past ages, and carries us back to the period prior to the invasion of
Britain by the Romans; if Rous and other old historians of the county be
correct, who declare it to have been a British town of considerable
importance before that great event. Dugdale says, “as it hath been the
chieftest town of these parts, and whereof the whole county, upon its
division into shires, took its name, so may it justly glory in its
situation beyond any other, standing upon a rocky ascent, from every
side, and in a dry and fertile soil, having the benefit of rich and
pleasant meadows on the south part, with the lofty groves and spacious
thickets of the woodland on the north: wherefore, were there nothing
else to argue its great antiquity, these commodities, which so surround
it, might easily satisfy us, that the Britons made an early plantation
here to participate of them.” The reader will not be expected to place
implicit reliance on the statements of Dugdale concerning its foundation
by Cymbeline, by whom it was termed Caerleon, and its destruction by the
Picts and Scots, “till Caractacus, the famous British Prince, rebuilt
it, making a mansion-house therein for himself.” After the defeat of
Caractacus in A.D. 50, the Romans, in order to secure their conquests in
Britain, erected several fortresses on the banks of the Severn and Avon,
and Warwick is said to have been one of these, but this is not very
clearly proved. During the Saxon period the town was included in the
kingdom of Mercia, and fell under the dominion of Warremund, who rebuilt
it and called it Warrewyke, after his own name. Warwick was subsequently
destroyed by the Danes, and, according to Dugdale, “so rested until the
renowned Lady Ethelfled, daughter to King Alfred, who had the whole
Earldom of Mercia given her by her father to the noble Etheldred in
marriage, repaired its ruins, and in the year of Christ DCCCCXV, made a
strong fortification here, called the doungeon, for resistance of the
enemy, upon a hill of earth artificially raised near the river side;”
and this forms the most ancient part of the present building. But the
most important reparations of the castle were the work of the famous
Guy, Earl of Warwick, although Dugdale tells us that the great tower at
the north-east corner, called Guy’s Tower, the walls whereof are ten
feet thick, was built by Thomas, Earl of Warwick, about the 17th of
Richard the Second, on whose banishment the custody of it was granted to
John de Clinton, and in a short time after to Thomas Holland, Earl of
Kent. In the reign of Henry the Third, the extraordinary strength of
this building was alleged as a reason for particularly prohibiting the
widowed Countess of Warwick from re-marrying with any other than a
person approved by the King; but in the furious contests which occurred
in the latter years of this reign, William Mauduit, the then Earl,
neglecting to keep proper guard, the fortress was surprised, and all the
building, except the towers, levelled with the ground, while himself and
his Countess were carried prisoners to Kenilworth. The family of
Beauchamp shortly succeeded to the Earldom, and by Thomas Beauchamp, in
the reign of Edward the Third, the castle was repaired, strong gates
were added, and the gateways fortified with embattled towers. Thomas de
Beauchamp, his son and successor, passed a great portion of his time
here, during his exile from Court; he had, thus, leisure to repair and
strengthen the castle; and he it was who built the tower as stated
above, on which he bestowed the name of Guy’s Tower; it is a fine relic
of early castellated building, and is represented in our initial
letter.[66]
The daughter of this Richard Beauchamp married Richard Nevil, son and
heir of the Earl of Salisbury, and in consequence of this marriage the
Earldom of Warwick came into the possession of the Nevils. This powerful
Earl played a conspicuous part in the wars of the Roses, and has been
immortalised by Shakspeare, in his drama of King Henry VI.; and, after a
life of strange vicissitude and high excitement, he was killed in the
battle of Barnet, A.D. 1471. His estates were forfeited, his widow was
deprived of all power, “as if she had been naturally dead,” and her vast
inheritances were settled upon her daughters, Isabel and Anne, the
latter of whom was married to George Duke of Clarence, created Earl of
Warwick by his brother, King Edward the Fourth. He chiefly resided at
Warwick Castle, and added much to the strength and beauty of its works.
