[Illustration: SOUTH-EAST VIEW OF WILTON HOUSE.]
[Illustration: FIRE-PLACE IN DOUBLE-CUBE ROOM.]
[Illustration: THE LIBRARY, WILTON HOUSE.]
Returning along the valley of the Avon past the almost lifeless town of
Amesbury, where there formerly was a grand Benedictine monastery long
since gone to decay, we cross over to the Wiley Vale, and at about three
miles distance from Salisbury come to the Earl of Pembroke's seat at
Wilton House. The ancient town of Wilton--or, as it was originally
called, Willytown--stands at the confluence of the rivers Nadder and
Wiley. The Britons established it, and it was one of the capitals of the
West Saxons. It was famous long before the Norman Conquest, and it
afterwards obtained renown from the number and importance of its
monastic establishments, having had no less than twelve parish churches,
though not a trace of its abbey now remains. Henry VIII. dissolved it,
and gave the site and buildings to Sir William Herbert, who was
afterwards created Earl of Pembroke, and from its relics Wilton House
was largely constructed. The town is now chiefly noted as the
manufactory of Axminster and Wilton carpets, dextrously woven by
operatives who use most primitive machinery. The Earl's Park adjoins the
town, and in it is Wilton House, one of the grandest palaces in England,
standing upon the site of the abbey. The buildings were designed by
Holbein, and the garden front being burned in 1648, was rebuilt soon
afterwards, while the entire structure was enlarged and remodelled
during the present century, the cloisters being then added for the
display of the fine collection of sculptures. The plan of the house is a
quadrangle, with a glazed cloister occupying the central square. Within
this cloister and the hall leading to it are the well-known Pembroke
Marbles--statues, busts, urns, vases, bassi-relievi, and fragments of
great value from Grecian and Roman works. This collection was formed
during the last century, being gathered by the then earl from various
sources. In the hall are statues, but its chief interest comes from the
numerous suits of armor with which it is adorned, chiefly memorials of
the battle of St. Quentin, fought in 1557, when the Earl of Pembroke
commanded the British forces. One of the suits was worn by the earl
himself, and two others by the Constable of France and the Duc de
Montpensier, both being taken prisoner. On either side are entrances to
various apartments containing valuable paintings. The chief of these is
the "Family Picture," regarded as Vandyke's masterpiece--seventeen feet
long and eleven feet high, and filling one end of the drawing-room. It
contains ten full-length figures--Philip, Earl of Pembroke, and his
countess and their children. Above them, hovering in the clouds, are
three other children, who died in early life. In the Double Cube-room,
which is regarded as a gem in its way and has a most magnificent
fireplace, there are some thirteen other paintings by Vandyke. Other
paintings by Italian masters are also distributed on the walls of the
various apartments, but the Vandykes are regarded as the gems of the
collection. The library is a large and lofty apartment, with an
oak-panelled ceiling, and a fine collection of volumes with appropriate
furnishing. Out of the library window the western view over the terrace
discloses charming pleasure-grounds, laid out in the Italian style from
designs by a former Countess of Pembroke, while in the background is a
beautiful porch constructed by Holbein. To the gardens, summer-houses
and conservatories add their attractions, while beyond is the valley of
the Nadder, over which a picturesque bridge leads to the park. This
bridge has an Ionic colonnade, and in the park are some of the finest
cedars to be seen in the kingdom. Here, it is said, Sir Philip Sidney
wrote _Arcadia_, and the work shows that he drew much inspiration from
these gardens and grounds, for it abounds in lifelike descriptions of
Nature.
[Illustration: LIBRARY WINDOW.]
At Wilton also lived George Herbert the poet, and later Sidney Herbert,
who was afterwards made Lord Herbert of Lea, and whose son is now the
thirteenth Earl of Pembroke. A statue of Sidney Herbert has already been
referred to as standing in Pall Mall, London, and another is in
Salisbury. He was secretary of war, yet was the gentle and genial
advocate of peace and charity to all mankind, and his premature death
was regarded as a public calamity. He erected in 1844 the graceful New
Church at Wilton. It was the Earls of Pembroke in the last century who
were chiefly instrumental in bringing the manufacturers of fine carpets
over from France and Flanders and laying the foundation of that trade,
in which England now far surpasses those countries. The factory at
Axminster, on the southern coast, was also afterwards transferred to
Wilton. These carpets are all hand-made, and the higher class, which are
an inch or more in thickness and of the softness of down when trod upon,
are also of the most gorgeous design and brilliancy of colors.