Heath (now inclosed), distant about a mile and a half, a bloody battle
was fought on Sunday, the 19th of March, 1643, between the King’s
troops, commanded by Spencer Compton Earl of Northampton, and the
Parliamentary Forces under Sir John Gell and Sir William Brereton; in
which the Earl, with six captains and about 600 soldiers, were all
killed. Human bones and fragments of military weapons have been turned
up by the plough on this spot. One of the most interesting of several
ancient remains in the vicinity is that of Chartley Castle. It has been
a ruin for more than a century. The Park contains a thousand acres,
inclosed from the Forest of Needwood, and never submitted to the plough.
It has long been inhabited by a noble herd of “wild cattle,” descended,
_in a direct line_, from the wild cattle of the country which roamed at
large in ancient times over the Forest of Needwood--probably a
corruption of Neat’s Wood, or the Wood of Cattle. Chartley Castle was
one of the prison-houses of Mary Queen of Scots. On the 21st of
December, 1585, she took her final leave of Tutbury, and was removed to
Chartley. It was during her residence at the latter place, that what has
been denominated “Babington’s Plot,” was matured; which, on its
discovery, led to the execution of no less than twelve persons engaged
in it. The discovery of this plot, likewise, in which Mary herself was
intimately involved, hastened the fate of the unhappy queen. It was
whilst Mary was on horseback, enjoying the sports of the field, in this
neighbourhood, that she received the messenger who communicated the
discovery of her guilt. The announcement of the fatal intelligence which
Sir Thomas Gorges conveyed, suddenly extinguished the fond expectations
which had been so long cherished. She instantly directed her horse’s
head homewards; but was not permitted to return thither. She was
conveyed to Fotheringay--the last sad scene of her eventful history.
[Illustration:
From a sketch by A. E. Everitt. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
THE OAK HOUSE, WEST BROMWICH, STAFFORDSHIRE.]
THE OAK HOUSE, WEST BROMWICH,
STAFFORDSHIRE.
West Bromwich--a village distant a few miles from busy
Birmingham--supplies a curious and interesting example of the
half-timbered houses, of which many still remain in the Midland Counties
of England. It is commonly known as “The Oak House,” is situated on the
borders of the great Staffordshire coal-bed, and is now surrounded by
collieries,--creating a dense and murky atmosphere, which almost hides
the ancient mansion from sight. Yet the site was well chosen; for at the
period of its erection it commanded extensive views of a picturesque and
fertile country, now absolutely covered with iron-works and other
results of the traffic peculiar to the district. Far as the eye can
reach, it encounters only the smoke and steam which indicate busy
labour; the few trees that endure to grace the landscape are stunted and
sickly, and even the fields seem never to have borne a coating of
natural green. Nevertheless, although the eye may turn away unrefreshed
from a scene which exhibits Nature expelled by Commerce, the mind will
be cheered to know that in these unsightly mountain-heaps, “dug from the
bowels of the harmless earth,” originates the true supremacy of England.
The coal-fields of Staffordshire and Warwickshire render available the
gigantic discoveries which have made the present century already famous.
Without their aid, science and manufacture could have achieved
comparatively little; it is by such auxiliaries only we can set at work
the forge and the foundry, where
“Incessant, day and night, each crater roars,
Like the volcano on Sicilian shores:
Their fiery wombs each molten mass combine;
Thence, lava-like, the boiling torrents shine;
Down the trenched sand the liquid metal holds,
Shoots showers of stars, and fills the hollow moulds.”
The “Poet of Science” seems to have had in view the locality to which we
refer; at least, to no part of England are his lines more strictly
applicable.
Little is known of the ancient possessors of the Oak House,
notwithstanding that the direct descendants of the earliest occupants
continued to inhabit it until towards the close of the last century. The
only author who appears to have taken any note of them is the Rev.
