particularly to do is the VERNON CHAPEL, in which, divided from the
south transept by a beautiful open oak screen, lie buried the later
Vernons and the earlier members of the Manners family connected with
Haddon. This chapel was, it appears, erected “late in the Decorated
period, about 1360, upon the walls of the former chapel. The
Early-English half-pillars at each extremity of the arches had been
retained, and were very beautiful examples, well worthy of imitation.
The hollows of the mouldings, up to a certain height, being filled
with bold roses, capitals in a different style were afterwards added
to suit the decorated arches. The central pillars, with their central
clustered shafts, are of singularly elegant design; the tracery of the
windows partakes of the flamboyant character. The upper part of the
buttresses was also altered to correspond with the new work.” It will
bear comparison with any structure of the kind in England, and has been
rebuilt in good taste.
In the centre of the Vernon Chapel stands a fine altar-tomb, bearing
the recumbent effigies of Sir George Vernon, the “King of the Peak,”
and his two wives, Margaret Taylebois and Maude Langford. This tomb is
an extremely beautiful and characteristic example of the elaborately
decorated monuments of the period to which it belongs. Along its sides,
under a series of canopied arches, are figures bearing shields of the
arms of the Vernons and their alliances and those of the families of
his two wives. Sir George is habited in plate armour and surcoat,
and wears a straight long beard and straight hair. He has a double
chain and a sword. The inscription on this interesting tomb is as
follows:—“Here lyeth S^r George Vernon, Knight, deceased ye —— daye
of —— an^o 1561, and Dame Margaret his wyffe, daughter of Sir Gylbert
Tayleboys, deceased ye —— daye of —— 156—; and also dame Mawde
his wyffe, dawght^r to S^r Ralphe Langford, deceased ye —— daye of
—— anno 156— whose solles God pdon.” The inscription, it will be
seen, has never been finished, the blanks for the dates not having been
filled up. The surcoat worn by the knight is elaborately emblazoned
with his own arms with all its quarterings; and, taken altogether, this
is a remarkably fine and interesting monument.
At the south end of the chapel stands, to visitors to Haddon, perhaps
the most interesting of its monuments. It is that of Dorothy Vernon,
about whose elopement we have already discoursed, and her husband, Sir
John Manners, with their children. This lady, it will be recollected,
was one of the daughters and co-heiresses of Sir George Vernon, whose
monument we have just been describing, and his first wife Margaret
Taylebois, and by her marriage with Sir John Manners, she conveyed
Haddon Hall and the other Derbyshire estates of the Vernons to the
family of Manners, to whom they still belong. This monument we, for the
first time, engrave. It is a large and very imposing-looking erection.
At the top, in the centre, is a large shield, bearing the shield of
Manners, with its sixteen quarterings, and on either side is an obelisk
ornament, one of which bears the arms of Manners and the other of
Vernon. Beneath these is a bold cornice and ornamental frieze, on which
again occur three shields with the arms, respectively, in the centre
Manners impaling Vernon; and on one side Avenell, and on the other
Roos.
[Illustration: _Monument of Sir John Manners and his wife, Dorothy
Vernon._]
This cornet and frieze surmount a semicircular arch, beneath which
are the kneeling figures, facing each other, of Sir John Manners, in
plate armour, and his wife, Dorothy Vernon, in close-fitting dress,
with cap, and frill or ruff around the neck. Between them there is
a pedestal, bearing the following incription:—“Here lyeth S^r John
Manners, of Haddon, Knight, second sonne of Thoas, Erle of Rutland, who
dyed the 4 of June, 1611, and Dorothie his wife, one of the daughters
and heires to S^r George Vernon, of Haddon, Knight, who deceased the 24
day of June, in the 26 yere of the raigne of Queen Elizabeth, 1584.”
Above the pedestal is a large shield, with quarterings of the armorial
bearings of the families of Manners and Vernon and their alliances;
the shields bearing the sixteen quarterings of Manners, differenced
with a crescent, impaled with the twelve quarterings of Vernon. On the
spandrels are also shields of arms, the one bearing Manners quartering
Roos and two others; and the other, Vernon quartering Avenel and two
others. The lower part of the monument contains four figures of the
children of Sir John and his wife Dorothy, and two shields, the one
bearing the arms of Manners, and the other those of Vernon.
