Part 31
In the West Corridor are preserved some highly-interesting Roman inscribed sepulchral stones, and other sculptures. One of these is inscribed:—
“DIS MANIBVS LUCCIAE · NYMPHICES QVAE · VIXIT · ANNIS · XVIII FECIT M · ATILIVS · PHILOLOGVS CONIVGI CARISSIMAE ET · SIBI.”
And another is inscribed as follows:—
“DIS MANIBVS TI · CLAVDI · THALLIANI VIX · AN · XX · DIEB · XX CLAVDIA · FELICVLA MATER · FILIO PIISIMO.”
In the West Lodge, at the entrance gates, are also preserved many fragments of ancient sculpture, and a portion of a Roman tesselated pavement with _guilloche_ pattern and other borders. Among the sculptures is a marble cinerary urn bearing the following inscription:—
“DIS MANIBVS CARIIAPMIIB MVSA F · APOIII NARIS · PATRONVS CONIVGI BENI MIRENII H IVIIA MYRAMAIIRE F PIIS.”
Another cinerary urn is inscribed:—
“D M REMNO.”
There are also other portions of inscriptions, and among the more interesting of these remains are:—A fine _torso_ of Venus, and another _torso_ of a female, of very similar dimensions; the head of a stag, life-size, presented to the Duchess of Devonshire by the King of Naples; heads of fawns, of Jupiter, of a Cupid, of Silenus, &c.; part of a colossal medallion of Lucius Verus; a bas-relief of Bacchus, supported by a younger male figure; an _alto-relievo_ of a procession of Silenus, in which that god is shown seated on a chariot, and leaning on a young Bacchante, and a fawn is playing on the double pipe; a number of architectural ornaments; some fine masks and portions of masks; an _alto-relievo_ of three female figures and the dog Cerberus; a fragment representing Diana and Actæon; two right hands, one grasping the other firmly, as if struggling in wrestling or fighting; some Egyptian figures, &c., and many other fragments.
Above the Lodge, too, some good architectural and other fragments of sculpture are preserved.
The gardens and grounds of Chatsworth are marvels of beauty, and are, indeed, in many respects, matchless both for their picturesqueness, their elegance, and the skill with which they have been laid out. Leaving the mansion from the door of the Orangery, to the left is a spacious alcove, and to the right, running in a direct line for more than a quarter of a mile in length, is a broad gravel path, at the summit of which, beneath a lofty avenue of trees, is seen a gigantic vase, bearing the simple name of “Blanche,” in touching memory of the much-loved and accomplished Lady Blanche Georgiana Howard, the wife of the present Duke of Devonshire.
From this spot the view on all sides is truly grand (embracing the mansion, the gardens, the lakes, basins and fountains, the woods and shrubberies, the park and the river, and the distant country towards Rowsley), and paths lead in various directions among the beauties of the place: here a delightful little dell or a fernery where ferns and heaths grow in wild profusion, there another dell of rhododendrons, or with statuary among heathery banks and masses of rock. Near here, too, is a sylvan slope, headed by a gigantic bronze bust of the late Duke, mounted on a pillar, composed of fragments of an ancient Greek fluted column from the Temple of Minerva at Sunium. On the base are these beautiful verses by Lord Carlisle:—
“These fragments stood on Sunium’s airy steep; They reared aloft Minerva’s guardian shrine; Beneath them rolled the blue Egean deep; And the Greek pilot hail’d them as divine.
“Such was, e’en then, their look of calm repose. As wafted round them came the sounds of fight, When the glad shouts of conquering Athens rose O’er the long track of Persia’s broken flight.
“Tho’ clasped by prostrate worshippers no more, They yet shall breathe a thrilling lesson here; Tho’ distant from their own immortal shore, The spot they grace is still to freedom dear.”
Of this classic pedestal, with its crowning bust, we give an engraving on the preceding page.
Opposite to the Orangery is the FRENCH GARDEN, with its forest of pillars surmounted by busts, its grand old Egyptian figures, its Chinese beakers and vases, its sculptured figures and groups, and its raised parterres: near this are green-houses, conservatories, and camelia and orchid houses, with their endless store of beauties; while here and there an antique tomb, or sculptured figures, or groups of statuary, add their charms to the place.
From above this part of the gardens a broad path to the right leads on to the Great Conservatory, passing on its way the Cascade, the Willow Tree, and other interesting spots. The Grand Cascade, of which we give an engraving, the Willow Tree, and other parts of the artificial water-works, were designed and executed, as already stated, in the early part of last century, by M. Grillet, and added to and repaired by the late Duke, under the direction of Sir J. Paxton. The water supplying the Great Cascade, the fountains, and the other portions of the works, falls, as will be seen in our engraving, from the summit of the wooded heights at the back of the grounds, and is then conveyed along a lofty arched aqueduct, from the end of which it falls with considerable force, and is then carried underground to the temple, at the head of the cascade. Here it rises to the domed roof of the temple, which becomes a sheet of water, and, rushing through the various carved channels prepared for it in the groups of figures, &c., makes its way down the cascade, formed of a long series of stone steps with flats at regular intervals, and at the bottom sinks into a subterranean channel at the spectator’s feet.
