curious accounts are given in the Duchess of Newcastle’s “Life” of her
husband. Thus—“When his Majesty (Charles I.) was going into Scotland
to be crowned, he took his way through Nottinghamshire; and lying at
Worksopp-Mannor, hardly two miles distant from _Welbeck_, where my
Lord then was, my Lord invited His Majesty thither to a Dinner, which
he was graciously pleased to accept of: this entertainment cost my
Lord between Four and Five thousand pounds; which His Majesty liked so
well, that a year after His Return out of _Scotland_, He was pleased
to send my Lord word, that Her Majesty the Queen was resolved to make
a Progress into the Northern parts, desiring him to prepare the like
Entertainment for Her, as he had formerly done for Him: Which my Lord
did, and endeavour’d for it with all possible Care and Industry,
sparing nothing that might add splendor to that Feast, which both Their
Majesties were pleased to honour with their Presence. _Ben Jonson_ he
employed in fitting such Scenes and Speeches as he could best devise;
and sent for all the Gentry of the Country to come and wait on their
Majesties; and in short, did all that ever he could imagine, to render
it Great and worthy Their Royal Acceptance. This Entertainment he made
at _Bolsover Castle_, in Derbyshire, some five miles distant from
_Welbeck_, and resigned _Welbeck_ for Their Majesties Lodging; it cost
him in all between Fourteen and Fifteen thousand pounds. Besides these
two, there was another small Entertainment which my Lord prepared for
His late Majesty, in his own Park at _Welbeck_, when his Majesty came
down, with his two Nephews, the now Prince Elector Palatine, and His
Brother Prince _Rupert_, into the Forrest at _Sherwood_, which cost him
Fifteen hundred pounds. And this I mention not out of a vain-glory, but
to declare the great love and Duty my Lord had for His Gracious King
and Queen, and to correct the mistakes committed by some Historians,
who not being rightly informed of those Entertainments, make the World
believe Falsehood for Truth.” The first of Ben Jonson’s masques here
alluded to was entitled “Love’s Welcome. The King’s entertainment at
Welbeck, in Nottinghamshire, a house of the Right Honourable William,
Earl of Newcastle, Viscount Mansfield, Baron of Bothal, Bolsover, &c.,
at his going into Scotland, 1633.” It was one of the best of Jonson’s
masques, and the quintain was introduced and performed by gentlemen of
the county in the garb of rustics.
And now it only remains to say a word or two as to the surroundings of
Welbeck.
Welbeck Park, and the closely adjoining forest of Sherwood, have ever
been noted for their fine venerable trees—oaks that have stood for
ages, and bid fair to stand for ages yet to come. Many of the then
fine old trees were cut down “by the rebels” when Welbeck became for
a time their prey during the civil wars, but many still remained; and
those then in their prime have now become more venerable with age. A
few of the more noted may just be named. The “Duke’s Walking-stick,” so
called from its long straight stem, when described in 1813, and earlier
by Major Rooke, who considered it to be unmatched in the kingdom,
measured 111 feet 6 inches in height, was estimated to weigh about 11
tons, and contained about 440 solid cubic feet of timber. It no longer
exists, but another tree, a “young walking-stick,” we are informed,
of nearly a century and a half’s growth, is about 100 feet in height.
The “Two Porters,” standing a little distance apart, and named “the
Porters” from a gate and fence having formerly stood between them,
are described as being about 98 and 88 feet in height, and 38 and 34
feet in circumference; they stand nearly at the north extremity of the
park, not far from the south lodge of Worksop Manor, and are marvels of
growth and girth.
The “Seven Sisters,” situated about half a mile from the “Two Porters,”
is one of the most remarkable trees anywhere in existence. It consisted
originally of seven stems springing from one general root, and
rising perpendicularly to a great height—no less than 88 feet, the
circumference of the common trunk close to the ground being over 30
feet. Some of the sister stems have from time to time been blown down,
but the tree is still a noble and interesting one. Near it “a hollow
tree, in circumference 20 feet 9 inches, supposed to be three hundred
years old, was used as a place of concealment from whence the keeper
could aim at the deer.”
