Part 23

Most of the points of interest have now been described; but the curious rambler, who may choose to linger and pry into nooks and corners, will do well to visit some of the basement rooms—as that on the left-hand side under the Eagle or Peverel Tower—an arched warder’s room, where he will note the thickness of the walls (7 feet); the next room westward, which seems to have been the earlier kitchen and bakehouse; the room under the State Bed-room, used in later times as a gymnasium for the family; the Armoury, which is under that portion of the Long Gallery with the deep projecting recess; and the rooms under the Long Gallery nearer the Dining-room, where the splay of the windows is nearly 9 feet, and which seem to have been used as washing-houses. Also the so-called Aviary, which opens toward the garden, under the Earl’s Bed-room and adjoining rooms; and of the rooms yet unmentioned on the west side of the lower courts, suffice it to say, that on the ground floor, next to the so-called Chaplain’s Room, were two waiting-rooms; and then the Steward’s Room, next to the chapel entrance; over this entrance the Steward’s Bed-room, approached by a spiral staircase near the belfry tower from a closet in which access is gained to the leads; and after passing the clerestory windows of the chapel, there is an angle commanding a good view of the lower court. Then on this first floor are a bed-room, the “Barmaster’s Room;” the real Chaplain’s Room, in which is now a collection of bones; a small room still used by the duke for private papers; and another bed-room, which brings us back to the entrance gateway.

But enough has been said of the interior of Haddon to satisfy the wants of the tourist, and, although we could linger for hours over the various rooms not yet specifically described, and fill several chapters with their description, we must reluctantly leave them, and pass on into the grounds, and so make our way to Bakewell, to show the visitor the last resting-places of the noble families to whom Haddon has belonged.

Leaving, then, by a small doorway at the end of a passage leading out from the Banqueting-Hall, and passing the Dining-room on the right, the visitor will enter what is called the “Upper Garden.” To his right he will see below him, on looking over the strongly-buttressed wall—one of the oldest parts of the building—the “Lower Garden,” roughly terraced down the hill side, and to his right a gravelled path leads by the side of the building to the wall of the chapel, where, by a long flight of sixty-seven steps, it descends to the old foot-bridge—one of the prettiest objects in the grounds: this we have engraved.

To his left, the “Upper Garden,” 120 feet square, is a lawn; up its centre, as well as around it, runs a broad gravel walk, opposite to which rises a splendid wide flight of stone steps, with stone balustrades, leading to the TERRACE and WINTER GARDEN. Along the sides of this garden are beds partitioned off by hedges, or as they may more appropriately be called, walls of yew and box.

The TERRACE, one of the glories of Haddon, extends the full width of the Upper Garden, the balustraded wall running flush with the end of the Long Gallery. From this terrace the finest view of the south front of Haddon is obtained, and it is indeed a view to revel in, and not to be forgotten. The WINTER GARDEN of the terrace is planted with yew-trees, many centuries old, whose gnarled and knotted roots may be seen curiously intertwining and displacing the stone edgings of the parterres. It is altogether one of the most charming outdoor “bits” which even the most romantic and vivid imagination can conceive.

At the north end of the Winter Garden of Haddon Hall, in that charmingly shady corner formed by the wall of the Long Gallery on the one side, the outer wall of the garden on the opposite, and overhung with a grand melancholy-looking yew-tree, which casts a sombre and even gloomy shadow across it, is that most attractive feature of the mansion, “Dorothy Vernon’s Door,” previously spoken of as opening out of the Ante-room.

From the interior, by the way of Dorothy Vernon’s Door, a short flight of stone steps, with balustrated sides, leads down to the Winter Garden, on the opposite side of which, nearly opposite to this doorway, a long flight of stone steps leads up to another, and considerably higher terrace, called DOROTHY VERNON’S WALK—a broad pathway, or promenade, passing between an avenue of lofty lime and sycamore trees—and one of the most secluded and romantic “lovers’ walks” in the neighbourhood.

