to the beloved memory of Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland, wife of
George Granville, 2nd Duke of Sutherland, is erected, in the church
which they rebuilt, as a loving tribute to her spotless life, A.D.
mdccclxxi.” It was erected by her son, Lord Ronald Charles Sutherland
Leveson-Gower, and a brass plate near it thus records the fact:—“The
erection of the monument to our mother has been the thought and the act
of my brother Ronald. I only share with him in the love and reverence
which prompted it. SUTHERLAND, 1871.”
The present noble peer, George Granville William Sutherland
Leveson-Gower, third Duke of Sutherland, Marquis of Stafford, Earl
Gower, Viscount Trentham, Baron Gower of Sittenham, in the peerage
of the United Kingdom; Earl of Sutherland and Lord Strathnaver
in the peerage of Scotland; Knight of the Garter and a Baronet;
Lord-Lieutenant of Cromartie and of Sutherland, was born December 19th,
1828, and succeeded his father in his titles and estates in 1861,
having previously sat (as Marquis of Stafford) as M.P. for Sutherland
from 1852 to 1861. He married in 1849 Anne (born 1829), daughter and
only child of John Hay Mackenzie, Esq., created in her own right, in
1861, Countess of Cromartie, Viscountess Tarbat, Baroness Castle-Avon,
and Baroness McLeod, all in the peerage of the United Kingdom, with
remainder to her eldest surviving son. By this lady (who has held the
appointment of Mistress of the Robes to the Queen) the Duke has issue,
living, two sons and two daughters. These are—Cromartie Sutherland
Leveson-Gower, Marquis Stafford, M.P. for Sutherlandshire (heir to the
dukedom), who was born in 1851, educated at Eton, and is in the Life
Guards; Francis Sutherland Leveson-Gower, Viscount Tarbat (heir to
the earldom of Cromartie), born in 1852; the Lady Florence, born in
1855; and the Lady Alexandra, born in 1866. His grace (who accompanied
H.R.H. the Prince of Wales to India in 1875-6) is patron of thirteen
livings—viz. Trentham, Blurton, Sheriff Hales, Hanford, Barlaston,
and Normacott, in Staffordshire; and Donnington Wood, Pains Lane,
Kinnersley, Lilleshall, Longdon-upon-Terne, Ketley, and Donington, in
Shropshire.
The arms of the Duke of Sutherland are—quarterly, 1 and 4, barry of
eight, _argent_ and _gules_, a cross fleury, _sable_, for Gower; 2,
_azure_, three laurel-leaves, _or_, for Leveson; 3, _gules_, three
mullets, _or_, within a bordure, _or_, charged with a double tressure
flory counter-flory, _gules_, for Sutherland. Crests—1st, a goat’s
head erased, _ermine_, for Leveson; 2nd, a wolf passant, _argent_,
collared and lined, _or_, for Gower; 3rd, a cat-a-mountain, _proper_,
for Sutherland. Supporters—dexter, a wolf (locally called a “gower”),
_argent_, collared and lined, _or_; sinister, a savage, wreathed
about the temples and loins with laurels, holding in his dexter hand a
club, resting on his shoulder, all _proper_, and supporting with his
sinister hand an antique shield, charged with the arms of the ancient
family of Sutherland in proper blazonry. Motto—“Frangas non flectes”
(You may break, but shall not bend me). The arms of the Duke are
engraved on our initial letter (page 32). The principal seats of the
Duke are—Trentham, Staffordshire; Dunrobin Castle, Golspie, Scotland;
Lilleshall, Shropshire; Loch Inver House, Sutherland; House of Tongue,
Sutherland; Tarbat House, Ross-shire; Castle Leod, Dingwall; and
Stafford House, St. James’s, London.
[Illustration: _The South Front, from the Italian Gardens._]
The old hall at Trentham, previously referred to, and which was usually
called Trentham Priory, through having been built on the foundations
of that religious house, was altered and enlarged, and in the main
rebuilt, by the second duke. The work was intrusted to Sir Charles
Barry, and was commenced in 1834, and carried out at a cost of about
£150,000. It had, however, previously undergone much alteration at the
hands of Mr. Tatham, who endeavoured to approximate it, in appearance,
to the old Buckingham Palace.