The Temple, which is open, is of circular form in its interior, with recess and niches with stone seats, the niches enriched with carved shell-heads and festoons of flowers. Externally, an open temple supported on six pillars surmounts the dome. In front, over the central arch, is a powerfully-carved recumbent figure of Neptune holding an urn; below him, on either side, is an immense dolphin, with head downwards; and on the sides are water-nymphs with vases. On either side the open archway is a gigantic dolphin’s head, and at the base are dragons. From the whole of these figures and heads the water rushes out, and, simultaneously, two beautiful fountains rise in front of the temple.
In the grounds not far from this temple is a charming ALCOVE of Moresque design, which forms a beautiful retreat, at a bend in the drive, with a pleasant little rill running down near it. The front of the alcove is formed of two horse-shoe shaped arches supported on granite pillars, the spandrels carved with monograms; on the ceiling are the Cavendish arms and motto twice repeated. On the wall inside are two tablets, one bearing the following lines:—
“Won from the brow of yonder headlong hill, Through grassy channels, see the sparkling rill O’er the chafed pebbles, in its murmuring flow, Sheds freshness on the thirsty vale below, Quick’ning the ground till trees of every zone In Chatsworth’s soil and clime, forget their own.”
H. L. Sept. MDCCCXXXIX.
On the other is this inscription:—
“Ecce, supercilio clivosi tramitis undam Elicit: illa cadens raucum per levia murmur Saxa ciet, scatebrisque arentia temperat arva.”
The WILLOW-TREE, one of the most striking and clever of the water-works, is a weeping willow, about twenty feet in height, entirely formed of copper and lead, and coloured in imitation of a real tree. It stands in a charming little circular dell, overhung with forest-trees, and surrounded by banks and rockeries covered with luxuriant ferns and other plants, itself rising from a central rock-work, around which runs a path. At the entrance to this little dell are a vase and fountain, and at the opposite side is a leaden statue of Pan, holding in his hand the Pandean pipes, and having a goat at his feet. From each leaf and stem of this remarkable tree, the water, when turned on from a small hidden cave in the rock in front, rushes out in a rapid stream, and thus forms a novel kind of “shower-bath” to any luckless visitor who may happen to be beneath it.
At the same time, a number of jets rise up from hidden pipes all around the dell, and these streams being directed angularly upwards towards the centre, while those from the tree fall in all directions downwards, there is no way of escape without being caught in the heavy shower. Of this tree we give an engraving from a photograph taken specially for the purpose, with others of our illustrations, by Mr. George Green, of Worthing, an eminent photographic artist, whom we specially engaged for these Chatsworth views, and whose skill deserves high commendation. Near the Willow-tree, passing onwards towards the grand conservatory, is a rocky archway of wondrous construction, and a little beyond this a “rocky portal”—an immense block of unhewn stone, turning upon an axis with such ease as to be moved with the pressure of a single finger.
Passing through this portal, one of the next most striking objects is a perpendicular rock, of great altitude, down whose face a stream of water is for ever falling, and this water supplies some charming little lakes filled with aquatic plants, in whose windings and intricacies the botanist and lover of nature might revel for hours.
The GREAT CONSERVATORY, one of the wonders of Chatsworth, besides its own attraction as the finest conservatory in the kingdom, possesses an historical interest as being the first of its kind ever erected, and from which the idea of the Great Exhibition building of 1851, and all the later exhibition buildings, including the “Crystal Palace” at Sydenham, was taken. This splendid conservatory was erected some years ago by Sir Joseph, at that time Mr., Paxton, and is, in its interior, 277 feet in length, 123 feet in width, and no fewer than 67 feet in height in its centre. Its form is that of a trefoil; the transverse section showing a semicircle 70 feet in diameter, rising from two segments of circles springing from breast-walls. The whole building is of glass, constructed on the “ridge and furrow” principle, with iron ribs. About 70,000 square feet of glass are used in this gigantic building, and the iron sash ribs alone are calculated to extend, if laid together lengthways, no less than forty miles. At each end is a large doorway, and along the centre is a wide carriage-drive, so that several carriages can, on any special occasion, as on the Queen’s visit in 1843, be within the building at the same time. Besides the central drive, there are side-aisles running the entire length, and a cross-aisle in the centre of the building. A light and elegant gallery also runs round the entire interior, and is approached by a staircase hidden among the rockery. Of the collection of trees and plants preserved in this giant conservatory, it is not necessary to speak further than to say that from the smallest aquatic plants up to the most stately palm-trees, and from the banana down to the papyrus and the delicate ferns, every conceivable rarity and beauty is here, flourishing in native luxuriance and in endless profusion. Beneath the conservatory a railway runs around the entire building, for fuel and other purposes.
