Part 35

“At last, as malice increased in these damnable women, so his family felt the smart of their revenge and inficious disposition; for his eldest son, Henry, Lord Rosse, sickened very strangely, and after awhile, died. His next, named Francis, Lord Rosse accordingly, was severely tormented by them, and most barbarously, and inhumanly tortured by a strange sickness. Not long after, the Lady Catherine was set upon by their dangerous and devilish practices; and many times in great danger of life, through extreme maladies and unusual fits, nay, (as it should seem, and they afterwards confessed) both the earl and his countess were brought into their snares, as they imagined, and indeed determined to keep them from having any more children. Oh unheard of wickedness and mischievous damnation! Notwithstanding all this, did the noble earl attend his majesty, both at Newmarket, before Christmas; and at Christmas, at Whitehall; bearing the loss of his children most nobly; and little suspecting that they had miscarried by witchcraft, or such like inventions of the devil; until it pleased God to discover the villanous practices of these women, and to command the devil from executing any further vengeance on innocents, but leave them to their shames, and the hands of justice, that they might not only be confounded for their villanous practices, but remain as a notorious example to all ages, of his judgment and fury. Thus were they apprehended, about Christmas, and carried to Lincoln gaol; after due examination, before sufficient justices of the peace, and discreet magistrates, who wondered at their audacious wickedness. But Joan Flower, the mother, before her conviction, (as they say,) called for bread and butter, and wished it might never go through her, if she were guilty of that whereupon she was examined; so, mumbling it in her mouth, never spake more words after; but fell down and died, as she was carried to Lincoln gaol, with a horrible excruciation of soul and body, and was buried at Ancaster.

“When the earl heard of their apprehension, he hasted down with his brother, Sir George, and sometimes examined them himself, and sometimes sending them to others; at last, left them to the trial of law, before the judges of assize at Lincoln; and so they were convicted of murder, and executed accordingly, about the eleventh of March, to the terror of all beholders as example of such dissolute and abominable creatures.”

On the stately monument of the Earl at Bottesford the death of these two sons is thus alluded to:—“In 1608 he married the Lady Cecelia Hungerf’rd, daughter to the Hon’ble Knight, Sir John Tufton, by whom he had two sonnes, both which dyed in their infancy, by wicked practice and sorcerye.”

In the civil wars Belvoir Castle was taken by the Royalist party in 1642, and placed under command of Colonel Lucas. In 1645 the King himself was there. In the same year Prince Rupert and Prince Maurice were at Belvoir. Soon afterwards it was besieged by the Parliamentarians; the outworks and stables, which had been fortified, were taken by storm; the entire village of Belvoir was demolished; and on the 3rd of February, 1646, the castle, with its appurtenances, was, in pursuance of terms of capitulation, surrendered to the Parliament, who immediately appointed Captain Markham as its governor. Shortly afterwards the castle was disgarrisoned and restored to its owner, the Earl of Rutland. In 1649 the Council of State reported “their resolution for demolishing the castle; which the Earl of Rutland was content with,” and it was accordingly demolished, the Earl receiving a miserable pittance by way of compensation, and taking up his residence at Haddon Hall. About 1662 the Earl appears to have commenced the rebuilding of the castle, which was completed in 1668. In 1801 the then Duke of Rutland, father of the present duke, who had, during his minority, conceived the idea of rebuilding and extending the castle, began to carry out his design by pulling down the south and west fronts next to the court-yard, and continued rebuilding under Wyatt till 1816, by which time the south-west and south-east parts were completed, and the Grand Staircase and Picture Gallery in the north-west front were nearly finished. In that year a fire broke out in the castle, by which the north-east and north-west fronts were entirely destroyed. By that fire a large number of valuable paintings, estimated at nearly eleven thousand pounds in value, were totally destroyed. Among these were no less than nineteen by Sir Joshua Reynolds (including the “Nativity” and a number of family portraits); and many by Rubens, Vandyke, Carlo Maratti, Lely, Domenichino, Rembrandt, Velasquez, Titian, Poussin, West, and others. Fortunately, although five children of the Duke and Duchess (who themselves were at Cheveley), and all the household were sleeping in the castle, no loss of life occurred. In March, 1817, the Duke commenced rebuilding the castle, the architect being the Rev. Sir John Thoroton, of Bottesford, to whose good taste and that of the Duke and his amiable duchess, are due the fine proportions and the majestic character of the building as it now stands.

