The county of Bedford gives the title to the dukedom held by the head of
the great family of Russell, and Francis Charles Hastings Russell, the
ninth Duke of Bedford, has his residence at the magnificent estate of
Woburn Abbey. It is about forty miles from London, and on the
Buckinghamshire border. Here the Cistercians founded an abbey in the
twelfth century, which continued until the dissolution of the religious
houses by Henry VIII., and the last abbot, Robert Hobs, was executed for
denying the king's religious supremacy, the tree on which he was hanged
being still carefully preserved in Woburn Park. The abbey and its domain
were granted by the youthful king Edward VI. to John Russell, first Earl
of Bedford, under circumstances which show how fortune sometimes smiles
upon mortals. Russell, who had been abroad and was an accomplished
linguist, had in 1506 returned, and was living with his father in
Dorsetshire at Berwick, near the sea-coast. Soon afterwards in a tempest
three foreign vessels sought refuge in the neighboring port of Weymouth.
On one of them was the Austrian archduke Philip, son-in-law of Ferdinand
and Isabella, who was on his way to Spain. The governor took the
archduke to his castle, and invited young Mr. Russell to act as
interpreter. The archduke was so delighted with him that he subsequently
invited Russell to accompany him on a visit to King Henry VII. at
Windsor. The king was also impressed with Russell, and appointed him to
an office in the court, and three years afterwards, Henry VIII. becoming
king, Russell was entrusted with many important duties, and was raised
to the peerage as Baron Russell. He enjoyed the king's favor throughout
his long reign, and was made one of the councillors of his son, Edward
VI., besides holding other high offices, and when the youthful prince
ascended the throne he made Russell an earl and gave him the magnificent
domain of Woburn Abbey. He also enjoyed the favor of Queen Mary, and
escorted her husband Philip from Spain, this being his last public act.
Dying in 1555, he was buried in the little parish church of Chenies,
near Woburn, where all the Russells rest from his time until now. He
thus founded one of the greatest houses of England, which has furnished
political leaders from that day to this, for the Dukes of Bedford and
Devonshire are the heads of the Whig party, and Lord John Russell
(afterwards an earl) was the uncle of the present duke.
[Illustration: WOBURN ABBEY, WEST FRONT.]
[Illustration: THE SCULPTURE-GALLERY, WOBURN ABBEY.]
Woburn Abbey remained until the last century much in its original
condition, but in 1747 changes began which have since been continued,
and have resulted in the construction of the ducal palace now adorning
the spot. The mansion is a quadrangle enclosing a spacious court, the
chief front being towards the west and extending two hundred and thirty
feet. It is an Ionic building with a rustic basement, and within are
spacious state-apartments and ample accommodations for the family. The
rooms are filled with the best collection of portraits of great
historical characters in the kingdom, and most of them are by famous
artists. They include all the Earls and Dukes of Bedford, with their
wives and famous relatives, and also the Leicesters, Essexes, and
Sydneys of Queen Elizabeth's reign, with many others. The unfortunate
Lord William Russell and his wife Rachel are here, and over his portrait
is the walking-stick which supported him to the scaffold, while hanging
on the wall is a copy of his last address, printed within an hour after
his execution. Of another of these old portraits Horace Walpole writes:
"A pale Roman nose, a head of hair loaded with crowns and powdered with
diamonds, a vast ruff and still vaster fardingale, and a bushel of
pearls, are the features by which everybody knows at once the pictures
of Queen Elizabeth." There is a fine library, and passing out of it into
the flower-garden is seen on the lawn the stump of the yew tree which
Mr. Gladstone felled in October, 1878, as a memorial of his visit, he
being as proud of his ability as a forester as he is of his eminence as
a statesman. From the house a covered way leads to the statue-gallery,
which contains an admirable collection, and the green-house, one hundred
and fifty feet long, filled with valuable foreign plants, the family
being great horticulturists. Busts of the great Whig statesmen are in
the gallery, and it also contains the celebrated Lanti vase, brought
from Rome. The "Woburn Abbey Marbles" have long been a Mecca for
sculpture-loving pilgrims from both sides of the ocean. There are
extensive stables, and to them are attached a fine tennis-court and
riding-house, both constantly used by the younger Russells. Beyond is a
Chinese dairy kept for show, and in a distant part of the grounds a
curious puzzle-garden and rustic grotto. Woburn Park is one of the
largest private enclosures in England, covering thirty-five hundred
acres, and enclosed by a brick wall twelve miles long and eight feet
high. It is undulating in surface, containing several pretty lakes and
a large herd of deer. Its "Evergreen Drive" is noted, for in the
spring-time it attracts visitors from all quarters to see the
magnificence of the rhododendrons, which cover two hundred acres. The
state entrance to the park is through a large stone archway with
ornamental gates, called the "Golden Gates," on the road from London,
and having two drives of about a mile each leading up to the abbey. The
dukes are liberal patrons of agriculture, and their annual
"sheep-shearing" used to be one of the great festivals of this part of
England. They have also aided in the work of draining the Fen country,
which extends into Bedfordshire, and which has reclaimed a vast domain
of the best farm-land, stretching northward for fifty miles.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE PUZZLE-GARDEN, WOBURN ABBEY.]