THE
BARONIAL HALLS,
AND
ANCIENT PICTURESQUE EDIFICES OF ENGLAND.
FROM DRAWINGS BY
J. D. HARDING, G. CATTERMOLE, S. PROUT, W. MÜLLER, J. HOLLAND,
AND OTHER EMINENT ARTISTS.
EXECUTED IN COLOURED LITHOTINTS, BY DAY AND SON AND HANHART.
THE TEXT BY S. C. HALL, F.S.A.
EMBELLISHED WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
WILLIS AND SOTHERAN, 136, STRAND.
MDCCCLVIII.
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II.
SAWSTON HALL CAMBRIDGESHIRE From a _J. Dafforne_.
Drawing by
BRERETON HALL CHESHIRE -- _H. L. Pratt_.
CREWE HALL -- -- _C. J. Richardson, F.S.A._
DORFOLD HALL -- -- _C. J. Richardson, F.S.A._
MORETON HALL -- -- _H. L. Pratt_.
PLÂS HOUSE CORNWALL -- _J. Gendall_.
NAWORTH CUMBERLAND -- _George Cattermole_.
NAWORTH, LONG GALLERY -- -- _George Cattermole_.
HADDON HALL DERBYSHIRE -- _T. Allom_.
HADDON HALL, INTERIOR -- -- _T. Allom_.
HARDWICK HALL -- -- _Lake Price_.
FORD HALL DEVONSHIRE -- _J. Gendall_.
SHERBORNE LODGE DORSETSHIRE -- _C. J. Richardson, F.S.A._
AUDLEY END ESSEX -- _J. D. Harding_.
AUDLEY END, INTERIOR -- -- _J. D. Harding_.
FEERING HOUSE -- -- _F. W. Fairholt, F.S.A._
HOREHAM HALL -- -- _F. W. Fairholt, F.S.A._
ST. OSYTH’S PRIORY -- -- _J. Dafforne_.
BERKELEY CASTLE GLOUCESTERSHIRE -- _J. G. Jackson_.
BRAMSHILL HAMPSHIRE -- _F. W. Hulme_.
HATFIELD HOUSE HERTFORDSHIRE -- _F. W. Hulme_.
KNEBWORTH -- -- _F. W. Hulme_.
HINCHINBROOK HOUSE HUNTINGDONSHIRE -- _G. H. Harrison_.
CHARLTON HOUSE KENT -- _J. Holland_.
COBHAM HALL -- -- _J. D. Harding_.
COBHAM CHURCH, INTERIOR -- -- _J. D. Harding_.
HEVER CASTLE -- -- _G. F. Sargent_.
KNOLE, RETAINERS’ GALLERY -- -- _S. Rayner_.
PENSHURST, FROM THE PARK -- -- _J. D. Harding_.
PENSHURST, THE COURTYARD -- -- _J. D. Harding_.
HALL I’ THE WOOD LANCASHIRE -- _J. D. Harding_.
SMITHELL’S HALL -- -- _J. S. Dodd_.
SPEKE HALL -- -- _J. D. Harding_.
SPEKE HALL, INTERIOR -- -- _Thomas Allom_.
TURTON TOWER -- -- _J. S. Dodd_.
[Illustration:
Drawn by J. Dafforne. M. & N. Hanhart, Lithogʳˢ.
SAWSTON HALL CAMBRIDGESHIRE.]
SAWSTON HALL
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
[Illustration: S]awston Hall is situated to the right of the long and
straggling village of Sawston, on the high-road to Cambridge, from which
it is distant about six miles. For many centuries it has been the
residence of the Huddlestons, an ancient and honourable family, of the
Roman Catholic faith. The mansion lies low, and is partially hidden by
thickly-clustered cottages and gardens. It is a large quadrangular
building, erected during the reign of Queen Mary, under circumstances
which we shall presently explain. It retains much of its original
character, both externally and internally; and, although it cannot boast
of great architectural beauty, it may be considered as a good example of
the gable-ended style of the sixteenth century. The principal entrance
is by a low door-way, underneath a porch, leading into a spacious hall,
paved with Kettering stone and black marble, and lighted by two windows,
exhibited in the appended wood-cut, and a large bay-window
[Illustration]
on the same side.[1] The wainscotting has been stained to imitate
walnut-wood. The walls are adorned by several finely-painted portraits.
Of the rooms on the upper floor there are none that demand especial
notice: two of the bed-chambers are, however, hung with faded tapestry,
concealing doors that lead to remote parts of the building. The antique
damask bed-furniture and quilted coverlets are relics of ages long
passed away. The Gallery, hung with old family portraits, extends nearly
the whole depth of the mansion--being upwards of one hundred feet long
by about eighteen wide, with oak panels to the ceiling. A door-way in
the court-yard conducts to a neat chapel, containing a window of stained
glass, and an altar of fine Egyptian marble, inlaid with lapis lazuli.
The venerable edifice
[Illustration]
derives its principal attraction from its associations with the olden
time: it is impossible to wander through its now nearly deserted
apartments, without reading a solemn and impressive passage from
history. Its great characteristic is solitude. The present occupant--a
bachelor of venerable years--is almost the last of a distinguished and
honourable race, leading a secluded life in the house consecrated by a
long line of noble ancestors. Though dwelling apart from the business
and turmoil of life, secluded alike from the toils and anxieties of the
world, where
“Silence pervades the halls of revelry;”
there are, nevertheless, many who can testify to the active benevolence
of his nature, to his worthily representing the virtues of generations
of great and good men; and that when he dies “his works will follow
him.”