[Illustration: _The Greendale Oak._]
The “Ruysdael Oak,” so called because of being in form and condition
one of those peculiar trees which that painter delighted to introduce
into his pictures, stands on a commanding eminence in the park, not far
from the “Seven Sisters,” and forms a striking object from whichever
side it is seen. Venerable in its age, lovely in its decay, this
“grand old oak” stretches out its weird-like naked branches in every
direction, and forms a landmark that cannot be mistaken. From it, and,
indeed, from many points on this side of the park, some strikingly
beautiful views of the mansion, the lake, and the grounds are obtained.
In the part of the grounds known as “The Wilderness;” in the various
drives that intersect the forest; in the remains of “Merrie Sherwood,”
which form a part of the estate; and, indeed, in every direction, noble
oaks many centuries old, limes of marvellous beauty, and chestnuts of
enormous growth are abundant, and give an air of unsurpassed grandeur
to the domain. There is also, in another part of the grounds, a fine
avenue of aged oaks.
The “Greendale Oak” is, however, of all trees, the most curious,
venerable, and interesting. It lies some half a mile south of the
Abbey, and is computed to be one of the oldest trees in existence in
this country. Throsby, in his “Thoroton,” supposed it to be, when he
wrote, “upwards of 1,500 years old,” and Major Rooke, a few years
previously, that it was “thought to be above seven hundred years old;”
thus opinions of contemporary people varied some eight hundred years in
their computations. “In Evelyn’s time it was 33 feet in circumference
at the bottom; the breadth of the boughs was 88 feet, covering a space
equal to 676 square yards.” In 1724, the opening, from decay, in the
stem of the tree was enlarged sufficiently to allow of the passage of
an ordinary carriage, or three horsemen abreast. Through this opening
one of the noble owners is said, with his bride, to have been driven
in a carriage drawn by six horses, on the occasion of his marriage.
The tree has been repeatedly engraved, one old plate representing the
carriage being driven through the opening, and another representing a
horseman passing through it. In 1727 the Countess of Oxford, the then
owner of Welbeck, had a cabinet made from a portion of the wood taken
out of the opening. It is inlaid with representations of the carriage
and six horses passing through the tree, and other designs, and bears
the following quotation from Ovid:—
“Sæpe sub hac Dryades festas duxure choreas
Sæpe etiam manibus nexis ex ordine trunci,
Curcuiere modum mensuraque roboris ulnas.
Quinque ter implebat. Nec non et cætera lentum
Silva sub hac omnis, quantum fuit herba sub omni;”
and Chaucer’s lines—
“Lo the Oke! that hath so long a norishing
Fro the time that it ginneth first to spring,
And hath so long a life, as we may see,
Yet, at the last, wasted is the tree.”
The Greendale Oak, the “Methuselah of trees,” still stands, and is
preserved with religious care. Long may this “brave old oak” remain one
of the landmarks of past ages at lordly Welbeck!
Long, too, may the “Parliament Oak,” where Edward I. summoned his
Parliament to meet him; the “Shamble Oak,” where Robin Hood and his
“merry, merry men, all under the greenwood tree,” hung their deer, but
which has lately been nearly destroyed by fire; the “Major Oak,” the
“Simon Forester Oak,” and their brethren, be spared to us, and remain
as landmarks of history and of tradition!
The neighbourhood of Welbeck is rich in historical associations, in
objects of interest, and in places of note. Sherwood Forest, with its
hero-lore of Robin Hood; Clipstone, with its grand old Park; Clumber,
with its noble mansion; Worksop, with its Manor House, its Abbey
Church, its grand old gateway, and its other attractive features;
Thoresby, with its palatial Hall; Bolsover, with its grand old Castle;
and Steetley, with its Saxon Church: these are but a few, a very few,
of the places that lie around and invite a visit; but these we must
pass over, and, for a time, bid adieu to Welbeck and its charms.
INDEX.
Abbey of Welbeck, 1326.
Adam, Robert, 1101.
Agincourt, Battle of, 1188.
Albini, Family of, 1003 _et seq._
Allin, Family of, 1206 to 1209, 1220;
Admiral, 1207, 1208, 1220.
Anagram of Charles I., 1189.
Anguish, Family of, 1208, 1220.
Anne of Cleves, 1152.
“Arcadia,” Sidney’s, 1235.
