of Clapham, in Surrey. The family of Waldo is said to derive itself,
according to Hasted, from Thomas Waldo, of Lyons, in the kingdom of
France, and was among the first who publicly renounced the doctrines of
the Church of Rome, “one of the descendants of whom, in the reign of
Elizabeth, in order to escape the persecutions of the Duke d’Alva, came
over, it is said, and settled in England.” In 1575 Peter Waldo resided
at Mitcham. His eldest son, Lawrence—according to Mr. Morris Jones,
who has made much laudable research into the history of the family—had
issue, by his wife Elizabeth, no fewer than fifteen children. Of these
the twelfth child, Daniel Waldo, is the one pertaining to our present
inquiry. He was a citizen and clothworker of London, and was fined
as alderman and sheriff in 1661. He married Anne Claxton, by whom he
had issue nine children. Of these the eldest son, Daniel Waldo, some
of whose property was burnt down in the great fire of London in 1666,
married twice, and from him are descended the Waldos of Harrow. Edward,
the second son, became the purchaser, after the fire, of the sites
of the “Black Bull,” the “Cardinal’s Hat,” and the “Black Boy,” in
Cheapside, on which he erected a “great messuage,” where he dwelt; and
in which, when it was taken down in 1861, was some fine oak carving,
now at Gungrog.
[Illustration: _Hever Castle, from the West._]
This Edward Waldo was knighted—“at his own house in Cheapside,” the
very house he had built—by the King, who was his guest, in 1677.
On this occasion “he had the honour of entertaining his sovereign,
together with the Princesses Mary and Anne and the Duchess of York,
who, from a canopy of state in front of his house, viewed the civic
procession pass along Cheapside on its way to Guildhall.” Sir Edward
married three times. He died at his residence at Pinner in 1705, aged
seventy-five, and was buried at Harrow. Nathaniel and Isaac, third
and fourth sons of Daniel Waldo, died unmarried. Timothy, the fifth
son, we shall speak of presently. Samuel, the sixth son, citizen and
mercer of London, and freeman of the Clothworkers’ Company, married,
first, a daughter of Sir Thomas Allen, of Finchley; and, secondly,
Susan Churchman; and had, among other issue, Daniel Waldo, one of whose
daughters, Sarah (married to Israel Woolliston), died at the age of
ninety-eight, leaving her cousin, Col. Sibthorpe, M.P., her executor;
Isaac Waldo, one of whose daughters, Sarah, married Humphrey Sibthorpe,
M.D., Sheridan Professor of Botany, whose son, Humphrey Sibthorpe, M.P.
(father of Col. Sibthorpe, M.P.), assumed for himself and his heirs,
by royal sign-manual, the additional name and the arms of Waldo on
inheriting the property left him by his relative, Peter Waldo, Esq., of
Mitcham and of Warton.
Sir Timothy Waldo, to whom allusion has been made, the purchaser of
Hever Castle, was admitted attorney of the King’s Bench and solicitor
in Chancery in 1730; in 1739 he was under-sheriff of the city of
London, and he was a liveryman and the clerk of the Salters’ Company.
In 1736 he married Catherine Wakefield, and had by her an only child,
Jane, who married, in 1762, George Medley, Esq., M.P., of Buxted. Sir
Timothy, who was knighted in 1769, died at Clapham in 1786, his wife
surviving him, and dying in 1806, aged ninety-five.
Their sole daughter and heiress, Jane, wife of George Medley, inherited
all the property, including Hever Castle. She had no issue, and died
in 1829, in her ninety-second year, leaving her large possessions,
the personalty of which was sworn under £180,000, to her cousin,
Jane Waldo, only daughter and heiress of Edward Waldo, of London,
who administered to the estate as cousin and only next of kin. This
lady, who thus became the possessor of Hever Castle, died at Tunbridge
Wells in 1840, when the family became extinct. The name of Waldo had,
however, been taken by royal sign-manual, in 1830, by Edmund Wakefield
Meade, Esq., of Newbridge House, Dawlish, son of Francis Meade, of
Lambeth. Edmund Meade-Waldo, Esq., became resident at Stonewall Park,
near Hever Castle, which memorable edifice is still in possession of
this family. He married Harriet, second daughter of Colonel Rochfort,
M.P., by whom he left issue two sons and one daughter; the eldest son
and heir being Edmund Waldo Meade-Waldo, Esq. The daughter, Harriet
Dorothea, was married, in 1850, to the Rev. W. W. Battye, Rector of
Hever, to which living he was presented by his father-in-law.