Belvoir has often been visited by royalty. James I. and Charles I. both stayed there, and in 1813, the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV., and the Duke of York, spent several days there. In 1839 the Dowager Queen Adelaide remained there for nearly a week, and in 1843 our present beloved Queen Victoria, with the Prince Consort, the Queen Dowager, the Duke of Wellington, and others, visited the Duke, and remained his guests for four days. In 1866 their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of Wales visited Belvoir, and the Prince again remained there in 1873. Other members of the royal family have also been received within its walls.

The principal apartments of the castle are, by kind permission of the Duke, shown to visitors, and the surrounding grounds are literally, as we have before said, open to all, “without let or hindrance.”

Passing up the steep ascent from near the cosy inn (on, or closely adjoining to, the site of the old priory), the visitor, if on foot, wends his way along the path among magnificent forest trees, and up a flight of stone steps to the basement story of the castle, where, in the solid masonry from which the superstructure rises, are the workshops of the artisan retainers of the family; and from hence by a rising pathway to the bastion, mounted with cannon, which gives an air of baronial importance to the place. If the visitor ride or drive, the ascent is somewhat more circuitous, but the carriage-way leads to the same point—the Grand Entrance to the Castle.

The Grand Entrance, which is shown to the spectator’s left in our general views from the north-west, opens from an advanced groined porch, into which carriages drive from one side, and out at the other, massive doors enclosing them while visitors alight. Over the doors are armorial bearings of the family and its alliances. From the porch the entrance doorway opens into the groined entrance passage, or corridor, decorated with stands of arms, banners (among which is the one borne by the present Duke of Rutland at the funeral of the Duke of Wellington), and military trophies, which leads to the Guard-room, or Great Hall of the mansion. This noble room, which has a groined ceiling, and a mosaic floor of black and white marble and Nottinghamshire freestone, bears in recesses and arcades on its walls groups of arms and armour, trophies of war, and other appropriate decorations; and in two glazed recesses a number of relics of the great Marquis of Granby, and of his brilliant military achievements, and his well-earned decorations. Besides many other objects of peculiar interest in this room are two tables made from remarkable deposits, of eleven years’ formation, in the wooden water-pipes of the Blithe Mine in Derbyshire; a model of the old castle; standards, arms, and armour from the field of Waterloo; a Chinese junk; and some good armour.

Opposite the entrance are the Grand Staircase and the Guard-room Gallery. In the windows of the latter are finely executed stained-glass figures (by Wyatt) of Robert de Todeni, William de Albini, Walter Espec, and Robert de Ros, with their armorial insignia. From the landing at the head of the Guard-room Staircase, which contains full-length portraits of Queen Anne and George Prince of Denmark, access is gained to the Grand Staircase leading to the principal apartments; the walls of the staircase itself being hung with full-length paintings of the first eight Earls of Rutland, with their armorial bearings within the archways. The ceiling is richly groined.