Stebbing Shaw, who in his “History of Staffordshire,” under the head of
West Bromwich[33] states, that the Oak House belonged for several
generations to a branch of the respectable old family of Turton, of
Abrewas, near Lichfield; and the first mentioned in this parish was John
Turton, in the freeholders’ book, A.D. 1653. Amongst the inscriptions
formerly in the ancient Church of St. Clement, here, was one to the
memory of William Turton, of the Oak, gent., who died A.D. 1682 (son of
that John), and Eleanor his wife, daughter of Robert Page, of Leighton,
in the county of Huntingdon, who died A.D. 1696, ætat. 61; and one also
to John Turton, of the Oak, gent., the eldest son of the above William,
who died December 6th, 1705, ætat. 45. This is the same John, no doubt,
who, with William his brother and Sarah their sister, are mentioned in
the will of Sir John Turton, of Abrewas, as his cousins. Either from the
first mentioned John, or from another of that name settled at Rowley
Regis, a few miles off, was, according to Shaw, descended the eminent
physician Dr. Turton, of London, whose ancestors had for some years
resided in an old house called “The Hall,” at Wolverhampton. The house
and estate afterwards came into the possession, by will, of a Mrs.
Whylie, who left it to the present owner, J. E. Piercy, Esq., of Warley
Hall; and it is now inhabited by his agent, Mr. Samuel Reeves.
[Illustration]
The general character of the building is that of the later years of the
reign of Elizabeth; this will be sufficiently apparent from the drawing
of the north front, which supplies our principal plate. The groups of
tall chimneys, and the minor details of the doors, windows, &c., are all
of that age; while evidence of its date is confirmed by the south or
garden front (as will be seen by the accompanying vignette), built
chiefly of red brick, and containing the pediments and square stone
mullions of the period.
Upon entering the house, through the porch, we reach a narrow passage,
formed by a small room, abstracted from “the Hall”--the spacious hall
of former times. At the termination of this passage a door leads into
the present hall, of far more limited extent, from which a broad flight
of stairs conducts to the upper apartments. These apartments, however,
having been long disused, exhibit the melancholy aspect of desertion and
decay. The stairs consist of four flights, and the balusters of the
whole are curiously carved; the small pendant hanging from the upper
flight,
[Illustration]
as seen from the first-floor landing, supplies our initial letter. On
the ground-floor there are four of the rooms pannelled with oak, the
chimney-pieces being carved in arabesques.
The peculiar feature of this house, however, is the very curious timber
turret or lantern which rises nearly from the centre of the roof, and
has its principal frontage towards the north. It is square, and forms
one small room, to which a subsequent addition appears to have been
made.
The parish Church (dedicated to St. Clement) is distant from the House
about two miles. Modern “improvement” has been busily at work in
mutilating and defacing it; yet “ignorant churchwardens” have been
unable to deprive it entirely of the venerable character it derives from
age.
From the little that remains of ancient work, the whole Church seems to
have been built during the later period of the Decorated style of
architecture, with here and there additional portions of a later date.
On the south side there is a small chapel but whether used as a chantry
or not is uncertain, the date upon it being as late as 1618. It is most
probable that it was used as the burial-place of the Whorwoods; an old
family, who inhabited a mansion built on the site of the Priory of
Sandwell, which stood at a short distance from the Church. The Tower of
the Church is square, of two stories, and has an octagonal turret on its
northern side. The Font also is octagonal, with the sides pannelled, and
containing shields. It stands at the west end of the north aisle.
In the immediate neighbourhood of the Church are several old houses,
which seem to belong to the seventeenth and early part of the eighteenth
centuries, and originally formed the village of West Bromwich, which at
that period must have been a very inconsiderable place; but, from its
situation near the main-road through the mining district, and the rapid
increase of coal and iron works in its vicinity, it has become of
considerable note; the whole of the distance between the Oak House and
the Church being thickly covered with houses, among which are three new
churches, several meeting-houses, and the other ordinary accompaniments
of a modern town. Within about the distance of a mile, at a place where
three lanes meet, is a wayside inn, bearing the sign of “The Stone
Cross;” of the cross which formerly existed there, barely a trace is
left.
