Part 10

And here we resume our survey of the castle, setting forth towards the Keep from within the Gate-House, which is itself situated within the Barbican. We proceed eastwards to the gateway (No. 2 in plan), which admits us to the second or inner baly. From this we approach the entrance to the Keep, and pass between the Edwardian flanking towers with their octagonal fronts (No. 3 in the plan): thus we reach the grand old Norman arch, De Vesci’s work, massive and deeply recessed, rich with zig-zags and bands of sharp indentations, which forms the main entrance to the innermost court or ward of the Keep itself. Immediately adjoining the Norman archway is the draw-well constructed by the first Percy. Now we have before us the new Corridor, carried round a part of the court on piers and corbels. We pass the inner porches, and the entrance-halls, and reach the Grand Staircase (No. 5 in plan), worthily so called, and we find that we have entered such a palace as might overlook, not the Aln, but the Tiber. At the head of the noble flight of steps, each one of them a single block of white Rothbury stone, twelve feet in length, is the Guard-Chamber, with its floor of rich Venetian mosaic, its panelled ceiling, and the deep frieze reflecting the memories of Chevy Chase. Corridors lead to both the right hand and the left from the Guard-Room; and it also gives access to a gorgeous Ante-Room, placed between the great Library, 54 feet long, which occupies the entire range of the Prudhoe Tower, and follows its contour; and the Saloon, another magnificent apartment, in length 42 feet with a bay formed by a circular tower. Next succeeds the State Drawing-Room, of irregular form, its largest measurements being 46 by 34 feet. Then we enter the grand Dining-Hall, 60 feet long, and in both width and height 24 feet, which covers the site of the old baronial hall of the early Percies. The Breakfast-Room adjoins this most princely hall, and, passing it, the Corridor leads us in succession to the State Bed-Rooms and Dressing-Rooms, and to the private apartments of the duke and duchess, together with other staircases. Thus, on the principal floor there are two staircases besides the grand staircase, and eighteen chambers, exclusive of the chapel. The Chapel (No. 12 in plan), of which we give a view from the outer baly, is a building of great beauty and interest, having a stone-vaulted ceiling within a roof of a high pitch, a semi-octagonal apsidal end towards the south-west, and lancet windows: its total length is 46 feet, and in the interior it is enriched with Italian mosaic, after the manner of the Henry III. work in the Confessor’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey. We must be content, in a single brief sentence (the space at our disposal restricts us absolutely to one such sentence), to state concerning every apartment in the grand range of the entire circuit of the Keep, and also in the southern wing, which extends to the Percy gateway, that the most gorgeous Art of the Italian _Renaissance_, with all its manifold resources, has been taxed to the utmost in order to produce a palace of the highest rank, pervaded throughout with harmonious, yet ever-varied, magnificence.

On the ground-floor, which is on the same level with the entrance-hall, are the various apartments, consistently grouped and classified, required by the principal domestics of the household, together with the wine-cellars, pantries, and such other chambers and appliances as would be necessary to complete this department of the ducal establishment. Once more we return to the Prudhoe Tower, and ascend above its two upper floors of bed and dressing-rooms, to the Banner-turret, which rises to the height of two additional floors; and here, having gained the leads, standing beneath the proud insignia of the Percies, heavily blazoned upon their broad silken banner, we lean over the embattled parapet, and look down upon the Keep, and around upon the cordon of towers and walls, and the fair domains and the silvery river beyond, and so we bid farewell to the lordly castle of Alnwick.

Until the middle of the fifteenth century was near at hand the town of Alnwick remained unprotected by a wall, and open consequently to all perils incidental to its position on the Border. About the year 1433, however, the good town was fortified with walls, and the four entrances were defended each by its own strong tower-guarded gateway. One only of these early gateways still remains in a fair condition of preservation; this, the Bond Gate, sometimes (but without any other reason than a lingering delight to associate any fine old relic at Alnwick with that name) is called “Hotspur’s Gate.” It bears a badge of the second Percy lord of Alnwick, and in all probability was erected by him; its outer face is represented in the engraving.