The old BOWLING GREEN, near the summit of the hill above Haddon, occupied an acre of ground, and was approached by an avenue of trees. It was enclosed by a thick hedge of yew, with a flight of stone steps for an entrance. On one side was a lodge, or summer-house, over one of the doorways of which are initials and the date of 1696. The “Green” is now converted into a garden. The old kitchen-garden, years ago taken away, was situated near the foot-bridge.

There is also a plot of ground, levelled, and in form a parallelogram, which is known as the “Archery Ground.”

Before leaving Haddon, the visitor should step inside the building now used as a stable, in which he will find some features worthy of observation. In the cottage inhabited by the kindly and respected custodian of Haddon, is some fine carved furniture, and in the garden in front, the yew trees, cut into the form of a peacock and a boar’s head—the crests of Manners and of Vernon—form pleasing objects, and are sure to attract the attention of the visitor.

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MANY other interesting particulars regarding this grand old mansion might be given, but we now proceed to speak of the family of its present noble owner, the Duke of Rutland, in the same way as we have already done of its former possessors, the Avenells and Vernons.

The noble family of Manners, like that of Vernon, is of considerable antiquity; and, although the records of its early members do not extend so far back as those of the Vernons, its history is more illustrious, and its dignities are more exalted. The most ancient of the ancestors of the present Duke of Rutland, of whom there is direct evidence, was Sir Robert Manners, Lord of the Manor of Ethale, in Northumberland, from whom descended another Sir Robert, who married Philippa, daughter of St. Bartholomew de Mont Bouchier, by whom he had issue, a son, also named Robert, who married Hawise, daughter of Robert, Baron de Muschamp, in the reign of Henry I. Their great-grandson, another Sir Robert Manners, married Agnes, daughter of Sir David Coupland. Their son, Sir Robert, had issue by his wife, Joan de Heton, four sons; three of whom dying without issue, the second son, William Manners, inherited the estates. He married Ellen, or Janetta, daughter of David Baxter, of Derby, by whom he had a son, Sir Robert Manners.

This Sir Robert was returned in the seventeenth year of Edward III., as one of the principal persons in the county of Northumberland, and was entitled to bear arms by descent. In the first year of Edward’s reign, being governor of Norham Castle, he distinguished himself by his successful defence of that stronghold against the Scots, who “despising King Edward’s youth, on the very night of that day on which King Edward was crowned, intended to take Norham Castle by surprise; and so well managed their design, that about sixteen of them had already mounted the walls. But the captain, Sir Robert Manners, being warned of the matter beforehand, by one of his garrison, who was a Scotsman, had so well prepared to receive them, that of those who had mounted he took five or six, and put the rest to the sword, their companions below, upon this disappointment, retiring.” In the next year he was constituted one of the “conservators of the truce made with the Scots for all hostilities to cease.” Soon afterwards he was made Sheriff of the county of Selkirk, and appointed to keep and defend the forts of Selkirk, and Ettrick, &c. In the fourteenth of the same reign he represented Northumberland in Parliament, and again subdued Scotch incursions. Soon afterwards he obtained a licence from the king “to strengthen and embattle his dwelling-house at Ethale, in Northumberland, with a wall made of stone and lime, and to hold the same to himself and his heirs for ever.” The next year he was constituted one of the Commissioners to treat with David Bruce and his adherents for a peace, and subsequently was made Lord of the Marches. At the battle of Neville’s Cross, in 1346, under Queen Philippa, in which the Scottish king was taken prisoner, Sir Robert displayed great valour, and was entrusted to keep charge of the prisoners, and deliver them to the Constable at the Tower of London. He died in 1355, leaving his son and heir, John de Manners (by his wife Aliva, or Alice, daughter of Henry Strather), only one year and three weeks old.

