Penshurst he was born, on the 29th of November, 1554. His life was one
scene of romance from its commencement to its close. His early years
were spent in travel; and on his return, he was married to the daughter
of Sir Francis Walsingham, a lady of many accomplishments, and of
“extraordinary handsomeness;” but his heart was given to another. The
Lady Penelope Devereux won it, and kept it until he fell on the field of
Zutphen. Family regards had forbad their marriage; but she was united to
the immortal part of him, and that contract has not been yet dissolved.
She is still the Philoclea of the “Arcadia,” and Stella in the Poems of
Astrophel. It is unnecessary to follow, in detail, the course of Sir
Philip Sidney’s life. There is no strange inconsistency to reason off,
no stain to clear, no blame to talk away. We describe it when we name
his accomplishments. We remember it as we would a dream of uninterrupted
glory. His learning, his beauty, his chivalry, his grace, shed a lustre
on the most glorious reign recorded in the English annals. England
herself, “by reason of the wide-spread fame of Sir Philip Sidney,” rose
exalted in the eyes of foreign nations. He was the idol, the darling, of
his own. For, with every sort of power at his command, it was his creed
to think all vain but affection and honour, and to hold the simplest and
cheapest pleasures the truest and most precious. The only displeasure he
ever incurred at Court, was when he vindicated the rights and
independence of English Commoners in his own gallant person, against the
arrogance of English Nobles in the person of the Earl of Oxford. For a
time, then, he retired from the Court, and sought rest in his loved
simplicity. He went to Wilton; and there, for the amusement of his dear
sister, Mary, Countess of Pembroke, he wrote the “Arcadia,” between the
years 1579 and 1581.[63] Again, however, he returned to Court, and his
Queen seized every opportunity to do him honour. He received her smiles
with the same high and manly gallantry, the same plain and simple
boldness, with which he had taken her frowns. In the end,
Elizabeth--who, to preserve this “jewel of her crown,” had forcibly laid
hands on him when he projected a voyage to America with Sir Francis
Drake, and laid her veto on his quitting England, when he was offered
the crown of Poland--could not restrain his bravery in battle, when
circumstances called him there. At Zutphen, on the 22nd of September,
1586, he received a mortal wound.[64]
We may place implicit faith in the testimony of all the contemporaries
of Sir Philip Sidney--and by all of them he is described as very near
perfection; their praises must have been as sincere as they were hearty;
for his fortune was too poor to furnish him with the means to purchase
them with other than gifts of kindly zeal, affectionate sympathy,
cordial advice, and generous recommendations to more prosperous men.
From Spenser himself we learn, that Sidney
“First did lift my muse out of the floor.”
In his dedication of the “Ruins of Time” to Sidney’s sister, he speaks
of her brother as “the Hope of all learned men, and the Patron of my
young Muse.”--“He was,” writes Camden, the great glory of his family,
the great hope of mankind, the most lively pattern of virtue, and the
darling of the learned world.” Sir Philip dying without issue, he was
succeeded by his brother, Sir Robert, created Lord Sidney of Penshurst,
and afterwards Earl of Leicester, by James I. He died at Penshurst in
July 1626, and was succeeded by his son, Robert. “Though never of their
faction,” he remained in retirement at Penshurst during the domination
of the Parliament and the rule of the Protector, and died there in
November 1677, in the 82nd year of his age. His eldest son succeeded to
the title and estates, and lived in troubled times the life of an easy
gentleman. Not so the second son--the famous scion of the Sidneys, whose
name is scarcely less renowned in history than that of his great-uncle,
Sir Philip. Algernon Sidney was born at Penshurst in 1621. He had
scarcely reached the age of manhood when he was called upon to play his
part in the mighty drama then acting before the
[Illustration:
J. D. Harding, Delᵗ. on Stone by W. Walton. M. & N. Hanhart, Lithogʳˢ.
PENSHURST, KENT.]