Not far from the conservatory, and approached by a path between tall and stately yew hedges, is a sweetly pretty circular pool of water, with central fountain, filled with water-lilies, and surrounded first by a broad circular band of grass, then by a broad encircling gravel-path, edged on half its circumference with a closely-cut yew hedge with arched entrances, and the other half planted at regular intervals with cypress-trees. This, however, is but one of many charming spots which characterize the grounds at Chatsworth.
The EMPEROR FOUNTAIN is one of the great attractions of Chatsworth, and one that to see is to remember. This marvellous fountain throws up a thick jet of water no fewer than 267 feet in height, which, spreading out as it falls, forms a liquid sheet of spray, on which, not unfrequently, the sunlight produces an exquisite rainbow. The quantity of metal, we are told, required in the formation of the pipes, &c., for this gigantic work, amounts to nearly 220 tons. The force of the water is so great that it is said to rush out of the pipe at the rate of a hundred miles a minute. Near the “Emperor” are other fountains of great beauty, and when all are playing, the effect is beyond description.
Of the truly elegant and indeed wondrous gardens and parterres on the west and south fronts of the mansion, and of the thousand and one other attractions of the place, we have not time to speak, so lengthy has our article upon this “Palace of the Peak” already become; but there are yet two or three objects before passing out into the outer grounds and the kitchen-garden &c., on which we must say a word. These are the trees that were planted by royalty, and which most loyally have been tended, and grown up to a wondrous size. One of these is an oak-tree planted (well do we remember the circumstance, and the pretty, simple, earnest, and interesting appearance of the youthful princess at the time) in 1832, by our present beloved Queen, when, as a child of thirteen, then the “Princess Victoria,” she visited Chatsworth, with her august mother the Duchess of Kent. This tree, which in its forty years’ growth has become a stately oak, bears the label,—“This Oak planted by Princess Victoria, October 11th, 1832.” Near it is a Spanish chestnut thus labelled—“Spanish chestnut, planted by the Duchess of Kent, October 17th, 1832.” Then comes a sycamore planted when the Queen and the Prince Consort, “Albert the Good,” visited Chatsworth in 1843; it is labelled—“This Sycamore planted by Prince Albert, 1843.” In another part of the garden, opposite the west front, are a “Sweet Chestnut, planted by the (late) Emperor of Russia, 1816;” and a “Variegated Sycamore, planted by the Archduke Michael of Russia, 1818.” A tree was also planted by H. R. H. the Prince of Wales, on the visit of himself and H. R. H. the Princess of Wales, to Chatsworth, in December, 1872.
Chatsworth Park and grounds, from the Baslow Lodge on the north to Edensor Mill Lodge on the south, and from the East Moor on the east to Holme Wood on the west, are somewhere about ten miles in circumference, and comprise an area, in round numbers, of about 1,200 acres; and it would be difficult to find anywhere, in the same space, so great a variety of scenery ranging from the purely sylvan to the wildly romantic, and from the luxuriant wood to the rugged and barren rock, where beauties of one kind or other crowd together so thickly, or where such a charming alternation from one phase to another exists. But it is impossible even briefly to attempt to speak of these beauties—our engravings will have shown some of their features; others must be left for the eye of the visitor to revel in while there. On one or two more points only can we touch.
The HUNTING TOWER, which forms so conspicuous an object in the landscape, crowning the wooded heights at the back of the house, and from which floats a huge flag whenever the Duke is at Chatsworth, was built in the reign of Queen Elizabeth as a prospect-tower, from which the ladies of the family, and guests, might watch the progress of the chase. It is a massive erection, of square form, with a circular turret at each angle, and is about ninety feet in height; it commands a magnificent prospect on every side. Near it, by the lake, or reservoir, is the SWISS COTTAGE—a perfect cottage ornée.
QUEEN MARY’S BOWER is one of the best-known objects in the park, being situated near the drive leading from the bridge to the house, and at a short distance only from the banks of the river Derwent. This interesting relic of the unfortunate queen is a raised enclosure surrounded by a deep moat, and approached by a flight of steps which bridge over the water on its south side. Externally the “bower,” overhung with trees and covered here and there with ivy which reaches up to its open balustrade, is highly picturesque; internally it is a pleasant enclosed grassy retreat, rendered shady by the trees which grow in and around it.