There are few ancient houses in the kingdom more deeply interesting
to the curious occasional visitor than Hever; it does not, however,
convey ideas of grandeur or magnificence. It never could have been
large. Certainly at no period did it supply ample room to accommodate
the suite of a luxurious monarch; and there is little doubt that the
visits of the eighth Henry were made, if not secretly, without state,
when he went to woo the unhappy lady he afterwards—and not long
afterwards—murdered.
In the small chamber of the ground-floor, which still retains its
minstrel’s gallery and its panelling of oak, was the bad king
entertained by his victims; and in a very tiny chamber slept in pure
innocence the object of his lust—a most reluctant bride and most
miserable wife.
[Illustration: _Anne Boleyn’s Chamber._]
Yet Hever Castle was a stronghold, and a place well calculated for
safety in the troublous times in which it was built and embattled. It
is surrounded by a moat, across which a bridge leads to the entrance
gateway. The entrance is defended by a strong portcullis, composed of
several large pieces of wood laid across each other like a harrow,
and riveted throughout with iron, designed to be let down in case
of surprise, and when there was not time to shut the gate. To this
succeeds an iron portcullis. It is followed by an inner solid oaken
door, riveted with iron, firmly bound with iron pieces going the whole
length across, and studded with iron knobs. A wooden portcullis then
follows. Immediately adjoining these are two guardrooms, in which a
dozen men-at-arms might long dispute the passage of an enemy.
[Illustration: _Hever Castle: the Court-yard._]
Over the external gate, directly under the battlements, a series of
machicolations project boldly forward: from these molten lead and
other deadly appliances and missiles could be poured and discharged on
the heads of assailants with terrible effect. Passing through these
gates and beneath the portcullises, the visitor enters a spacious
court-yard, surrounded on all its sides by the building. From this
court-yard or quadrangle he enters the old Dining-hall, where the racks
for hunting-spears are still visible, and where grotesque decorations
will not fail to be noticed. In the stained-glass windows are the
arms of the Boleyns and the Howards. Near this is the Chapel, and
continuing along the passages are two rooms bearing the names of Anne
Boleyn’s Bed-room and Anne of Cleves’ Room. Anne Boleyn’s Room “is
really an interesting apartment, beautifully panelled, and contains
the original family chairs, tables, muniment box, and what is called
Anne’s bed.”[46] To this apartment several ante-rooms succeed, and the
suite terminates in a grand Gallery occupying the whole length of the
building, in which the judicial meetings and the social gatherings of
the ancient family were held. It is about 150 feet in length, by 20
feet in width, with a vaulted roof, and panelled throughout with carved
oak. On one side, placed at equal distances apart, are three recesses:
the first, having a flight of three steps, is fitted up with elbowed
benches, where the lord of the castle in old times held his courts,
and where Henry VIII. is said, on the occasions of his visits, to have
received the congratulations of the gentry; a second was occupied by
the fire; and the third was used as a quiet corner for the old folks,
while the younger ones frolicked throughout the mazes of the dance. At
one end of the Gallery a trap-door leads to a dark chamber, called the
Dungeon, in which the family are believed to have sheltered themselves
in time of trouble, although it is manifest that the height of the
room, compared with that of the building, must have betrayed its
existence to even a careless observer.
[Illustration: _In the Long Gallery._]
The interior of that part properly called “the castle”—_e.g._ the
entrance—is approached by a winding staircase in one of the towers.
“About midway the staircase opens into the narrow vestibule of the
great state-room. The Gothic tracery over the fire-place is extremely
beautiful both in design and in execution. It consists of two angels,
each bearing two shields, showing the arms and alliances of the Cary
and Boleyn families, of Cary and Waldo, Boleyn and Howard, and Henry
VIII. and Boleyn.”
WESTWOOD PARK.
WESTWOOD—one of the very finest, most perfect, and most interesting
of the Elizabethan mansions that yet remain in England—lies about
two miles from Droitwich, in Worcestershire, and six or seven from
the “faithful city.” It stands in its own grand old deer park of some
hundreds of acres in extent, and studded with such an assemblage of
noble forest trees as is seldom seen. The oaks with which the park
abounds are almost matchless for their beautiful forms and for their
clean growth (for they are clear from moss or other extraneous growth
from bole to crest), as well as, in some instances, for their gigantic
stature. One of these “brave old oaks” in front of the mansion we had
the curiosity to measure, and found it to be no less than eighteen
yards in circumference of bole on the ground, and thirty-one feet in
circumference at three feet from the earth, with a stem hollowed by
time. It is one of the lions of the place, and looks venerable and
time-worn enough to have braved the tempests of a thousand years.
