feet long, and a platform 20 feet in width. The centre entrance of the
east front forms an open-recessed porch within a rich archway, which
contains four columns on each side. Over this centre entrance is a
series of small circular-headed arches, forming a sort of exterior
gallery at the back of the one within, and producing a good deal
of relief and richness. Immediately above it is a very large rose
window, of elaborate design, set within a square, whose spandrils
are sculptured with the emblems of the four evangelists. The lofty
campanile tower is connected with the south-east angle of the building
by a vestibule or cloister, whose elaborately carved open arches and
columns present a pleasing contrast to the breadth and solidity of
the other parts. On the same side of the church, at the west end, is
a projecting porch (or vestry), which naturally increases the play
and picturesqueness of the composition. Upon entering the rich door
in the east front, already described, we pass between two screens of
twisted columns, dividing the gallery staircase from the centre porch.
Immediately opposite to this entrance is placed the font, a massive
structure of black and variegated Italian marble. It is carved with
lions’ heads at the corners, and the basin is richly foliated. The
pedestal is of white marble in panels, inlaid with vine-leaves in
black marble. The whole is raised on a black marble plinth.... The
pulpit is of stone, inlaid with panels of marble, and glittering with
rich mosaic-work, having also four twisted columns wholly composed
of ancient mosaic, and supported by the black marble columns with
alabaster capitals. The roofing of the nave and aisles is of open
timber-work, stained to imitate dark chestnut.... The height of the
campanile is 100 feet; and in it are hung a peal of six bells, brought
from the old church. The remaining dimensions are as under: from the
western porch to the chancel apse, 120 feet; width, 53 feet; width of
nave between the columns, 24 feet; height, 57 feet; aisles, 13 feet
wide, and 24 feet high.”
One of the most interesting places in Wilton is the famous “Royal
Axminster and Wilton Carpet Factory” of Messrs. Yates and Co., and
this, through the courtesy of the proprietors, may be seen by visitors
to this district. This manufactory, which occupies nearly two acres
of ground and gives employment to nearly four hundred people, was the
first place in England where carpets were made. A charter was granted
in 1701, and other charters of 1706 and 1725 (by which the weavers were
made a corporate body, with stewards, &c.) were also granted. By these
all persons who were not members of the body of weavers were prevented
from carrying on the same business within three miles of the borough
of Wilton, stamped certificates, after seven years’ apprenticeship,
being given by the corporation to such men as were elected by them.
The carpets then made were naturally of a coarse and very inferior
character to those produced after on. To Henry, ninth Earl of Pembroke
and sixth Earl of Montgomery, of whom we have spoken in a preceding
page, and who died in 1751, England is indebted for the introduction
of the manufacture of superior descriptions of carpets. Like many of
his ancestors, he was a man of refined taste, and spent large sums
of money in adorning his mansion at Wilton. Lord Orford says of him,
“The soul of Inigo Jones, who had been patronised by his ancestors,
seems still to hover over its favourite Wilton, and to have assisted
the muses of Art in the education of this noble person. The towers,
the chambers, the scenes which Holbein, Jones, and Vandyke decorated,
and which Earl Thomas had enriched with the spoil of the best ages,
received the last touches of beauty from Earl Henry’s hand.” The Earl
during his travels in Flanders and France had taken great interest
in the carpet works of those countries, and he noticed the much more
general use of this article of furniture there than in England, where
it was then regarded as an exotic luxury, and the idea occurred to him
that the manufacture might be established in England, so as to form a
new industry, and be a source of employment to the poor. He therefore
entered into arrangements with artists, superintendents, and a body of
workmen; brought them to England about the year 1745; and settled them
in Wilton—thus laying the foundation of that branch of manufacture
which now in England surpasses by far that of any other country.
The productions of this famous historical factory, to which, years
ago, the looms and trade from Axminster were transferred, are entirely
hand-made, and in this particular the manufactory is the only one in
existence in this kingdom. Carpets of various degrees of quality and of
different descriptions are here made, but whether “Brussels,” “Saxony,”
“Velvet-pile,” “Axminster,” or what not, all are “real hand-made,” and
all of extreme excellence, both in design and in superiority of make.
“Royal carpets” for Windsor Castle, for Buckingham Palace, and other
abodes of royalty, may now and then be seen by the visitor in course
of weaving, and many of these better-class carpets, which are an inch
or more in thickness, and of the softness of down to the tread, are of
the most gorgeous character in design and in brilliancy and arrangement
of colours. A “Wilton carpet” indicates a high degree of refinement in
furnishing, and its enduring quality gives it a strong recommendation.
