is the Right Hon. Francis Thomas De Grey Cowper, seventh Earl Cowper,
Viscount Fordwich, Baron Cowper, Baron Butler, and Baron Dingwall, and
a Baronet. His lordship (who is grandson of Lady Palmerston) was born
in 1834, and is the son of George Augustus Frederick, sixth earl, by
his wife, Anne Florence, Baroness Lucas, daughter of the second Earl De
Grey, and was educated at Harrow and at Christ Church, Oxford, where he
proceeded M.A. in 1855. He succeeded to the titles and estates on the
death of his father in 1856, and from 1871 to 1874 was Captain and Gold
Shell of H.M. Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms. In 1870 Earl Cowper married
Katrine Cecilia, daughter of Lord William Compton, heir-presumptive
to the Marquis of Northampton, by whom, however, he has no issue, the
heir-presumptive being his brother, the Hon. Henry Frederick Cowper,
M.P.
The arms of Earl Cowper are—_argent_, three martlets, _gules_; on a
chief engrailed, of the last, three annulets, _or_. Crest—a lion’s
jamb erased, _or_, holding a cherry branch, _vert_, fructed, _gules_.
Supporters—two dun horses, close cropped (except a tuft on the
withers) and docked, a large blaze down the face, a black list down
the back, and three white feet, viz. both hind and the near fore foot.
Motto—“Tuum est.”
[Illustration: _The Gardens and Yew Tunnel._]
The Gardens and Grounds of Melbourne Hall are its chief attractions
They are a curious and elegant relic of the old style of horticulture,
which was brought from Holland by William III., consisting of groves,
fountains, statues, &c., and are of the most strikingly peculiar
character. In one place, on entering, the visitor finds himself in the
Lover’s Walk, a literal tunnel (the outside, of which is shown in our
view of the grounds) formed of very aged yew-trees, arched and netted
and intergrown one with another, only here and there pierced by rays
of light. In another he finds himself by the side of a basin, in the
centre of which a fountain is ever playing; while in its clear waters
magnificent carp are lazily swimming or basking in the sun. In another
place he comes upon a “cool grot”—a mineral spring, over which is
erected a charming rustic grotto of spars, shells, stalactites, and
other natural objects, and bearing on a marble tablet lines by the Hon.
George Lamb:—
“Rest, weary stranger, in this shady cave,
And taste, if languid, of the mineral wave;
There’s virtue in the draught; for health that flies
From crowded cities and their smoky skies,
Here lends her power from every glade and hill,
Strength to the breeze, and medicine to the rill.”
[Illustration: _The Gardens, as seen from the Hall._]
The lawn in front of the mansion is laid out in ornamental beds, filled
with the choicest flowers, and dotted over with groups, single figures,
vases, &c., of fine sculpture, of which it may be interesting to note
that the pair of black figures only cost, about the year 1630, £30,
and the Perseus and Andromeda £45. At the opposite side of the grounds
from the house is an alcove of elaborate design in wrought-iron,
bearing the arms of Coke, which, with the central basin and fountain,
is shown in our engraving of the gardens as seen from the hall. The
Scotch firs which form the background of the gardens were planted in
the time of William III., the trunks being, in many instances, 80 feet
in height, and 13 or 14 feet in circumference. One of these Scotch
firs, which fell in the spring of 1875, was known to be one hundred and
seventy-six years old; its dimensions were extraordinary. They were
as follows:—Height, 82 feet; length of butt, 39 feet; circumference
at eight feet from the ground, 10 feet 8 inches; circumference at
thirty-nine feet from the ground, 9 feet 2 inches; total contents of
timber, 340 cubic feet. Leading in a south-easterly direction from the
parterred lawn, the gardens become entirely changed in character, and
the visitor wanders through sylvan walks, bounded on either side by
impenetrable yew hedges, which intersect each other in every direction,
at every turn coming upon a fine piece of sculpture, or rippling
stream, or bubbling fountain.