PURSUING the carriage-way to Trentham, the visitor passes to the
house from the park through a pair of gates, the posts of which are
surmounted with life-size bronze stags. In the centre of the circular
drive is a fine bronze statue of Diana at the chase. The carriage
porch, which, unlike the rest of the building, is of solid stone, forms
a square, arched upon columns, with an entablature and attic surmounted
with a balustrade, and piers and bases. Over the arches are the arms
of the Duke, boldly carved in stone; the supporters, wolves, as large
as life. From this porch the entrance door opens into an elegant
semicircular corridor, which is one of the prettiest features of the
place. To the left, on entering, the corridor leads to the Entrance
Hall, Grand Staircase, Billiard, and other rooms; and, on the right, to
the Private Conservatory, Drawing-room, the private rooms, &c.; while
in front it encloses the West Court, with its shell-fountain, statue of
“Venus rising from the Bath,” and other attractions.
It is not necessary to minutely describe the various rooms of this
charming and purely domestic “Home,” nor to observe any consecutive
arrangement regarding those upon which we may remark. All we need do is
to briefly allude to some of the apartments, and then pass on to the
charming grounds—the glory of Trentham.
Among the more notable rooms are the following:—The Venetian Room,
or the Duchess’s Boudoir, is, without exception, the most perfect gem
of a room which any mansion can boast. It, as well as the Duke’s Room
and Private Dining-room, opens from the corridor to the private rooms,
lined with presses of books, and is lighted by three windows in the
south front. The walls are divided into five large panels, painted by
Clarkson Stanfield, in his best and most brilliant style, with scenes
in Venice; the panels being separated from each other, and surrounded
by gilt reticulated work on a crimson velvet ground. Of the furnishing
and decorations of this exquisite apartment it is enough to say that
it is arranged with that refined and faultlessly pure taste, which can
nowhere be expected to be better shown than in the surroundings of so
good and amiable and accomplished a woman as the Duchess of Sutherland.
[Illustration: _The South Front, with Grecian Temple._]
The Duke’s Room closely adjoins this apartment. It is fitted with
presses filled with the choicest and most rare printed books and
manuscripts, and contains some remarkably fine paintings. Among the
literary treasures here preserved we cannot forbear noting the original
manuscript of old John Gower’s poems, in his own handwriting, and, as
shown by an inscription at the commencement, presented by the poet
to King Henry IV., on his coronation, and given back to the family
of Gower, some centuries later, by Sir Thomas Fairfax; and among the
treasures of Art, of which there are many, is one of the original
“first fifty” copies of the Portland vase by old Josiah Wedgwood, in
perfect preservation. And here it may be well to note that through
the kind thoughtfulness of the Duke on our visit, we were shown a
fine and remarkably interesting old Wedgwood jasper chimney-piece in
the Bath-room; it is one of the best remaining specimens. Adjoining
the Venetian Room, on the other side, is the Private Dining-room, the
walls of which are hung with a fine collection of landscapes by Penry
Williams, and paintings by other artists. Leading to the corridor, at
one end, is the Private Arcade, at the extremity of which, next to the
Duke’s Room, has recently been placed Noble’s magnificent statue of
the late duke—a work of Art which takes rank with any of that eminent
sculptor’s productions.
[Illustration: _The Conservatory and Private Wing, South Front._]
The Dining-room, at the east end of the south terrace, contains some
choice sculpture by Antonio Sola, Wolff, and others, and some gigantic
vases of Minton’s creation. Adjoining this is the Marble Hall, or
Ante Dining-room, lighted from the ceiling, and containing, besides
a fine sculptured figure of Canning—copied from that by Chantrey
in Westminster Abbey—a full-length life-size portrait of the late
Harriet, Duchess of Sutherland, by Winterhalter. The Breakfast-room,
among its other pictorial treasures, contains Wilkie’s “Breakfast,”
painted for the first duke; Gainsborough’s “Landscape with Sheep;”
Jackson’s “Infant Moses,” exhibited in 1818; Callcott’s “Italian
Landscape,” and other paintings by Poussin, Stothard, Moulson,
Frearson, Rogers, Wilson, &c.