The other gateways have disappeared;[24] and from the time that border-strife passed into the domain of history, the walls of Alnwick gradually ceased to exist, until now traces only of their former existence, and of these “few and far between,” remain to attest the record of their having ever existed. Devoutly it is to be hoped that the one relic of the town of the olden time, the Bond Gate, will be cherished, simply because it is such a relic—because it links the town to the castle, and the castle to the town, with the strong tie of historical association. Again space, or rather the want of it, constrains us to leave unnoticed the fine church of St. Michael, the church of St. Paul, founded and erected by Duke Hugh, and the other public buildings in Alnwick; and, with them, the privileges, usages, and the entire local history of the town.[25]

Of the remains of the early edifices, both ecclesiastical and castellated, which are closely associated with Alnwick Castle, all of them of great interest, and all of them also no less worthy of detailed description than of careful examination, we must be content briefly to notice two—Alnwick Abbey, and Hulne, or Holn, Priory.

Built to the north of the Aln, at an easy distance from the castle, upon a rich soil and in a scene of sequestered beauty, Alnwick Abbey, founded in 1147 by Eustace de Vesci for Premonstratensian Canons, was richly endowed by the founder and also by his successor. The Percies, in like manner, were in every respect as munificent as the earlier benefactors of the abbey, so that it long occupied an honourable position among the religious establishments of the country. The canons of Alnwick, however, did not rise to distinction in consequence of any eminent attainments; but, on the other hand, while in earlier times they were somewhat notorious for a turbulent spirit, the report on their abbey made to Henry VIII. contains a truly deplorable record of the degrading superstitions by means of which, in common with but too many of their brethren, the monks imposed on the people, and sometimes even succeeded in deceiving themselves. Of the buildings of the abbey, which, without doubt, were worthy to take rank with those of the castle, the sole relic that is still in existence is a turreted and embattled gateway, a structure not earlier than the middle of the fifteenth century. The eastern face of this gateway displays the quartered arms of Percy and Lucy; on the other faces are the insignia of De Vesci. The other buildings have altogether disappeared, except here and there some sculptured stones which have found their way into the walls of houses constructed by modern masons. The site of the abbey, with the Northumberland estates once annexed to it, after various vicissitudes, has become the property of the Dukes of Northumberland.

Distant from Alnwick Abbey about two miles along the northern bank of the Aln, and like the abbey placed in the midst of the most lovely scenery, the Priory of HULNE, or HOLN, has so far been more fortunate than its more dignified neighbour, that it yet possesses considerable remains of its original buildings in a condition of picturesque ruin. A lofty wall still encircles the entire area of the priory—a feature sufficiently significant of the lawless character of early Border-life, and of the stern necessity which constrained even a religious community to rely for security upon the strength of its fortifications. In our engraving we show the present aspect of the tower, built, as will be seen, with massive solidity, by Henry de Percy, fourth Earl of Northumberland, in the year 1488; and in another engraving, we give a general view of the ruins of the church, as they are seen from the north-east. It is pleasant to be able to add that the remains of Hulne Priory are carefully preserved and freely shown. The brethren, who for more than three centuries found a secure dwelling-place surrounded with the most beautiful scenery, were Carmelite or White Friars; and a romantic story (of which several versions are in existence) is told concerning their order in connection with the foundation of this priory. The site of the priory was given by the second William de Vesci about 1240; but the chief endowment came, between 1252 and 1289, from John de Vesci; the house itself, however, appears to have been erected by Ralph Fulborne, a wealthy landholder of Northumberland, who lived in the stirring times when the lords of broad and fertile acres went armed to fight in the Holy Land against the infidels.[26] In after times the Percies confirmed the grants of the earlier benefactors of Hulne, and made to them some slight additions. The Carmelites of Hulne were men who, according to the light of their times, cultivated learning; this is shown by the still existing catalogue of the numerous manuscripts that once formed their library. There has also been preserved another equally curious and interesting document, formerly the property of these Carmelite brethren; it is an inventory of their vestments and of the fittings of their church, which must have been very costly as well as numerous and splendid. Inventories and catalogues such as these possess a peculiar value, as illustrations of the intellectual pursuits and character of the monastic age, and also in consequence of the light they throw upon the sentiments and usages that then were prevalent in our country.