Wilton House is within three miles of venerable Salisbury, six miles
or so from Stonehenge, and some three or four miles from “Old Sarum;”
the visitor may, therefore, with but little sacrifice of time, examine
three of the most interesting of all the relics of ancient England,
while Wilton itself may well be ranked as a fourth.
[Illustration: _Salisbury Cathedral._]
If we have cathedrals grander, more extensive, and more magnificent
than that of Salisbury, we have none more graceful: “the singular
uniformity displayed in its design and style, the harmony which
pervades its several parts and proportions, and the striking air of
brightness, simplicity, and elegance, that reigns throughout the whole,
all conspire to invest it with a charm peculiarly its own; whilst the
great elevation of its graceful spire renders it without exception the
most lofty building in the kingdom.” Grace is, indeed, its especial
attribute, and beauty has not been here “a fatal gift;” for the sacred
edifice seems as perfect to-day as it was many centuries ago.
Stonehenge is near at hand; that wonderful assemblage of stones which
tell us—nothing, defying even the guess-work of the antiquary,
concerning which tradition is dumb; yet there they stand as they stood
thousands of years ago, solitary in their solemn grandeur upon the
plain where the grouse and hares are even now their only neighbours.
“Old Sarum” seems but a huge waste heap: it rises high above environing
scenery; there are no dwellings on the “mound”—not even one where
might have been registered the return to Parliament of the member by
whom it was represented, until Reform arrested its chronicles, and
swept it away as a city for ever.
RABY CASTLE.
FEW counties are so rich in ancient fortresses and castellated
buildings as Durham; but pre-eminent among these in historical
interest, and perhaps in antiquity, is Raby Castle, which we add to our
series. Situate about six or seven miles from Barnard Castle, a trifle
more than that from Bishop Auckland, and about a dozen from Darlington,
Raby Castle, with its grand old park, lies close to the pretty little
town of Staindrop, about which we shall say a few words later on. The
castle itself, with its many massive towers and turrets, is built on
rising ground, on a foundation of solid rock, and is surrounded and
enclosed by a massive battlemented wall, the area of the edifice,
within the wall, comprising about two acres of land. The castle was
formerly surrounded by a moat, the course of which, although now filled
up, is clearly traceable; in its place extensive sheets of ornamental
water have been very judiciously laid out, and give to the scene the
effect, in approaching the castle from the park, of a fine but placid
river.
Raby Park, which surrounds the castle, consists of several hundred
acres of the finest land, and contains a noble herd of more than five
hundred red and fallow deer. The park is entered by three Lodges of
ancient and unpretentious appearance. The South Lodge, which is the
main entrance, is situated about one hundred yards from Staindrop
Church. On entering the Lodge, within a very short distance from here
the towers of the castle are visible, and continue in sight for some
considerable distance, when a sharp incline cuts off the view. On
attaining the summit the grand old pile is again seen standing boldly
out from the grounds, and forming a most imposing prospect, which is
greatly enhanced by the sheet of water that at this point separates
the castle from the observer. The carriage drive from the Lodge has
hitherto been wavy and circuitous in its route, but from here it takes
a straight course across the Pond, or Lake, of ten acres in extent,
by means of an embankment, and again continues in a circuitous form
through an avenue of grand old venerable beech-trees, which terminates
at the entrance, or Porter’s Lodge, to the castle itself.
[Illustration: _South Side._]
The Pond, or Lake, which is divided by the carriage drive, is situated
on the west side of the castle, its western portion overflowing into
the eastern half, that flows to and surrounds the south battlement
walls; the Moat, which is now dry, receding from it to the east and
west. The Lake is well supplied with swans and other aquatic birds.
The East Lodge is a foot entrance for the workpeople; the North Lodge,
or back entrance, has two low castellated towers, one on each side of
the entrance gates.
The Home Park and Woods consist of nine hundred and forty acres, which
are intersected by fifteen miles of drives and walks. The Woods are
beautifully varied and picturesque, especially the North Wood, which
forms the north boundary of the park, and rises considerably above the
castle, commanding a most extensive and charming landscape, especially
on a clear sunset evening, when the old dark walls of the castle are
lit up by its golden rays, which are also reflected on the far-distant
Yorkshire and Richmond hills.