world. He joined the Parliament, and became a busy soldier--serving with
repute in Ireland, where he was “sometime Lieut.-General of the Horse,
and Governor of Dublin”--until Cromwell assumed the position of a
sovereign, when Sidney retired in disgust to the family seat in Kent,
and began to write his celebrated “Discourses on Government.” At the
Restoration, he was abroad, and “being so noted a republican,” thought
it unsafe to return to England; for seventeen years after this event he
was a wanderer throughout Europe,--suffering severe privations--“exposed
(according to his own words) to all those troubles, inconveniences, and
mischiefs, unto which they are liable who have nothing to subsist upon,
in a place farre from home, wheare no assistance can possibly be
expected, and wheare I am known to be of a quality which makes all lowe
and meane wayes of living shamefull and detestible.” The school of
adversity failed to subdue the proud spirit of the republican; and on
his return to his native country--in 1677--at the entreaty of his
father, who “desired to see him before he died,” the “later Sidney”
became a marked man, whom the depraved Charles and his minions were
resolved to sacrifice. He was accused of high-treason--implicated in the
notorious Rye-house plot--carried through a form of trial on the 21st of
November--and beheaded on Tower-hill on the 7th December, 1683.
Philip, Algernon’s brother, the third Earl, died in 1696. Three of his
grandsons were successively Earls of Leicester. Jocelyn, the last Earl
of this family, died in 1743, leaving no legitimate issue. His next
brother, who died before him, had however two daughters, to whom the
estate devolved as coheiresses, after a long course of litigation with a
natural daughter of the late Earl. In the division of the property,
Penshurst
[Illustration]
Place was allotted to the youngest, Elizabeth, who was married to
William Perry, Esq., of Turvile Park, Buckinghamshire. After the death
of her sister, Lady Sherrard, Mrs. Perry was enabled, by purchase, to
re-unite a part of her moiety to the Penshurst estate. This Mrs.
Elizabeth Perry had an only son--Algernon Perry Sidney--who died in his
mother’s life-time, but left two daughters; the eldest, Elizabeth, was
married to Bysshe Shelley, Esq.; their son, John Shelley Sidney,
inherited Penshurst and the manors and estates in Kent; he was created a
Baronet in 1818; and his son, who married one of the daughters of his
late Majesty William the Fourth, was elevated to the Peerage, by the
title of Lord De L’Isle and Dudley, in 1835.
Consequently, Penshurst, “the seat of the Sidneys,” is now the
inheritance of a very remote branch of the illustrious family.
The Church at Penshurst is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. It
immediately adjoins the Park; and is connected, by a private walk, with
the garden of the Mansion. It is an ancient and very venerable
structure, containing many monuments to the Sidneys,
[Illustration]
and to members of the families of Draynowt, Cambridge, Egerton, Head,
Darkenol, Pawle, and Yden. The most interesting and beautifully wrought
of the tombs is to the memory of Sir William Sidney, Knight Banneret,
Chamberlain and Steward to Edward the VIth, and Lord of the Manor of
Peneshurste, who died in 1553. It stands in a small chapel at the west
end of the chancel, and at the foot of the tomb is a very antique
figure, carved in marble, supposed to be a memorial to Sir Stephen de
Pencestre. Below, is the vault which contains the dust of generations of
the Sidneys. Sir William Sidney’s monument is a fine example of art,
elaborately and delicately sculptured; it contains a long inscription,
engraved on a brass tablet, the lettering in which is as clear and as
sharp as if it were the work of yesterday. The roof of this Chapel is
peculiarly light and elegant. In both the exterior and interior the
Church is highly picturesque. The oak gallery is one of the earliest
erections of the kind that followed the Reformation. In our view of the
exterior is introduced the entrance to the Sidney vault--a modern
addition to the Church.
In all respects, therefore, a visit to PENSHURST--now, by railroad,
within an hour’s distance of the Metropolis--may be described as a rare
intellectual treat; opening a full and brilliant page of history,
abundant in sources of profitable enjoyment to the Antiquary, affording
a large recompense to the lover, or the professor, of Art, and
exhibiting Nature under a vast variety of seductive aspects.
[Illustration:
J. S. Dodd, Delᵗ Stone by W. Walton M. & N. Hanbart, Lithogʳˢ
THE HALL IN THE WOOD, LANCASHIRE]
HALL I’ THE WOOD,
LANCASHIRE.