[Illustration: _The Private Conservatory._]
The Library, which contains a marvellous collection of choice and
valuable books, is enriched by a frieze from the Elgin and Phigalean
marbles, and is a charming and highly interesting room. In the Saloon,
or Music-room, a pretty apartment whose ceiling is supported on
pilasters, are some exquisite family busts, a charming bust of the late
duchess by Noble, and other attractions. The carpet is characterized
by the same pattern as the terrace garden. The Drawing-room, with its
sweetly pretty painted ceiling, contains many good pictures: among
these are Hofland’s “Storm off the Coast at Scarborough;” Sir Thomas
Lawrence’s portraits of Lord Francis Leveson-Gower (Egerton), and of
the second Duke of Sutherland; Vandyke’s “Children of Charles I.;”
Charles Landseer’s “Benediction,” and others. The Billiard-room has
a lofty coved ceiling, and was the Great Hall of the old mansion. In
it are Winterhalter’s grand full-length figure of Queen Victoria,
presented by her Majesty to the late duchess; a copy of Reynolds’s
portrait of George III.; Romney’s portrait of Queen Charlotte, Lord
Chancellor Thurlow, and the first Marquis of Stafford, and others.
In the Entrance Hall is a copy of Michael Angelo’s statue of “Thought;”
and on the Grand Staircase is a rich assemblage of family and other
portraits. In the various bed-rooms and other apartments, too, are
contained a vast number of valuable paintings and works of Art.
The Private Conservatory, however, is one of the “gems” of Trentham,
and is as elegant in its arrangements and decorations as the most
fastidious taste can desire or Art accomplish. Of this miniature “world
of flowers” we give an engraving, from a special photograph taken by
Harrison, but of its Eastern splendour of rich colours we can offer
no idea. It is a square apartment, with Italian windows and trellised
walls, and is also trellised between the lights of the ceiling. In the
centre is a fine figure of “Venus at the Bath.” The noble ferns and the
exotic and other plants are of the choicest kinds, and the arrangement
of colour, especially when all are lighted from the number of lamps
suspended from the roof, is exquisitely beautiful.
A pleasant feature of Trentham is the Bowling Alley—formerly the
Orangery Arcade—which affords an almost unique and very pleasing
indoor pastime for the family and friends. This feature, we believe,
was much enjoyed by the Shah on his visit to Trentham, which was
rendered lavishly enjoyable to him in every conceivable way.
From the Entrance Hall a doorway opens into the Church, which thus
becomes not only the parish church, but the private chapel of the Duke.
The Church thus forms a part of, or at all events is attached to, the
house; and the transition from the elegances of modern life to the
grand old house of prayer is very striking and solemn. The Church,
which was restored in 1842 at the cost of the Duke, by Sir Charles
Barry, is the nave of the old abbey of Trentham, the chancel having
extended considerably beyond the present east wall of the churchyard.
The Church, as it now exists, consists of a nave with clerestory,
north and south aisles, and chancel, with a mortuary chapel at the
east end of the south aisle. The pillars which divide the aisles from
the nave are Norman, and are the original pillars, carefully replaced
and restored, of the old priory; from them now spring acutely pointed
arches of a later, and consequently incongruous, character. The
chancel is divided from the nave by an elaborate oak screen of late but
good character, the altar-piece, by Hilton, being the “Taking down from
the Cross.” There is an eagle lectern at the east end of the nave; and
the pulpit is hung with a fine Moorish horsecloth, elaborately worked
in silver on crimson velvet. At the west end is a gallery forming the
family pew. At the back of this, beneath the window, is a bust of
the late duke; on the south side, a bust, by Noble, of a son of the
present duke, who died young; and, on the north side, a tablet to Lord
Frederick Leveson-Gower, who lost his life during the Crimean war. At
the same end of the Church is a poor’s box, bearing date 1698. The
font, the gift of the parishioners, is also at the west end.
[Illustration: _Trentham Church._]
In the Memorial Chapel, besides the exquisitely beautiful altar-tomb
to the late duchess by Noble, to which we have already referred, are
monuments and tablets to the Levesons and Gowers; and here, too, is
placed a memorial bust to Lord Albert, recently deceased. Of the
beautiful monument to the late duchess we have given an engraving on
page 40, copied from a clever photograph by M. De Tejada, taken from
the admirable picture by Mr. John O’Connor, painted, we believe, for
Lord Ronald Gower, and in his lordship’s possession. In the north wall
of the Church is a recessed arched tomb, on which lie the fragments of
a highly interesting effigy in chain-mail, dug up in the churchyard a
few years ago; and over the north door are the royal arms, dated 1663,
pierced with Parliamentarian bullets.[40]
One feature yet remains to be noted; it is the introduction on the
north wall of encaustic wall-tiles, each one of which, enclosed in a
reticulated pattern, bears a memorial of some departed parishioner, in
manner following:—
[Illustration:
+
JAMES SHELDON
DEPARTED THIS LIFE
JULY 3RD, 1822,
AGED 49.