The Regent’s Gallery, so called from the Prince Regent (George IV.), for whose use it was fitted up on his visit to Belvoir in 1813, is one of the main features of the castle. It is a noble apartment, 128 feet long by 18 feet wide, with a central bow, formed by the central tower, of 36 feet wide. At one end is Nollekens’ fine bust of George IV., and at the other the equally fine bust of the late estimable duke, while other parts of the room are adorned with corresponding sculptures of the late Duchess of Rutland, the Marquis of Granby, Lord Robert Manners, Pitt, Cromwell, William III., George II., Earl of Mansfield, Duke of Somerset, Earl of Chatham, Admiral Keppel, and others. One striking feature of this gallery is the Gobelins tapestry (eight pieces) which adorns the walls. It is in perfect preservation, and represents scenes in the story of Don Quixote from designs by Coypel, and appear to have been made in 1770. The walls are also adorned by many family portraits and other paintings by Reynolds, Hoppner, Kneller, Smirke, Lely, Bishop, Zucchero, Stothard, and others. The appointments of this splendid room are arranged with perfect taste, and it is filled with objects of interest and beauty; one object that often attracts attention being a carved chair, bearing an inscription showing that it was made, as is also one belonging to the Queen, from the wood of the tree at La Haye Sainte, against which the Duke of Wellington took up his station at the battle of Waterloo. The opposite end of the Regent’s Gallery to that at which the visitor enters from the Grand Staircase is one gigantic mirror filling the whole space, and thus, in appearance, giving it a double length. From this end one doorway leads to the private gallery of the chapel, and another opens into the library.

The Library is entirely of oak, the ceiling divided into compartments, with carved bosses at the intersections, and armorial bearings decorating other parts. Over the fire-place Grant’s fine portrait of the late duke, “presented to his grace as a token of affection and esteem by his tenantry, 27th February, 1856,” is placed, and forms a pleasant feature in the room. The collection of books is, as is natural to expect, of the most choice and costly kind, many of the literary treasures being priceless gems of past ages. Among these are several curious and valuable MS. rarities and sketches by the old masters.

The Picture Gallery, a noble apartment of admirable proportions, has a coved ceiling, rising from a cornice richly ornamented in gold and white, with figures and foliage in bold relief. The collection of pictures in this gallery, some two hundred in number, is remarkably fine and choice, and contains many notable examples of the best and most reputed masters—Murillo, Rubens, Teniers, Gerard Douw, Rembrandt, Claude, Gaspar Poussin, Parmigiano, Carlo Dolce, Berghem, Carracci, Guido, Vandyke, Holbein, Bassano, Paul Veronese, Bronzino, Van der Heyden, Netscher, Van der Velde, Reynolds, Jansen, Ruysdael, Correggio, Albert Dürer, Dekker, Schalken, Spagnoletto, Caravaggio, Wouvermans, Cuyp, and a host of others.

The Duchess’s Boudoir, a lovely room, commanding an almost enchanting view of the grounds and distant country, was the favourite apartment of the late duchess, and remains as left by her. Like the other private rooms, passages, and corridors, it contains many genuine pictures of note as well as family portraits.

The Grand Corridor, or Ball-room, which, seen from the landing of the staircase, is shown in the engraving on the preceding page, is one of the most striking features of the interior of the castle. It is of Gothic design, the whole being of stone, and copied from various parts of Lincoln Cathedral. It is lit by nine windows in length, with stained-glass armorial decorations, and has an elegant groined ceiling, with carved bosses at the intersections; and the walls are arcaded, and contain full-length life-size and other portraits of the present noble duke (two) by Grant; the late Lady John Manners, by Buckner; Lord Robert Manners, by Reynolds; and several others.

The Queen’s Sitting-room, or Green Assembling-room, in the Staunton Tower, besides being an elegant apartment, commands a magnificent view of the charming grounds and the distant country, including Croxton with the Duke’s Deer Park, Woolsthorpe, Harlaxton, the Kennels, and the Lake. Adjoining this are the Chinese Rooms—a suite of bed and dressing rooms, so called from the style of their furniture and papering—which were occupied by our beloved Queen in 1843.

The Grand Dining-room has a richly panelled ceiling of white and gold, and contains a side-table of white marble, carved by Wyatt, so as to look like a table “covered with a white linen table napkin; the folds being so accurately represented in the marble as to require a close inspection to convince the observer of the solidity of the material.” It weighs between two and three tons. In this room are magnificent examples, life-size full-length portraits, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and others by Sir Godfrey Kneller.