One of the walks leads to a gentle eminence at the junction of three
splendid glades, with gigantic lime hedges, in the centre of which
is placed the enormous bronzed vase of lead—one of the finest pieces
of modelling in existence—called the “Seasons,” which, with another
exquisite, though plainer, vase placed almost in close contiguity, was
presented by Queen Anne to her Vice-Chamberlain, Thomas Coke. On the
pedestals is the monogram, “T. C.,” of the Thomas Coke to whom they
were given. On occasion of its being repaired, in 1840, the following
inscription, written by Mr. H. Fox, was placed in its interior:—
HOC SIMULACRUM
EX DONO ANNÆ REGINÆ
THOMA COKE ARMIGERO DOMINI CUBICULARII
VICEM FUNGENTE
POSITUM
E LOCO MOTUM ET AD VETEREM
NORMAM RESTITUTUM
GULIELMUS VICECOMES MELBOURNE
PRINCEPS DOMINORUM REGII THESAURI
REPOSUIT
ANNO VICTORIÆ REG. QUARTO
ANNO CHRISTI 1840.
The Terrace Walk, formed so as to overlook the magnificent lake, is
a pleasant and favourite promenade for visitors, and commands some
charming views of the grounds, the lake, the church, and neighbourhood.
The Lake, or Pool, as it is commonly called, is nearly twenty-two
acres in extent, and is beautifully wooded on its banks, and, with its
island, the swans which are always sailing on its surface, and the
pleasure-boats frequently gliding about, forms a beautiful picture from
whatever point it is viewed. The gardens, it may be added, cover an
extent of nearly twenty acres of ground; and it is worth noting that
on the wall near the Conservatory and the Muniment-room is the finest
and largest _Wistaria_ in existence—its extent along the wall being no
less than two hundred and sixty-four feet.
In the hall itself is a splendid collection of pictures, including
many very rare examples—family portraits, principally of the old
celebrities of the Coke family and others. In this house Baxter wrote
his “Saint’s Rest;” and here many distinguished men have at one time
or other resided. Of this Baxter himself thus wrote:—“The second book
which I wrote (and the first which I began) was that called ‘Saint’s
Everlasting Rest.’ While I was in health I had not the least thoughts
of writing books, or in serving God in any more public way than that
of preaching; but when I was weakened with much bleeding, and left
solitary in my chamber at Sir John Coke’s in Derbyshire, without any
acquaintance but my servant about me, and was sentenced to death by
my physicians, I began to contemplate more seriously the _Everlasting
Rest_ which I apprehended myself just on the borders of; and that my
thoughts might not be scattered too much in my meditation, I began
to write something upon that subject, intending but a sermon or
two (which is the cause that the beginning is in brevity and style
disproportionable to the rest); but being continued long in sickness,
where I had no poor or better employment, I followed it on till it was
enlarged to the bulk in which it is now published.” The hall was at one
time, about 1811, occupied by Sir Sidney Smith, the “Hero of Acre,”
and also by Sir William Rumbold: it was likewise for many years in the
occupation of Colonel Gooch, one of the heroes of Waterloo—in fact,
one of the seven brave men immortalised in history as having defended
the important and critical post of Houguemont in that great battle. It
is now occupied by William Dashwood Fane, Esq.
Closely adjoining the hall is Melbourne Church, which is, without
doubt, one of the very finest and most perfect Norman structures
remaining to us, reminding one forcibly, in its massive piers and other
features, of Durham Cathedral. Indeed, it is far more of a cathedral
in appearance than a parish church. The western doorway is one of its
most striking external features; but internally it is full of interest
in every part. It is a cruciform structure, with massive central tower,
and two other lantern towers at its west end. The nave is divided
from the side-aisles by a series of massive round piers supporting
semicircular arches, above which is a fine open triforium running
entirely round the nave. Remains of a circular apse are to be traced at
the east end. Its monuments, too, are worthy of careful examination;
they are mainly to the family of Hardinge, of King’s Newton, the head
of which family is the present Lord Hardinge.