In supplying some details of the family history, we avail ourselves of
the genealogical roll, which the courtesy of the venerable
representative permitted us to inspect. We copy the superscription: the
document itself is upwards of eighteen feet long, and contains a
multitude of names
“Writ in the annals of their country’s fame.”
“This Pedegree, Genealogy, or liniall Descent of the Ayntient and
Rightworthey Famylie of Hodlestone of Salstone, in the Countey of
Cambridg, and of Hodlestone, Lords of Milham, in the Countey of
Cumberlande, and of divers other Manners and Lordshipps, shewing theire
Matches and Aliances with many Princely, and Honorable, and Right Noble
famyleyes, faithfulley and carefulley Drawne and Collected out of the
Publick Recordes of this Kingdom, Ayntient deedes and evidences, bookes
of Arms, and other venerable Prooves, by John Taylor, at the Lute, in
fleetstreet, Anno 1641.”
The pedigree on the maternal side begins with Henry I., continues
through the various monarchs who filled the throne of England down to
Edward III. and John of Gaunt, whose sole daughter, Joane, became the
wife of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmoreland, by whom she had a son,
Richard, married to Alice, daughter and heir of Thomas Montague, Earl of
Salisbury; at whose death, in 1428, the earldom became extinct, but was
afterwards revived in the person of the aforesaid Richard, from whom
descended Joane (wife of William Fitz-Allan, eighth Earl of Arundel),
Richard Earl of Warwick, the “King-maker,” and John Marquis of Montagu,
slain with his brother at the battle of Barnet. This last married
Isabella, daughter and heiress of Sir Edmond Inglethorpe, Knt., by whom
he had five daughters, coheiresses, of whom one, Isabella, was the wife
of Sir William Hodleston, Knt., of Salston, in the county of Cambridge;
to him the estate descended in right of his wife. The deed of
conveyance, dated 17th Henry VII., is in the possession of Mr.
Huddleston.
On the paternal side, the list commences with Nigell de Hodleston,
settled in Cumberland at the time of Henry I., which Nigell, surnamed
Propositus (provost or warden), “gave to the Abbey of Selby two
carrucates of land and a half in Millum, and parte of his tythe in
Hodleston, with the socage, &c.” About the same period mention is made
of Godard de Millum, who gave to the Abbey of St. Mary of Furney’s
certain lands “for the safety of his soul, and of all his ancestors.”
Sir Adam de Hodleston sat in Parliament as Knight of the Shire, in the
third of Edward II., and afterwards became connected by marriage with
Miles de Stapleton de Bedell, of the county of York. Millum Castle was
fortified and embattled, in 1335, by Sir John de Hodleston; and a
Richard de Hodleston was a man-at-arms at the battle of Agincourt, in
the retinue of Sir William de Harington, Knight of the Garter. He was
knighted after the engagement, by the king.
From an intermarriage among the descendants of Nigell and Goddard,
sprang the above-mentioned Sir William Hodleston, whose grandson,
John,[2] (afterwards knighted by Mary), was united to Bridgett, daughter
of Robert Cotton, of Landwade, or Lanwood, ancestor of the present Sir
Vincent Cotton; for him, or by him, Sawston Hall, as it now stands, was
erected.
The circumstances connected with the building of Sawston Hall are akin
to Romance. The popular tradition is, that it was erected at the cost of
Queen Mary, who, when a fugitive from her enemies, after the death of
Edward VI., found shelter in the ancient house of the Huddlestons. Her
pursuers reached the Hall within a very short time after she had quitted
it; and in their rage of disappointment at losing their prey, burnt to
the ground the mansion that had harboured her. She is said to have
witnessed the conflagration from a distant hill; and to have exclaimed,
“Let the house burn; I will build Huddleston a better.”
“She kept her word:” writes a modern historian. “Sawston Hall was built
by her order, and at her cost.” Unfortunately, however, there exists
evidence that the Queen forgot her promise, if she ever made it, to her
preserver. It is believed, indeed, that “she gave the stone from
Cambridge Castle to rebuild the House,” but it is certain that, at
least, it was unfinished many years after Mary’s death, although
commenced during her lifetime. In the court-yard are two stones, which
record the dates--probably of the commencement and termination of the
building. Upon one are the initials, J. H., and the date 1557; on the
other, those of E. H., (Edmund, son of Sir John,) with the date 1584.
The village of Sawston stands in the hundred of Whittlesford, and
deanery of Camps. There are four manors in this parish--Pyrotts,
Dernford, Dale, and Huntington--all now the property of Mr. Huddleston.
The manor of Pyrotts continued until the year 1329 in the immediate
descendants of Pirotus, who held it under Eudo Fitzherbert, Steward of
the Household to William the Conqueror. Sir Edmund de la Pole died,
seised of this manor and Dernford, in 1419. Mr. Huddleston’s ancestor
came into possession of them--which had descended from the De la Poles
through the Ingeldesthorps to the noble family of Neville--by his
marriage with the daughter of the Marquis Montagu. The manors of Dale
and Huntington were purchased by Sir Edmund Huddleston before the year
1580; the manor of Dale, or Le Dale, had been in the Saliston, or
Sawston, family, who held it under the manor of Pyrotts by the service
of finding an armed soldier whenever the owner of that manor should
attend the King to the wars. Near the entrance to the park, there
formerly stood an ancient cross, the shaft and pedestal of which alone
remain. It forms the subject of our initial letter.