At the opposite or north end of the chapel is a much larger and more
pretentious monument, that of Sir George Manners, son and heir of Sir
John Manners and Dorothy Vernon, and of his wife, Grace Pierrepoint.
At the top is a large shield bearing the arms of Manners with its
sixteen quarterings, and on each side is an obelisk. Beneath these is
a massive and bold cornice, supported on Corinthian pillars, forming a
recess in which is a semicircular arch, elaborately carved, and over
it the inscription, “The day of a man’s death is better than the day
of his birth.” Under this arch and cornice are the effigies of Sir
George Manners and his wife, kneeling, and facing each other, while
between them is a double desk, or lectern, on the front of which are
the words—“Thy prayers and thine alms are gone up before thee,” and
a shield bearing the arms of Manners impaling Pierrepoint. Behind the
figures, on a tablet, is a Latin inscription, which has been thus
translated:—“Sir George Manners of Haddon, Knt., here waits the
resurrection of the just in Christ. He married Grace, second daughter
of Sir Henry Pierrepoint, Knt., who afterwards bore to him four sons
and five daughters, and lived with him in holy wedlock thirty years.
She caused him to be buried with his forefathers, and then placed this
monument, at her own expense, as a perpetual memorial of their conjugal
faith, and she joined the figure of his body with hers, having vowed
their ashes and bones should be laid together. He died 23rd April,
1623, aged 54. She died ——.” Sir George is represented in armour,
and his lady is habited in close dress, with ruff, hood or coif, and
long veil. Beneath the figures of the knight and his lady, the monument
is divided into two heights, each of which is formed into an arcade
holding the effigies of their children. The upper arcade consists
of four semicircular arches, with shields of armorial bearings in
the spandrels. Within the first of these arches is the effigy of the
eldest son—a “chrisom child”—who died in infancy and is, as usual,
represented bound up, mummy fashion, in swaddling-clothes; in the
second, the kneeling effigy, in armour, of John Manners, who ultimately
succeeded to the title of eighth Earl of Rutland; and in the third
and fourth, those of two of the daughters. In the lower arcade, which
is formed of five archways, the first two being semicircular and the
remaining three pointed, are respectively the kneeling effigies of
Henry Manners, who died at the age of fourteen, and is habited as a
youth; Roger Manners, in armour; and three daughters. In the spandrels
of the arches, as in the upper arcade, are a series of shields with
armorial bearings. Over the nine arches are the nine inscriptions as
follows:—Over the “chrisom child,” “Mine age is nothing in respect
of thee;” over the son and heir, “One generation passeth and another
cometh;” over the youth, Henry Manners, “My days were but a span long;”
over the fourth son, Roger, “By the grace of God I am what I am;” over
the daughters, beginning with the eldest, “A virtuous woman is a crown
to her husband,” “The wise woman buildeth her house,” “A gracious woman
retaineth honour,” “A prudent wife is from the Lord,” and “She that
feareth the Lord shall be praised.” On the pedestal by Sir George,
“Christ is to me both in death and life an advantage,” and on the
opposite one, by his wife, “I shall go to him, he shall not return to
me.” The arms on the shields are those of Manners, differenced with
a crescent; Pierrepoint; Manners impaling Montague; Sutton impaling
Manners; Howard impaling Manners; and the other alliances also impaled.
On the wall is a memorial to John Manners, son of Dorothy Vernon and
her husband, Sir John Manners, with the inscription—“Heare lieth
buried John Manners, gentleman, third son of S^r John Manners, Knight,
who died the xvi day of July, in the yeere of our Lord God 1590, being
of the age of 14 yeers.”
The most ancient, and certainly one of the most interesting, monuments
in the church, is that of Sir Thomas de Wendesley, or Wensley, of
Wensley, who was killed at the battle of Shrewsbury in 1403. It is an
altar-tomb, with the recumbent effigy of the knight in plate armour,
wearing the conical helmet or bascinet, and camail or tippet of chain
mail, with gussets of the same at the arm-pits. His girdle, which is
exceedingly rich, encircles his hips; the sword is lost, but the dagger
remains. His surcoat is emblazoned with his arms, and he wears the
collar of SS. On the front of the helmet is inscribed IHO NAZAREN.
In the chancel is an altar-tomb to John Vernon, 1477, the inscription
on which runs as follows:—“Hic jacet Johis Vernon filius et heres
Henrici Vernon qui obiit xii die mensis Augusti Anno Dni Mo cccclxxvii
cuj anime piciet̄ dē;” and in the Vernon Chapel is an incised slab,
with the arms of Eyre.