The Elizabeth Saloon, so called after the late duchess (Elizabeth, second daughter of Frederick Howard, Earl of Carlisle, and wife of John Henry, fifth Duke of Rutland), by whose taste and judgment it was arranged and decorated. The walls are hung with satin drapery, and the ceiling, which was painted by Wyatt, is filled with mythological subjects and family and other portraits. The furniture and appliances are sumptuous and elegant, and altogether this saloon is the most gorgeous in the castle. Among its Art treasures are a full-length marble statue of the late duchess by Wyatt; two full-length life-size portraits of the late duke and duchess by Sanders; several rare enamels and pictures; a number of choice watercolour drawings; an extensive series of cabinet portraits, &c.; and many cabinets, caskets, and other choice objects.

Other apartments are the King’s Rooms, so called because used by the Prince Regent while at Belvoir; the Hunters’ Dining-room; the Wellington Rooms, so named because occupied by the Duke of Wellington; the Family Dining-room, &c., but these require no word of comment.

The Chapel, with panelled stone walls and elegant groined ceiling, has a canopied reredos, containing one of Murillo’s grandest and choicest works—the “Holy Family,” whose value is estimated at four thousand guineas.

The Wine Cellar in the Staunton Tower, with its vaulted ceiling and carved boss with crowned monogram of the Blessed Virgin, is one of the oldest parts of the castle. The Ale Cellar is said to contain thirty-one thousand gallons of liquor! The largest tun, which holds about thirteen hundred gallons of ale, is called after the founder of the castle, “Robert de Todeni,” while the next three largest are named respectively the “Marquis of Granby,” “Lord John,” and “Lord George.” The Housekeeper’s Rooms, with their fine assemblage of old Chelsea, Derby, Sèvres, and other china services; the Steward’s Room; the Plate Pantry, with the grand and invaluable services of plate; the kitchens and other offices, perhaps the most perfect of any in their arrangements and appliances, are all deserving more notice than the mere mention we can give them.

The Muniment-room, under the able guardianship of Mr. Green, is, in our eyes, one of the most important and interesting features of the castle, and one in which we would fain “live and move and have our being” for the rest of our lives. It is a perfect mine of historical wealth, and as a storehouse of genealogical and antiquarian lore is unsurpassed by any other mansion. It literally overflows with deeds and MSS. of one kind or other, and all in the most admirable order and condition. The deeds in this room are above four thousand in number, the greater part of which date back to the twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries.

Among the treasures are the cartularies and registers of Belvoir Priory and Croxton Abbey; rent-rolls of Croxton; household books of various early periods; a vast amount of original letters; personal accounts and bills relating to Haddon Hall; inventories of Riveaulx Abbey, Belvoir, Croxton, St. Dunstans-in-the-West, Haddon, &c.; plea-rolls, charters, and grants and confirmations of lands, pedigrees, agreements, &c.

One of the great glories of Belvoir, however, is its grounds and surroundings; but to these, which to do them justice would require a special article to themselves, we can only devote a few brief lines.

The whole place is a labyrinth of beauty, each separate spot that we come to exceeding in exquisite loveliness those we have passed, and each turn bringing to view fresh glimpses of charming scenery which show how well Nature has been studied, and how thoroughly Art, with the pure and accomplished taste of the late duchess, has been wedded to her. The Duchess’s Garden, below the slope on the west of the castle, is formed in an exquisite glade, surrounded on all sides by grand old trees and luxuriant shrubs; the beds terraced one above the other, or gently sloped and planted in amphitheatre form, with masses of colour which give a richness and peculiarity to the scene. The Duke’s Walk—an avenued path extending in its devious way for about three miles in length—passes above this garden, and is broken by glimpses of all the varied scenery on the way, and rendered pleasant by rustic summer-houses, seats, and other resting-places. Near to the Duchess’s Garden, in this walk, a tablet, admirably carved by the late Mr. Bath, of Haddon, bears a sonnet from the pen of the fifth duke in memory of the duchess. It runs as follows:—

“One cultivated spot behold, which spreads Its flowery bosom to the noontide beam— Where num’rous rosebuds rear their blushing heads, And poppies rich, and fragrant violets teem. Far from the busy world’s unceasing sound— Here has Eliza fixed her favourite seat, Chaste emblem of the scene around— Pure as the flower that smiles beneath her feet.”