[Illustration: H]ALL I’ THE WOOD.--This very ancient and venerable
edifice--with which, far more than with many of greater magnitude and
higher state among the old mansions of England, are associated ideas of
permanent utility and universal good--is situate about a mile from
Bolton, close to one of the admirably-managed cotton-mills of the
Messrs. Ashworth. It is surrounded by indications of commerce; the smoke
of many hundred factories impregnates the air, and renders even the
herbage stunted and dark; while numerous steam-engines are busily at
work drawing to the surface the coal, without which industry could avail
little in a locality so far inland, and where the water barely suffices
to aid the mighty machinery which supplies the world with the most
essential article of dress. Yet the neighbourhood is full also of tokens
of early Baronial splendour; and the “Halls” scattered in various
directions afford unequivocal proofs of its former dignity and
importance, ere the “‘Squirearchy” gave place to the “Manufacturers,”
who now fill every part of Lancashire with long, tall, and broad houses,
abounding in windows--grievously diminishing the picturesque, but
cheering and animating to those who know that in the nineteenth century
the pre-eminence of Great Britain must be secured by commerce and
manufacture. Close at hand are “Smithells,” formerly a seat of the
Ratcliffes, now the property of the Ainsworths; “Peel Hall,” still the
inheritance of the Kenyons; “Turton Tower,” once the seat of Humphry
Chetham; and “Worsley Old Hall,” the present residence of Lord Francis
Egerton. The greater number of these old houses, however, have
altogether changed owners;--many of them, as in the case of Hall i’ the
Wood, having been deserted, or left to humbler occupants, who care only
to keep the roofs above their heads, and attach small import to the
interest they derive from antiquity.
The house under especial notice at one time belonged to “the Norrises;”
from them, it passed to “the Starkies;” and towards the close of the
last century it obtained a celebrity--which must for ever render the
neighbourhood famous--as the humble dwelling of a humble artisan, who
largely contributed to the prosperity of his country. From him, indeed,
Hall i’ the Wood derives historic interest; the old and somewhat
dilapidated mansion, although divided and subdivided into tenements for
“working men,” should be as a place of pilgrimage to those who date the
modern supremacy of Great Britain from the improvements in manufactures,
which have upheld the State and sustained her power during peace, as the
courage, fortitude, and endurance of her sons had done during a
protracted war. In no part of England does the memorable line receive
stronger emphasis than in the small room of this comparatively deserted
house:--
“Peace hath her victories as well as War!”
The father of Samuel Crompton was a small farmer, residing at Firwood,
near Bolton, who, as was the custom in those days, mingled with the
business of a farmer the occupations of weaving, carding, and spinning.
Samuel was born in 1753; and while an infant, was removed with his
family to the scene of his after triumph, Hall i’ the Wood; which even
then must have been consigned by its earlier owners to the chances of
preservation from needy inmates. We borrow from various sources some
particulars concerning the eventful life and important labours of this
remarkable man--chiefly from a paper by John Kennedy, Esq., the generous
and consistent friend of Crompton.
At the age of sixteen, he learned to spin upon “a Jenny” (of Hargreave’s
make), and occasionally wove the yarn he had spun. His work, however,
being but indifferent, he was led to consider how it could be improved;
and the result was, ultimately, though at a far-off distance of time,
the construction of “the mule”--a machine which it is foreign to our
purpose to describe, but which gave to the cotton manufacture a degree
of perfection to which, without it, it could never have attained.
Crompton was only twenty-one years old when he commenced the
undertaking, which took him five years to effect--at least, before he
could bring his improvements to maturity. He experienced much difficulty
in consequence of being unable to procure proper tools with his limited
earnings, acquired by labour at the loom or jenny. Not being a regular
mechanic, and having to learn the use of the few he could purchase, it
is matter of surprise that even in five years he succeeded in making his
machine practically useful. His greatest trouble appears to have been
his inability to enjoy his little invention to himself, in his own room;
for the product of his machine obtaining a better price than other yarns
of those times, a report was circulated that he had devised some novel
mode of improved spinning: people, for miles round the country, gathered
about his dwelling; and, in many instances, actually obtained ladders,
and climbed up to his window to see him work. To avoid this intrusion,
he formed a screen; but the annoyance becoming so great, that he could
not proceed with his work to advantage, he at length laid the whole plan
before a number of gentlemen, who gave him one guinea each to look at
it. These sums amounted to about 50_l._, which enabled him to construct
another machine, still farther improved, and of larger dimensions (the
first machine consisted of not more than thirty or forty spindles). When
relating this little history to Mr. G. A. Lee and Mr. John Kennedy, Mr.
Lee having observed, “It was a pity he had not kept the secret to
himself,” he replied, “that a man had a very insecure tenure of
property, which another could carry away with his eyes.”