On the accession of Henry the Seventh, the jealousy of that monarch to
his son Edward, the last of the male Plantagenets, induced him to
compass his death, by holding out to him fair promises and a hope of
liberty (for he had been imprisoned in the Tower on a groundless charge,
to keep him secure), to confess a connection with Perkin Warbeck, after
which confession he was beheaded on Tower-hill. From this time until the
1st of Edward the Sixth there was no Earl of Warwick; until John Dudley
having been advanced to the dignity of Viscount L’Isle, was so created
through the favour of the Duke of Somerset, the powerful Protector; and
on the failure of that line, the title was revived by James the First,
in the person of Robert Lord Rich, in whose posterity it continued till
the year 1759, when it passed into the family of the Grevilles, who now
hold the title of Earl Brooke and Earl of Warwick, their seats being
Warwick Castle and Brooke House, Dorset.
The Castle occupies the summit of a steep hill, which greatly aided its
artificial defences in “the olden time.” The present approach is
[Illustration]
by a narrow passage, cut through the solid rock, and extending to the
main entrance from the Porter’s Lodge,--the Lodge itself, however, being
a place of attraction which few will leave unvisited, for here are
collected the marvellous relics of the great Earl--a rib of the dun cow,
a tusk of the wild boar, with horse armour, a helmet, breast-plate,
tilting-pole, and walking-staff, of such prodigious size and weight that
they could have suited only a giant and his steed. Of the two famous
Towers, that of Guy is to the right, while that of “Cæsar” (here
represented) is to the left: they are connected by a strong embattled
wall, in the centre of which is the ponderous arched Gateway, flanked by
Towers, and succeeded by a second arched Gateway, with Towers and
Battlements, “formerly defended by two portholes, one of which still
remains; before the whole is now a disused Moat, with an arch thrown
over it at the Gateway, where was once the drawbridge.”[67]
Passing the double Gateway, the court-yard is entered. Thus seen, “the
castellated mansion” of the most famous of the feudal Barons has a
tranquil and peaceful aspect; fronting it is a green sward, and the
“frowning keep” which conceals all its gloomier features behind a screen
of ivy and evergreen shrubs. It is only when viewed from the river, when
the battlements of the old Castle seem literally towering in air, that a
notion is obtained of its prodigious strength. The slopes, however, are
now clothed with gently-growing trees; several unscathed cedars speak of
long years of rest from strife; the gardens are among the fairest and
most fertile of the kingdom; and in one of the conservatories of the
rich Park, is deposited “the Vase,” which may be said to have given a
second immortality to the name of Warwick.
The interior of Warwick Castle demands but a brief notice. “The Hall” is
a restoration; and the apartments, generally, have been subjected to the
deleterious influence of the fashionable upholsterer. The rooms contain,
however, many rich treasures of art; the collection of pictures,
although of limited extent, is of rare value, comprising, perhaps, some
of the best examples to be found in England of Vandyck and Rubens; and
there is a fine assemblage of costly garderobes, cabinets, encoigneurs,
tables
[Illustration]
of Buhl and Marquetrie, vases, and bronzes, with many veritable
antiques. An object of much interest is pictured in the appended
wood-cut. It is “the Warder’s Horn.” Its history is told by the
following inscription:--
PHIL. THOMASSINUS. FEC. ET EXCUD. CUM PRIVIL. SUMMI. PONTIFICIS ET
SUPERIOR. LICENTIA ROMÆ. FLORUIT 1598.
It measures two feet two inches across, and three inches and
three-quarters diameter at the mouth.
In all respects Warwick Castle holds rank among the most remarkable of
our existing remains of the dwellings of the Feudal Barons. Its history
is deeply interesting; and from the few changes it has undergone, we
require little aid from fancy to read there a full and perfect record of
the leading incidents of by-gone ages.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by J. G. Jackson. Day & Son. Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
WROXHALL ABBEY, WARWICKSHIRE.]
WROXHALL ABBEY,
WARWICKSHIRE.