[Illustration: _West Doorway, Melbourne Church._]
One mile from Melbourne is the pleasant village of King’s Newton,
with its Holy Well and its Hall, now in ruins, but long the
paternal residence of the Hardinge family, and from which its then
representative, Viscount Hardinge, of King’s Newton—the heroic
Governor-General of India—took his title. This distinguished family
had been settled at this place for several centuries, the hall being
built by them _circa_ 1400. Sir Robert Hardinge, who was Master of the
Court of Chancery and Attorney-General to Charles II., resided here,
and was visited by that monarch, who remained his guest for some days.
On the glass of the window of his room King Charles scratched the
anagram, _Cras ero lux_, being a clever transposition of the words,
_Carolus rex_, and meaning “To-morrow I shall shine.” In the garden is
a famous old mulberry-tree, under which it is said the monarch used
to sit: it is still luxuriant in foliage and in fruit. The hall was
destroyed by fire only a few years ago, and its picturesque ruins and
grounds are now open to the public, who during the summer months “there
do congregate” for pic-nic parties and rural enjoyments. Our engraving
shows the hall as it appeared before the fire.
[Illustration: _King’s Newton Hall as it was._]
The village of King’s Newton, one of the most delightful of villages,
has a literary celebrity attaching to it. Here Thomas Hall, who wrote
“Wisdom’s Conquest” in 1640, resided; and here, too, Speechly, the
Rural Economist; Mundy, who wrote “The Fall of Needwood” and “Needwood
Forest;” Mrs. Green, the authoress of “John Gray of Willoughby;”
the Ortons, one of whom is known by his “Excelsior” and his “Three
Palaces,” and the other by his varied writings, were residents, as
was also the author of “Thurstan Meverell;” and here, in his native
place, resided till his death, in February, 1876, the able historian of
Melbourne, Mr. John Joseph Briggs, who also ranked high as a writer
on natural history. The locality has other attractions “too numerous
to mention.” Independently of its great natural beauties, its most
attractive associations are undoubtedly with a grand and honourable
past. Of King’s Newton Mr. Briggs thus wrote:—
“Sweet Newton, first to thee my song I raise.
Thy charms, loved hamlet, need no poet’s praise;
O’er thy green meads first trips the laughing Spring,
And shakes primroses from each flower-wreathed wing:
There the first swallow skims the daisied vale,
And the loved cuckoo breathes her mellow tale,
And merry chiff-chaff from the budding tree
Gives out his joyous notes so wild and free.
And when old Autumn sheds o’er field and bower
The radiant hues of many a gorgeous flower,
And bids the sun lead down his stately dance,
Thy fields are last to catch his parting glance.
Within thy bounds I drew mine earliest breath,
And there, grant Heaven, these eyes may close in death!”
[Illustration: _Holy Well, King’s Newton._]
Besides its ruined hall, there is at King’s Newton a Holy Well, the
structure over which was erected by Robert Hardinge in 1660, and
restored a few years back by one of his descendants. It bears on
its front the inscription—“FONS SACER HIC STRVITVR ROBERTO NOMINIS
HARDINGE, 1660.”
[Illustration: _The Trent and Weston Cliff._]
In the neighbourhood of Melbourne, too, are many pleasant places and
delightful “bits” of scenery. Weston Cliff,
“Just rising from fair fields clad now in green,
Its beauteous church-spire tap’ring o’er the wood,”
on the banks of “silver Trent,” is one of the most favourite and famous
fishing resorts of the district, and its manifold attractions have
often been the theme of the local poet’s song:—
“Sweet Weston Cliff! how beautiful art thou!
How dark the firs that crown thy rugged brow!
Adown thy sides the straggling white sloe falls,
And blossom’d thorns outspread their snowy palls,
And the glad furze hath beauteously unrolled
For the Spring’s feet her gorgeous cloth of gold.”