+ +
ALSO
IANE HIS WIFE,
APRIL 3RD, 1851,
AGED 74.
+]
These, which are many in number, are arranged above the oak lining on
the seats, and have appropriate texts, &c., also in tiles, running
above and below the series. It is a pretty and very lasting, as well
as inexpensive, kind of memorial, and one that might with advantage be
adopted in many churches. In the churchyard are the remains of a cross,
and some other interesting matters.
[Illustration: _The Upper Terrace Garden, Italian Garden, and Lake._]
The great features of Trentham are, as we have before said, its grounds
and its matchless lake. To these, however, we have but little space to
devote, though a bare enumeration of their points of beauty would fill
a volume. To the park the public are, thanks to the liberality of the
Duke of Sutherland, and which is one of the innate features of himself
and the noble family of which he is the head, freely admitted. The
gardens and pleasure-grounds (which, until the great alterations made
some years ago, was simply a sheep pasture railed off from the park)
can only, however, and very rightly, be seen by special permission.
To these we must devote a few words. The principal or south front of
the house—two charming views of which we have given on pages 45 and
46—looks across the grounds and lake to the distant wooded hills
skirting the horizon, and crowned in one place by the colossal statue
of the first duke, to which we have already alluded. A part of this
view, as seen from the windows of this front, we have depicted in
the accompanying engraving. First comes the Terrace (not included in
our view), studded with statues and vases; next, the Terrace Garden,
with its central fountain, its grand bronze vases and sculptures,
its flower-beds laid out in the form of a letter S for Sutherland,
its recessed alcoves, and its Grecian temples, containing marvellous
examples of antique sculpture; next, beyond, come the Italian Gardens
(approached by a fine semicircular flight of steps), about ten acres in
extent, with their parterres and borders and sunk beds, their statues,
fountain, and busts, and their thousand and one other attractions;
then the Lake Terrace, with its balustrade, its line of vases, its
magnificent colossal statue of “Perseus and Medusa” (which cost its
noble owner £1,600), its descending steps for landing, its boat-houses,
and other appliances; then, next beyond, the Lake, eighty-three acres
in extent, on which sailing and rowing boats and canoes find ample
space for aquatic exercise; then the Islands—one of which alone is
four acres in extent, and the other a single acre—beautifully planted
with trees and shrubs; and, beyond this again, the woods of Tittensor,
with the crowning monument. To the left are the grand wooded heights
of King’s Wood Bank, a part of the ancient forest of Needwood, and
consequently the remains of the old hunting-grounds of the Kings
of Mercia; and, to the right, the American Grounds, planted with a
profusion of rhododendrons and other appropriate shrubs and plants;
while the Italian Garden is skirted on its east side by a deliciously
cool and shady trellised walk—a floral tunnel, so to speak, some two
hundred yards long, formed of trellised arches the whole of its length,
overgrown with creeping plants and flowers, and decorated with busts,
ornamental baskets, &c., forming a vista of extreme loveliness.
Near this is a pleasant glade, having the Orangery, now the Bowling
Alley, at its extremity; and near here is the iron bridge—one hundred
and thirty years old, and one of the _chefs-d’œuvre_ of the old
Coalbrookdale Works—crossing the river Trent, which flows through the
grounds. Standing on this bridge, the view both up and down the Trent
is strikingly beautiful. Looking up the stream, the “solemn Trent” is
seen crossed by the old stone bridge, while, to the left, a view of
the house is partially obtained through the trees, the original course
of the river, before it was altered, being distinctly traceable, and
presenting a broader surface and a more graceful sweep than at present.
Looking down the stream, the view is more charming still, and embraces
the river, the lake (into which, until a few years back, the Trent
flowed), the islands, the American and other gardens, and the wooded
heights that skirt the domain.
Crossing the bridge, a little to the right is the Conservatory, filled
with the choicest trees and flowering plants, and kept, as all the rest
of the gardens and grounds are, in the most perfect order. In front of
this Conservatory is a pretty feature—the poetical idea of the late
duchess—consisting of the names of her daughters (the sisters of the
present Duke of Sutherland) planted in box on a ground of white spar.
