for the variety of architectural periods which they illustrate. In them
may be traced the development of domestic architecture, century by
century, from the time of William Rufus down to the Georges. Not only
are they interesting as a guide to the evolution of style, but also in
their variety of size and importance. There is the small and ancient
Peak Castle; the comparatively modern palace of Chatsworth; the great
house of Haddon, with work of every century from the thirteenth to the
seventeenth; the extensive ruins of Wingfield; the splendid remains of
Bolsover; while among the dales and on the hill sides of the northern
parts of the county are many diminutive manor houses, like Offerton
and Highlow, or Snitterton and North Lees. Not only are there houses
innumerable, but also many remains of the charming settings in which
they were placed; ancient gardens like those at Melbourne; simple
lay-outs, with terrace, steps, and paved walks like that at Eyam;
quaint archways, like those at Tissington and Bradshaw. In the south of
the county, near Sudbury, are several highly interesting half-timbered
houses, of which the hall of Somersal Herbert, of three distinct dates,
is the most striking instance. There is, indeed, hardly any point of
interest connected with the amenities of by-gone house architecture
which is not illustrated in this charming county.
The Peak Castle is an interesting example of the early manner of house
building. It is a kind of midland pele-tower, resembling those small
fortified dwellings, or watch-towers, or outlying forts, which abound
in Northumberland along the Scottish border. Indeed, it is a specimen
on a small scale of what all its contemporaries were like. It consisted
of a keep and a courtyard, defended from attack by a strong wall on
one side and natural precipices on the others. Most of the castles of
that time consisted of little more. The keep was the dwelling-house,
the courtyard was the fortified enclosure, giving breathing space
and serving as a place of refuge in troublous times for the cattle
and dependants of the lord. Great keeps like those at Rochester, in
Kent, or Hedingham, in Essex, or Kenilworth, in Warwickshire, or (to
judge from its foundations) Duffield, the Derbyshire house of the
Ferrers, were tolerably well found, and provided what might then be
considered luxurious abodes. This Castle of the Peak, in its original
state, contained the minimum of what was tolerable. It consisted of
only three storeys, one of which was partly underground, and it had no
fireplace; but in those days, more often than not, the fire was placed
in the middle of the floor, and the smoke found its way out through the
windows, supplemented, where possible, by a kind of ventilating turret
in the roof. It could not have been the residence of a large family,
and may have been little more than a watch-tower. But the probability
is that it was the home of its owner, and the amount of comfort which
the stay-at-home women of the family must have experienced may be
conceived by anyone who will seat himself in one of the window recesses
on a chilly day in summer, and gaze through the rain across the valley
on to the blurred mass of Lose hill.
[Illustration: The Castle of the Peak.]
Very different in size and in variety of interest is Haddon Hall; yet
Haddon Hall, like the Peak Castle, is no longer, according to modern
notions of comfort, a tolerable dwelling, although we cannot agree
with Horace Walpole that it never could have been considered such. For
a long period it was the home of a powerful family, and was altered
again and again to meet the need which successive centuries demanded.
Parts of the chapel take us back to a date but little subsequent to
that of the Peak Castle; and although few, if any, remains of the rest
of the contemporary house are to be seen, yet the existence of the
chapel indicates that it pertained to a large house. It is easy to
understand that the discomforts of a primitive house would call for
remedy long before the chapel grew out of date, and we need not wonder
that the chapel should be the only surviving portion of the original
dwelling. The kind of accommodation to be found in a keep, however
large, grew to be insufficient and inconvenient, and it became the
fashion no longer to pile one room over another, but to spread them out
horizontally, and thereby, among other advantages, to assign to the
various rooms different sizes suitable to their different purposes.