Unfortunately, therefore, Crompton never secured his invention by
patent; and the consequence was, that while hundreds of manufacturers
were making immense fortunes by the result of his ingenuity, he himself
lived in poverty, and died little better than a pauper. He was left a
widower when his children were very young, and his only daughter kept
his little cottage in King-street, Bolton, where he died. He erected
several looms for the fancy-work of that town, in which he displayed
great ingenuity. He was fond of music, and built for himself an organ,
which he had in his little cottage. In 1812 he made a survey of all the
cotton districts in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and obtained an
estimate of the number of spindles then at work on his principle, which
amounted to between four and five millions (in 1829, the number was
seven millions). On his return, he laid the result of his inquiries
before Mr. Lee and Mr. Kennedy, with a suggestion that Parliament might
“grant him something.”
With these data before him, Mr. Lee entered fully into the case, and
made an appointment with the late George Duckworth, Esq., of Manchester,
who drew up a memorial to Parliament in his behalf. This was signed by
most of the principal manufacturers in the kingdom, who were acquainted
with his merits. He went to London himself with the memorial, and
obtained an interview with one of the members for the county of
Lancaster. He remained there during the session, and was in the House on
the evening that Mr. Perceval was shot, and witnessed the catastrophe. A
short time before this disastrous occurrence, Mr. Perceval had given him
a promise to interest himself in his behalf; and, in accordance with
this assurance, had brought in a bill, which was passed, for a grant of
5000_l._ in full, without fees or charges.
Mr. Crompton was now anxious to place his sons in some business, and
fixed on that of bleaching; but the unfavourable state of the times, the
inexperience and mismanagement of his sons, a bad situation, and a
misunderstanding with his landlord, which occasioned a tedious lawsuit,
conspired, in a very short time, to put an end to this establishment.
His sons were dispersed, and he and his daughter reduced to poverty.
Messrs. Hicks and Rothwell, of Bolton, Mr. Kennedy, and some others in
that neighbourhood and in Manchester, made, in 1824, a second
subscription, to purchase a life annuity for him, which produced 63_l._
per annum. The amount was raised in small sums from one to ten pounds,
some of which were contributed by the Swiss and French spinners, who
acknowledged his merits, and pitied his misfortunes. He died January 26,
1827, having enjoyed his annuity only two years, leaving his daughter,
his affectionate housekeeper, in absolute poverty. Such, unhappily, has
been the fate of many public benefactors. They have tilled the ground
and sown the seed, but others have gathered in the harvest.
“Hall i’ the Wood,” as we have intimated--the preservation of which as a
monument to the memory of useful industry, and its prodigious practical
results, may be regarded as a public duty--is falling gradually into
decay; but its condition is such, that a very trifling degree of labour
may effectually restore it. Its present occupants work at the
neighbouring factories: and although we found them taking some pride in
the aged walls
[Illustration]
they inhabit, from them we can expect nothing in the way of its
preservation. Surely it ought not to be left to the common fate of
common things! The accompanying print--from an excellent drawing by Mr.
J. J. Dodd, a most intelligent artist, by whom we were accompanied to
this “shrine” of manufacturing devotees--exhibits the principal front,
“Crompton’s Room” being indicated by the open window. The house is built
in the usual style of old dwellings of a better class in Lancashire,
being composed of “wood and plaster.” It has no projecting windows or
carved doors; the chief entrance, at the south gable, appears to have
been a later addition. It is of stone; and above it, in a square panel,
is the date 1648, with the initials A.N.A. Within, a staircase of
massive oak leads to the upper chambers; of which, one only--“Crompton’s
Room”--seems to have been treated with respect; but this also has been
doomed to periodical “whitewashings,” which, however, have failed to
efface a deeply-cut panel (given as our initial letter), interesting as
that upon which the eyes of “the Discoverer” must have often looked.
Seen from a distance, the house is highly picturesque; it stands on
high, rocky ground, which on one side is almost perpendicular to a great
depth, broken into masses, covered with moss and lichens, among which,
here and there, shoot out the branches of the oak and ash, which have
found places for their roots in the crevices of the rocks. Some of these
trees have been partially hurled down by frequent storms, and their
gnarled branches form singular contrasts with the silvery stems of a few
slender birch-trees, which flourish in young vigour by their sides. At
the foot of the precipitous descent, a broad and somewhat clear stream
winds its way over large stones, forming tiny waterfalls; passing under
a rustic wooden bridge, it makes its way through the adjacent valley to
supply many scores of mills and factories, creating wealth.
[Illustration:
J. S. Dodd, Delᵗ. on Stone by W. Walton. M. & N. Hanhart, Lithogʳˢ.
SMITHELL’S HALL, LANCASHIRE.]