[Illustration]
The church of Sawston, which abuts on the park, appears to have been
built about the thirteenth century; like most of the churches of
Cambridgeshire, it possesses a fine open porch. Sir John Huddleston, who
spent the greater part of his fortune in the service of Philip of Spain
after Mary’s death, lies buried in the chancel here. The following
inscription is engraved on a brass plate placed on the tomb, represented
in the annexed woodcut.
“Here lyeth entombed the bodye of Sʳ John
Huddleston, Knighte, vice-chamberlayne unto
King Phylipe, and captaine of his garde; and
one of Queen Marye’s most honorable pryvie
Councell, who died yᵉ fourthe day of Novembr,
in the yeare of our Lorde God 1557.”
[Illustration: BRERETON HALL, CHESHIRE.]
BRERETON HALL,
CHESHIRE.
[Illustration: B]RERETON.--This Mansion, designated by Webb “the stately
House of Brereton,” with which the name of Elizabeth, our maiden Queen,
is much associated, stands in a beautiful green vale, fertilized by the
little river Croco. It is within five miles of Congleton, and three of
Sandbach. The plain of Cheshire displays great richness and exuberance
in this neighbourhood; and although “evil times” have fallen upon the
ancient demesne of Brereton--the park having been stripped of its old
familiar trees--it has recently resumed a character of graceful serenity
and luxuriance.
Brereton Hall has a western aspect, and looks across the pleasant
valley, along which the little stream before mentioned pursues its
course, in a direction parallel to the front of the House. In form the
plan of the original building somewhat resembled the letter E,
consisting of a long front, graced by two octagonal turrets, and two
wings, having the gables slightly advancing on the front, but receding
backwards a considerable distance. Behind the two stories of apartments
above the basement, which were only one room in depth, ran a long
corridor, on each floor, communicating with the wings. Amongst the
various mutations which time and an attention to convenience and comfort
has brought with it to the Hall, a geometrical staircase has been made
in the back wall of the corridor, and a large block of offices has been
built between the receding wings behind.
Camden, speaking of Brereton, tell us that Sir William Brereton “added
much credit and honour to the place by a magnificent and sumptuous house
that he had there built.” The building is of brick, quoined with stone.
That Queen Elizabeth laid the first stone of this house, and visited it,
at a subsequent period, when hospitality presided in its halls, we have
not only the authority of unquestioned tradition, but also that of
numerous memorials scattered on its walls. The central portion of its
exterior seems to have been especially devoted to ornament, and also to
defence. On each side of the door-way, there rises from the ground an
octagonal tower or turret, projecting by five of its panes from the
wall, and formerly ascending above the building, to terminate in a dome,
but now surmounted by a low stone battlement. Immediately over the
centre of the door-way the sculptures begin by the shield of the
Brereton Arms, bearing two bars sable, being suspended on an ermine
mantle, from a helmet supporting the crest--the head of a muzzled
bear;--below which is the date 1586. In the spandrels of the elliptical
arch of this entrance the arms are repeated with different quarterings,
a rose being superadded on each side. We next come to a division,
reaching quite across the central part of the front, from the outer side
of one turret to that of the other, which is richly adorned. In the
first place, it is divided into a number of compartments by a series of
short carved pilasters, doubled at every angle of the turrets. Square
sculptured stones occupy some of the compartments thus formed. In the
middle, however--the place of honour--are the arms of Queen Elizabeth,
with the garter, bearing the motto, the crest and supporters, on a
tablet of good dimensions. On one side of these is a large rose, on the
other a portcullis, both crowned, and both also surmounted by the
letters E. R. This ornamental stage of pilasters and sculptures, with
the heraldic insignia, is repeated above the square-headed windows, the
royal arms again occupying the centre. Each turret has a chalice in high
relief on its front pane, below the battlements. But, besides these
decorations, so distinctive of the taste of the age in which it was
erected, this “stately house of Brereton” bears, in this part, and
especially on the different faces of the turrets, and near their tops,
to command various angles, as well as different distances, another
interesting indication of the days of “good Queen Bess,” happily now
grown so unfamiliar to our view. We allude to the numerous large
portholes which still frown over the peaceful vale. Above the rise of
the roof the turrets are conjoined by a closed gallery, occupied by
borders and other decorative sculptures, and supported by a depressed
arch of some magnitude. The embattled parapet is continued from the
turret on each side, along the front of the house to the gables of the
wings, being in the place of an open balustrade, which formerly rose
here. Each end of the house is furnished with a large bay, both at the
front and the side, which are occupied by windows, and surmounted by a
pediment containing sculptured ornaments. The effect of this entire
front, over which the gray tint of the masonry prevails, being rich in
its antique decorations, is solemn and imposing. Yet it excites, rather
than satisfies our curiosity.
On ascending the flight of steps in the entrance-hall, we immediately
perceive that modern alterations have greatly effaced the impression of
former days with which we had expected to have been greeted. There still
remain, however, many notable traces left behind. In a good apartment,
opening into the corridor, on the left, is a richly sculptured
Chimney-piece, which has been removed from a lodging above, called Queen
Elizabeth’s Room. On a panel over the fire-place, bordered with carving,
the Brereton Arms were formerly emblazoned in inlaid wood of different
colours, upon their ermine mantle, which gave rise to the appellation of
Queen Elizabeth’s Fan. The original panel is still in the house, though
much dilapidated; but the heraldic achievements have been reproduced by
the hands of the painter. The Drawing-room in the south wing has a fine
bay window, and retains the old oak wainscoting. The ornamental
Chimney-piece in this room is divided by pilasters into three panels,
having carved borders, and containing the Brereton Arms. But the chief
apartment of the House is in this wing--the spacious and magnificent
Dining-room. This noble apartment is rich in the usual armorial
decorations. Over the massive architectural Mantel-piece of the period,
the pilasters of which reach from the floor to the ceiling, the arms of
Queen Elizabeth are fully displayed; the supporters being the golden
lion and the red dragon, the latter the cognizance of the Tudor family.