Wroxhall Abbey. Of Wroxhall there is no particular mention in the
Conqueror’s survey--a circumstance for which Dugdale accounts by “the
barrennesse of the soil,” which now vies in fertility and beauty with
the choicest districts of England. “A monastery of nuns” was founded
here so early as “King Stephen’s time.”[68] The founder endowed it with
“totam terram loci de Wrocheshale--with large proportions of lands and
woods thereabouts: together with the church of Hatton and whatsoever
belonged thereto, and so much of his royalty in Hatton as lay betwixt
the two little brooks there.” It also received large benefactions from
other parties, and sundry immunities and privileges. At the dissolution
its value extended to 72_l._ 12_s._ 6_d._ “above all reprises;” the then
prioress received a pension of 7_l._ 10_s._ per annum; and the site
thereof, “with church, belfrey, and all the lands thereunto belonging,”
were given to Robert Burgoyn and John Scudamore, and their heirs.
The present structure is on the original site, the southern and eastern
sides having been adapted as offices, and the western front was rebuilt
by Robert Burgoyn, and has been subjected to alterations of a later
date, as will be seen in our view. The mansion was purchased from the
Burgoyn family, in 1713, by the famous Sir Christopher Wren. It is,
however, doubtful whether he resided here, as he was at that period
actively employed in his official capacity. His son, Christopher Wren,
died in 1747. He was buried here, and most probably on this spot he
compiled with so much care and diligence the papers of the “Parentalia,”
afterwards published under this title in 1750 by his son Stephen.
[Illustration]
The mansion, as will be perceived, has a picturesque appearance, and
some of the old wainscotting remains in the principal rooms, with some
good carving round the chimney-pieces. The Chapel seems to have been
formed from part of the cloisters: it is on the north side of the house,
and contains some monuments of the Wren family and some good stained
glass. It is at present in the possession of Mrs. Wren, a lady who
derives her position as well as her property from marriage with the
latest male descendant of the great architect. She resolutely closes the
doors, not only of the mansion but of the adjacent chapel, against the
entrance of all applicants for admission to examine either; and her
discourtesy is consequently a proverb in the neighbourhood. We may add
to this imperfect description an expression of satisfaction at the
probable reversion of the estate into the hands of Chandos Wren Hoskyns,
Esq., a gentleman whose acquirements are such as to render him a worthy
successor of the great man whose name has imparted interest to this
mansion.
[Illustration:
From a drawing by F. W. Hulme. Day & Son. Lithʳˢ to The Queen.
BROUGHAM HALL, WESTMORELAND.]
BROUGHAM HALL,
WESTMORLAND.
Brougham Hall--the seat of Henry, Lord Brougham and Vaux--is situated
about a mile south of Penrith, on the high-road from Lancaster to
Carlisle. It is a structure of mixed character--half castle and half
mansion--of which there are many examples in the northern districts of
the Kingdom. Its origin dates from a remote period; and it has, no
doubt, largely participated in the perils that arose from close
proximity to “the Border.” The remains of a castle still more ancient
than the greater part of the building, and, apparently, of far greater
strength, stand at a short distance from the Hall, in the midst of
“pleasant scenery”--fruitful fields and a gentle and generous river, the
river Eamont. The earliest mention we find of Brougham occurs in the
“Itinerary” of Antoninus, and in the “Notitiæ,” from which we gather
that it was a Roman station of considerable importance. The remains of
the camp may still be traced near the present house, and a field close
by appears to have been the burial-place (as usual, without the walls),
many tombs and altars having been, from time to time, discovered there.
“Although,” according to Camden, “time hath consumed its buildings and
its splendour, the name remains almost entire, for at this day we call
it Brougham.” And this so clearly resembles the Roman Brovocum or
Brocovum (for it is spelt both ways) that the etymology may be
considered settled, although for many centuries both the place and the
family were called Burgham--a name considered by Horsley (in his “Roman
Antiquities of Britain”) as of Saxon derivation, compounded of _Burgh_,
castle, and _Ham_, town. Stukeley in his “Itinerary,” (1725) says,--“The
trace of the Roman city is very easily discovered, where the ditch went
between the Roman road and the river. I saw many fragments of altars and
inscriptions at the Hall near the bridge, all exposed in the court-yard
to weather and injuries of every sort.”