Descending from the secluded hill-side where the ruins of Hulne Priory nestle amidst the thick woods, and crossing both the vale below, and the river beyond it, a roadway leads to the beautiful pleasure-grounds of Hulne Park. Here on one of the highest of the many elevated points, and rising above the surrounding trees, is the Tower on the Hill, or Brislee Tower, erected by the first duke in 1781. This structure is a characteristic specimen of the _Gothesque_ architecture, of which so much was happily removed during the recent restorations, from Alnwick Castle. From the upper balcony of this tower, at a height of about 70 feet from the ground, the view is singularly fine, and in its extent truly extraordinary. At different points of the compass, and at varying distances, this panoramic view comprehends the vale of Whittingham and the windings of the Aln; the range of the Cheviots, with a glimpse of the hills of Teviotdale forty miles away; the memorable high land of Flodden may also be distinguished; and, towards the sea, are the castles of Warkworth, Bambro’, and Dunstanburgh; and beyond them, in a fringe-like line, lies the sea itself.

It is needless to say that the hospitality for which the lords of Alnwick have been renowned since the first stone of the castle was laid is still maintained within its princely walls; its list of “visitors” during many centuries past has contained the names of those who were not only the loftiest in rank but the most eminent in Art, Science, and Letters.

Its park and grounds are among the most perfect in the kingdom;[27] successive lords have laboured to make them beautiful, and Nature had given auspicious ground on which to work—hill and dell alternate; a lovely and rapid, though narrow, river runs through them; on either side are green banks, in many places overhung by the rich foliage of varied trees; here and there views are obtained of the distant hills—the Cheviots—with their thousand traditions of times happily gone by, but which excite interest by their associations with heroic deeds—and not unfrequently their “opposites”—of which every spot is fertile on the border that separates Scotland from England.

Happily, there is now no sensation of jealousy or envy, nothing that can either humiliate or exasperate, when the Scottishman boasts of triumphs over his southern neighbours; nor when he admits that, often, before the bold men of Northumberland he shrunk back in mortal dread. The glories of the one have long ceased to be the degradations of the other; and the spirit of rivalry is only that which has for its aim and object the supremacy of the country of both. Will the happy time ever arrive when the three kingdoms shall be as essentially one as the two have been for centuries past?

HARDWICK HALL.

HARDWICK HALL may take rank among the more stately of the “homes of England.” Stately in its outer aspect, stately in its antique furniture and its interior fittings and appointments, and truly stately in its associations, it is one of the most historically interesting, and one of the most singular and picturesque, of the many “homes” whose countless stores of natural beauties and acquired treasures are, through the kindness and liberality of their owners, made accessible alike to peer and peasant; while it is one of the fullest in its historical associations, and in its power of carrying the mind of the visitor back through a long vista of years to those stirring times when “Good Queen Bess,” the strong-minded and strong-headed “master” of its noble owner, sate on the throne of England. Hardwick and its surroundings belong essentially to those times, and to the people who moved prominently in them: the very furniture we see to-day pertains to that eventful era—for not only is the building itself of the period to which we refer, but so are even the “fittings;” the beds—for here is the very bed used by Mary, Queen of Scots, and covered with needlework, the work of her own fair hands; the tables around and at which sate “Bess of Hardwick” with her historic family and brilliant friends; the tapestry is that which then hung around them, and on which the eyes of royalty and nobility have rested and “feasted with admiration;” the screens, the chairs, the couches,—nay, almost all the objects that meet the eye are of those stirring times, and have about them an historic air which seems irresistibly to subdue the mind and to expand the thoughts of the visitor.

