grace died in 1856, and was succeeded as fourteenth duke by his
eldest son, Henry Granville Fitzalan-Howard (who had assumed, by
royal sign-manual, in 1842, the surname of Fitzalan before that of
Howard). He married, in 1839, Augusta Mary Minna Catherine, daughter
of the first Baron Lyons (she still survives), by whom he had issue,
two sons, viz., Henry Fitzalan-Howard, the present Duke of Norfolk,
and Lord Edward Bernard Fitzalan-Howard; and seven daughters, viz.,
the Lady Victoria Alexandrina, born 1840, and married in 1861 to
James Robert Hope-Scott, Esq., Q.C.; the Lady Minna Charlotte, born
1843; the Lady Mary Adeliza, born 1845; the Lady Ethelreda, born
1849; the Lady Philippa, born 1852; the Lady Anne, born 1857; and the
Lady Margaret, born 1860. During the life of this nobleman, who was
universally beloved and respected, her Majesty Queen Victoria and the
Prince Consort paid a visit of three days to Arundel Castle, where the
reception was kept up with regal magnificence. His Grace died in 1860,
and was succeeded by his eldest son, then in his thirteenth year.
The present peer, his Grace Henry Fitzalan-Howard, fifteenth Duke
of Norfolk, Earl of Arundel, Earl of Surrey, Earl of Norfolk, Baron
Maltravers, Baron Fitzalan, Baron Clun, Baron Oswestry, Premier Duke
and Earl next to the blood royal, Hereditary Earl Marshal, and Chief
Butler of England, was born on the 27th of December, 1847, and attained
his majority in 1868. His grace is unmarried. He is the patron of seven
livings; but, “being a Roman Catholic, cannot present.”
The arms of the Duke of Norfolk are—Quarterly: first, _gules_, on a
bend between six cross-crosslets, fitchée, _argent_, an escutcheon,
_or_, charged with a demi-lion rampant, pierced through the mouth with
an arrow, within a double tressure, flory counter-flory, all _gules_,
for Howard; second, the arms of England (_gules_, three lions passant
guardant, _or_), charged with a label of three points, _argent_, for
difference, for Plantagenet; third, chequy, _or_ and _azure_, for
Warren; fourth, _gules_, a lion rampant, _argent_, for Mowbray. Crest,
on a chapeau _gules_, turned up, _ermine_, a lion statant-guardant,
_or_ ducally gorged, _argent_. Behind the arms two marshal’s staves
in saltire, _or_, enamelled at each end, _sable_. Supporters:—on the
dexter side a lion, _argent_, and on the sinister, a horse of the
same, holding in his mouth a slip of oak, fructed, _proper_. The motto
is “Sola Virtus Invicta.”
Thus having briefly traced the history of the house of Howard, so far
as the main line connected with Arundel Castle is concerned, we turn
our attention to some of the many beauties and attractions of the
domain of Arundel.
In situation, as a fortress, few sites were so well chosen as that of
Arundel Castle. At the southern extremity of the elevated platform on
which it stands a strong wall enclosed the inner court, containing
upwards of five acres; on the north-east and south-east a precipitous
dip of the hill to ninety feet, rendered the castle inaccessible.
On the remaining sides a deep _fosse_, protected on the north by a
double vallation, and cutting off all external communication in that
direction, secured the garrison from any sudden incursion or surprise.
In the centre rose the Donjon, or Keep, circular in form, enormous
in strength, crowning a lofty artificial mound, and commanding a
wide and uninterrupted view of all the neighbouring approaches. “The
walls, from eight to ten feet in thickness, enclosed a nearly circular
space of more than sixty feet in diameter, and of great height—the
apartments being all lit from the central well-staircase, and there
being no loopholes in the walls. This Keep—which still stands in all
its venerable and hoary age—is supposed to have been built by Alfred
the Great, and to have been recased in Norman times, when the present
doorway was made. To the same period belongs a portion of the tower
near it, and which is connected with the Keep by a covered passage
carried across the moat. The Barbican, or Bevis’s Tower, occupying the
north-west side of the ditch surrounding the Keep, has also some good
Norman features, and it, as well as the Keep covered with luxuriant
ivy, and the old entrance, built by Fitzalan, form the most interesting
and picturesque portions of the venerable place.”
The entrance to the castle at the present time is at the top of High
Street. The approach is enclosed by embattled walls with turrets,
and the entrance gateway, surmounted by a portcullis and the arms of
Howard, is between two massive embattled towers: of this gateway we
give an engraving, taken from the interior. Following the carriage-way,
the visitor arrives at the entrance to the grand quadrangle, a massive
and lofty arched gateway flanked by two towers. Passing through this
gateway the appearance of the castle is grand and imposing. On the
right of the gateway is the CHAPEL, and adjoining it is the BARON’S
HALL, or Banqueting Chamber; on the south side is the grand, or state
entrance; and in the north-east wing is the Library, &c. None of these
buildings, however, are of ancient times.
[Illustration: _The Library._]