In the earliest records belonging to the family, or to be found in the
Tower of London, the place is spelt Broham and Bruham; and this,
singularly enough, while it differs from the spelling of the Roman word
(which, as Camden says, was in his time changed into Brougham), yet in
sound it is absolutely identical with the pronunciation, which has
probably always been, and certainly is at the present day, given to the
name. We are enabled from original documents preserved in the
Charter-room at Brougham, in the Tower, State-paper Office, Rolls
Chapel, and Chapter-house, and from other authentic sources, to trace
with accuracy the descent of Brougham in a family of the same name, who
have been settled there from times long antecedent to the Norman
conquest. An ancient pedigree preserved in a copy of Cranmer’s great
Bible (1540), now at Brougham, states Walter de Broham to have held
Brougham in the time of Edward the Confessor; he was succeeded by
Wilfred; and he by Udard, who was appointed keeper of Appleby Castle on
the degradation of the previous governor, in consequence of his
participation in the death of Thomas à Beckett. This border-fortress was
held by Udard until 1175, in which year he was defeated and the castle
taken by William, king of Scotland. Soon after this we find him taking
part against Henry II. for which he was fined eighty marks, “because he
was with the king’s enemies.” Udard was succeeded by Gilbert, who, in
the year 1200, “made fine with the king” that he might not go with him
to Normandy. This Gilbert, to get rid of the burden of Drengage, gave up
to King John no less than one half of the town of Brougham, together
with the mill, the advowson of the church of Brougham, a great part of
the forest of Whinfell, and the tower which formed the original building
of Brougham Castle. The name was at this period changed from Broham to
Burgham. From Gilbert, after Henry and Thomas, we come to Daniel, who
commanded the king’s forces against Roger Mortimer in Kent. In 1378, Sir
John Burgham was Lord of Brougham, and settled the boundary of the
Lordship with Sir Roger Clifford; the record of which, after noting the
particulars of the agreement, thus ends:--“And so thys ambulacyon was
veiwyd and merkett in the secund yeare of King Richard the Secund, by
the assentt and consentt of Sr. Rogere Clifforth, knight, and Sr John
Burgham, in thayre time.” In 1383, Sir John Burgham was member for
Cumberland. He was succeeded by his son John, who represented Carlisle.
His son, Thomas, was one of the king’s judges in 1433, as appears by a
record of assize taken at Penrith in the 12th Henry VII. John, the son
of the above Thomas, was member for Cumberland, and was succeeded in the
fourth generation by Thomas, who in 1553 married Jane, heiress of John
Vaux of Cattulun and Tryermagne. The next possessor of the name was
Henry, who signalised himself in the family records by alienating part
of the ancient estate; which, however, was repurchased in 1726 by John
Brougham, the then representative of the family.
Henry was succeeded by his son Thomas, whose name we now find changed
from Burgham into Browgham, according to the spelling of the place in
the deed of 1567; he died in 1607, and was buried in the chancel at
Brugham: his widow, Agnes, having Brugham assigned to her for her life,
by a deed dated 29th March, 1608. The heir-male of Thomas was Henry
Browgham, of Scales Hall in Cumberland, who married a Wharton. His son,
Thomas, married a Fleming; and in the deeds of that time his name is
spelt Browham. His son, Henry, married the daughter of Lamplugh of
Lamplugh, ultimately heir-general of that ancient family (and whose
descendant, Peter Lamplugh Brougham, enjoyed their estates). From him
descended John Brougham, of Brougham in Westmorland, and Scales Hall in
Cumberland, who, dying without issue, was succeeded by his nephew, Henry
Richmond Brougham, owner also of Highhead Castle, derived from his
mother, the heiress of the Richmonds, and dying in 1749 was succeeded by
Henry Brougham, the grandfather of Henry, Lord Brougham and Vaux, the
present owner of Brougham, Scales Hall, and Highhead Castle; a nobleman
to whose genius the world owes much, and by whose active industry,
science and literature have been so extensively served, and so largely
promoted, for nearly half a century.