The words as they appear are—
ELIZABETH LORNE.
EVELYN BLANTYRE.
CAROLINE KILDARE.
CONSTANCE GROSVENOR.
VIRET MEMORIA.
Thus the “memory” of the four daughters of the late duchess—viz. the
present Duchess of Argyll, the Lady Blantyre, the Duchess of Leinster,
and the Duchess of Westminster—is kept “ever green.”
[Illustration: _The Gardener’s Cottage._]
Near by are the Kitchen Gardens, Conservatories, Vineries,
Peach-houses, Pine-houses, Orchid-houses, and all the usual appliances
of a large and well-devised establishment; and it is a notable
feature that all round the Kitchen Gardens, some thirteen acres
in extent, is carried what is known as the Trentham Wall-Case—a
glass-sided and covered passage, filled with peaches and nectarines,
and forming an enclosed walk all round the place. Near the garden
entrance is the pleasant residence of the head-gardener, shown in the
preceding engraving. It was erected from the designs of Sir Charles
Barry; and near it is another excellent building, a “bothie” for
the young gardeners, erected from the designs of Mr. Roberts, the
Duke’s architect and surveyor at Trentham. In this cottage the young
gardeners, several in number, board and lodge, and have a reading-room,
healthful and amusing games, and other comforts provided for them. The
Children’s Cottage, with the grounds around, is also a pretty little
spot, and, indeed, the whole of the grounds are one unbroken succession
of beauties.
[Illustration: _Children’s Cottage and Gardens._]
Just outside the park is the Mausoleum—the burial-place of the
family—behind which is the present graveyard of the parish.
Of the Poultry-houses (the finest in existence), the Stables, the
Kennels, and the Estate Offices and Works it is not our province to
speak. They are all that can be desired in arrangement, and are
lavishly fitted with every convenience.
We reluctantly take our leave of Trentham, congratulating alike its
noble owner on the possession of so lovely an estate, and the Pottery
district in having in its midst a nobleman of such refined taste as his
Grace the Duke of Sutherland, of such liberal and kindly disposition,
and of such boundless wealth, which he has the opportunity of disposing
in an open-hearted and beneficial manner; and this it is his pride to
do.
KNOLE.
[Illustration: _Fire Dogs._]
KNOLE HOUSE adjoins the pleasant and picturesque town of Sevenoaks, in
the fertile and beautiful county of Kent—the “garden of England”—and
is situate in its most charming and productive district, neighbouring
the renowned Wealds, and distant but an hour from the metropolis of
England.
The principal approach to the mansion is by a long and winding avenue
of finely grown beech-trees, through the extensive park—the road
sloping and rising gradually, and presenting frequent views of hill and
dale—terminated by the heavy and sombre stone front of the ancient and
venerable edifice. Passing under an embattled tower, the first or outer
quadrangle is entered; hence there is another passage through another
tower-portal, which conducts to the inner quadrangle, and so to the
“Huge hall, long galleries, spacious chambers,”
for which Knole has long been famous.
Of Knole, as with most of our grand old mansions, it is impossible to
fix, with any degree of certainty, the date of its original foundation;
“but the evident connection between the several properties of Knole
and Sevenoaks with Kemsing, Otford, and Seale, coupled with the gifts
of certain lands in Kemsing to the royal abbey at Wilton, appears to
identify those manors with the _terra regia_ of the Saxon Kings of
Kent, who had, it is supposed, one of their palaces at Otford, to which
place Sevenoaks and Knole have always been esteemed appendant, and were
for some time after Domesday survey held by the same owners.” Early
in the reign of King John, the manor and estates of Knole, with those
of Braborne (Bradborne), Kemsing, and Seale, were held by Baldwin de
Bethun, or Betune, Earl of Albemarle.
The first Earl of Albemarle was Odo, Count of Champaigne, a near
relative by birth to William the Conqueror, and the husband of his
sister, Adeliza. He was succeeded by his son, surnamed _Le Gros_, who
was also made Earl of Yorkshire. This nobleman appears to have had an
only child, a daughter named Hawise, who espoused William Mandeville,
Earl of Essex, who, on her father’s death in 1179, succeeded to the
title and estates. After his death without issue, his widow, Hawise,
married William de Fortibus, who enjoyed the title, as did also her
third husband, Baldwin de Betune, or Bethun. On his death the earldom
reverted to William de Fortibus, the son of Hawise by her second
husband.