This John Manners received the honour of knighthood, and married Alice, widow of William de Whitchester; and, dying in 1402, was succeeded by his son, Sir John Manners, who was Sheriff of Northumberland, and, with his son John, was accused of the murder of William Heron and Robert Atkinson or Akyman; they were prosecuted by Sir Robert de Umphreville, and Isabel, widow of William Heron, and were ordered to “cause 500 masses to be sung for the health of the soul of the same William Heron within one year then next ensuing, and pay unto Sir Robert de Umphreville, and Isabel, to the use of the said Isabel and her children by Heron, 200 marks.” He was succeeded by his son Robert, who married Joan, daughter of Sir Robert Ogle, and had issue by her, with others, a son, Robert, by whom he was succeeded. This Sir Robert Manners married Eleanor, daughter of Thomas, Lord Roos (by Philippa his wife, daughter of John, Lord Tiptoft, Earl of Worcester), and sister and co-heiress of Edmund Lord Roos, “whereby he greatly increased his estate, and among other possessions, had the ancient seat of Belvoir Castle, built by Robert de Todenei, a noble Norman, on a stately ascent, overlooking the beautiful valley adjacent (thence by him called _Belvoir_, from the fair view of the country thereabouts), and it became the chief seat of that great barony, bestowed on him by William the Conqueror; which seat and barony, in the reign of Henry III., devolved upon Robert de Roos, a great baron, by marriage with Isabel, daughter and heir of William de Albini, the fourth of that name, descended from the said Robert de Todenei; and from the Lord Roos it came to Sir Robert Manners by his marriage,” as did also many other estates in other counties. The issue of this marriage was three daughters, who each married into the family of Fairfax, and two sons. The eldest of these sons was Sir George Manners, who, on the death of his mother, became Lord Roos, and was also lineal heir to the baronies of Riveaulx, Trusbut, and Belvoir. He married Anne, only daughter and heiress of Sir Thomas St. Leger, by his wife Anne, daughter of Richard, Duke of York, and sister to King Edward IV., and widow of John Holland, Duke of Exeter. By this lady, who brought royal blood into the family, Sir George had a numerous family, the eldest of whom succeeded him.

That was Sir Thomas Manners, who, on the death of his father, became thirteenth Lord Roos of Hamlake, and Baron Trusbut, Riveaulx, and Belvoir. He was with Henry VIII. and his Queen at the celebrated interview between that monarch and the King of France at Guisnes, and in the same reign was made Warden of the East Marches, and had many other honours granted him. In the seventeenth year of the same monarch he was created Earl of Rutland—“a title which none but the royal family had ever borne, and, by reason of his descent from the sister of King Edward IV., had an augmentation to his ancient arms,” _or_, two bars _azure_, and a chief, _gules_: which chief was augmented thus:—quarterly _azure_ and _gules_:—in the first and fourth two _fleurs-de-lis_, and in the second and third a lion _passant guardant_, all _or_. He was also installed a Knight of the Garter. A few years later this nobleman was present at the second interview between Henry VIII. and Francis I.: he was also present at the marriage of his sovereign with the ill-fated Anne Boleyn; and, later on, attended Anne of Cleves to England, and was made her chamberlain. His lordship, who, besides the honours we have briefly indicated, took part in most of the events of this stirring reign and held numerous important offices, married twice, first, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Lovel; and second, Eleanor, daughter of Sir William Paston, by the latter of whom only he had issue. To the eldest and second of that issue we now refer.

The eldest son, Henry Manners, succeeded his father, in 1543, as second Earl of Rutland. He was married twice: first to Margaret, daughter of the fourth Earl of Westmoreland, by whom he had issue; and, second, to Bridget, daughter of Lord Hussey, by whom he had no children. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward Manners, as third Earl of Rutland, who, dying without male issue, was succeeded by his brother, John Manners (the second son of the second Earl), as fourth Earl of Rutland. This nobleman married Elizabeth, daughter of Francis Charlton of Apsley, by whom he had issue, with others, three sons—Roger Manners, Sir Francis Manners, and Sir George Manners—who successively became fifth, six, and seventh Earls of Rutland. All these dying without surviving male issue, the title passed to the descendants of the second son of the first Earl.