The letters E. R. occupy the sides of the royal crest, whilst the words
_Vivat Regina_, and the date, 1585, occur below. The family crest and
motto, “_Opitulante Deo_,” are not omitted. Indeed the armorial bearings
richly emblazoned, with various quarterings, are repeated again in the
window in stained glass. Around the entire circuit of the room, except
over the fire-place, where the vacancy is filled up by a scroll and
figures supporting a celestial globe, immediately below the ceiling,
there runs a curious series of heraldic achievements in carved oak, now
emblazoned afresh. They represent crowns and shields bearing the arms of
forty-three different states and principalities; to each of which is
attached a scroll, with the name of the King or Emperor in Latin. In the
windings of every one of these scrolls there is placed a large white,
and also a red rose. The shield of the King of Jerusalem (REX
HIERUSALEM) bears an ornamented cross, and his crown is a crown of
thorns. It might be difficult to divine the meaning of this display of
escutcheons and names. If they were intended to represent the allies of
the Queen, or those of her family, allegory seems to have been
intimately mingled in the device, from the celestial globe above her
head, glittering with golden stars on cerulean blue, to all the
subsidiary parts.
Queen Elizabeth’s room is a good-sized square apartment immediately over
the entrance-hall; formerly panelled round the lower part of the walls,
but now presenting no evidence of its former high destiny. Other
bed-rooms, however, retain their ancient ornamental chimney-pieces, in
alabaster and stone, supported and divided by odd-looking pilasters in
the Elizabethan style. The oft-repeated Arms of Brereton, painted and
sculptured, occur again and again. In a room south of the entrance they
are given with supporters, viz., dexter, a greyhound, sinister, a
muzzled bear; and each of the panels at the sides bears a coronet, from
which is suspended a medal containing a flourished cipher of the name,
_W. Brereton_. In this part of the building some of the old oak
floorings remain. A bed-room in the north wing has an alabaster
chimney-piece, with the date 1633 on it. In a room in the south wing,
formerly the drawing-room, there is an oaken wreath with acorns round
the family crest, finely executed in a close-grained stone. A portion of
the ancient oaken staircase, leading from the grand dining-room below to
this apartment, is still preserved. The landing of this staircase is
curious, as exhibiting the former state of the house unchanged. Around
the top of the walls, below the ceiling, is painted a long series of
escutcheons bearing the arms of various Cheshire families, with the name
on a label attached to each. And the window is occupied in its upper
part by six compartments, containing the heraldic devices of the five
following families, whose names and the dates are inscribed below, (the
sixth is vacant,) viz.,--
LEIGH OF BOOTHES.
MANWARINGE OF CROERTON.
TROWTEBEKE, 1577.
CORBET DE LEGH.
RADELIFFE, 1577.
Brereton occurs in the Survey--when it formed part of the territorial
possessions of Gilbert de Venables, Baron of Kinderton. A family, which
assumed the local name, had a grant of it as early as the reign of
William Rufus. This is the parent stock of the very widely-spreading
family of Brereton; and they are to be traced here to about the year
1200. Sir William Brereton, 13th in descent from the founder, was
engaged in the wars in Ireland. In 1534, with his son John, he was
inshored at Howth with 250 soldiers, well appointed. In the same year he
went to summon the strongly fortified castle of Maynooth, which he took
by storm, running up “the highest turret of the castle, and advancing
his standard on the top thereof, notifienge to the Deputie that the fort
was woone.” Another Sir William built this stately mansion, and
entertained his royal guest within its halls. In 1624 Sir William
Brereton was created Lord Brereton of Leighlin in Ireland, on the death
of Francis Lord Brereton. In the wars between Charles I. and the
Parliament, another Sir William of this family, but not of Brereton
Hall, the famous parliamentarian general, took a very conspicuous part.
So early as August, 1642, he began to beat up for recruits, and in the
severe contest of the following years, attended by such various fortune,
he many times commanded in this county. In June 1644, he received the
appointment of Major-General of Cheshire from the Parliament; and
ultimately took the strong fortress of Beeston Castle, and the city of
Chester itself, by siege; which put an end to the war in this county.
Lord Brereton, of Brereton Hall, however, who had espoused the cause of
the King, fled before his nephew the parliamentarian general, to
Biddulph Hall, in Staffordshire, whither Sir William pursued him, and
took him prisoner.[3] In 1722, the male line of the family. In 1722 the
male line of the family became extinct by the death of Lord Brereton.
The Hall and estates subsequently passed, through female inheritance, to
A. Bracebridge, Esq.[4] In 1817, to satisfy certain claims upon it, the
estate was dismembered by Act of Parliament; and, after being many years
uninhabited, Brereton Hall was purchased by the present proprietor, John
Howard, Esq.