Archer,1267.
Armada, Spanish, 1036, 1114.
Arms of Manners, 1001, 1006, 1009, 1014;
De Todeni, 1003;
De Albini, 1003;
De Ros, 1003;
Duke of Rutland, 1001, 1009, 1014;
Duke of Sutherland, 1033, 1042;
Leveson, 1042;
Earl Delawarr, 1064;
Gower, 1042;
Howard, 1082;
Earl of Carlisle, 1082;
Brotherton, 1082;
Curzon, 1099;
Warren, 1082;
Lord Scarsdale, 1099, 1100;
Mowbray, 1082;
Leake, 1100;
Cecil, 1140;
Dacre, 1082;
Neville, 1121;
Greystock, 1082;
Lord Braybrooke, 1121;
Earl of Stamford, 1128, 1140;
Pakington, 1160, 1166, 1171, 1181;
Coke, 1189;
Lord Hampton, 1160, 1166, 1171, 1181;
Lord Palmerston, 1193;
Earl Cowper, 1194;
Jernegan, 1205;
Allin, 1208;
Anguish, 1209;
Crossley, 1212;
Earl of Pembroke, 1229;
Duke of Cleveland, 1254, 1255;
Vane, 1254;
Fitzroy, 1254;
Duke of Westminster, 1275;
King Edward the Confessor, 1275;
Lucas, 1292;
Lowther, 1297;
Grosvenor, 1275;
Earl of Lonsdale, 1295;
Clinton, 1322;
Pelham, 1322;
Cavendish, 1331, 1341;
Hardwick, 1332;
Holles, 1337;
Bentinck, 1338, 1341;
Duke of Portland, 1341;
Scott, 1341.
Arne, Dr., 1272.
Arundel Marbles, 1232.
Audley End, 1112 to 1127;
Family of Audley, 1112 to 1121;
Family of Howard, 1112 to 1121;
Neville Family, 1119 to 1121;
History of, 1121 to 1126;
Pepys’s Visits to, 1122 to 1125;
Grounds, 1126, 1127.
Audley, Lords, 1112 to 1127.
Axminster Carpets, 1238, 1239.
Ballad of the Spanish Lady, 1035;
Henry V. and the King of France, 1188;
Lord of Burleigh, 1136;
Luck of Eden Hall, 1315.
Bath, 1026.
Baths, Kedleston, 1107;
Harrogate, 1108;
Quarndon, 1108;
Droitwich, 1185.
Baxter, Richard, 1197.
“Belted Will,” 1076.
Belvoir Castle, 1001 to 1031;
Situation, 1001;
History of, 1017;
Families of Ros, Manners, &c., 1003 to 1014;
Witches of, 1014 to 1017;
Description of, 1018 to 1023;
Gardens and Grounds, 1023 to 1030;
Neighbourhood of, 1030.
Belvoir Monastery, 1003.
Bentinck, Family of, 1338 to 1341;
Lord George, 1340.
“Bess of Hardwick,” 1227, 1334, 1335, 1350.
Boleyn, Anne, 1065, 1146 to 1159;
Family of, 1146 to 1159.
Bottesford, 1017, 1030, 1031.
Bourbon, John, Duke of, at Melbourne, 1188.
Braybrooke, Baron, 1119 to 1127.
Briggs, J. J., Lines by, 1200, 1201.
Brine Baths, 1185
Brougham Castle, 1315.
Brougham, Lord, 1315.
Browne, William, Lines by, 1226.
Buckhurst, Lord, 1061.
Buckingham, Duke of, 1267 _et seq._
Burleigh, 1128 to 1146;
History of, 1128 to 1131;
Family of Cecil, 1131 to 1140;
Description of, 1140 to 1146;
“Lord of Burleigh,” 1136 to 1138.
Cardigan, Earl of, 1270.
Carlisle, Earls of, 1074 to 1092.
Carlisle, Lord, Poetry of, 1088, 1092.
Carpets, Wilton, 1238, 1239.
Castle Howard, 1074 to 1092;
Family of Howard, 1074 to 1083;
History of, 1074 to 1083;
Description of, 1084 to 1090;
Gardens and Grounds, 1090 to 1092.