Sir John Manners, second son of the first Earl of Rutland, and who was consequently great grandson of the sister of King Edward IV., is the one member of this illustrious family with whom Haddon is especially connected. This John Manners, before he was knighted, became attached to Dorothy Vernon, the youngest daughter and co-heiress of Sir George Vernon of Haddon Hall, known far and wide as “the King of the Peak.” Disguised, as we have already related, as a forester or woodman, John Manners for some time lived in the woods about Haddon, in the hope of obtaining occasional glimpses of, and stolen interviews with, Dorothy Vernon; and at length so wooed that he won her, and carried her off on horseback into his own county of Leicester, and there married her. The story of this romantic elopement is one of the pleasantest episodes in the history of Haddon, and will have again to be alluded to later on. By that marriage the grand old mansion of Haddon Hall, and the Derbyshire property of the “King of the Peak,” passed into the family of Manners, and helped to swell its already large rent-roll of estates.

This John Manners, who was knighted in 1603, had issue by his wife, Dorothy Vernon, three sons: Sir George Manners who succeeded him; John Manners, who died at the age of fourteen years; Sir Roger Manners, of Whitwell; and Grace Manners, who married Sir Francis Fortescue, of Salden. He died June 4th, 1611; his wife died in 1584.

Sir George Manners, their son, married Grace, daughter of Sir Henry Pierrepoint, and sister to the Earl of Kingston, by whom he had issue, with others, John Manners, his eldest son, who not only succeeded him, but also succeeded his own cousin George, seventh Earl of Rutland, in his title and estates, and thus became eighth Earl of Rutland. He married Frances, daughter of Edward, Lord Montague of Boughton, by whom he had issue four sons and seven daughters.

He was Sheriff of Derbyshire in the ninth and eleventh years of Charles I., and also represented that county in Parliament. His lordship was attached to the Parliamentary interest during the Civil Wars, and was one of the twenty-two peers who remained at Westminster when the king summoned both houses to attend him at Oxford. As a consequence, his castle of Belvoir was seized by the Royalists, and was held by them and Sir Gervase Lucas, and here the king frequently resided; it was finally surrendered to the Parliamentarians in January, 1645-6. In 1649 the castle was demolished, by consent of the earl, who soon afterwards set about rebuilding it, which he completed in 1668. During this time the earl lived principally at Haddon Hall, where he died in 1679. Here he lived in a style of almost princely magnificence, maintaining a large number of servants and retainers, and dispensing, especially at Christmas time, his hospitality with a lavish hand.

About this time, from 1660 to 1670, although the family only occasionally resided here, there were generally killed and consumed every year at Haddon between thirty and forty beeves, from four to five hundred sheep, and a number of swine, so that there was no lack of the good things of this world for visitors to this hospitable place.

This nobleman was succeeded by his third and only surviving son, John Manners, as ninth Earl of Rutland. This nobleman was born in 1638, and, in 1679, was created a peer in his own right by the title of Baron Manners of Haddon; and in September of the same year, his father dying, he became Earl of Rutland. When twenty years of age he had married the Lady Anne Pierrepoint, daughter of the Marquis of Dorchester, from whom he was afterwards divorced; and married, secondly, Lady Diana Bruce, widow of Sir Seymour Shirley, and daughter of the Earl of Aylesbury, who died in child-bed. His lordship married, thirdly, Catherine, daughter of Baptist Noel, Viscount Campden, by whom only he had surviving issue. He lived a country life, and “kept up his old mansion at a bountiful old rate,” and in a style of even greater magnificence and open-handedness than his father. It is said that at Haddon alone he kept seven score of servants, and that every day saw his grand old banqueting-hall filled to overflowing with retainers and guests. In 1703 the Earl was raised to the highest dignity in the realm, by the titles of Marquis of Granby and Duke of Rutland. He died in January, 1710-11, aged seventy-three, and was succeeded by his only surviving son, John Manners.

John, second Duke of Rutland, when scarcely seventeen years of age, was married to Katherine, second daughter of Lord William Russell, who was beheaded in 1683. He then bore the title of Lord Roos; and the wedding festivities seem, judging from some curious letters still extant concerning them, to have been of the most lavishly extravagant character. This lady who was sister to the Duchess of Devonshire and to the Duke of Bedford, gave birth to five sons and four daughters, and died in child-bed, in 1711. The Duke married, secondly, Lucy, daughter of Lord Sherard, and sister of the Earl of Harborough, by whom also he had issue, six sons and two daughters: his grace died in 1721, and was succeeded, as third Duke of Rutland, by his eldest son, John Manners. This nobleman, who was born in 1696, married, in 1717, Bridget, only daughter and heiress of Lord Lexington (an alliance that gave him a large accession of estates), by whom he had issue thirteen children, nearly all of whom died young.