SMITHELLS HALL,
LANCASHIRE.
[Illustration: S]MITHELLS HALL is situated about two miles and a half
from the populous and flourishing manufacturing town of Bolton. The
manor was dependent on the manor of Sharples, the lord of which claimed
from its owners a pair of gilt spurs annually, and--by a singular and
“inconvenient” custom--the unlimited use of the Smithells cellars during
one week of every year. It does not appear, however, that the lord of
Smithells was bound, at this particular period, to store his cellars
with any particular quantity or quality of liquor. Up to the time of
Henry VII. the Radcliffes were lords of Smithells; but Joan, the
daughter and sole heir of Sir Ralph Radcliffe, having married Robert
Barton, Esq., he became in that reign seized of the manor and lordship
of Smithells, where his posterity continued, until Grace, sole daughter
and heiress of Thomas Barton, Esq., the last male heir, was married to
Henry, eldest son of Henry first Lord Viscount Fauconberg, whose
descendant, Thomas, in 1721, sold the manor, which afterwards passed
into the hands of the Byrons of Manchester, by whom it was sold for
21,000_l._ to Mr. Ainsworth of Halliwell, an opulent bleacher, and a
descendant of the Ainsworths of Pleasington.
The period of the erection of the mansion cannot be accurately
ascertained; a date (1360)
[Illustration]
affixed above one of the gateways is obviously no authority. The rebus
of _a tun_, crossed by _a bar_, indicating, it is said, Andrew Barton,
the famous rover of Henry VII.’s reign, may probably indicate the
erection of part of the structure early in the sixteenth century. The
building consists of “post and plaster work,” black and white, with bold
trefoils and quatrefoils. At the western extremity is a shaded walk,
covered with ivy, leading to the principal entrance. The hall is
tastefully furnished with relics of the olden time--chairs and tables
coeval with the building--while its primitive character is augmented by
huge baskets of yule-logs. The leading feature of the house is the
magnificent oak dining-room, erected by the present owner, Peter
Ainsworth, Esq. M.P., in admirable keeping with the aspect of the
edifice in its several details.
The grateful acknowledgments of all antiquaries are due to Mr. Ainsworth
for the zeal he has manifested in preserving the ancient style of his
venerable mansion; the delicate care he has exhibited in preventing the
destruction of even the least important “bit” that may be preserved; and
the judgment he has exercised in effecting restorations and repairs in
perfect harmony. This feeling is especially evidenced by the manner in
which the dining-room has been constructed. It was rebuilt--an exact
resemblance of its former state,--and panelled with the old oak, the
workmanship of which is so pure as to bear comparison with the best
existing examples in the kingdom.
In a passage near the door of the old dining-room, at the foot of the
staircase leading to
[Illustration]
the chapel, is a natural mark in the stone-flag resembling the print of
a man’s foot. This appearance has given rise to a tradition that the
martyr, George Marsh, when brought before Sir Roger Barton for
examination in 1555, stamped with his foot in confirmation of the truth
of his opinions, and that a miraculous impression was made on the stone
as a perpetual memorial of the injustice of his enemies. George Marsh
was born at Dean, two miles south-west of Bolton. In the persecuting
days of Mary he underwent his first examination before Sir Roger Barton
in Smithells Hall, from whence he was transferred to Latham, previous to
his final committal to Lancaster Castle.
A small chamber behind the chapel contains a beautiful latticed window
of large size, and
[Illustration]
here tradition states the early martyrs endured much suffering. The
chapel has been fitted up in good taste, and is full of associations
with remote periods. It is not only used by the family and the
household, but, by the courtesy of Mr. Ainsworth, is open to all in the
neighbourhood who desire to attend divine service there.
The house, it will be seen from our engraving, is a fine example of a
class of architecture of which Lancashire still has many singular and
interesting remains. It is highly picturesque; and, notwithstanding its
situation in the centre of a manufacturing district, it commands
extensive and very beautiful views of a rich and productive valley.
The drawing and the sketches from woodcut illustrations have been
supplied to us by Mr. J. J. Dodd, an excellent artist of Manchester.
[Illustration:
J. I. Dodd Delᵗ. on stone by W. Walton. M. & N. Hanhart, Lithogʳˢ.
SPEKE HALL, THE GARDEN FRONT, LANCASHIRE.]
SPEKE HALL,
LANCASHIRE.