Cavendish, Family of, 1329 to 1343.
Cecil, Family of, 1131 to 1140.
Chantrey, Statue by, 1039.
Chatsworth, 1227, 1334.
Chester, Earls of, 1273.
Cibber, Statues by, 1027.
Cleveland, Dukes of, 1248 to 1255.
Cliefden, 1265 to 1279;
Situation of, 1265 to 1267;
History of, 1267 to 1273;
Family of Grosvenor, 1273 to 1275;
Gardens and Grounds, 1275 to 1279.
Clifton, Battle of, 1315.
Clinton, Family of, 1318 to 1322.
Clough Mills, 1210.
Clumber, 1317 to 1326;
Situation, 1317;
Family of Pelham, Dukes of Newcastle, 1318 to 1322;
Description of, 1322 to 1326;
Roman Remains at, 1324, 1325.
Coke, Family of, 1189 to 1193.
Cowper, Earl, Family of, 1192, 1193.
Crossley, Family of, 1209 to 1212.
Curzon, Families of, 1061, 1094 to 1099,
Dacre Castle, 1315.
Dean Clough Mills, 1210.
Delaware, Earls of, 1057 to 1064.
Derby Fly, 1108; Hills, 1188.
Devonshire, Dukes of, 1330 _et seq._
Dixon, Sonnet by, 1313.
Donington Cliff, 1201, 1202.
Droitwich, 1184, 1185;
Baths, 1185;
Tesselated Pavement, 1184.
Drumburgh, Roman Remains, 1305, 1308.
Duffield, 1111.
Duke’s Walking-stick, 1353.
Eamont Bridge, 1315.
Eden Hall, Luck of, 1315.
Espec, Family of, 1003 _et seq._
Evelyn at Audley End, 1124;
Welbeck, 1355.
Exeter, Countess of, Lines on, 1134.
Fairfax, Lord, 1271.
Fane, Family of, 1248 to 1285.
Ferrars, 1111.
Flower, Joan, the Witch, 1014 to 1017.
Gernon, Family of, 1329.
Gladstone, W. E., Inscription by, 1041.
Godolphin-Osborne, Family of, 1208 to 1210.
Gower, Family of, 1037 to 1042.
Gower, John, the Poet, 1045.
Greendale Oak, 1355.
Greystoke Castle, 1316.
Grosvenor, Family of, 1273 to 1275.
Gunpowder Plot, 1115.
Guy Fawkes, 1115.
Hackthorpe, 1316.
Haddon Hall, 1026.
Halifax and the Crossleys, 1209 to 1212.
Hamilton, Lord George, 1271.
Hampton, Lords, 1180, 1181.
Hampton Lovett Church, 1181 to 1183.
Hardinge, Lords, 1198.
Hardwick, Family of, 1352;
Hall, 1334.
Haweswater, 1312.
Henderskelf Castle, 1083.
Herbert, Family of, 1225 to 1229, 1236.
Hermitage, The, 1316.
Hever Castle, 1065, 1147 to 1159;
Family of Boleyn, 1147 to 1159;
Family of Waldo, 1152 to 1155;
History of, 1155 to 1159;
Description of, 1155 to 1159.
Holles, Family of, 1337.
Holy Well at King’s Newton, 1200.
“Horsemanship,” Duke of Newcastle’s, 1341 _et seq._
Howard, Family of, 1075 to 1092, 1113 to 1121.
Ireton, General, 1111.
Jernegan, Family of, 1202 to 1205.
Jonson, Ben, 1226, 1352.
Kedleston Hall, 1093 to 1111;
History of, 1093 to 1102;
Family of Curzon, 1094 to 1099;
Leake Family, 1099, 1100;
Description of, 1101 to 1107;
Park and Grounds, 1107 to 1109;
Baths, 1107;
Oaks, 1108;
Church, 1109 to 1111;
Monuments, 1109, 1110;
Neighbourhood of, 1111;
Fly, 1108.
King’s Newton, 1198 to 1202;
Charles I. at, 1198.
Kirkby Thore, Roman Remains, 1305 _et seq._
Kirk Ireton, 1111.
Knole, 1056 to 1073;
Families to whom it has belonged, 1057 to 1067;
History of, 1064;
Description of, 1066 to 1073;
Grounds, 1073.