Another oak, not far from this, is one of the finest in England, having
a clear trunk, without bend or branch, “straight as a mast,” to some
forty feet or more in height before a single branch appears.
[Illustration: _Entrance Lodge._]
There are two Entrance Lodges to the park from the road leading from
Droitwich to Ombersley; the principal of these we engrave. Entering the
gates at this Lodge, the drive leads up the park to the mansion, which
forms a conspicuous and striking object in front, the house and its
surroundings being effectively situated on rising ground. Immediately
in front of the mansion is the Gatehouse, one of the most quaintly
picturesque in the kingdom. It consists of twin lodges of red brick,
with ornamental gables and hip-knobs, with a central open-spired turret
covering the entrance gates. The gates, which are of iron, and bear
the monogram J P (for John Pakington), are surmounted by an open-work
parapet, or frieze, of stone, in which stand clear the three garbs and
the three mullets of the Pakington arms. Over this rises the open tower
before spoken of. Passing through these gates, the drive sweeps up
between the smooth grass lawns to the slightly advanced front portico
which gives access to the mansion.
[Illustration: _Westwood, from the Main Approach._]
Before we enter let us say a few words on the general design and
appearance of this unique and remarkable building. The general
block-plan of the house may be described as a combination of the square
and saltire, the arms of the saltire projecting considerably from the
angles of the square, and forming what may almost be called wings,
radiating from its centre—the whole of the surface of this general
block-plan being cut up with numberless projecting mullioned windows.
The four projecting wings, which, like the rest of the building, are
three stories in height, are each surmounted with a spire. Around the
whole building runs a boldly carved stone parapet, bearing the garbs
and mullets of the Pakington arms, alternating the one with the other,
and producing a striking and pleasing effect, while the mullets also
appear on the ornamental gables, and on the vanes and hip-knobs. The
advanced porch, erected at a later period, is of stone, and is in the
_Renaissance_ style; over its central arch is Jove on the eagle; and
in front of the main building, over the porch, are the Pakington arms
boldly carved.
Standing clear from the mansion, and at some distance in front of the
north-east and south-east wings, are two so-called “turrets.” These
are small residences, if they may so be termed, each three stories
in height, and each having two entrance doors. They are surmounted
with picturesquely formed spire roofs, covered with scale slating.
Originally there were four of these square towers—the two now
remaining, and two other corresponding ones at the opposite angles.
They were all four in existence in 1775, but two have since been
removed. At that time they were connected with the wings by walls,
and then again were connected with the Gatehouse and other walls in
a peculiar and geometrically formed device. A highly interesting and
curious bird’s-eye view of Westwood, drawn by Dorothy Anne Pakington
in the year above named, is preserved in the Hall, and shows the
arrangement of the ornamental flower-beds, terraces, fruit walls, &c.,
with great accuracy.
From the Gatehouse, on either side, an excellent fence of pillar
and rail encloses in a ring fence the mansion and its surrounding
ornamental grounds, and kitchen and other gardens. These
pleasure-grounds, several acres in extent, are admirably laid out,
and planted with evergreens of remarkably fine growth. The hedges,
or rather massive walls, of laurel, box, Portugal laurel, and other
shrubs; the grand assemblage of conifers, which here seem to find a
genial home, and to grow with unequalled luxuriance; and the cedars of
Lebanon, yews, and numberless other evergreens, form these grounds into
one of the most lovely winter gardens we have ever visited. Among the
main features of these ornamental grounds are the “Ladies’ Garden,” a
retired spot enclosed in walls of evergreens seven or eight feet in
height, having on one side an elegant summer-house, which commands
a beautiful view of the Malvern Hills and of the rich intervening
country, and in the centre a sundial surrounded by a rosary and beds
of rich flowers; and the Lavender Walk, where, between a long avenue
of tall lavender-bushes, planted by the present Lady Hampton, the
elegant and accomplished successors of the “stately dames of yore”
can stroll about and enjoy the delicious scent. Another great feature
is the splendid growth of some of the trees—notably a Wellingtonia,
nine feet in girth at the ground, and fully thirty feet in height,
and a magnificent specimen of _Picea pinsapo_, measuring ninety feet
in circumference of its branches, and said truly to be the finest and
most perfectly-grown tree of the kind in the kingdom. The kitchen
gardens are of considerable extent, and well arranged, but there is no
conservatory. Altogether the ornamental grounds are of great beauty,
and harmonize well with the character of the building.