Amongst the other timber houses in the immediate vicinity of Birmingham,
there are but few remarkable for any peculiarity of construction; such
as still exist have been in nearly all cases subjected to the
“improvements” which destroy early and valuable character; perhaps the
only exception is an old house, situated on the north side of the
churchyard at Kingsnorton (a village in the county of Worcester), about
five miles distant from Birmingham, which is still retained for the use
of a Free School, founded there by King Edward VI., but which, from
having a window at its east end, that clearly belongs to the decorated
period of English architecture, was most probably used as a residence
for the priest of the adjacent church. But although the neighbourhood is
so deficient in good examples of ancient timber houses, there will be
found several mansions worthy of observation; we need mention only the
names of New Hall, near the little town of Sutton Coldfield; Castle
Bromwich Hall, the seat of the Earl of Bradford, erected in 1580; the
ancient Castle of Maxtoke, which remains, for the greater part, in good
preservation; and the magnificent pile of Aston Hall--one of the finest
and best preserved Halls yet existing in the Kingdom.
[Illustration:
From a sketch by H.L. Prout. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
THROWLEY HALL, STAFFORDSHIRE.]
THROWLEY HALL,
STAFFORDSHIRE.
Throwley Hall. In the North-East corner of the County of Stafford there
exists an elevated region of limestone hills; one of which, the Bunster,
rises to the height of twelve hundred feet above the level of the sea.
Their scanty soil, pierced in many places by the naked rock, bears a
rich verdure, which is cropped by numerous herds of cattle and sheep.
The bottoms of the intervening valleys are occupied by clear streams,
which dash along their stony beds, and give fertility to the various
shrubs and trees growing upon their margins. In a concavity, about
midway down one of these hills, stands the old Hall of Throwley. In the
vale below, the superterranean or surface course of the river Manyfold
winds its devious way. This stream, like its fellow, the Hamps, sinks
into fissures of the rocks, and flows through caverns hid in the earth,
for some miles, whilst the remaining portion of the waters, especially
during floods, occupies the bed we have pointed out. The valley of the
Manyfold, opposite Throwley Hall, is marked by an umbrageous wood,
exhibiting a highly luxurious foliage of varied tints.
This picturesque spot, environed by the neighbouring hills of such great
altitude, was chosen for the foundation of a house at a remote period.
At the time of Erdeswick, we find him recounting that “Throwley is a
fair, ancient house, and goodly demesne; being the seat of the
Meverells, a very ancient house of gentlemen and of goodly living,
equalling the best sort of gentlemen in the Shire.” In the fifth year of
the reign of King John, Oliver de Meverell was settled here. In the
second of Edward the First, Thomas de Meverell married Agnes, one of the
five daughters and co-heirs of Gerebert de Gayton. In a deed given at
Fredeswall, now Fradswell, another manor of the Meverells, in the
seventeenth year of Edward the Third, we find the name of Thomas de
Meverell, Lord of Throwley. The following inscription occurs on an
alabaster monument in the south aisle of the chancel of Ilam Church, in
which parish Throwley is situated:--“Here lyeth yᵉ bodies of Robert
Meverell Esqvʳ & Eliz: his wife, Davghter
[Illustration]
of Sʳ Tho: Fleming Kniᵗ & Lord Cheife Ivstice of yᵉ Kings Bench, by whō
he had issve only one davghter, who maried Tho: Lord Cromwell, Visconte
Lecaile; wᶜʰ Robert died yᵉ 5th of Febrʸ anᵒ 1626 & Elizabᵗʰ departed yᵉ
5th of Avgvst 1628.” Upon a slab are placed the effigies of this Robert,
the last male of the Meverells, and Elizabeth his wife, in the
magnificent ruffs and other costume of the period--the husband wearing a
vast pair of boots with spurs on them, the former falling in thick
wrinkles from the ankle to the knee, and terminating in a peak about the
middle of the thigh. In a recess in the wall above is the kneeling
figure of their daughter and heir, Lady Cromwell, wearing her coronet,
and her four children by her. There are shields of arms emblazoning
those of Meverell, viz., argent, a griffin segreant sable, armed gules,
with the alliances enumerated; and above the tomb is suspended a helmet
having a pointed visor. We are enabled to trace this heiress of the
ancient House of Meverell to her last resting-place, for in the floor
near the altar in Fradsivell Church is a flat stone, inscribed, “Dame
Cromwell.” And on an old Tablet in the Chancel may still be read: “Iana
Cromwellʳ: Ex nobilibus Familys Cromwellorum et Meverillorum.” 1647.