Lamb, Family of, 1190 to 1193;
Lady Caroline, 1190;
Hon. George, Lines by, 1195.
Leveson, Family of, 1034 to 1042.
Leveson-Gower, Family of, 1034 to 1042.
Long Meg and her Daughters, 1315.
Lonsdale, Earl of, 1291 to 1316.
“Lord of Burleigh,” 1136 to 1138.
Lowther Castle, 1291 to 1316;
Situation, 1316;
History of, 1297, 1316, 1317;
Family of Lowther, 1292 to 1297, 1313, 1314;
Description of, 1297 to 1311;
Roman Remains at, 1305 to 1311;
Gardens and Grounds, 1311 to 1313;
Neighbourhood of, 1315.
Lowther, Family of, 1292 to 1297, 1313, 1314;
Church and Monuments, 1313, 1314.
“Lusty Pakington” and Queen Elizabeth, 1172, 1176.
Mackworth Castle, 1111.
Manners, Family of, 1001 to 1031.
Markeaton Hall, 1111.
Melbourne Hall, 1186 to 1202;
History of Melbourne, 1186 to 1188;
Family of Coke, 1189 to 1193;
Family of Lamb, 1190 to 1193;
Melbourne, Lords, 1190 to 1193;
Lord Palmerston, 1192, 1193;
Earl Cowper, 1193, 1194;
Gardens, 1194 to 1197;
Description of, 1186 to 1197;
Church, 1197, 1198;
Places in Neighbourhood, 1188 to 1202;
Richard Baxter at, 1197.
Melbourne, Viscounts, Family of, 1189 to 1193.
Mugginton, 1111.
Mundy Family, 1199.
Napoleon Bonaparte, Abdication Table, 1300.
Nevil, Family of, 1246 to 1248.
Newcastle, Duke of, Family of, 1318 to 1322;
Cavendish, Duke of, 1334 _et seq._;
Margaret Duchess of, 1336.
Nursery Rhyme, 1299.
Oaks at Welbeck, 1353 to 1356.
Old John of the Hill, 1013.
Orkney, Countess of, 1271.
Osborne, Family of, 1208 to 1210.
Pakington, Family of, 1166, 1167, 1171 to 1181;
Pound, 1174.
Palmerston, Lord, Family of, 1190 to 1193.
Parliament Oak, 1356.
Pedigree Tomb at Lowther, 1314.
Pelham, Family of, 1318, 1322.
Pembroke, Earls of, 1225 to 1241.
Penrith, Roman Remains, 1305, 1306;
Town, &c., 1315;
Altar-piece, 1315.
Penshurst, 1065.
Pepys, Samuel, at Audley End, 1122 to 1125;
at Raby Castle, 1251;
Triple Duel, 1268, 1269.
Peto, Samuel Morton, 1209, 1217, 1220.
Plague at Penrith, &c., 1315.
Plumpton, Roman Remains, 1305.
Pope, Lines on Duke of Buckingham, 1271.
Portland, Duke of, 1326 to 1356.
Portland Vase, 1045.
Quarndon, 1108.
Queen Elizabeth and “Lusty Pakington,” 1172, 1176;
and Cecil, 1131;
at Wilton, 1235.
Raby Castle, 1243 to 1264;
Park and Grounds, 1243 to 1245;
History of, 1245 to 1263;
Raby Figs and Currants, 1245;
Family of Nevil, 1246 to 1248;
Family of Vane or Fane, 1248 to 1255;
Description of, 1255 to 1264;
Neighbourhood of, 1265.
Roger de Coverley, Sir, 1175.
Roman Remains at Lowther, 1304 to 1310;
at Clumber, 1324, 1325.
Ros, De, Family of, 1004 to 1006.
Rowsley, 1012.
Rule Britannia, 1272.
Rutland, Dukes of, 1001 to 1031, 1037.
Ruysdael Oak, 1354.
Sackville Family, 1057 to 1064.
Saffron Walden, 1126.
“Saint’s Rest,” 1197.
Salisbury Cathedral, 1239 to 1241.
Scarsdale, Barons, 1094 to 1100.
Scrope and Grosvenor Roll, 1275.