The castle-mansion is irregularly built, and with the court-yards and
outer offices covers a vast extent of ground. The garden-court comprises
on two of its sides nearly the whole of the buildings occupied by the
family. At the lower end of this court is a massive arched
entrance-gateway, which, together with the surrounding buildings, is
very old and picturesque, clothed with a garb of most luxuriant ivy: of
this we append an engraving.
[Illustration]
In our lithotint print is shewn the western side of the Hall, considered
to be the most ancient part of the structure. It is singularly solid in
construction, the works being several yards in thickness. The large
tower in the perspective contains the apartment formerly the Armoury.
The terrace commands an extensive view of scenes rich in historic
interest, and of great natural beauty; comprising in the distance the
whole of the mountains of the Lake district, which rear their airy
summits, chain upon chain, peak above peak, in almost countless numbers.
Nearer, the eye ranges over thick woods, chequered here and there with
grey rocks and quiet holms; while nearer, unseen, but plainly heard, the
Lowther brawls over its rocky bed and through the wide arches of Lowther
Bridge--a famous and most picturesque structure. Higher up the river,
the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway passes over an immense viaduct, of
which the three or four most central arches are distinctly visible from
the Hall. Nothing can exceed the beauty of this scene on a clear sunny
afternoon, when the dull red bridge is in shade; the light touched
clearly but delicately along the parapet and down the inner sides of the
shafted piers: the whole framed, as it were, in ponderous masses of
richly coloured foliage, subdued and harmonised by ever-recurring
passages of most delicious shade.
[Illustration]
The interior contains many apartments of high interest: several of them
having been renovated in the best possible taste, and in perfect harmony
with the edifice. Our space will not permit us to describe them in
detail. The Great Hall (of which we append an engraving) is a double
cube forty feet by twenty, and twenty high; the roof supported by
arches, with open spandrels, made of walnut-wood. The ceiling has been
lately restored, having (at least the greater part of it) fallen to
pieces through age and decay. The fireplace also has been restored. The
windows (six in number) are filled with very fine stained glass, chiefly
of the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century; the colours
are singularly rich: it appears to be of German manufacture, and closely
resembles the old glass at Nuremberg. There is a good deal of curious
armour here; especially a very old and very perfect suit of Edward IV.
or Richard III.’s time. The Armoury was a room about sixteen feet square
at the top of the highest tower, with a fine oak roof, but is now used
as a bed-room. All its contents were recently moved into the Hall,
where, although seen to greater advantage, they have no longer the
picturesque effect they must have had in their original situation.
In the Hall is a very old iron chest, with a lock in the lid which
shoots twelve bolts by one key, that turns in the centre of the lid.
This was probably used in ancient times to keep the vessels belonging to
the chapel. The most curious relic in the Hall is an ivory horn
(introduced as the initial letter), of very early workmanship, and used
(as is believed) in the service of Cornage--an ancient border service,
by which certain of the lands of Brougham are held. In former times this
service consisted in blowing a horn from the top of the high tower, to
give notice of the approach of an enemy (most usually the Scotch), so
that the neighbouring barons might be prepared to resist the threatened
attack; or the nearest beacon (which is on the top of Penrith Fell, and
still in existence) might be lighted up to alarm the country. This
service in later times was changed into a _Corn_ rent, and hence it has
been erroneously supposed that it was called Cornage: the original
service, however, was that of blowing the horn. From its workmanship and
ornaments this horn is evidently of Saxon times, and was probably used
before the introduction of the cornage tenure as a warder’s horn. Over
the chimney-piece in the old drawing-room are the arms of Edward VI.
This room and many others in the house are rich in tapestry and old
stamped leather.
[Illustration]