The hall, always the chief apartment, was made the central feature;
the kitchens were attached to one end, the family rooms to the other;
the courtyard was enclosed by ranges of buildings looking into it, and
presenting little but blank walls to the outside world; through one
of these ranges was pierced the entrance gateway, defended by strong
doors, and sometimes a portcullis, such as rased Marmion’s plume as
he dashed in hot haste from under its falling mass. Haddon is a good
illustration of this kind of house, only it has two courts, with the
hall placed between them, as well for greater security as to obtain
large windows on each of its main sides. There are very few windows
of the older rooms looking out into the country, and the kitchen
in particular suffers in this respect, for a darker apartment can
scarcely ever have been devoted to such important uses. The windows
of the long gallery, now called the ballroom, are large and airy;
but they date from Elizabeth’s time, when defensive precautions were
no longer necessary. Haddon appeals to all sorts and conditions of
men. Its romantic situation and venerable appearance delight the
ordinary sightseer; its veritable and unrestored antiquity appeals to
the more earnest student of by-gone ways; while to those interested
in the minute details of the past, it is a storehouse of all kinds of
work wrought in all kinds of styles. Surely, it has enough of true
and genuine interest to be able to dispense with the fictitious,
sixpenny-magazine romance of Dorothy Vernon. Let those who cling to her
invented story, and picture her as a fascinating, winsome heroine, go
and look at her portraiture on her monument in Bakewell Church—a more
staid, prosaic person could hardly be imagined.
Another romantically placed house is Bolsover Castle, which is
mentioned in ancient records as a sister stronghold of the Peak Castle.
Of the early building nothing is now left; but the sites of the keep
and of the enclosing wall are curiously preserved, and occupied
by highly interesting buildings of the early seventeenth century.
The keep is replaced by a square house, planned with considerable
ingenuity so as to obtain within a limited and strictly defined
space the customary arrangements of a Jacobean residence. It rises
abruptly from the brow of a steep hill, and looks far and wide over
the valley now studded with colliery chimneys. Within the thickness
of the wall which marks the _enceinte_ of ancient times are contrived
quaint chambers, carefully vaulted and furnished in some cases with
curious chimney-pieces. Indeed, this early seventeenth century work,
particularly in the successor of the keep, is quite remarkable in
respect of its vaulting and its fireplaces. Vaulting was very seldom
used in Jacobean work, yet here we have examples of that method of
construction which need not fear comparison with those of earlier days,
when masons were much more accustomed to its use. The chimney-pieces
at Bolsover are a noteworthy series, exhibiting a great variety of
treatment, yet preserving a family likeness, and adorned, most of them,
with unusual delicacy. This part of the castle was executed for Sir
Charles Cavendish, a son of the renowned Bess of Hardwick, about the
year 1613. The actual owner of Bolsover was Gilbert, seventh Earl of
Shrewsbury; but he had granted a lease of 1,000 years to Sir Charles,
who was at once his step-brother and his brother-in-law.
[Illustration: Bolsover Castle: “La Gallerie.”]
Outside the ancient precincts of this part of the castle stand the
ruins of a later building, lying parallel with the brow of the hill,
and leaving a broad terrace between the building and the sloping
ground. It is designed on a much larger and coarser scale than its
neighbour, and was built by Sir William Cavendish, son of Sir Charles,
about the year 1629.
It was this Sir William, subsequently created, after a distinguished
career, Duke of Newcastle, who wrote a celebrated treatise on
horsemanship, some plates of which he adorned with a view of his
Bolsover building. This he calls “La Gallerie,” and it was probably
intended as a supplement to the somewhat restricted accommodation of
the earlier house. The Duke was also responsible for another charming
portion of this interesting group of buildings at Bolsover, in the
shape of the Riding School, a structure which has a considerable Dutch
flavour about it.