Seven Sisters, 1353, 1354.
Sharrow Bay, 1316.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 1287 to 1289;
Family of, 1287 to 1289.
Sherwood Forest, 1317, 1326, 1335.
Shrewsbury, Countess of, 1227, 1268.
Sidneys, The, 1226 to 1229.
Somerleyton, 1203 to 1223;
Family of Jernegan, 1202 to 1205;
Family of Wentworth, 1205 to 1208;
Family of Anguish, 1208;
Families of Peto and Crossley, 1209 to 1212;
Park and Grounds, 1212 to 1217;
Description of, 1217 to 1219;
Church and Monuments, 1219 to 1221;
Neighbourhood of, 1222.
Sonnet on Belvoir, 1029;
on Howard, 1076;
on Lowther, 1313.
Spanish Lady’s Love, 1035.
Staindrop, 1264.
Stamford, Earls of, 1131 to 1140.
Stonehenge, 1241.
Sutherland, Dukes of, 1032 to 1055, 1272.
Temple, Family of, 1192.
Tennyson’s “Lord of Burleigh,” 1136.
Thompson, Jacob, 1315, 1316.
Tile Memorials, 1050.
Todeni, Family of, 1003 _et seq._
Trentham, 1032 to 1055, 1272;
Monastery, 1033, 1034;
History of, 1033 to 1043;
Families of Leveson, Leveson-Gower, &c., 1034 to 1042;
Description of, 1044 to 1048;
Church, 1048 to 1050;
Monuments, 1049, 1050;
Grounds and Gardens, 1050 to 1055.
Triple Duel, 1268.
Two Porters, 1353, 1354.
Ulleswater, 1312.
Underground Rooms, 1347.
Vanbrugh, Sir John, 1083, 1084, 1125.
Vane, Family of, 1248 to 1255.
Villiers, Family of, 1267.
Waldo Family, 1152 to 1155.
Walton, Izaak, 1236.
Warnham Court, 1280 to 1290;
Situation, 1290;
Family of Lucas, 1292;
Description of, 1282 to 1287;
Shelley Family, 1287.
Welbeck, 1327 to 1356;
Situation, 1327;
History of, 1327 to 1329;
Families of Cavendish, Holles, Hardwick, Bentinck, 1329 to 1341;
Dukes of Portland, 1327 to 1356;
Old View of, 1342;
Duke of Newcastle’s “Horsemanship,” 1342;
Description of, 1343 to 1352;
Royal Visits, 1352;
Park, 1353 to 1356;
Greendale and other Oaks, 1353 to 1356;
Neighbourhood of, 1356.
Wentworth, Family of, 1205 to 1208;
Sir John, 1206, 1207, 1220.
Westminster, Duke of, Family of, 1265 to 1279.
Westmoreland Worthies, 1300;
Lakes, 1316.
Weston Cliff, 1201.
Westwood Park, 1160 to 1185;
Situation, 1160 to 1162;
Description of, 1162 to 1170;
Family of Pakington, 1166, 1167, 1171 to 1181;
Pakington’s Pound, 1174;
“Whole Duty of Man,” 1178;
Hampton Lovett Church, 1181 to 1183;
Monuments, 1181 to 1183;
Droitwich, 1184, 1185.
Whitely Court, 1185.
Wilton House, 1225 to 1241;
Family of Herbert, 1225 to 1229;
the Sidneys, 1226 to 1229;
History of, 1229 to 1232;
Description of, 1231 to 1234;
the Grounds, 1234, 1235;
“Arcadia,” 1235;
Sidney Herbert, 1236;
Church, 1237, 1238;
Wilton Carpets, 1238, 1239;
Salisbury Cathedral, 1239 to 1241;
Stonehenge, 1241.
Windsor, 1266, 1301.
Witches of Belvoir, 1014 to 1017.
Wolverhampton, Monuments at, 1036.
Worcester, Battle of, 1177.
Worksop, 1317, 1326, 1327.
Yates’s Carpets, 1238.
THE END.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The principal architects employed were Mr. Allason and Mr. Abraham;
Mr. Loudon also had something to do, later on, with the laying out of
the grounds.