Even a _glance_ at the graces and beauties of Derbyshire would demand far greater space than we can accord to them: for it is the shire of all the English shires in which natural beauties are most happily combined with cultivated graces; hill and dale alternate at every mile; rich valleys, through which run fertilising rivers, shut in by mountain rocks, tree-clad from base to summit; singular peaks, that seem as if not formed by Nature, but the work of giant hands; delicious dells, where rivulets sing perpetually, and myriad birds rejoice in spring or summer. Other counties may be more sublimely grand, and others more abundantly fertile, but there is none so truly rich in the picturesque; whether of distant views or of by-paths up hill-sides, or through lanes clothed in perpetual verdure.

And then its history, a page of which may be read at every turn—the Celt, the Roman, the Saxon, the Dane, the Norman, all the “peoples and nations” that have made Britain their home, have left in this shire enduring evidence of possession and progress; and many of its customs remain unchanged, not only since the beacons were lit on Blakelow or on Bruncliffe, but since the Baal fires were burning on Axe-Edge or Chelmorton.

Proofs of a milder occupancy, too, are to be found in abundance. Nowhere are peaceful “Halls” more numerous—remains of prosperous epochs: Haddon, of an early date; Wingfield and Hardwick, of a later period; Chatsworth, of a time comparatively recent; and Kedleston, of an age scarce removed from living memory,—are but a few of the many that glorify this beautiful shire. No wonder, therefore, that it is the county of all others to which the tourist is most frequently attracted.

Surrounded on all sides by charming scenery, and the richest and most abundant land, Hardwick stands in all its majesty and grace, and forms—both in the distance, when a first glimpse of its bold outline is gained from Brackenfield or other heights, or when viewed from nearer points—a striking feature in the landscape. When approached from one of the great centres for Derbyshire tourists, Matlock, the drive is of peculiar interest, and may be, with profit to the future visitor, briefly described. Leaving Matlock by way of Matlock Bridge, the road passes through what is called Matlock Town, whose picturesque church is seen overtopping the rocks to the right, where the graceful bend of the river Derwent adds its beauties to the scene; thence passing along the roadway, Riber—an immense and very steep hill—rises to the right, and will be noticed as surmounted by the massive modern erection of Riber Castle, the residence of Mr. Smedley, the hydropathist.

The road continues by Tansley, with its church, its mills, and its pretty dales; Tansley, or Dethick, Moor, a wild unreclaimed tract of moorland, purple with heather and untrammelled with fences; Washington, with its village-green, its stocks, and its duck-ponds; Higham, a picturesque village with an ancient cross; Shirland, with its fine monuments, some of which are of remarkable character and full of interest; Morton, with its pretty church and charming cottages; for a short distance the coal district, with their pits and shafts and ever-creaking engines; Pilsley and its pleasant lanes; Hardstoft and Deeplane, to the lower entrance to the Park: through these and other places of deep and varied interest we go, until we reach the Hardwick Inn—a pretty house of entertainment close to the entrance to the Park, from which a winding ascent of less than a mile leads to the Hall. By this route some curious transitions from the lead-mining district to that of coal, and from the limestone to the sandstone, with their varied scenery and their diversified aspects, will be noticed; and Derbyshire, rich both in minerals beneath the surface and in arable, meadow, and pasture land on its face, as well as in rock, and tree, and wood, and hill, will be seen to great advantage. From Chesterfield, too, the road is beautiful; and the visitor may make a delightful “day’s round” by driving direct to Hardwick by way of Temple Normanton; Heath, with its truly picturesque and interesting church and parsonage; Ault Hucknall, in the church of which are many monuments of the Cavendish family, and where lies buried that sometime “world’s wonder,” “Hobbes of Malmesbury;” thence through the lodge-gates and down the fine old deer-park to the Hall, and then returning by way of Bolsover Castle, a magnificent old building, the former residence of the Cavendishes, Earls and Dukes of Newcastle, and rendered famous in the Duke of Newcastle’s work on horsemanship, 1658, and now for many years the residence of Mrs. Hamilton Gray, the authoress of “Etruria.” But from whatever side Hardwick is approached, the land is full of beauty, and rich in the picturesque.