Bolsover has been mentioned out of its strict chronological order
because of its early foundation and the peculiar manner in which
it preserves the outline of the original castle. It has a notable
predecessor in date at South Wingfield, where, about the middle of the
fifteenth century, Ralph, Lord Cromwell, treasurer to King Henry VI.,
built a lordly house, which vied with Haddon in importance. Much of
it has gone to hopeless ruin, but there still remain long stretches
of wall and decayed buildings forming two large courts. The outer
gatehouse is left, flanked by an ancient barn. Through the middle of
the range which divides the courtyard is pierced a second gateway, over
which are carved the purses of the Lord Treasurer. On the opposite
side of the second court is the porch of the house itself, leading on
one side to the great hall, with its vaulted undercroft, and on the
other to the kitchen department. Midway along one of the far-stretching
fronts rises a lofty tower, from the summit of which may be studied the
domestic economy of a colony of rooks as they sway below in their nests
among the topmost branches of the trees.
On the death of its builder, Wingfield passed by purchase to the Earls
of Shrewsbury, and in the fulness of time it passed to Gilbert, seventh
earl. On his death it went to his eldest daughter, who had married the
Earl of Pembroke. Then came the troublous times of Charles I., and
Wingfield, being held by the then Earl for the Parliament, who should
be sent to attack it but his kinsman, William Cavendish, of Bolsover,
Duke of Newcastle, and author of the treatise on horsemanship. The
attack was successful, but fickle fortune soon restored it to the
Parliament, and by order of that assembly the place was “slighted.”
From that drastic operation it has never recovered, although part of it
was for a time patched up and made into a residence.
Of work dating from the time of Henry VIII. the county can show hardly
any examples. Some panelling at Haddon is the most noteworthy, but this
lacks that peculiar mixture of Gothic and French renaissance which
makes the work of that time particularly interesting. Yet, even in this
panelling, put up by Sir George Vernon, the “King of the Peak,” as he
was called, although it is free from the actual renaissance touch,
there seem to be indications which point that way, and it forms one of
the links which connect the old style with the new, and goes to show
that in the development of architectural style no change came quite
abruptly.
[Illustration:
[_J. Buckler, 1812._
Haddon Hall (North View).
(_From a Water-colour Drawing in possession of Hon. F. Strutt, showing
16th Century Brewhouse, now removed._)]
During the next of the periods into which styles group themselves,
namely, that of Elizabeth and James I., there were notable additions
made to Derbyshire houses. There is all the beautiful work of the
Earl of Rutland at Haddon—of him who came into possession in right
of his wife, Dorothy Vernon. Chief among it is the long gallery,
which he formed among the ancient walls, pulling down here and adding
there, adorning it with handsome panelling and a fretted ceiling, all
ornamented with his own arms and those of his wife. There are Hardwick
Hall, and Barlborough; the remains of Swarkeston in the extreme south,
and Sudbury in the south-west, not to mention numerous manor houses
scattered all over the county.
Hardwick Hall is, in some respects, one of the most interesting of
Derbyshire houses. It is an excellent example of the stately and
symmetrical planning which was much in vogue in the days of Elizabeth,
and it has survived without any serious alterations, except such as
were necessary for the comfort of modern life. Haddon has not been
obliged to submit to this test, and therefore retains even more of its
original flavour; but Hardwick illustrates vividly the large ideas and
the desire for magnificence which dominate much of the design of that
period. Moreover, it retains what very few of its contemporaries can
boast of—its entrance gatehouse and garden walls. The builder was the
renowned Bess of Hardwick, one of the great Elizabethan builders, a
worthy rival of the Cecils and Hattons. She claims on her monument in
All Hallows’ Church, Derby, to have built Hardwick, Chatsworth, and
Oldcotes; but the last-named has disappeared, and Chatsworth has been
rebuilt, leaving this house as her sole monument. The legend runs that
so long as she kept building she would not die, but that a long frost
occurring while she was engaged upon Bolsover, the men were obliged to
desist from their work, and thereby struck the knell of their mistress.
But we have already seen that Bolsover was the work of her son, and
that it was not begun until six or seven years after her death.