[2] “Alton Towers and Dove-Dale.” By Llewellynn Jewitt, F.S.A. (Black
and Co.) The Roman Catholic establishment just referred to is close
to the pretty little town of Alton, in which the visitor will find an
excellent and comfortable inn (the “White Hart”). The intention of
the founder, and of the architect, Pugin, in the establishment of the
picturesque pile of buildings referred to, was to found an institution,
lecture-hall, schools, &c., for the town of Alton; a large cloistered
establishment for nuns, a chapel, and a hospital for decayed priests.
The chapel alone is finished, and in it service is regularly performed
by a resident priest, who lives in one part of the monastic buildings.
The schools, too, are in use, and the building erected as a residence
for the master is used as a small nunnery. In the chapel, which is
elegantly fitted up, are buried John, Earl of Shrewsbury, the founder
of the hospital, who died in 1852; his Countess (Maria Theresa), who
died in 1856, to each of whom are splendid monumenta
[3] Jewitt’s “Alton Towers and Dove Dale.”
[4] Parts of this account are borrowed from Mr. S. C. Hall’s
description of Cobham, printed in 1848 in the “Baronial Halls.” During
the summer of 1867, Mr. Hall revisited the venerable mansion, its
gardens and park, with the members of the Society of Noviomagus.
[5] “Cobham, anciently Coptham; that is, the head of a village, from
the Saxon _copt_, a head.”—PHILIPOT. _Survey of Kent_.
[6] Sir Thomas Broke and Joan de Cobham, his wife, had ten sons and
four daughters. It is their tomb which occupies so prominent a position
in the chancel of Cobham Church.
[7] Under a most iniquitous sentence, Raleigh was executed fifteen
years after it was pronounced; and Cobham (by whose treachery the brave
knight was chiefly convicted) had been a houseless wanderer meanwhile,
perishing unpitied and unwept. Of their intimacy there is no doubt;
and it is more than probable, that the old Hall we are describing was
often the home of Sir Walter Raleigh when conspicuous as “the noble
and valorous knight.” It is grievous to think that so great a “worthy”
should have been sacrificed to the pitiful cowardice of so “poor a
soul” as the last of the Cobhams—the degenerate scion of a munificent
and valorous race.
[8] Sir Joseph Williamson was the son of a clergyman of Cumberland. He
held various appointments under the Crown, was President of the Royal
Society, and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
[9] “Lady Katherine O’Brien died in November following; upon which
her two-thirds of this manor and seat, which, with the rest of
the estates of the late Duke of Richmond, purchased by Sir Joseph
Williamson, descended to Edward, Lord Clifton and Cornbury (son of
Edward, Lord Cornbury, afterwards Earl of Clarendon, and Catherine his
wife, the only daughter and heir of the said Lady Katherine, by her
first husband, Henry Lord O’Brien), and on his death, without issue,
in 1713, to his only surviving sister and heir, the Lady Theodosia
Hyde.”—HASTED’S _Kent_.
[10] In 1718 Sir Richard Temple, Bart., was created Baron and Viscount
Cobham (the Temples, it appears, being in the female line connected
with the Brokes), and this title is still held and enjoyed by his
descendant the present Duke of Buckingham, K.G., whose titles are Baron
Cobham, of Cobham in Kent; Viscount Cobham of the same place; Earl
Nugent (in the peerage of Ireland); Earl Temple; Marquis of Chandos,
Marquis of Buckingham, and Duke of Buckingham.
[11] The architect is C. F. Hayward, F.S.A. It is a handsome building,
immediately fronting the Terminus, of a style which may be described
as a free treatment of Gothic architecture, without any of the special
characteristics which refer to one particular date—in fact, it is
a modern design, well adapted to its purposes and position, and of
substantial build, being of granite and limestone—combined with
lightness and even elegance in certain details of terra-cotta work,
from the well-known manufactory of Blashfield of Stamford.
From the lantern tower of the hotel, rising far above the buildings
near, and also from some of the windows in the upper floor, is to be
obtained a magnificent view of the Sound, with the near Breakwater, and
the Eddystone Lighthouse, “far out at sea;” while the grassy slopes of
lovely Mount Edgcumbe and its tree-capped heights are seen to rise in
front, overhanging the land-locked harbour, called Hamoaze.