Donington Cliff, too, on the river margin of the broad lands of
Donington, the seat of the late Marquis of Hastings and of Mr.
Hastings, father of the present Earl of Loudoun, is a charming spot,
especially where, as shown in our engraving,
“Proud trees bend, and on Trent’s waves descry
Their own bright image as it passes by,”
just where the boat-house and landing-place are situated. But we have
no space wherein to describe the beauties of the neighbourhood, and
must leave Melbourne to pass on to our next chapter.
[Illustration: _The Trent and Donington Cliff._]
SOMERLEYTON.
SOMERLEYTON, the Sumerledetun of Domesday survey, and occasionally in
later times written Somerley, lies about six miles from Lowestoft, in
the county of Suffolk, its nearest point on the coast being some four
miles distant. At the time of the Conquest, Wihtred, a free man and a
priest, held forty acres for a manor, and Ulf, a free man under the
protection of Earl Gurth, held two carucates of land for a manor. The
whole place was seized by the Conqueror, and given to Roger Bigod as
steward. It was soon after held as one manor by Sir Peter Fitz-Osbert,
whose son, Sir Roger Fitz-Osbert, was lord of the place, _temp._ Henry
III., and was, 22nd Edward I. summoned to Parliament as Baron Osborne:
he died in 1305-6. His sister, Isabel Fitz-Osbert, wife of Sir Walter
Jernegan, or Jerningham, of Horham Jernegan, in Suffolk, and widow of
Sir Henry de Walpole, became heiress to the Somerleyton estates on the
death of her brother, and thus they passed into the Jernegan family.
The Jernegans, even at that time, boasted an ancient pedigree. The
earliest of whom there is any record was living in 1182, and left
by his wife Sibilla a son, Hubert, who, in 1203, married Margery,
daughter and heiress of De Harling, of East Harling, and by her had
issue, besides others, a son, Sir Hugh Jernegan, who married Ellen,
daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas Englethorpe. Their son it was
who married Isabel Fitz-Osbert, and thus acquired the manor of
Somerleyton in her right. Their son, Sir Peter Jernegan, Knt., married
three wives: first, Alice, daughter of Sir Hugh Germayne; secondly,
Matilda, daughter of Sir Roger Herling; and thirdly, Ellen, daughter
of Sir Roger de Huntingfield. By his first wife he had issue Sir John
Jernegan, Knt., of Somerleyton, whose wife was Agatha, daughter of Sir
Robert Shelton, of Shelton, Knt. Their son, Sir John Jernegan, who
died in 1375, married Joan, daughter and co-heiress of Sir William de
Kelveden and widow of Sir John Lowdham, by whom he had issue his son
and successor, Sir John Jernegan, who, by his wife Margaret, daughter
of Sir Thomas Vise de Lou, Knt., of Shotley, had, besides other issue,
a son, Sir Thomas Jernegan, Knt., who succeeded him, and who married
Joan Appleyard, of Dunston, by whom he left a son, John Jernegan,
who succeeded him. This gentleman married twice: by his first wife,
Jane, daughter of Sir John Darell, of Calehill, he had a son and
heir, John Jernegan, who married Isabel, daughter and heiress of Sir
Gervase Clifton, Knt. The issue of this marriage was a son, Sir Edward
Jernegan, who was knighted, and succeeded his father in the estates.