In the nave is a small but exceedingly beautiful monument bearing the
half-length effigies, side by side, under an elaborately-crocketed
canopy, of Sir Godfrey Foljambe and Avena his wife. The knight is
represented in armour, with conical helmet or bascinet, and tippet of
chain mail; his surcoat bearing the arms of Foljambe. The lady wears a
reticulated caul. In each of the spandrels is a shield, the one bearing
the arms of Foljambe, the other that of the family of Ireland, of
Hartshorne, to which the lady belonged.
There are several tablets and inscriptions in various parts of the
church which are worthy of a passing glance, and there are also some
memorial stained-glass windows of good design. Among these is one in
memory of the late Duke of Rutland, representing the Resurrection,
bearing the following inscription:—“The above window was erected,
by subscription, in memory of John Henry, Duke of Rutland, who died
20th January, 1857, aged seventy-nine years.” Others are put in to the
memory of the late Mr. Allcard and of Mr. Jonathan Wilson and others.
Before leaving the interior of this fine old church, it will, no doubt,
interest the visitor to be told in fewer words, and more correctly
than could be gleaned from the strange tales sometimes told in the
place, the story of the uncovering of the remains of Dorothy Vernon,
her husband, and other members of the family, during the rebuilding
and alteration of the church. When the excavations were commenced on
the site of the monument of Sir John Manners and his wife Dorothy
Vernon, the remains of two persons, supposed to be the knight and his
lady, were found; the skull of the one was identified as that of Sir
John, by its peculiar form and its likeness to his sculptured effigy;
that of the other, which lay near it, with beautiful auburn hair still
attached, among which were some pins that had been used to fasten
it—was naturally, and no doubt correctly, considered to be that of the
once lovely Dorothy. In another part three children’s leaden coffins
were found, but not opened, and the bones of an infant (probably the
“chrisom child,” represented on the tomb of Sir George Manners) were
discovered rolled up in a sheet of lead. These, no doubt, were the
children of different members of the Manners family. A leaden coffin
was also found which contained the body of a lady. The part of the lid
over the head had been violently torn away—the piece of the sheet of
lead being missing—and this was carefully and thoroughly examined. The
body had been buried in lime, but the part of the lid had been torn
off, the head cut off, taken out and surgically examined, and then
hastily replaced, but with the face downwards. The rest of the body was
undisturbed. Several other bodies were, of course, found, as were some
few other interesting matters which require no notice here.
[Illustration: _Ancient Cross, Bakewell Churchyard._]
In the churchyard, near the east wall of the south transept, stands
one of the finest so-called “Runic crosses” in the kingdom. It is,
exclusive of the modern pedestal, about eight feet in height: the upper
limb of the cross is broken off. Of this fine old cross we give an
engraving. The front of the cross, which in bad taste has been turned
towards the wall, is sculptured in four heights, with figures beneath
arches—the upper group being the Crucifixion: the whole, however,
is much defaced. The opposite side, the one shown in our engraving,
is boldly sculptured, with a beautiful scroll-pattern of foliage
terminating at the top in an animal, and at the bottom is a cross
within a circle; on the head is a figure on horseback. The sides of
the cross are sculptured in scroll-work of foliage, of much the same
design as the side just described; the end of one of the limbs bears an
interlaced ornament, and the other a figure. This cross, and the one
at Eyam, a few miles distant, are among the most perfect and beautiful
remaining examples of the early period to which they belong.
If the tourist still wishes to linger for a few minutes in the
churchyard, he will find much to interest, to please, and to amuse him.
To _interest_ him in examining the external features of the church,
especially the Norman doorway and arcade, &c., at the west end, and the
beautiful doorway of Early-English design on the south side, as well as
the stone coffins grouped together in one corner. To _please_ him, in
the magnificent view he obtains of the surrounding country, especially
of the valley of the Wye as it runs its zig-zag course towards Haddon;
and to _amuse_ him, in reading the strange verses which occur on some
of the grave-stones which crowd around him on every side, and in the
church itself.
One of these, to the memory of a former parish clerk and leader of the
choir, reads as follows:—
“ERECTED TO THE MEMORY OF PHILIP ROE, WHO DIED 12TH SEPTEMBER, 1815,
AGED 52 YEARS.