Hardwick Hall is one of the many princely seats—Chatsworth, Bolton Abbey, Lismore Castle, Holker Hall, Compton Place, Eastbourne, and Devonshire House, London, being among the others—of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, in which resides the duke’s eldest son and heir, the Marquis of Hartington, M.P., at this time Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for Ireland. It is distant from London about 140 miles, from Derby 20 miles, from Chesterfield 9, and from Matlock 15 miles, and these are perhaps the more general routes by which visitors will proceed. Whatever road is taken, they will find natural beauties in abundance greeting the eye at every mile of a delicious journey.

Before we describe the venerable Hall, we give a brief history of the noble family to which it now belongs, reserving that of its predecessors for a later page.

The family of Cavendish, of which his Grace the present Duke of Devonshire, K.G., Lord Lieutenant of the county of Derby, is the representative, traces back to the Conquest, when Robert de Gernon came over with the Conqueror, and so distinguished himself in arms that he was rewarded with considerable grants of land in Hertfordshire, Gloucestershire, &c. His descendants held considerable land in Derbyshire; and Sir William Gernon, who was one of the witnesses to a confirmation charter of Henry III. to Basingdale Priory, obtained a grant of a fair at Bakewell, in that county. He had two sons, Sir Ralph de Gernon, lord of Bakewell, and Geoffrey de Gernon, of Moor Hall, near Bakewell. From the second of these, Geoffrey de Gernon, the Cavendishes are descended. His son, Roger de Gernon (who died 1334), married the heiress of John Potton, or Potkins, Lord of the Manor of Cavendish, in Suffolk, and by her had issue, four sons, who all assumed the name of Cavendish from their mother’s manor. These were Sir John Cavendish, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, in the time of Edward III., Chancellor of Cambridge, 4th of Richard II.; he was beheaded by the insurgents of Suffolk in that reign; Roger Cavendish, from whom descended the celebrated navigator, Sir Thomas Cavendish; Stephen Cavendish, Lord Mayor, member of Parliament, and Sheriff of London; and Richard Cavendish. Sir John married Alice, daughter of Sir John Odyngseles, Chief Justice of the King’s Bench, who brought to her husband the manor of Cavendish Overhall, and by her, who died before him, had issue, two sons, Andrew and John, and a daughter, Alice, married to William Nell. Sir Andrew Cavendish, the eldest son, was Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk. By his wife, Rose, he left issue, one son, William, from whom the estates passed to his cousin. Sir Andrew was succeeded by his brother, Sir John Cavendish, Esquire of the Body to Richard II. and Henry V., who, for his gallant conduct in killing the rebel, Wat Tyler, in his conflict with Sir William Walworth, was knighted by Richard II. in Smithfield, and an annuity of £40 per annum granted to him and his sons for ever. He was also made broiderer of the wardrobe to the king. He married Joan, daughter of Sir William Clopton, of Clopton, in Suffolk; and by her had issue, three sons, William, his successor; Robert, Serjeant-at-Law; and Walter. William Cavendish, who was a citizen and mercer of London, and of Cavendish Overhall, married Joan Staventon, by whom he had two sons, Thomas and William. This Thomas Cavendish, who was of Cavendish and Pollingford, in Suffolk, married Katherine Scudamore, and left by her, as son and heir, Sir Thomas Cavendish, who, having studied the law, was employed by Thomas, Earl of Surrey, Treasurer of the King’s Exchequer. He was also Clerk of the Pipe in the Exchequer to Henry VIII.—the office of the Clerk of the Pipe being to make out leases of Crown lands, accounts of the sheriffs, &c. He married twice, and left, by his first wife, Alice, daughter and co-heir of John Smith, of Podbrooke Hall, besides other issue, three sons, George Cavendish, Sir William Cavendish, and Sir Thomas Cavendish.