From the family of Lord Cromwell, Viscount Lecaile, and first Earl of
Ardglass, in Ireland, Throwley subsequently passed to Edward Southwell,
the last Baron de Clifford; and was sold by him in 1790 to Samuel
Crompton, Esq., whose son, Sir Samuel Crompton, Bart., of Wood End, near
Thirsk, is now the proprietor of it. The Hall is occupied by a worthy
family of the name of Phillips.
The “fair ancient house of Throwley” has undergone many mutations since
the days of Erdeswick. It still, however, presents a diversity of
outline which corresponds admirably with the imposing site it occupies.
It is built of the limestone of the neighbourhood, quoined with larger
gritstones; and its walls bear a very time-worn appearance. On the
Eastern side, its gables, large bayed window of many lights, divided by
stone mullions, terminating in depressed arches, and its strong square
tower, carry us back to the Sixteenth Century--the period of its
erection. Whether it was the work of Robert, the last male of the House
of Meverell, or one of his predecessors, we are not enabled to ascertain
by any positive evidence; yet there is little doubt the latter surmise
is most correct. On the western side of the House there formerly stood
a large Chapel, with a lofty ceiling to the roof; a stone of which,
still preserved, bears the initials “F. M.”, most likely pointing to the
founder of the entire structure. The little turret contains a circular
stone stair, that conducts to the roof of the tower, the leads of which
bear many a mark of visitors long since departed--most of them to an
eternal home. The view here, as it takes in a large reach of the valley
in both directions, and Castern on the opposite hill, is very fine. The
principal entrance to the House of Throwley has been on the north, and
leads first to a small Entrance-Hall, and next, to the great Hall; which
in the strange transmutations it has undergone, retains only a portion
of its wainscot and the massive beams of oak that support the ceiling.
This Hall is lighted by the lower window in the large bay to the left of
our litho-tint. A fine room of equal size, above, entered by a pair of
oaken folding doors, has been richly finished, its ceiling still bearing
a beading that has been gilt, disposed in an elegant device of octagons
and stars. This chief apartment has had a large bay-window, containing
two rows of six lights each, to the South, as well as the Eastern bay
apparent in the engraving. All these windows are rendered secure by
upright bars of iron, bearing cross-bars at short intervals. They have
formerly contained some stained glass, the only remains of which, the
arms of Lord Thomas Cromwell quartering the sable griffin segreant of
the Meverells, are now placed in the neighbouring farm-house of Mr.
Parramore. An upper wainscotted room in Throwley Hall still retains an
appropriate memorial of its former lordly occupants in the armorial
bearings of the House of Ardglass, elaborately carved in high relief in
oak, now enriched by the tints of age, with the supporters, two fierce
winged bulls. At a short distance behind the house stands a stately pile
of ancient stabling, two lofty stories in height, topped with a
high-pitched roof. The entrances are so tall, that we might conclude the
lords and dames of other days had mounted their steeds before they
issued to the chase or other amusements--among which we may presume that
of falconry would be no infrequent pastime amid these wild hills.
Of the ancient owners, the Meverells, almost the only additional
historical notice we can regain, is, that Arthur Meverell of Throwley
was the last Prior of Sutbury. At the period of the Dissolution, A.D.
1538, he, together with eight monks, surrendered the Priory, with all
its possessions, into the hands of Henry VIII.; the original deed still
remaining in the Augmentation Office, with the signatures of the Prior
and brotherhood, and the common seal of the Convent attached. In
consideration of this surrender, Arthur, the Prior, had an annuity of
fifty pounds.