The KITCHEN GARDENS lie to the left of the drive from the house to Baslow, and near to the banks of the Derwent. They are of great extent, and of the most perfectly scientific character in the arrangements—indeed, it would be impossible to find finer or better constructed gardens attached to any mansion. At the entrance to the gardens, shortly after passing through the lodge, is the house formerly inhabited by the late Sir Joseph Paxton, M.P., who was head gardener to the late Duke of Devonshire. This house, originally a fit dwelling-place for the head gardener of such a grand establishment as Chatsworth, but which had “grown with the greatness” of Sir Joseph until it became in itself an elegant mansion, is now very properly altered and divided into two residences. Sir Joseph Paxton, whose career was marked with great success, was born at Milton Bryant, in Bedfordshire, on the 3rd of August, 1803, his father, a small farmer, being a tenant of the Duke of Bedford.
Sir Joseph was brought up to be a gardener, and was, when quite a boy, taken under the care of his elder brother, at that time head gardener at Wimbledon House. When a little more than twenty years of age he was placed in the Horticultural Gardens at Chiswick, and, being quick and clever, he had the charge of a plant-range committed to his care. These grounds joined those of the Duke of Devonshire’s seat, Chiswick House, and his grace, finding young Paxton attentive and intelligent, took much notice of him. The result was that his grace, a short time before leaving England as Ambassador to Russia, made an engagement with him. In May, 1826, shortly after the Duke’s return, Paxton entered upon his new duties as head gardener at Chatsworth, being at that time about twenty-three years of age. In the following year he married Miss Sarah Bown, and soon after was made forester, and next, manager, of the parks, and of the game department, and was consulted by his noble employer upon most subjects connected with the household and estates, and ultimately, he added to his already important offices that of agent for the home district of Chatsworth.
In 1831, Mr. Paxton, in conjunction with Mr. Harrison, commenced the publication of “The Horticultural Register.” Other works followed, including his “Magazine of Botany,” a “Practical Treatise on the Culture of the Dahlia,” a “Pocket Botanical Dictionary,” the “Flower Garden,” and others, and these will undoubtedly remain standard works. During the whole of this time, and to the time of the death of the duke, Mr. Paxton’s mind was actively engaged, and his energy constantly employed, in the improvement of the gardens and grounds at Chatsworth, and the erection of the grand conservatory and other plant-houses, &c. In 1851 he brought his talents to bear in a national matter—the designing and erecting of the Great Exhibition building of that year, taking as his model the conservatory which, on his own design in every particular, he had a few years before erected. In the same year he was knighted by the Queen, at Windsor, on the 23rd of October, and in 1854 was elected M.P. for the City of Coventry. Sir Joseph Paxton designed the present Crystal Palace, and it is not too much to say that to his principle of glass buildings, of a wide span, and glazed on the ridge-and-furrow principle (invented by him), there is scarcely a railway-station, conservatory, or large public hall or pavilion, that does not trace its origin. Sir Joseph died in 1865, and Lady Paxton in 1871.
Of the interior of the VICTORIA REGIA HOUSE we give an engraving, showing the gigantic leaf and flower of this royal plant, which was first grown, and first flowered, at Chatsworth, and named after our beloved Queen, to whom the first flower was presented in 1849. Besides the “Victoria Regia House,” other points of interest in the kitchen gardens are the “New Holland House,” the “Amherstia House,” the “Pine Houses” and the “Vineries.” The kitchen gardens are not, of course, open to visitors.
The village of EDENSOR, closely adjoining the park, was, with the exception of the church and one or two houses, removed to its present position from its former site in the park some forty years ago. It is, indeed, the most perfect model village we have ever seen, and the beauty of its villas—for every cottage in the place _is_ a villa—the charm of its scenery, and the peace and quietness which seem to reign in and around it, make it as near an _Eden_ on earth as one can expect any place to be, and to which its name most curiously and appropriately points. Edensor is entered by a very picturesque lodge from the park, and the outlet at its upper extremity is also closed by gates, so that the only thoroughfare through the place is a highway to Bakewell. Besides the Agent’s house, there are in Edensor a good parsonage house and a village school, but, luckily, there is neither a village ale-house, blacksmith’s forge, wheelwright’s shop, or any other gossiping place; and unpleasant sights and discordant sounds are alike unknown.
The old church of Edensor was taken down a few years ago, and the present one, from the design of Gilbert Scott, erected on its site by his grace the present Duke of Devonshire. The old church consisted of a nave with side aisles and a chancel, and it had a square battlemented tower at its west end. The nave and western porch were also battlemented; the battlements being carried over the gable of the chancel-arch, in the centre of which was a niche for a sanctus-bell. The east window was of decorative character, as were those at the east end of the south aisle, and one near the priests’ door on the south side of the chancel. Interiorly the church possessed many interesting features, including some remarkable capitals, which have mostly been preserved, with the curious monuments, in the new edifice.