He was the last of the family who made Haddon Hall a residence.

The estates of Lord Lexington having been settled upon the younger branch of the family, the second and surviving sons, successively, took, by Act of Parliament, the additional surname of Sutton, and thus founded the family of Manners-Sutton.

The Duke, who was familiarly known as “the old man of the hill,” dying in 1779, was succeeded by his grandson, Charles Manners, son of the celebrated Marquis of Granby, Commander-in-chief of the British forces in Germany, and Master of the Ordnance, who died during his father’s lifetime. Charles, fourth Duke of Rutland, married Mary Isabella, daughter of Charles Noel, Duke of Beaufort, by whom he had issue four sons—viz., John Henry, who succeeded him, Charles Henry Somerset, Robert William, and William Robert Albini; and two daughters—viz., the Lady Elizabeth Isabella, married to Richard Norman, Esq., and Lady Catherine Mary, married to Lord Forester. His grace died while holding office as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and was succeeded by his eldest son—John Henry Manners, as fifth Duke of Rutland, who married Elizabeth, daughter of the Earl of Carlisle, and by her had issue, among others, his grace the present Duke of Rutland (third son, the two elder ones having died before their father), and Lord John Manners, M.P. His grace died in 1857, aged seventy-nine.

The present peer, Charles Cecil Manners, sixth Duke of Rutland, Marquis of Granby, Earl of Rutland, and Baron Manners of Haddon, &c., &c., was born in 1815, and has held many important appointments. His grace is not married: the heir to the title and estates being his brother, Lord John Robert Manners (Marquis of Granby, by courtesy), M.P. for North Leicestershire, who is also known for the official posts he has held in the government of this country.

The arms of the Duke of Rutland are, _or_, two bars, _azure_; augmented by a chief, quarterly, first and fourth _azure_, two _fleurs-de-lis_, _or_ (France), second and third _gules_, a lion _passant-guardant_, _or_ (England). Crest, on a _chapeau_, _gules_, turned up, _ermine_, a peacock in pride, proper. Supporters, two unicorns, _argent_, horns, manes, tufts, and hoofs, _or_. Motto, “Pour y parvenir.”

The meadows around Haddon—with the river Wye twisting and turning about in all imaginable forms—are very delightful, and some of the pleasantest strolls conceivable may be taken along them, both up and down the stream, which is full of fine trout, and is, therefore, a source of endless delight to the angler.

Having thus given our readers as full an account as would appear necessary both of the noble families to whom Haddon has belonged, and of the Hall itself, and told them as much of its history as is requisite for our purpose, we take leave of this interesting pile, and proceed to speak of one or two matters connected with its immediate neighbourhood, before passing on to the fine old church at Bakewell, where lie interred so many of the families of Vernon and Manners.

Haddon has been a prolific theme for writers, and an endless source of inspiration for poets and artists, and long will it continue to be so, for no “olden” place can be more picturesque or more romantic. It is said that Mrs. Radcliffe was so struck with it, that she laid the scene of her “Mysteries of Udolpho” here; and Allan Cunningham, the Countess de Carabrella, and numberless other writers, have made it a theme for some of their pleasantest productions; William Bennett took it and its hospitable owner, Sir George Vernon, as the subject of one of his most successful novels, “The King of the Peak;” while D. Cox, Nash, Cattermole, Harding, Rayner, Morrison, and a host of other artists, have added to their reputations by painting some of its more attractive features.

As may naturally be expected, in a neighbourhood so rich in interest as that of Haddon, some singular discoveries have at one time or other been made. Among these the Roman altar, described on a preceding page, is perhaps the most important.

The opening of barrows in the neighbourhood has brought to light many interesting remains of the ancient British period, and also of Romano-British times. These consist of interments in which have been found cinerary urns, drinking-cups, bone mesh-rules, flint implements, bronze celts, and other articles.