Of the character of the Duchess’s Garden a writer in the _Journal of Horticulture_ (to which we are indebted for the two beautiful engravings on pages 8 and 24), thus speaks:—“This is a beautiful glade of considerable extent, surrounded on all sides by trees of grand dimensions, which on our visit were in their early beauty, developing those varied tints of green which, if not quite so glowing as the autumnal ones, are at any rate fresher, and, moreover, are associated with the thoughts of the lengthening and brightening days of summer, and not with the shortening and darkening days of winter. In this glade the natural rocks have been accommodated to the requirements of Alpine gardening, while the upper portion has been arranged in beds.” “The bedding pansies, the oxlips (of which the Belvoir strain is remarkably fine), were in flower. The beautiful _Gentiana verna_, accommodated with nice little ledges on which its brilliant blue shone out brilliantly, the bright yellow _Doronicum Austriacum_, and other fine plants were there. And then how beautiful were the blue forget-me-nots! how luxuriantly fine the _Saxifraga crassifolia_! Then, again, we had the brilliant blue of _Lithospermum prostratum_ as it trailed over the rockery, and that of its larger congener, _L. Gastoni_. Of a softer but no less beautiful shade of blue was _Myosotis dissitiflora_, though now nearly past, as it is the earliest of the tribe. Then how fine was _Veratrum nigrum_, beautiful for its foliage!” “Then there were bright masses of _Dianthus neglectus_ and _alpinus_, with their dense tufts of lovely pink flowers; and turn which way you will, gems of rarity or beauty met the eye.” “One likes to linger on these slopes; and as one stands on the upper portion of it, and looks down on the carpet of lovely green backed by the feathery and elegant foliage of the birch, it is indeed hard to be obliged to tear one’s self away from it.”

The Statue Garden, one of the most striking “bits” in the grounds, is so called from a number of statues by Cibber which adorn it. This garden, when viewed from the terrace, entirely screened from observation from the castle, is one of marvellous and old-world beauty; the majestic and venerable silver firs—remarkable for their gigantic growth and their hoary age—the grounds, half garden, half wood (a strange combination of natural wildness with artificial planting), adding much to the effect of the scene.

The Dairy, the Kennels, the Stables with the covered Exercise-ground, and the Farm, as well as the magnificent Lake of ninety acres in extent, are all objects of special interest, but to them we can only thus allude.

The Mausoleum is situated on the summit of an eminence on the opposite side of the valley from the castle, on a spot immediately facing the windows of the Duchess’s boudoir, chosen by herself as a fit place wherein she might rest. Her grace died in 1825, and was buried at Bottesford Church. In 1826 the mausoleum was commenced, and completed in 1828, when her body, and those of nine other members of the family, were removed to it and deposited in the vault. Since then others have been removed there, and the “good duke” also there rests, as does the lamented Lord George Manners (brother of the present duke), who died in November, 1874. The mausoleum is approached by an avenue of grand old yews, which give a solemnity to the place which is eminently in keeping with its character. The building is in the Norman style, and consists of what may perhaps be called a chapel, with apse and a projecting porch, and vaults beneath. Within the apse, lit with a flood of golden light from above, is one of the most exquisitely beautiful pieces of sculpture it has been our good fortune to see. On it the Duchess is represented as rising from the admirably sculptured tomb with expanded arms, and her face elevated towards the clouds, in which are seen four cherubs—the children who preceded her to the grave—one of whom is holding over her a crown of glory. It is by Wyatt, and is considered to be his masterpiece.