The Bath Wood, which is quite of a different nature from the North
Wood, is situated a short distance to the west of the castle in a
valley that is thickly wooded, and through which walks and drives
wind their way in such varied forms as to render it one of the most
enjoyable summer retreats that can possibly be desired. The walks and
drives all terminate at the Bath-house, somewhat west of the centre of
the wood. In front of the Bath, which consists of two rooms, supplied
by a natural spring of intensely cold water, is a fine open lawn, well
laid out with rhododendron beds and single specimens of conifers, with
a lake-stream of water winding its way in various falls and artificial
forms. This open space, or lawn, is thickly surrounded with grand old
beech and spruce-fir trees, blending most charmingly together. At the
back and on the north side of the Bath-house is a picturesquely built
lodge or cottage, inhabited by persons who have charge of the Baths.
The Gardens are situated on the north side of the castle, on a slight
incline, which commands some of the most interesting views of the north
side of the building. The whole grounds pertaining to the Gardens,
including the head and under gardeners’ dwellings, are enclosed within
substantial time-worn brick walls, which are strictly in keeping with
the castle itself. The interior is formed into various sections by
brick walls and massive yew hedges, that are kept closely clipped in
tapering form; in measure they are ten feet wide, and eleven feet high,
and probably were planted in the days of the first occupiers of the
castle. Formerly these sections were almost exclusively devoted to
the culture of fruit and vegetables, but of late years bedding plants
of all descriptions have been extensively introduced, associating
very agreeably the ornamental with the useful. On a terrace which is
bounded on one side by a stream of water is a ribbon border extending
its whole length; and on the south side of the boundary wall the
effect produced by the bends and receding form of the border is very
charming, and the perfection of what a ribbon border should be. Glass
structures are extensive, and principally devoted to fruit culture,
especially to pines and grapes. Excepting the Conservatory and two or
three other houses containing some very fine specimens of tropical
plants, plant culture is little regarded. Most of these houses have
been reconstructed on the most approved modern principles, but they are
scattered about in all directions. The noble range of vineries erected
some thirty years since, that contained the vines which caused so much
controversy amongst horticulturists on the carrion system of vine
culture, are now things of the past, and are succeeded by fine healthy
canes, which must, to all present appearance, produce in the future
fruit of the most approved excellence. In addition to the many glass
structures devoted to fruit culture, hot-air walls are also introduced
for the same purpose, which, especially in the case of apricots, insure
a full crop in spite of unpropitious weather.
The most-cared-for antique occupant in the Garden is, however, the
famous “Raby Fig-tree,” which, although known to be upwards of one
hundred years old, still produces annually thousands of figs of the
finest quality. This remarkable tree is covered by a primitive glass
structure, very much in keeping with its own venerable character. The
house in which the tree is planted is fifty feet in length, eight feet
in width, and nearly twelve feet in height; and every possible space of
this house, both walls and rafters, is occupied by this one tree, which
bids fair to live and flourish and produce fruit for many a century
yet to come. The house is heated by flues. Another speciality of the
Gardens is the original “Raby Red Currant,” whose trees are still in as
good preservation, as prolific, and as much in repute as ever.
The name of Raby points to a Danish origin, and it is first named, so
far as any record is known, in connection with King Canute, who, after
making his celebrated pilgrimage over Garmondsway Moor to the shrine of
St. Cuthbert at Durham, offered it, with Staindrop and its shire, to
the shrine of that saint. It continued, except for a time during the
life of Bishop Flambard, in the peaceful possession of the monks until
1131, when they granted it, for an annual rent of £4, to Dolfin, son of
Ughtred, of the blood royal of Northumberland.
[Illustration: _North-east Side._]
To him, Mr. Hodgson is of opinion, is to be ascribed the first
foundation of the manor. The descendant of Dolfin, Robert Fitz-Maldred,
lineal heir to Ughtred, Earl of Northumberland, was described as
“Dominus de Raby,” when, early in the thirteenth century, he married
Isabel de Nevil (daughter to Geoffrey de Nevil, the grandson of Gilbert
de Nevil, who came over with the Conqueror, by the daughter and sole
heiress of Bertram de Bulmer), who, by the death of her brother, the
last male of his line, became sole heiress and representative of the
great Saxon house of Bulmer, Lords of Brancepath and Sheriff-Hutton.