The work at Hardwick presents the most complete contrast to that at
Bolsover. There everything had to be restricted to the narrow limits
of the old site; all the work is carefully designed, and much of it
delicately executed. Here the arrangements are far from compact, and
the detail is coarse. No particular ingenuity has been exercised. The
staircases are merely flights of steps, without any of the charming
balustrades and newel-posts which adorn most Elizabethan staircases.
The windows are so overdone in order to produce a striking external
effect, that many of them are mere shams, and never were anything else,
while others have a floor going across them, and light one storey with
their lower lights and another with their upper. But it is just these
points which lend interest to the place, and show how everything had to
give way to the prevailing passion for symmetry.
There are some fine rooms on the top storey: the presence chamber,
with a deep frieze of modelled plaster exhibiting a variety of hunting
scenes; the library, with a charming relief over the fireplace of
Apollo and the Muses; the long gallery, a characteristic apartment of
the age; and a room called after “Mary Queen of Scots,” but bearing the
date 1599, which was twelve years subsequent to her death. It is true,
however, that Mary was placed for some years under the custody of the
Earl of Shrewsbury, who was husband of Bess of Hardwick (her fourth
venture), and it is also not improbable that the wife was inclined to
be jealous of the influence which the royal captive obtained over her
husband.
[Illustration: Haddon Hall (North View), _circa_ 1825.
(_From a Water-colour Drawing in possession of Hon. F. Strutt, showing
16th Century Brewhouse, now removed._)]
The documentary evidences of Mary’s long period of custody are
copious; they afford no suggestion of her visiting Hardwick, but she
was on several occasions at Bess’s other great house at Chatsworth.
Moreover, the true dates of the second hall at Hardwick make the
Queen’s sojourn here an impossibility. The date usually assigned to
Hardwick Hall is 1576, but the dates actually appearing in the house
are 1588, 1597, and 1599, all subsequent to Mary’s death. The parapet
is ornamented with Bess’s initials, E.S., and a coronet.
In front of the house which Bess built lie the ruins of that in which
she was born. This, also, must have been a good house, but one of the
older manor-house type, and not conforming to the new and fashionable
order of things. Nevertheless, it was adorned from time to time to
suit the prevailing fancy, and both it and its more splendid offspring
flourished side by side for many years. It offers another example of
the fact that so strong was the desire among those who could afford it
to build afresh in the new style, that in many instances houses built
in Henry VIII.’s time were either rebuilt in Elizabeth’s or, as here
at Hardwick, were suffered to remain and to add point by their modest
dimensions to the extent and splendour of the newer dwelling.
At Hardwick, the old custom of building round a court, which we have
met with at Haddon and Wingfield, was abandoned; the idea of adopting
defensive precautions had no part in its arrangement—it was frankly
intended for display and cheerfulness. But the courtyard still survived
up and down the country, although rather for convenience than for
defence. In some cases it became so contracted as to be little more
than a well, admitting a modicum of light and air. Such contracted
courts are both cheerless and insanitary, especially when they were
made the meeting place of the household drains; and in many instances
they have been roofed over in modern times and incorporated into the
house itself.
Barlborough, in the north-east corner of the county, is a case in
point. It is a house with an interesting plan, being almost square
in shape, yet contriving to obtain the kind of rooms and the general
disposition which were usual at the time. The effect is quaint,
especially as the octagonal bays are carried up above the roof to form
turrets. The small central court has been converted into a staircase.
The builder was Francis Rodes, a judge, like many of the builders of
Elizabethan houses. It is almost contemporary with Hardwick, as it was
built in 1583–84. It bears its date on the pedestal of the pillars
flanking the front door, and students of by-gone architecture cannot
be too thankful to the old masons for having dated their work so
frequently as they did. Nor is our gratitude less for the fashion which
made heraldry one of the chief sources of ornamentation. No doubt the
display of arms and badges was a weakness of the worthy people of that
age. It is even conceivable that men who achieved their own fortunes,
as many did under Elizabeth, unduly emphasized their ancient descent,
and occasionally recorded as facts what really were surmises. But
anyone who has spent time in ferreting out the history of an old house
is very willing to condone this foible in return for the clues with
which it furnishes him.