The Church, now a rectory, and dedicated to St. Oswald, is within a
stone’s throw of the Hall. It is a plain building, in the perpendicular
style, encompassed with trees;
[Illustration]
amongst which are one or two venerable yews, standing in the churchyard
itself. The original chapel was built in the reign of Richard
Cœur-de-Lion; but of this ancient structure it is doubtful whether any
traces remain in the present building. One of the large windows on the
north side of the chancel was formerly filled with stained glass. The
subject contained four figures, representing the persons who slew Thomas
à Becket, and a fifth, supposed to be Henry II. By an instrument yet
extant, it appears to have been portrayed by order of Sir William
Brereton in 1608. Perhaps the object of most interest in this church at
present is the armour which is ascribed to Lord Brereton. The harness is
suspended
[Illustration]
from the north wall of the chancel. The shirt to which the rings have
been attached (see our initial letter) remains, but they have dropped
off. It is surmounted by his helmet, bearing the family crest. Below
these hang the gauntlets and spurs; and above the whole a banner has
waved, now presenting only its bare staff. Attached to the wall, on the
same side of the chancel, is a monumental tablet with a Latin
inscription, to the effect,--that this church being in ancient times a
donative chapel in Astbury parish, the ancestors of Sir William
Brereton, Baron of Malpas, who erected this monument in 1618, were
buried in the church-yard of Astbury. Accordingly, in this latter
place, on the north side of the church, we find some curious ancient
monuments. A fine canopied tomb, in the decorated style, open at both
sides, covers two stone effigies, of a knight armed cap-à-pie, with his
feet resting on a lion, holding a heater-shaped shield on his left arm;
and his lady, with her hands conjoined on her breast, her feet resting
on a dog. Within the arch of the canopy is the following inscription,
surmounted by the arms of Brereton:--
“HIC JACENT RADULPHUS BRERETON MILES; ET DOMINA ADA, UXOR SUA, UNA
FILIARUM DAVIDIS COMITIS NUNTINGDONIS.”
On the left side of this beautiful monument is placed a stone coffin
with effigy in flowing robes, a coif, and a beard, in form resembling
that of some of the Egyptian deities, being wider as it descends. The
head rests on a pillow; the hands are joined in the attitude of prayer;
and the feet are placed on an animal, resembling a dog. On the right
side of the canopied tomb is another coffin and effigy of a knight in
armour, of apparently the latter part of the fourteenth century. The
heater-shaped shield has traces of heraldic bearings, seemingly the two
bars of the Breretons. This figure has been richly harnessed. The head
has been covered by the conical-topped helmet, with the chain camail
falling from it over the neck; but some modern stonecutter has done his
utmost to transform these military habiliments into an old-fashioned
wig.
Cheshire abounds in ancient Halls; and a very large number of them
having received but little injury from time, or the more evil influence
of “renovators” and “improvers,” continue in a comparatively primitive
state. Several still remain to the descendants of worthies by whom they
were erected; unhappily, Brereton is not one of these; but we trust it
is in safe hands, and that it is destined to sustain no farther insult
or injury from convenience or caprice.
[Illustration:
Drawn by C. J. Richardson, on Stone by W. Walton.
CREWE HALL CHESHIRE]
CREWE HALL,
CHESHIRE.
[Illustration: C]REWE HALL--situate about four miles from the town of
Nantwich--affords a striking example of the singular changes to which a
baronial residence and its dependencies may be subjected in this
utilitarian age. Formerly, it occupied the centre of a sequestered
valley--now and then, when the wind was southerly, the ti-ri-la of the
horn of a distant “stage” to Chester, fell upon the ear of secluded
villagers; it was almost the only sound that connected them with the
business of actual life. The lord of the mansion and his humble
neighbours, dwelling apart from the stir of traffic and the din of
commerce, scarcely heard even those “rumours of oppression and deceit”
that followed or preceded “unsuccessful or successful war;” content, in
their “dreary contiguity of shade,” to be overlooked and unheeded by the
busy world about them. The picture at Crewe is now a new one: it is the
largest of all the railway stations between Birmingham and Liverpool:
the moaning of steam-engines never ceases there; a smoke perpetual
gathers over the trees; travellers are rushing backwards and forwards
every hour of the day; the noise unnatural is also unceasing, and is
audible for miles around, breaking the calm of night in the country, and
making the day seem devoted to unhealthy and unpeaceful toil. The
contrast between what this pretty hamlet was and is, becomes the more
striking because, as yet, the station is at some distance from the
gigantic warehouses, engine-room, and coke-stores, which have suddenly
grown into existence here. A small inn--new, but not much out of keeping
with the ancient aspect of the place--stands beside “the station,” and
on the main road which leads from Crewe Hall to Nantwich; the former
being distant about a mile, the latter about four miles.
Crewe Hall is the seat of the Right Hon. Hungerford Crewe, third Baron
Crewe, who was born in 1812, and succeeded his father in 1835. His
grandfather, the first peer, represented Cheshire in parliament from the
year 1768 until his elevation to the upper house in 1806. The manor was
from a very early period the property of the family of Crue, or Crewe,
and some remains of a far more ancient seat are still to be found in
the neighbourhood. “About the year 1300, Joan, eldest daughter and
co-heiress of the last male heir of the elder branch of the family,
married Robert Praers, whose grand-daughter conveyed the manor to Sir
Robert Foulshurst.” From this family it was purchased, in 1578, by Sir
Christopher Hatton. “A fortunate lawyer” had the means of restoring it
to the race to whom it had originally belonged. About the year 1610 Sir
Randal Crewe, Serjeant-at-Law, descended from Patrick, a younger brother
of Thomas de Crewe, bought it from Sir Christopher’s heirs, and erected,
between the years 1615 and 1636, the present mansion. In 1684 the male
line became extinct, by the death of John Crewe, Esq.; Anne, his eldest
daughter, having married John Offley, Esq., of Madeley Manor, their
eldest son, John, subsequently took the name of Crewe in 1708, and, as
we have stated, the family was ennobled in 1806.