[Illustration: _The Gatehouse, as seen from the Mansion._]
One of the great glories of Westwood is its water. It has three lakes,
the largest of which, no less than seventy acres in extent, forms
a grand feature in the landscape, and, with its many swans and the
numbers of wild fowl that congregate upon and around it, adds much to
the beauty of the park scenery. On one side the lake is backed up by a
wood through which, on the banks, a delightful grassy walk leads to the
Boat-house, from whose upper rooms delightful views of land and water
are obtained.
[Illustration: _The Entrance Porch._]
The principal apartments in this noble mansion are the Great Hall,
or Front Hall, as it is usually called; the Library, the Dining and
Drawing Rooms, the Saloon, the Grand Staircase, and the Chapel; but,
besides these, there are a number of other rooms, and all the usual
family and domestic apartments and offices. To the interior, however,
we can but devote a very brief space.
The Entrance Porch (shown in the preceding engraving), on the north
front, opens into the Front Hall. This occupies the entire length of
the main body of the building from east to west, and is about sixty
feet in length. The entrance door is in the centre, and on either side
are deeply recessed mullioned and transomed windows, and there is a
similar window at each end. From one of the recesses a doorway and
steps lead up to the Dining-room; while from the other, in a similar
manner, access is gained to the Library. On the opposite side a doorway
leads to the Grand Staircase. This hall, one part of which is also used
as a billiard-room, contains some magnificent old carved furniture and
cabinets, and the walls are hung with family portraits. In the windows
are a series of stained-glass armorial bearings and inscriptions,
representing the arms of Pakington and the family alliances. These
are:—
1413. Robert Pakington and Elizabeth Acton.
1436. John Pakington and Margaret Ballard.
1490. John Pakington and Elizabeth Washbourne.
1537. Robert Pakington and Anne Baldwynne.
1559. Sir John Pakington and Anne Darcy.
1575. Sir Thomas Pakington and Dorothy Kytson.
1620. Sir John Pakington and Frances Ferrars.
1625. Sir John Pakington and —— Smith.
1633. Sir John Pakington and Margaret Keys.
1679. Sir John Pakington and Dorothy Coventry.
1727. Sir John Pakington and Hester Preest.
1727. Sir John Pakington and Frances Parker.
1743. Sir Herbert Perrot Pakington and Elizabeth Conyers.
1762. Sir John Pakington and Mary Bray.
1795. Sir Herbert Perrot Pakington and Elizabeth Hawkins.
“1822. John Somerset Pakington, Esq., born 1799, wedyd 1stly, Mary,
dau. of Moreton Aglionby Slaney, of Shiffnall, Esq.”
1830. Sir John Pakington died unmarried.
“1844. John Somerset Pakington, Esq., created Bart. 1846, wedyd
2ndly, Augusta, dau. of Geo. Murray, Bp. of Rochester.”
Among the portraits in this fine old room are the present Lord Hampton;
the Earl of Strafford; Hester Perrott, daughter and sole heiress of
Sir Herbert Perrott, of Haroldstone, and second wife of Sir John
Pakington, Bart.; Sir John Perrott, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, 1583;
Margaret Pakington (afterwards Mrs. Dowdeswell), daughter of Sir John
Pakington of Hampton Lovett, the celebrated Recorder of Worcester; Sir
John Pakington, M.P. for Worcester from 1690 to 1727; Ursula, Lady
Scudamore, daughter of Sir John Pakington; and many others.
The Dining-room, which occupies the lower story of the north-east
radiating wing, has an effective geometrical ceiling, and its walls
are hung with family portraits. The Library similarly occupies
the lower story of the corresponding or south-east wing. It is a
noble room, lined with a large and valuable assemblage of books,
and fitted and furnished in an appropriate manner. The ceiling,
whose geometric panelling and other decorations are in high relief,
bears among its other devices the mullet of the family arms. In the
Library are, among many other Art treasures, two important historical
pictures—contemporary portraits of Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, and Mary,
his wife, daughter of Henry VII., King of England, and widow of Louis
XII. of France—on panel.
The view from these rooms is truly magnificent. Immediately in front
is the enclosed space already spoken of, with its grass lawns, its
broad carriage drives, its luxuriant shrubberies; the ivy-grown and
picturesque towers, one on either side; the grand old Gatehouse,
with its central open-work tower, and picturesque boundary railings
cutting it off from the park. Beyond this is seen the park, with its
herds of deer, its forest trees of centuries of growth dotted about
the landscape; its noble sheet of water, on which swans and wild fowl
abound; and beyond, again, the thickly wooded confines of the grounds
and the distant heights. Thus a view of imposing loveliness and of
vast extent is gained from the windows of this side of the mansion.