“The vocal Powers, here let us mark,
Of PHILIP, our late Parish Clerk.
In church, none ever heard a Layman
With a clearer Voice say Amen!
Oh! who with Hallelujah’s Sound
Like Him can make the Roofs resound.
The Choir lament his Choral Tones,
The Town—so soon here lie his Bones.
Sleep undisturbed, within thy peaceful shrine,
Till angels wake thee with such tones as thine.”
Another long inscription to the memory of John Dale, barber-surgeon, of
Bakewell, and his two wives, Elizabeth Foljambe and Sarah Bloodworth,
1757, thus curiously ends:—
“Know, posterity, that on the 8th of April, in the year of grace 1757,
the rambling remains of the above-said John Dale were, in the 86th
yeare of his pilgrimage, laid upon his two wives.
“This thing in life might raise some jealousy,
Here all three lie together lovingly,
But from embraces here no pleasure flows,
Alike are here all human joys and woes;
Here Sarah’s chiding John no longer hears,
And old John’s rambling Sarah no more fears;
A period’s come to all their toilsome lives,
The good man’s quiet; still are both his wives.”
Another reads as follows:—
“These lines I with watery eye
For my dear friend indite,
Who for his worth, none such on earth,
Heaven crown him with true light.
“A lawyer just, a steward most just,
As ever sate in court,
Who lived beloved, with tears interred,
This is his true report.”
Another, locally said to have been written by Charles Wesley, brother
to the founder of Methodism, reads as follows:—
“Beneath, a sleeping infant lies,
To earth whose body lent,
More glorious shall hereafter rise,
Though not more innocent;
When the Archangel’s trump shall blow,
And souls to bodies join,
Thousands shall wish their lives below
Had been as short as thine.”
It may be as well to note that the principal inn at Bakewell is the
Rutland Arms: it is a family hotel, but there are other comfortable
inns in the place. Opposite the Rutland Arms are the baths and
bath-gardens: the baths, which were known to the Romans, have the
reputation of being efficacious in rheumatism.
Having already very briefly alluded to the routes by which Haddon Hall
may be visited both from Buxton on the one hand, and from Derby on the
other, and having then spoken of some of the attractions of Buxton,
it may be well now to say a few words regarding Matlock Bath, through
which the visitor will pass by rail on his journey from London, from
Derby, or from the North.
MATLOCK BATH is about seven miles from Haddon Hall; and, exclusive of
its baths, which are as famous as those of Buxton, and for the benefit
of which the invalid may pass the season pleasantly and profitably,
it has attractions of scenery which no other inland watering-place
can boast. Its “High Tor” rising almost perpendicularly to a height
of about 400 feet above the river Derwent, which flows at its base;
its “Lovers’ Walks,” winding along by the side of the river, and
zig-zagging up the mountain side; its “Heights of Abraham” and “Masson”
towering over the valley: its “romantic rocks,” and its many caverns;
its petrifying wells, its “grottoes,” and its other attractions, render
Matlock Bath a place of delight to the tourist; while the surrounding
district, rich in minerals, in ferns, and in other botanical specimens,
and full of gorgeous scenery, is “passing beautiful,” and will amply
repay the pleasant labour of exploring.
At Matlock Bath the principal hotels are the “New Bath,” “Walker’s
Terrace Hotel,” “The Temple,” and “Hodgkinson’s,” and the place swarms
with lodging-houses and all things to attract and to keep the tourist.
From Matlock, delightful day-trips may be made to Haddon Hall, to
Hardwick Hall, to Chatsworth, the “Palace of the Peak”—the princely
seat of the Duke of Devonshire; to Dovedale, with its glorious scenery,
and its pleasant associations with old Izaac Walton and Charles Cotton;
to the Via Gellia and its surroundings; to Lea Hurst, the early home of
Florence Nightingale; and to numberless other places of interest—all
easily attainable by railroad or carriage.
And now, may not a visit to this grand old Hall be productive of
thought? First, let us give thanks to the noble owner—the Duke of
Rutland—that he freely opens its gates to all comers, keeps it in a
state of neatness and order, and takes special care that Time shall
make no farther inroads on the mansion of his ancestors, preserving
it for the enjoyment of all who seek instruction and pleasure there;
permitting them, indeed, to make of one of its rooms a dinner-room for
the day; rendering it, in fact, the common property of the public,
and by his occasional presence ascertaining that all is done that can
be done for their happiness while in its gardens or within its walls:
thus practically commenting on the exhortation and protest of the
Poet-laureate—
“Why don’t those acred sirs
Throw up their parks some dozen times a year,
And let the people breathe?”