Their son Geoffrey assumed his mother’s surname of Nevil, and thus laid
afresh the foundation of the great house of that name. He had issue
two sons—Robert, who succeeded him, and Geoffrey, who became Constable
of Scarborough Castle and Justice Itinerant, and from whom the Nevils
of Hornby, afterwards merged in the Beauforts, descended. Robert de
Nevil, who was Governor of Norham, Werke, York, Devizes, and Bamborough
Castles, Warden of all the King’s forests north of the Trent, Justice
Itinerant, General of all forces beyond the Trent, and Sheriff of
Yorkshire, joined the rebellious barons, but was afterwards restored
to favour. His son Robert, called the “Peacock of the North,” dying
without issue during his lifetime, this elder Robert was succeeded by
Ralph de Nevil, who took a prominent part in the troublous internal
wars of his time. He in turn was succeeded by his son, John de Nevil,
Baron of Raby, who was Admiral of the King’s fleet from the Thames
northward, Warden of the East Marches, Lieutenant of the Duchy of
Aquitaine, and Seneschal of Bordeaux. He died 12th Richard II., and was
succeeded by his eldest son, Ralph, his second son being Thomas, Lord
Furnival. This John, Lord Nevil, was the builder of the present castle
of Raby.
Ralph, Lord Nevil of Raby, held many important offices, and founded
the collegiate church of Staindrop. By his first wife, Margaret,
daughter of Hugh, Earl of Stafford, he had issue two sons—John, who
died during his father’s lifetime, and Ralph, “who married the daughter
and heir of Ferrers of Oversley, by whom he had John Nevil, called
Lord Ferrers, whose daughter Joan (heir to the baronies of Oversley
and Newmarch), being married to Sir William Gascoigne, brought forth
Margaret Gascoigne, their daughter and heir, wife to Wentworth; whence
the Barons Raby of that surname do descend”—and seven daughters:
Maud, married to Baron de Mauley; Alice, to Sir Thomas Grey; Philippa,
to Baron Dacres of Gillesland; Margaret, to Baron Scrope; Anne, to
Sir Gilbert de Umfraville; Margery and Elizabeth, nuns. His second
wife was Joan, daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, “by
whom he had issue eight sons—Richard, Earl of Salisbury; William,
Baron Falconberg; George, Baron Latimer; Edward, Baron Bergavenny;
Robert, Bishop of Durham; Cuthbert, Henry, and Thomas, which three
last died issueless. Also five daughters—Catherine, married first to
John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, secondly to Thomas Strangways, Esq.,
thirdly to John, Viscount Beaumont, and lastly to Sir John Widville,
Knight; Eleanor, or Elizabeth, to Richard, Baron Spencer, secondly to
Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland; Anne, to Humphrey, Duke of Bucks,
and afterwards to Walter Blunt, Baron Mountjoy; Jane, a nun; and
Ciceley, to Richard Plantagenet, Duke of York.” He was created Earl
of Westmoreland, being “the first who was made earl of this county;”
and at his death, in the 4th of Henry VI., he was succeeded by his
grandson, Ralph Nevil, as second Earl of Westmoreland and Baron Nevil
of Raby, who in turn was succeeded by his cousin, Ralph Nevil, son to
Sir John Nevil, as third Earl of Westmoreland. He married Margaret,
daughter of Sir Roger Booth, by whom he had issue, with others, one
son, who died in his father’s lifetime, leaving a son, Ralph, who in
turn succeeded his grandfather.
Ralph, fourth Earl of Westmoreland and Baron Nevil of Raby, married
Catherine, daughter of Edward Stafford, Duke of Buckinghamshire, by
whom he had issue seven sons and five daughters, and was, at his death,
succeeded by his eldest son, Henry Nevil, as fifth earl. This earl
married Anne, daughter to Thomas Manners, Earl of Rutland, by whom,
amongst others, he had issue a son, Charles, who succeeded him as fifth
Earl of Westmoreland and Baron Nevil of Raby.
This nobleman, Charles, fifth Earl of Westmoreland, having taken
an active part in the rebellion against Queen Elizabeth, known as
the “Rising in the North,” was defeated, and all his possessions
confiscated to the Crown. He left only female issue.
Raby, having passed into the hands of the Crown, was afterwards sold to
the Vanes, to which family we now draw attention.
It will thus be seen that Raby Castle holds a very high rank among the
ancient castles of England, and is one of the few of its old glories
that continue to be the habitation of its lords.