This Sir Edward Jernegan was married twice: first, to Margaret,
daughter of Sir Edmund Bedingfield, Knt.; and, secondly, to Mary,
daughter and co-heiress of Richard Scroope, son of Lord Scroope. By
this second marriage he had, among other issue, a son, Sir Henry
Jerningham, of Wingfield and Huntingfield Hall, in Suffolk, and of
Coney, in Norfolk, Vice-Chamberlain and Master of the Horse to Queen
Mary, from whom are descended the present Jerninghams of Staffordshire
and other counties. By his first wife Sir Edward had issue six
sons—Sir John, Sir Robert, Thomas, Olyf, Nicholas, and Edward—and two
daughters: Ann, who became the wife of five husbands, and Margaret, who
was twice married. He died in 1515, and was succeeded by his eldest
son, Sir John Jernegan, of Somerleyton, who married Bridget, daughter
of Sir Robert Drury, Knt., of Halsted, by whom, with other issue, he
had a son, George Jernegan, who succeeded him, and who, having espoused
Elye, daughter of Sir John Spelman, of Narborough, Knt., was succeeded
by his son, John Jernegan. This gentleman married Catherine, daughter
of George Brooke, Lord Cobham, and had by her issue four daughters,
his co-heiresses—viz. Elizabeth; Katherine, married to Wymond Carew;
Frances, married, first, to Thomas Bedingfield, and, secondly, to her
relative Henry Jerningham, of Coney Park; and Margaret, married to ——
Ford, of Butley. Frances, the third daughter, inherited Somerleyton,
and conveyed it to her second husband, Henry Jerningham, who sold it to
John Wentworth, Esq.
[Illustration: _The South Lodge._]
It will thus have been seen that the Jernegans (whose arms
were—_argent_, three buckles, _gules_) held Somerleyton for no fewer
than thirteen generations. In addition to this, they became possessed
of the greater part of the King’s manor of the Island of Lothingland—a
district occupying the north-east corner of the county of Suffolk, and
containing the sixteen parishes of Somerleyton, Lowestoft, Corton,
Gunton, Oulton, Ashby, Lound, Fritton, Flixton, Hopton, Blundeston,
Gorleston, Belton, Burgh, Bradwell, and Herringfleet. In 1619 Henry
Jerningham died at Cossey, nine years after having sold Somerleyton to
John Wentworth, whose son was Sir John Wentworth, one of the chiefs
of the Cavalier party of the district during the civil wars; and
Cromwell and his troopers paid several visits to the old hall, making
free with its forage, and “carrying away its musquets.” The village of
Somerleyton appears, like its master, to have been staunchly loyal,
and was harassed in consequence by the quartering of soldiers and the
exaction of forced loans by the partisans of the Commonwealth. Ireton,
in 1648, summoned the bailiffs of Yarmouth to meet him in conference
at Somerleyton Hall, and there delivered to them the Lord General’s
peremptory command, either to “ingarrison their town, or to demolish
their walls and fortifications.” A rousing bonfire and bountiful
distribution of bread and beer celebrated the restoration of King
Charles II.
Sir John Wentworth records that “on the 14th day of March, 1642,
Collonell Cromwell’s troope, and Captain Fountayne with his troope,
and divers others, to the number of 140, came to Somerley Hall;” the
day after they “tooke away muskets, bandeliers, rests, head-pieces,
and one fowling-piece,” and other things of which no note was made.
The Protector was, therefore, certainly an inmate of Somerleyton, and
probably more than once. Matters changed, however: in 1660 an order
was issued to the constables of Somerleyton and Ashby “to re-provide
prayer books for their churches;” also to warn “all alehouse-keepers
and butchers to enter recognisance for the observation of Lent and
fish dayes.” The stout old knight did not live to see the King “enjoy
his own again;” but his loyal widow did, and subscribed ten shillings
“towards the building of a bone fire” upon St. George’s Day, 1661.
Sir John Wentworth married Anne Soame, but died without issue in 1651.
From the Wentworths, Somerleyton passed to John Garneys, the son of
Elizabeth Wentworth, sister of Sir Thomas Wentworth, who had become
the wife of Charles Garneys, a member of the fine old Suffolk family
who bore the alliterative motto of “God’s Grace Guides Garneys.” The
Garneys (whose arms were—_argent_, a chevron engrailed, _azure_,
between three escallop shells, _sable_) were originally seated at
Boyland Hall, Morningthorpe, Norfolk, and at Heveringham and Kenton,
in Suffolk. In 1672 the then representative of the family, Thomas
Garneys, sold the estate to Admiral Sir Thomas Allin, Bart., a Suffolk
worthy whose name figures prominently in history. Thomas Garneys then
removed from Somerleyton to Boyland Hall, where he had a son, Wentworth
Garneys, who married Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Abdy. Sir Thomas
Allin was born in 1613, and was captain of one of the ships in the
service of the Commonwealth which went over to the Prince of Wales.