HATFIELD HOUSE.
HATFIELD is entitled to high rank among the Stately Homes of England,
whether we consider its architectural merits, its historical
associations, or the picturesque attractions by which it is surrounded.
Seven centuries have passed since Hatfield became a place of note; and
the crown, the mitre, and the coronet have successively held sway over
its destinies. Of its architectural glories, little now remains of a
date anterior to that of James I., in whose reign the present noble
house was built. A part, however, of the previous _palace_ of Hatfield
still exists, interesting as the home of the Princess Elizabeth, during
the reign of her sister, Queen Mary. Nor was her residence here, though
compulsory, a state of imprisonment and oppression, as some have said;
for it is proved, from various records, that she met with considerate
treatment, and lived in a state befitting her lofty rank and queenly
prospects, till, on the death of Mary, she proceeded hence to take
possession of the throne of England.
Hatfield House lies some twenty miles from London, in the county
of Hertford, and is the seat of the most noble the Marquis of
Salisbury—the representative of the grand old line of the Cecils.
The history of the mansion is one of considerable interest, dating,
as its name _Hetfelle_ indicates, from Saxon times, and undergoing
many changes under its royal and noble and ecclesiastical owners. It
belonged to the Saxon kings until, in the reign of Edgar, it was given
by that monarch to the monastery of St. Etheldreda, at Ely, which was
founded in 673, destroyed in 870, and refounded in 970, and erected
into a bishopric in 1108, in the reign of Henry I.
[Illustration: _The Old Palace at Hatfield._]
Thus Hatfield being attached to the new bishopric, and the manor
becoming one of the many residences of the prelates, acquired, it is
said, its appellation of “Bishop’s Hatfield.” Hatfield continued to be
one of the palaces of the Bishops of Ely, and was occasionally used as
a royal residence, until the reign of Henry VIII., when it was made
over to the crown. “William de Hatfield, second son of Edward the
Third, was born at the palace,” and at various times before it finally
became vested in the crown, it was used and frequented by royalty.
During the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII. the young Prince
Edward, afterwards Edward VI., resided at this palace, and is variously
stated to have been here and at Hertford when the news of the death of
his father was conveyed to him, and when, consequently, his accession
to the crown took place. In the fourth year of his reign the youthful
monarch conveyed Hatfield to his sister, the Princess Elizabeth,
afterwards Queen Elizabeth, and here she frequently resided. Indeed,
the greater part of the troublous reign of Mary, the Princess passed at
Hatfield, “with few privations and no personal hardships to endure,”
but with much mental torture; for it must not be forgotten that she
had been removed from Ashbridge to London and imprisoned in the Tower,
for her supposed participation in Wyatt’s rebellion, and was then,
under surveillance, permitted to retire to Hatfield. It was at Hatfield
that Elizabeth, it is said, while seated under an oak, received the
welcome intelligence of the death of her sister, “the bloody Queen”
Mary, and on hearing the news she fell upon her knees, exclaiming in
Latin, _A Domino factum est istud, et est mirabile oralis nostris_ (“It
is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes”), words which
she adopted as a motto for her gold coinage, while on her silver issue
she chose the somewhat similar one, _Posui Deum adjutorem meum_ (“I
have chosen God for my helper”). Thus Hatfield became identified with
the coinage of the realm as well as with many of its rulers. The day
following this event Elizabeth was waited upon at Hatfield by several
noblemen of the late queen’s Council, whom she received very kindly,
“but presently showed her decided preference for Sir William Cecil
(afterwards Lord Burleigh)—the astute, the most politic Cecil—whom
she instantly appointed principal Secretary of State.” On the 23rd of
November the Queen removed from Hatfield with an escort of more than
a thousand persons, and made her progress by slow degrees to Somerset
House.
In 1587 Elizabeth had, it is recorded, been visited at Hatfield by
Mary, whom she received with much state, and with great festivity,
playing herself upon the virginals, to accompany a child who sang. It
was at Hatfield, too, it is said, that Elizabeth received the proposals
of marriage from the King of Sweden for his son Eric, which she turned
to such profitable account with her sister by declaring that she would
never listen to any overtures of this nature which had not previously
received her Majesty’s sanction.