But, indeed, one of the main characteristics of Westwood is that, from
whatever point the mansion is seen, it forms a striking and a pleasing
object; and that, from whatever window one looks, a scene of surpassing
beauty is presented to the eye.
[Illustration: _The Grand Staircase._]
The Grand Staircase, of which we give an engraving, is a marked feature
of the interior of the house, and differs in general character from
any other with which we are acquainted. It is of four landings, and
at each angle, as well as in the intermediate spaces, standing clear
to a considerable height above the banisters, rises a Corinthian
pillar with richly carved capital, supporting a ball. The whole is of
dark oak, and has a rich and singular appearance. The series of these
pillars and balls numbers thirteen. The Staircase has a panelled oak
ceiling, which forms the floor of the upper gallery, from which the
bed-rooms are gained. The walls of the Staircase are hung with fine old
portraits, and others of more modern date: among them are the “Du^{sse}
Dou^e de la Tremouille, née Princesse d’Orange,” 1626; General Monk;
Master Herbert and Miss Cecilia Pakington; and the late Bishop Murray,
of Rochester, full length, by Falconer. At the foot of the Staircase
is the Baron Marochetti’s admirable bust of Lord Hampton, before that
well-deserved title was conferred upon him. It bears the following
inscription:—“Presented to Lady Pakington by the Medical Officers of
the Royal Navy, in grateful acknowledgment of the benefits conferred
upon that department of H.M. service during the administration of the
Right Hon. Sir John S. Pakington, Bart., G.C.B., &c., 1858-9.”
[Illustration: _The Saloon._]
From the landing at the head of the Grand Staircase access is gained,
on the one hand, to the Saloon and the apartments connected with it;
and, on the other, to Lady Hampton’s private rooms, the sleeping
apartments on the same floor, and to the staircase to the upper story.
The Private Chapel, approached from the foot of the Staircase, occupies
the wing at the opposite angle from the Library. Its ceiling is of
oak, and it is fitted with open seats, also of oak, with fleur-de-lis
poppy-heads. The stained-glass window, representing the Adoration and
the Ascension, is remarkably good in design and pure in colouring. On
a bracket on the wall is a splendid piece of sculpture, representing
Mary Magdalene supporting the dead Christ.
The Saloon—the principal internal feature of Westwood—occupies the
entire space, in the central block of building, over the Front Hall.
It is a noble and lofty apartment, lit by two deeply recessed large
mullioned and transomed windows to the front, and one, of equally
large size, at each end. The ceiling, although of a somewhat later
period, is a marvellously fine example of modelled plaster-work, the
wreaths and festoons of flowers standing out clear from the surface,
and modelled true to Nature. It is divided into ornamental panels,
enclosing wreaths and festoons, and round the room is a boldly moulded
and richly decorated oak frieze. In the centre of the side opposite
the windows is a massive and elaborately designed oak chimney-piece,
reaching up to the ceiling. The pillars, and mouldings, and panels,
and, indeed, every part of this fine example of ancient Art, are
elaborately carved with arabesques and foliage; the mouldings and
cornices being likewise richly carved with grotesque figures and other
characteristic ornaments. In the centre panel, over the fire-place, is
a fine contemporary half-length portrait of King Henry VIII.
The walls are hung with grand old tapestry, and this, at three of the
corners, conceals the doors leading respectively to the Drawing-room,
the Staircase, and another apartment. The subjects of the tapestry,
commencing at the doorway from the Staircase, are—First, “Isaac,
blind; Rebecca sends Jacob for two kids.” Second, “Laban overtakes
Jacob at Mount Gilead; kisses his daughter.” Third, “Jacob kisses
Rachel at the well, and removes the stone from its mouth.” Fourth,
“Jacob brings home the kids.” Fifth, “Jacob meets his brother Esau, and
bows at his feet.” Sixth, “Jacob divides his flocks.”