The hall is a remarkably beautiful structure, and a fine example of the
architecture of the period. It is characterised by a distinguished
architect as “undoubtedly one of the finest remaining specimens of the
English branch of the Italian cinque cento, which may be considered to
have arrived at its full state of perfection during the reign of James
I.” According to some passages in Fuller, at the period of its erection
it must have been classed among the more sumptuous edifices of the
kingdom. He says, “Nor must it be forgotten that Sir Randal first
brought the model of excellent building into these remote parts--yea,
brought London into Cheshire, in the loftiness, sightliness, and
pleasantness of their structures.” Although it has undergone many
improvements, it has lost but little of its original character. “It
consists of two lofty stories, surmounted by a sculptured open parapet,
concealing, in some degree, the high roof, from which rise the chimneys,
representing detached octagonal columns, with their plinths, bases, and
capitals.” The central compartment--the line of the front being broken
at each extremity by bow windows--is composed entirely of stone, and is
rich in decoration; the arch of the doorway is supported by four fluted
Ionic columns, on sculptured pedestals. A dwarf wall and balustrades
surround the edifice at its base; and the courtyard, now a prettily laid
out lawn and garden, is entered by some finely modelled gates of
cast-iron, produced at the foundry of Messrs. Bramah. The
[Illustration]
exterior is now undergoing thorough repair under the superintendence of
Mr. Edward Blore. Mr. Richardson has supplied us with the appended copy
of the decoration, in carved stone, which surmounts the entrance, and
also of one of the exterior ornaments, of which we have formed an
initial letter.
The interior of this fine old mansion is in the purest possible state;
such alterations as time or circumstances may have rendered necessary
have been effected with judgment, skill, and taste. “It presents an
extraordinary variety of decorated ceilings, enriched plaster-work, and
carved wainscot, the design and execution of which are masterly, fully
equalling the choicest specimens of the French _renaissance_ of the
reign of Francis I.” It contains some bas-reliefs of a very early age,
and these, probably, were removed from the still older mansion of the
Crewes. It must also have undergone some changes at so late a period as
that of Charles II., and these, no doubt, were rendered necessary in
consequence of two sieges to which it was subjected during the civil
wars. In 1643 it was garrisoned by the Parliamentary troops, who were
besieged there by the Royalists under Lord Byron, to whom they yielded
in consequence of failure of food and ammunition: “becoming prisoners,
stout and valiant soldiers, having quarter granted them.” During the
subsequent year the mansion was taken by the troops of the Parliament,
and, in like manner, the garrison was permitted to go out in honourable
safety.
The hall, which is somewhat low and narrow, is of carved oak; to the
left is the dining-room,
[Illustration]
of which the accompanying print, in lithotint, affords a satisfactory
idea. The screen of richly carved oak is as fresh and sharp as if it had
been painted by the artist only yesterday. The fireplace of cut stone is
inlaid with marbles of various colours and countries. Opposite the
screen is a fine oriel window; and the ceiling is of exquisite design,
and remarkably bold in character. A side entrance leads through “the
carved parlour” to the upper rooms by a staircase of surpassing beauty,
“made gay” by painted monsters of all kinds, bearing blank shields. The
several apartments, drawing-rooms, and bedchambers, are furnished with
great taste; the library is exceedingly fine and spacious: here, as in
other parts of the house, we find treasures of ancient art, and, among
them, very choice productions of the modern school of England. At the
extremity of the hall is the chapel of the mansion, small in size but of
exquisite workmanship, being formed entirely of carved oak, to which
Time has given the sombre tint that ever harmonises well with the
sacred character of the structure. The chapel contains a painted window
by Willement, and two noble paintings by Giordano. The roof is of white
and gold, with a single pendant; the gallery is for the servants, and
there is a small place at the entrance for dependants.
On the whole, there are in England few fresher or finer examples of the
period of its erection.
[Illustration
F. W. Hulme, Delᵗ. on Stone by W. Walton M & N Hanbart Lithogʳˢ
DORFOLD HALL, CHESHIRE]
DORFOLD HALL,
CHESHIRE.
[Illustration: D]ORFOLD HALL, now the seat of Mrs. Tomkinson, was built
by Ralph Wilbraham, Esq. in the reign of James I.--according to Lysons,
in the year 1616--on the site of a still older mansion. It is situated
about one mile from Nantwich; it is a brick building with stone
dressings. The staircase and the great chamber are still perfect. The
ceiling of the latter room is an extraordinary specimen of decorative
plaster-work; the form is of the kind called “waggon-headed.” It is
completely covered with a pattern, in bold relief, of the most
complicated description, ornamented with shields of arms and various
Tudor emblems. Few
[Illustration]
such curious specimens of the intricate design of the period can now be
found. Over the doorway in the great chamber is a shield of the arms of
the Wilton family. Mr. Richardson, in his observations on old English
mansions, observes there is every reason to suppose that Dorfold Hall,
Crewe Hall, and Aston Hall, near Birmingham, were built in successive
order by the same architect; many of the ceilings, fireplaces,
staircases, &c. are nearly the same in all the three houses. The early
rudeness of the style is seen at Dorfold Hall, its purity in Crewe Hall,
and the commencement of its deterioration in Aston Hall.
