[Illustration: (At Eyam.)]
[Illustration: (At Wheston.)]
[Illustration: (Beauchief Abbey.)]
Mr. Rhodes, the elegant topographer of _the Peak_, observes, "there
are but few individuals in this country, possessing the means and the
opportunities of travel, who have not, either from curiosity or some
other motive, visited the Peak of Derbyshire." This remark is correct;
and to it we may add, that the "few" who have not personally visited
the Peak, have become familiar with its wonders through the pencils
of artists, or the graphic pens of accomplished tourists. Yet their
attractions are not of that general character which delights an
untravelled eye: they belong rather to the wonderful than what is,
in common parlance, the beautiful. Mr. Rhodes says, "Travellers
accustomed to well-wooded and highly-cultivated scenes only, have
frequently expressed a feeling bordering on disgust, at the bleak and
barren appearance of the mountains in the Peak of Derbyshire; but to
the man whose taste is unsophisticated by a fondness for artificial
adornments, they possess superior interest, and impart more pleasing
sensations. Remotely seen, they are often beautiful; many of their
forms, even when near, are decidedly good; and in distance, the
features of rudeness, by which they are occasionally marked, are
softened down into general and sometimes harmonious masses. The
graceful and long-continued outline which they present, the breadth of
light and shadow that spreads over their extended surfaces, and the
delightful colouring with which they are often invested, never fail to
attract the attention of the picturesque traveller."
Our present road, however, lies through the dales rather than the
mountainous portion of this district. To enjoy the picturesque variety
of the former we must leave the cloud-capped peaks, and ramble with
the reader through "cultivated meadows, luxuriant foliage, steep
heathy hills, and craggy rocks, while the eye is enchanted with
brilliant streams." Such indeed is the character of the dales,
especially those through which the Derwent, the Dove, and the Wye
meander. Hitherto we have but adverted to the natural beauties of the
country; although they are checkered with many mouldering relics
of "hoar antiquity"--many crumbling memorials of ages long past,
reminding us of the nothingness of man's labours, yet harmonizing most
happily with the feelings inspired by the natural sublimities of the
scene. By such associations, the decaying glories of art lend even a
charm to ever flourishing nature!
The Cuts are but three vignettes from the architectural lore of the
district. They stand in sheltered valleys, though, as their ruinous
condition implies, their situation has not saved them from the
destroying hand of time. Indeed, one of them, Beauchief Abbey, gives
name to its locality, Abbey Dale, not far from the partition line that
separates Derbyshire from Yorkshire. In this road, the ruin in the Cut
is the first object that claims the attention of the tourist in his
progress to the Peak; being part of a once magnificent abbey, founded
by Robert Fitz-Ranulph, Lord of Alfreton; as an expiation for the part
he is said to have taken in the murder of Thomas à Becket. The
late Dr. Pegg, the antiquary, discountenances this tradition. His
arguments, however, which are chiefly founded on the circumstance of
the brother of Robert Fitz-Ranulph, being afterwards in great favour
with Henry the Second, do not appear conclusive, particularly when
opposed to the authority of Dugdale, Fuller, Bishop Tanner, and others
who have written on the subject.[1]
[1] Dugdale says, "Robert Fitz-Ranulph, Lord of Alfreton, Norton,
and Marnham, was one of the four knights who martyred the blessed
Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury; and afterwards founded
the Monastery of Beauchief, by way of expiating his crime; in the
reign of Henry the Second." Bishop Tanner writes, "Beauchief, an
Abbey of Promonstatentian, or White Canons, founded A.D. 1183, by
Robert Fitz-Ranulph, Lord of Alfreton, one of the executioners of
Thomas à Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom canonized, this
monastery was dedicated." These authorities are quoted by
Mr. Rhodes. Sir James Mackintosh names the four "knights of
distinguished rank," (apparently upon the authority of Hoveden,)
to have been "William de Tracy, Hugh de Moreville, Richard Britto,
and Reginald Fitz-Urse." We do not attempt to reconcile the
conflicting chroniclers; but we should add, from the subsequent
page, by Sir James, "the conspirators, despairing of pardon, found
a distant refuge in the Castle of Knaresborough, in the town of
Hugh de Moreville, and were, after some time, enjoined by the Pope
to do penance for their crime, by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land,
where _they died_, and were interred before the gate of the
Temple." Sir James describes the murder of Becket with minuteness:
"the assassins fell on him with many strokes; and though the
second brought him to the ground, they did not cease till _his
brains were scattered over the pavement_."--We know the Cathedral
guide at Canterbury shows you the stone in the place of that on
which Becket fell, and states the original stone to be preserved
in St. Peter's, at Rome; but the story is to us rather apocryphal.
At St. Alban's they show you the _dust_ of the good Duke Humphrey:
we once begged a pinch, which the guide granted freely; this
induced us to ask him how often he re-supplied the dust: the man
stared at our ungrateful incredulity.
The walls of Beauchief Abbey, with the exception of the west end,
represented in the Cut, have long since either been removed, or have
mouldered into dust. Parochial service is still performed in the
remains; but the whole of the original form of the once extensive pile
of building cannot now be traced.
The exterior architecture of the chapel is almost destitute of
ornament; if we except the reeded windows, and the double buttresses
at the angles of the tower, which is stated to be short of its
original height. On the east side, two angular lines mark the
connexion which the chapel had with the other buildings, and a part of
the ground plan may be traced by an adjoining wall, in which are the
remains of two circular arches, comparatively little impaired. Mr.
Rhodes observes "a wreath of ivy which falls from the top of the
tower, and nearly invests one side of it, breaks the dull monotony of
its outline, and produces a tolerably good effect: in other respects
it is not strikingly attractive as a picturesque object. The Abbey of
_Bello-Capite_ will ever be dear to the antiquary who will visit it
with veneration and delight; nor will the artist pass it by unnoticed.
The magnificent woods, and the beautiful hills that environ the Abbey
of Beauchief, amply compensate for any deficiency of grandeur in the
subordinate adornments of so rich a scene."
Beauchief Abbey, though once a considerable structure, was never
proportionally wealthy. At the time of its dissolution, (Henry VIII.)
the whole of its revenues were estimated but at 157_l_; and with the
materials furnished by its demolition was built Beauchief House upon
the same estate, granted by Henry VIII. to Sir William Shelly. The
mansion is still tenanted.