Besides the remarkable natural phenomenon before alluded to, of the
disappearance of the rivers Hamps and Manyfold in this vicinity, the
vast caverns in the limestone rocks present to our notice objects of
great interest. One of these, within a short distance of Throwley, has
long been distinguished by the name of “Thor’s House.” Both rivers and
caves are happily alluded to by the poet:--
“Still the nymphs emerging lift in air
Their snow-white shoulders and their azure hair;
Sail with sweet grace the dimpling streams along,
Listening the shepherd’s, or the miner’s song;
But when afar they view the giant cave,
On timorous fins they circle on the wave,
With streaming eyes, and throbbing hearts’ recoil,
Plunge their fair forms, and dive beneath the soil.”
By following the valley from Throwley about two miles, we reach the
beautiful gardens of Ilam Hall, its ivy-covered Church, and the village
itself. Passing over the chaste productions of modern art crowded into
this graceful spot, which is equally marked as the opening, round the
base of the mighty Bunster, of the most romantic portion of Dovedale, we
can scarcely refrain from noticing, as we depart, the two fragments of
ancient crosses, covered with sculpture forming rude devices, in the
churchyard; the curiously-figured Norman font; and the plain but
handsome altar-tomb in the Church, which is pierced at the sides with
large quatrefoils, and bears the designation of “Bartram’s Tomb.” This
latter attracted Dr. Plot’s attention, who referred it to St.
Bertelline. He was the son of a king, and a hermit, who is related to
have lived on an island where the present town of Stafford is situated,
till he was disturbed, when he removed into some desert mountainous
place, where he ended his life. Plot has concentrated--
“Tradition’s dubious light,
That hovers ’twixt the day and night,
Dazzling, alternately, and dim,--”
upon the wild hills and dells which abound round Throwley, Ilam, and
Dovedale. He enumerates, as corroborative testimony, this tomb, which he
considers may have been renewed,--as undoubtedly it must have been if it
have reference to the legend; a well, and an ash tree near it, on the
western side of Bunster, towards the base;--all of them being then and
still popularly appropriated to St. Bertram. St. Bertram’s ash has been
cut down in the memory of many living in the village; whilst the water
of St. Bertram’s Well, “clear as diamond-spark,” still rills out of the
base of the mighty hill.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by W. F. Hulme. Day & Son, Lithʳˢ. to The Queen.
TRENTHAM HALL, STAFFORDSHIRE.]
TRENTHAM HALL,
STAFFORDSHIRE.
Trentham, the home or settlement on the Trent, has been a village since
the days of the Saxons, who adopted this fertile nook on the banks of a
beautiful stream as a fit abode for man. Here, in this well-selected
spot, they were led by their religious impulses to found an Abbey, over
which presided no less a personage than Werburg, daughter of the
ferocious Wulphere, king of Mercia, whose palace was hard by, at
Berry-Bank, and whose wicked murder of his two sons, Wulfard and Rufin,
on suspicion of their conversion to Christianity, was perpetrated at
Bursson and at Stone, where subsequently religious houses were erected
as memorials of their martyrdom. St. Werburg, for she was canonized, and
was, moreover, sister to King Ethelred, died at Trentham or at Hanbury,
in the year 683, was buried at the latter place, and her body was in the
year 875 removed to Chester Cathedral, where the rich decorated stone
case of her shrine now forms the bishop’s throne. Of the Saxon abbey of
Trentham no records remain; of its “ancient glories” there exists not a
trace.
In the time of King Stephen,
[Illustration]
Ranulph, the second of the great Earls of Chester who bore that name,
refounded the monastery of Trentham for canons of St. Augustine. In the
present church, which closely adjoins to Trentham Hall, and which, by
the munificence of the Duke of Sutherland, has been within these three
or four years carefully and judiciously restored in every part, under
the charge of Mr. Barry, we have still some slight but interesting
remains, reaching back nearly to the time of its foundation. These
consist of the tall, round, Norman piers of the nave, with their quaint
capitals, and the bold and lofty pointed arches to which they give
support.
[Illustration]
The appended woodcut exhibits the interior of the church--the screen, of
carved oak, being one of very considerable beauty.