The front of Dorfold is highly picturesque. The two small lodges seen in
front belong to the original construction; but modern domestic
arrangements requiring more room than was afforded by the old building,
the small offices between the house and the old lodges have been added.
If the reader can suppose these away, and a formal balustrade or wall,
with gates in the centre, connecting the old lodges in front, he will
have the exact appearance of the house in the olden time. All the old
buildings were then supplied in front by great courtyards, into which
carriages never entered, either from their being of too lumbersome a
construction, or with a view to state. It may be hinted that the
buildings of the reign of Elizabeth exhibited a considerable portion of
the proud, haughty character of the sovereign.
Dorfold, like many of its neighbours in Cheshire, was besieged by the
army of the Parliament during the Civil Wars.
The interior of the Hall bears many unequivocal proofs that refined
taste prevails over all its arrangements. The new furniture is in
keeping with the old carvings; illustrated books, and prints in harmony
with the impressive character of the time-honoured structure, are
profusely scattered upon the tables and along the walls. Dorfold has
fallen into “good hands;” its peculiar beauties and its interesting
associations are appreciated and valued; and the spirits of its ancient
owners may contemplate with approval the efforts of its existing
proprietors--shoots from a noble and honourable stock.
[Illustration:
J. D. Harding, Delᵗ M & N Hanhart, Lithogʳˢ.
MORETON HALL, CHESHIRE.]
MORETON HALL,
CHESHIRE.
[Illustration: The] subject of our present delineation--MORETON HALL, is
situated amidst the sandy plain of Cheshire, on the Staffordshire border
of the county. Its eastern aspect is bounded by that range of hills
which extends from Scotland southwards into the centre of England, and
which here presents some of its most remarkable features in the high
hills called “Mow Cop” and “Cloud,” both being upwards of 1000 feet
above the sea-level. The former is surmounted by a ruined tower, and by
a singular isolated rock called “The Old Man of Mow.” The latter is an
abrupt and dome-shaped termination of a portion of the range to the
northward. From the Hall, these hills present objects of interest not
devoid of richness, as on this side they are clothed with the dark
verdure of the Scotch fir. Moreton Hall--or, “Little Moreton Hall,” as
it has been denominated to distinguish it from the residence of the
Bellots in the immediate neighbourhood, seated on the plain below--is an
ancient timbered house, partly embosomed in trees, but attracting the
eye from a distance by the interrupted outline of its numerous roofs,
its strange columnar chimneys,--in form resembling rows of prismatic
crystals, some of them being rendered more picturesque by the
o’er-covering
[Illustration]
ivy,--and its black beams and diaper-like patterns distinctly traced on
the white ground of the intervening plaster. On a nearer approach we
discover the house to be encompassed by a narrow moat, beyond which, and
at its south-western corner, is a small conical mound, prettily
surmounted by a sycamore tree. The house is approached from the south
over a stone arch of antique form, and bearing the Moreton arms on
either side. The square Portal, with a sun-dial over it, is adorned with
some bold carvings of foliage in oak on the top and sides. These are
repeated on the inner opening at the entrance into the Court; each
door-post here being crowned by a halbert-bearer in high relief. Over
this portal is a lofty range of building, consisting of a number of
small wainscotted rooms, and an oaken staircase, which ascends to the
long room or gallery, 68 feet in length, running over the top of the
whole. This room is lighted from the south by a window its entire
length. Like all the other apartments, its walls are lined with
wainscot, except the ends, where, at the upper part, are figures and
tablets, bearing inscriptions, in stucco. That at the western end
represents blind Fortune with her wheel, bearing this motto on the rim:
“Qui modo scandit corruet statim.” The inscription is:
“The wheel of Fortune,
Whose rule is ignoraunce.”
That at the opposite extremity, Fate supporting a globe with one hand,
and holding a pair of compasses in the other. The inscription:
“The speare of Destiny,
Whose rule is knowledge.”
This apartment has a pitched roof, and an oaken ceiling, open to the
rafters. Tradition relates that Queen Elizabeth, while on a progress
through Cheshire, danced here, and that Oliver Cromwell made use of it
as a council chamber during the Civil Wars.
Having passed through the portal and under the building surmounted by
the long room, we enter a small Court, which is one of the most curious
parts of this ancient residence. There are seven doors opening
[Illustration]
into it; the principal entrance, (that which leads into the hall,) being
nearly opposite to the portal. Besides other windows, there are two
large gabled bow-windows, which light the Banquetting Hall, the antique
form and curious glazing of which excite immediate attention. Indeed,
the glazing of most of the windows of the house is very remarkable; the
panes being small, and joined by slips of lead, so as to represent many
pretty patterns. Upon bands around these windows are the following
inscriptions:--“God is al in al thing. This window where made by William
Moreton, in the yeare of oure Lorde MDLII.” “Rycharde Dale, Carpēder
made theis windows, by the grace of God.”[5]
One of the entrances from the court, on the right, leads into a small
chapel, which, by the lapse of time and disuse, has lost much of its
sacred character. Almost the only indication of its former purpose is a
series of tablets suspended on the walls and bearing inscribed on them,
in old English characters, numerous texts of Scripture.
The principal entrance leading into the house is closed by an antique
oaken door, having a small wicket in it fastened with a ponderous bolt.