In 1663 he was constituted commander-in-chief in the Downs, and later
on of the Mediterranean. In 1665 he struck the first blow of war with
the Dutch by attacking their Smyrna fleet of forty ships with eight
sail of the line, when, after making prizes of four ships, he drove
the remaining thirty-six into Cadiz harbour. In the same year, in the
great sea-fight off Lowestoft, when the English fleet, under the Duke
of York, Prince Rupert, and others, engaged the Dutch fleet under Van
Tromp, Admiral Allin held a command.
[Illustration: _The Front._]
In the following year Allin was at the head of the White Squadron
when the fleet fell upon the Dutch van, routing it and killing the
three Dutch admirals who commanded that division. In the same year
Allin attacked the French fleet, boarding and capturing the _Ruby_ of
fifty-four guns. Three years later “he sailed with a strong squadron
to chastise the Algerines,” which he accomplished, and returned home
worn out in the heavy services of his country. In consideration of
these many services Admiral Allin was created a baronet in 1673, and
retired to Somerleyton, which, as has been stated, he had recently
purchased. A portrait of the brave old admiral, who was called “the
Scourge of Yarmouth,” is now at Somerleyton. That town took the side
of the Parliament in the civil war, while Lowestoft was profoundly
loyal. Sir Thomas married, first, Alice, daughter of Captain Whiting,
of Lowestoft, by whom he had issue one son—Thomas Allin, his
successor—and two daughters: Anne, who died unmarried, and Alice,
married to Edmund Anguish, Esq., of Moulton, in the county of Norfolk,
whose son inherited the estates and title; and, secondly, Elizabeth,
daughter of Thomas Anguish, Esq., and sister of his son-in-law, by whom
he had no issue. Sir Thomas died in 1686 or 1688, and was buried at
Somerleyton. He was succeeded by his son, Sir Thomas Allin, who married
Mary, daughter of John Caldwall, of London; but, dying without issue
in 1696, the baronetcy became extinct, and the estates devolved upon
his nephew, Richard Anguish, Esq., son of Alice Allin and her husband,
Edmund Anguish, Esq. The arms of Allin were—_gules_, three swords
barwise, points to the sinister side, _argent_, hilts and pomels,
_or_, between four mullets of the third. Crest—a sword in pale, point
upwards.
This Alice Allin had issue by her husband, Edmund Anguish, three
sons—Richard, Edmund, and Allin—the eldest of whom, Richard,
inherited Somerleyton, and having, in accordance with the will of his
uncle, assumed the arms and surname of Allin, was created a baronet in
1699: the descendants of Edmund, the second son, afterwards inherited
the estates. Sir Richard Allin (formerly Anguish) married Frances,
only daughter of Sir Henry Ashurst, Bart., of Waterstock, by whom he
had issue four sons—Thomas Allin, Henry Allin, Richard Allin, and
the Rev. Ashurst Allin—and one daughter, Diana, married to Thomas
Henry Ashurst, Esq., of Waterstock. Sir Richard died in 1725, and was
succeeded in his title and estates by his eldest son, Sir Thomas Allin,
Bart., who, dying unmarried in 1764, was succeeded by his brother,
the Rev. Sir Ashurst Allin, Bart., Rector of Blundeston-cum-Flixton,
who married Thomasin Norris, and, dying in 1770, was succeeded by his
only son, Sir Thomas Allin, Bart. This gentleman died unmarried in
1794, when the baronetcy again became extinct, the Somerleyton estates
passing to his distant kinsman, Thomas Anguish, Esq., as will now be
shown.