Far be it from us, however, to throw any doubt on Francis Rodes’s
heraldry; it serves to fix beyond a doubt who was the builder of
Barlborough. In the drawing-room is a handsome, lofty chimney-piece,
which is quite characteristic of the times. It displays the arms and
the effigies of Francis Rodes and his two wives, and is dated 1584.
There seems to have been no hesitation in those days about second
marriages. Whatever poets may have said about the marriage of true
minds, and the lasting passion of one man for one woman, neither man
nor woman forbore from marrying again and again, nor did they conceal
from the later spouses the charms and the arms of the earlier. Here,
for instance, on this chimney-piece are the arms, the name, and the
office of Francis Rodes set forth at large, and below are two other
shields with his arms impaling severally those of his two wives,
each shield being supported by a representation of himself and the
wife whose arms are impaled. To remedy any defect in the sculptor’s
portraiture, or for the benefit of future generations who knew not
the ladies in the flesh, their names are legibly printed at their
sides—“Elizabeth Sandford,” “Maria Charleton.”
[Illustration: Snitterton Hall.]
So far, all the houses mentioned have been of considerable size or
well-established fame; but scattered about the county, in small
villages or among the dales or on the hill-sides, are numerous manor
houses, the homes of the small gentry or of the well-to-do yeomen.
There are some of these near Hathersage, several of which belonged to
various branches of the family of Eyre. North Lees is one, in a retired
situation and falling to decay, at least so far as its decoration is
concerned; one deserted room still retains some of its panelling and a
fretted ceiling. Its stone walls, mullioned windows, and bold chimneys
lend an air of romance to the house half-hidden among the trees.
Highlow Hall is another of the group, chiefly notable for the quaint
gateway which leads to the entrance court. Not far away is Offerton
Hall, now a farmhouse, but an excellent example of the planning
and simple architectural treatment of a small house of the early
seventeenth century. Near Matlock is Snitterton Hall, the remains of a
rather more considerable house, with remnants of a lay-out, and with
many of its contemporary farm buildings. These are but a few of those
which might be named, and the wanderer in out-of-the-way places will
often be rewarded by the discovery of these links with the past.
There is no notable example within the county of the work of the later
seventeenth century, of the time rendered famous by Inigo Jones and
Sir Christopher Wren. But of the period which succeeded them, when the
rules of classic architecture were firmly established, and spontaneity
in design had given way to propriety, there are one or two specimens.
Of these the most characteristic is Kedleston. This great house was
designed in the grandest manner of the time. It was to have had a large
central block, with four outlying pavilions attached to it by curved
colonnades, but two of the pavilions were never built. This place well
illustrates the prevalent method of designing mansions. The principal
floor was devoted to functions of state, and is occupied by large and
lofty apartments, far too huge for comfort. They resemble apartments
in some large public building. The family rooms are tucked away in a
basement beneath the state apartments. It was the fashion of the age.
Architecture was chiefly a means for display; the noble conceptions of
the architect left his clients with scarce a comfortable corner for
themselves. The surroundings of the house are also characteristic. It
is itself placed in a somewhat haphazard position, backed by a range of
trees; the stables are concealed by trees, and approached by a covered
way; in the park is a bridge, so placed as to group in a casual way
with the house: the whole idea being to obtain a pictorial effect,
without any consideration for convenience of approach or convenient
arrangement when the house is reached.
Such were the _tours de force_ of the times, when wealth helped, and
there were no restraining conditions; when the architect had a free
hand to design, and the client another to pay. But in cases where the
opportunities were more limited, the results were more reasonable,
and such houses as Foremark are quite satisfactory. They have not the
sparkle of their predecessors, it is true, but they combine dignity
with comfort. Calke Abbey, lying hidden amid its ancient woodlands, is
another fine example of the time.