This door is rendered still more impregnable by many a coat of
whitewash. On passing through it we are ushered into a large wainscotted
apartment, having seats attached to the wainscot all round,--the ancient
Banquetting Hall. In it we observed a fine old long table of oak. This
apartment is lighted by the large windows already described, which
contain, like some other windows of the house, small portions of stained
glass, consisting of the Moreton and other arms. An inner door in the
wainscot leads from the Banquetting Hall into the family apartment,
which likewise looks into the court. This room has an ornamented
chimney-piece, which is surmounted by arms in stucco, bearing the motto
“Honi soit qui mal y pense,” and a large A on each side.
Many of the rooms have floors made of plaster. The fastenings of some of
the doors of the upper rooms are curious; they consist of a large iron
ring standing out from the middle of the door, through which is passed a
bar of wood. This reaches across, and rests on the jambs on either side;
a very secure mode of fastening to those who happen to be on the right
side.
In the fine old parish church of Astbury, within two miles of Moreton
Hall, there is a side chapel, at the east end of the north aisle, of
great antiquity, divided between the two manorial proprietors of Little
Moreton-cum-Rode. In the east window, which formerly contained some
splendid stained glass, there now only remains the arms of one of the
Blundevilles, the famous Earls of Chester. The three wide steps which
led to the altar, a piscina, on one side, and a closet for relics, on
the other, are almost the only remnants of its ancient purposes. At the
Moreton end of this side chapel there are three large plain marble slabs
over altar tombs, bearing the following inscriptions:--
DAME MARY JONES,
died the 19th of April, 1743,
aged 85.
SIR WILLIAM MORETON, KNT.,
Recorder of the City of London,
died the 14th of March, 1763,
aged 67.
DAME JANE MORETON,
died the 10th of Feb., 1758,
aged 61.
There is a fine oaken cabinet in Moreton Hall, which, from the labels in
old law-hand, has most likely belonged to the above-named Sir William
Moreton.
The house belongs to a lady of the Moreton family,--in whose possession
it is said to have remained since the 13th century. An adjacent meadow
was formerly the mill-pool of the Hall. In front of the house there
formerly stood the steps of an old cross, which have been removed. It is
probable that they now surround the cross piled up in the garden, and
upon which is placed an old sun-dial. Of this cross, or rather, the
remains, Mr. Pratt (the artist to whom we are indebted for the
illustrations of this subject) made a drawing, which forms our initial
letter.
Odd Rode, or Little Moreton-cum-Rode, are noticed as two manors in “The
Survey,” and were subsequently granted to Hugh de Mara and Wm. Fitz
Nigel. They are described in Domesday, as having inclosures for taking
wild deer, and an aerie for hawks. The present divisions of the township
are distinguished by the names of Little Moreton and Rode. A branch of
the Grahams of Lostock settled in Little Moreton early in the thirteenth
century, the third of whom assumed the name of Moreton, and his
descendants in the male line continued till the death of Sir W. Moreton
in 1763, when his nephew, the Rev. Richard Taylor, took the local name.
In the 12th Henry VIII. Sir W. Brereton made an award between Mr. Wm.
Moreton and Mr. Thos. Rode, of Rode, in a dispute “which should sit
highest in the churche, and foremost goo in procession:” when he very
judiciously awarded between these two sticklers for precedence “That
whyther of the said gentylmen may dispende in landes by title of
enheritaunce 10 marks or above more than the other, that he shall have
the pre-eminence in sitting in the churche, and in gooing in procession,
with all other lyke causes in that behalf.”
We fear we must ascribe the rumoured subterranean passages of Moreton
Hall, running under the moat to chambers hid in the mound, to no higher
authority than that wild fancy which thus gilds, to its own delight,
antique and curious buildings in all parts of our country--that native
spirit of poetry,--
“One with our feelings and our powers,
And rather part of us, than ours,”
without a sprinkling of which, this world in all its teeming beauty
might be too much of a dull reality.
[Illustration:
F W Hulme Delᵗ. on Stone by W Walton M & N Hanhart Lithogʳˢ]
PLACE HOUSE,
CORNWALL.
[Illustration: P]LACE HOUSE, formerly called the “Plâs” (a corruption of
“Palace”), from its having the reputation of being once the residence of
the Earls of Cornwall, stands on elevated ground in the centre of Fowey,
a seaport-town on the southern coast of Cornwall. It is a fine pile of
building, a large portion being very ancient, though the exact date
cannot be ascertained with certainty; there is, however, abundant
evidence to prove that many parts of it existed so far back as 1455,[6]
and were probably built about that time; a period to which also is
assigned the re-erection of the church close by, a handsome and lofty
fabric of the perpendicular English style of architecture: the two
buildings are composed of similar materials.
The ancestors of its present possessor, J. T. Treffry, Esq., have
occupied Place House, without intermission, as we believe, for many
centuries past, and exercised considerable influence in Fowey, which was
formerly a place of far greater importance than it is now. The townsmen
acquired wealth and fame by deeds of war during the reigns of Edward I.,
Edward III., and Henry V., and they furnished more ships to the fleet of
Edward III. before Calais than any other port in England. Among the
gallant men who fought and won at Cressy, we find Sir John Treffry, to
whom, chroniclers say, the French king surrendered himself on the field.
His heroism at Poictiers is commemorated on a stately monument in Fowey
Church, which bears the following inscription:--“The atchievements of
John Treffry, who, at the battle of Poictiers, fought under Edward the
Black Prince, and took the French royal standard; for it he was made a
Knight-Banneret by King Edward III. on the field of battle.” In addition
to this title, Sir John was rewarded for his valour with an honourable
augmentation to his arms; viz. supporters, and as a quartering, the
_fleur-de-lis_ from the arms of France, which are still to be seen
painted on the windows of Place House.