The family of Vane, of which the Duke of Cleveland, the owner of Raby
Castle, is the head, is of very high antiquity, and, unlike many of our
noted families, has been continued in unbroken succession from at least
the time of the Norman Conquest down to the present hour. The first of
whom we have any authentic record—although doubtless the family might
be traced much further back still—is Howell ap Vane, who was living in
Monmouthshire antecedently to the Conquest. His son, Griffith ap Howell
Vane, married Lettyce, daughter of Bledwyn ap Kynvyn, Lord of Powys,
who was founder of three noble tribes of Wales, and by usurpation
sovereign of North and South Wales. Their son was Enyon, or Ivon,
“the Fair,” who married a daughter of Owen ap Edwyn Meredith. Passing
on through the next three generations, we come to Sir Henry Vane,
knighted at the battle of Poitiers, in 1356, where he claimed to have
assisted in taking prisoner John, King of France, who, in token of his
captivity, took off his dexter gauntlet and gave it to Vane: from that
moment he adopted it as his cognisance, and it has been continued both
as a crest and as a charge on the shield of arms.
[Illustration: _South and East Sides._]
He married Grace, daughter of Sir Stephen de la Leke, and was succeeded
by his son, John Vane, whose great-grandson, Henry Vane (his elder
brother having died without issue), married Isabella, daughter of Henry
Persall, or Peshall, by whom he had a family of eight sons and two
daughters, and, in default of issue of the eldest two, was succeeded
by his third son, John Vane (whose younger brother, Sir Ralph Vane,
married Elizabeth, known as “the good Lady Vane,” and was knighted at
the siege of Bulleyn, in 1544; he afterwards purchased Penshurst,
was attainted 4th Edward VI., executed on Tower Hill, and his estates
forfeited). John Vane, who was of Hilden, in Kent, assumed the name of
Fane in lieu of Vane, and married Isabella, daughter of John Darknoll,
or Darrell, and was succeeded by their second son, Richard Fane,
of Tudeley, at whose death, in 1540, he was succeeded by his only
son, George Fane, of Badsall, who married Joan, daughter of William
Waller, of Groombridge, from whom the present Earl of Westmoreland is
descended. The fourth son of John Vane, or Fane, of Hilden, was John
Fane, who was in possession of Hadlow when his uncle, Sir Ralph, was
executed. He married Joan, daughter and co-heiress of Sir Edward Hawte,
of Tonbridge, by whom, with others, he had a son, his successor, Henry
Fane, of Hadlow, who took part in Wyatt’s insurrection, was committed
to the Tower, but afterwards pardoned and released.
His grandson, Sir Henry Fane, resumed the ancient patronymic of
his family, Vane, in lieu of Fane, and this has continued to the
present time. This Henry Fane, or Vane, was knighted in 1611, and was
constituted one of the regents of the kingdom for the safe keeping
of the Queen, Prince Charles, and the rest of the royal children. In
1616, on the disgrace of Robert Carr of Fernyhurst, Earl of Somerset,
Sir Henry Vane received a lease from the trustees for support of the
household of Charles, Prince of Wales, for the remainder of the term
granted to Carr. He was principal Secretary of State to James I., and
Cofferer of the Household to Charles I. In 1626 he purchased the castle
and manor of Raby, and in 1632 was sent as ambassador to Sweden to
expostulate with Gustavus Adolphus in favour of the Elector Palatine.
In the following year he nobly entertained the King at Raby, on his
journey to and from Scotland, on the occasion of his coronation. He
married Frances, daughter of Thomas Darcy, of Tolleshunt Darcy, and
died at Raby Castle in 1654. By this union he had seven sons—viz.
Thomas and John, who died in infancy; Sir Henry Vane, who succeeded
him; and Sir George Vane, from whom the Marquis of Londonderry, who
sits as Earl Vane, is descended; Sir Walter Vane, Charles Vane, and
William Vane—and eight daughters, among whom were Margaret, married to
Sir Thomas Pelham, from whom are descended the Duke of Newcastle and
the Earl of Chichester; and Frances, wife of Sir Robert Honeywood.
Sir Henry Vane (third son), who succeeded his father in the estates of
Raby, Fairlawn, Shipborne, &c., in 1654, had a very chequered, but
historical life. He was educated at Westminster and Oxford, proceeded
to Geneva, and afterwards to America, where he was elected Governor
of Massachusetts. He was also M.P. for Hull and other places, and was
knighted in 1640. He is characterized as “one of the most turbulent
enthusiasts produced by the rebellion, and an inflexible Republican,”
by some, but by Milton as
“Vane, young in years, but in sage counsel old.”