Part 40
The history of the house is thus told; but it has no pretensions to the name of a castle: the mansion is free from all semblance of character as a place for defence, being simply and purely the domestic home of an English nobleman, though, as our engravings show, very beautiful in construction, of great extent, and perfect in all its appliances.
It is the _chef-d’œuvre_ of the architect, Sir John Vanbrugh, he who laid in England “many a heavy load,” and whose graceful and emphatically “comfortable” structures, including notably that of Blenheim, adorn several of our English shires. Comparing Castle Howard with Blenheim, Dr. Waagen writes—“The former is less ‘broken up’ than the latter, and though not of equal extent, has a grander and more massive appearance. In the whole arrangement of the mansion and the garden, the architect evidently had Versailles in his mind as the perfection of this style.”
Sir John Vanbrugh was, as his name indicates, of Dutch descent. He was born at Chester in 1666. his father being a sugar-baker in that city. In 1695, his architectural skill having acquired him some reputation, he was appointed one of the commissioners for completing Greenwich Palace, at the time when it was about to be converted into a hospital. In 1702 he built Castle Howard for the Earl of Carlisle, who was so pleased with his skill, that, being at the time Deputy Earl Marshal of England, he conferred upon him the important appointment of Clarencieux King-of-arms. In 1726 he died, and was buried in the church of St. Stephen, Walbrook.
_En route_ to the house, we pass, to the left, in a hollow adjoining a broad lake, the Dairy, a pretty building picturesquely placed; and right before us is a steep ascent, from which there is a fine view—north, south, east, and west.
The South Front shows Castle Howard in its finest point of view: it is in length 323 feet; the centre consists of a pediment and entablature supported by fluted Corinthian pilasters; and the door is reached by a flight of stately steps. “The North Front consists of an elaborate centre of the Corinthian order, with a cupola rising from the top, and on either side extensive wings—the east according to the original design, the west from a design by Sir James Robinson, which has been more recently built in a very different style from the other wing; and, as the building has been deemed by some architectural critics to be wanting in the qualities of lightness and elegance, and uniformity of parts, to this circumstance is owing the alleged incongruity.”
From this point is the main or state entrance into the Great Hall, pictured in the engraving. It is 65 feet high; a square of 35 feet; lit from a dome, the top of which is 100 feet from the floor. The principal entrance is on its north side, and the spaces between the piers on that and on the south side are open the whole height of the arches. The south side opens to the suite of apartments on the garden front, and a richly balustraded gallery gives access to the upper rooms. The east and west sides are partly filled, the upper portions being open, and showing the splendid ceilings of the staircase, &c. On one of these sides is the fire-place, and on the other a canopied recess. The fire-place is a rich piece of sculptured marbles, and there are panels filled with pendent groups of musical instruments; allegories grace the ceilings and walls, principally painted by Pellegrini; and statues and busts are placed on pedestals, and otherwise adorn the sides. These allegorical paintings are, on the ceiling, the Fall of Phaëton; and on the walls, the four seasons, the signs of the zodiac, the four quarters of the world, Apollo and Midas, Apollo and the Muses, Mercury and Venus, Vulcan and his attributes, &c. Among the sculptures are Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, Sabina, Julia Mammea, Bacchus, Ceres, Diodumenus, Paris, Hadrian, Lucius Verus, Vitellius, Epaphroditus, Marc Antony, a bacchanal, and others.
Several doors lead to the various apartments, the state-rooms being hung with pictures of inestimable worth, and all being decorated in pure taste. To the pictures we shall presently refer.
A gallery called the Antique Gallery—160 feet long, by 20 in width—contains a number of rare, beautiful, and valuable examples of Roman, Egyptian, and Greek antiquities, among which are many really fine and unique specimens of early Art. It also contains many interesting pictures and some good old tapestry. In the Museum has been collected an immense variety of objects, gathered by several lords in various countries, with not a few precious relics found in the ancient localities of Yorkshire and Cumberland: among these are some examples of ancient mosaic-work, a curious basso-relievo of Mercury, a number of urns and inlaid marbles, and other objects. There is also here shown a casket or wine-cooler of bog-oak, mounted in solid silver, a gift to the good Lord Carlisle by his constituents of the West Riding; it measures 3 feet 6 inches in length, by 2 feet 4 inches in height and breadth, and cost about a thousand guineas; and “a monster address, 400 feet long,” presented to him on his retiring from the office of Chief Secretary for Ireland. One object of more than passing interest is an altar supposed to have “stood in the temple of Apollo at Delphi.” On its top is a tablet bearing the following lines from the pen, we believe, of the Earl of Carlisle:—
“Pass not this ancient altar with disdain, ’Twas once in Delphi’s sacred temple rear’d; From this the Pythian pour’d her mystic strain, While Greece its fate in anxious silence heard.
What chief, what hero of the Achaian race, Might not to this have bow’d with holy awe, Have clung in pious reverence round its base, And from the voice inspired received the law?
A British chief, as famed in arms as those, Has borne this relic o’er th’ Italian waves, In war still friend to science, this bestows, And Nelson gives it to the land he saves.”
The Saloon has an exquisitely painted allegorical ceiling representing Aurora, and is also adorned by a large number of statues and busts, as well as valuable paintings.
The Drawing-room is hung with rich tapestry after Rubens’ designs, and the walls are adorned with many gems of Art. Among the other treasures in this elegant apartment are some fine antique bronzes.
The Gold or State Bed-room is hung with the finest Brussels tapestry, after designs by Teniers. The chimney-piece is very elegant, being supported by Corinthian columns, the shafts of Sienna marble, the capitals, bases, and cornice white, with pigeons of polished white marble in the centre of the frieze. Upon it stands a bust of Jupiter Serapis.
The Breakfast and Dining Rooms—and, indeed, the whole of the apartments in the mansion—are elegantly and even sumptuously furnished, and filled to repletion with objects of interest and of _virtu_.
The Crimson-figured Room has its walls painted, by Pellegrini, with a series of incidents of the Trojan war: these are—the Rape of Helen, Achilles in disguise amidst the daughters of Lycomedes, King of Scyros, and Ulysses in search of him, Ajax and Ulysses contending for the armour of Achilles, Troy in flames, and Æneas bearing on his shoulders Anchises from the burning city.
The Blue Drawing-room, the Green Damask Room, the Yellow Bed-chamber, the Silver Bed-room, the Blue Silk Bed-room, and, indeed, all the remaining apartments, need no further remark than that they are, in their furnishing and appointments, all that the most fastidious taste could desire them to be.
The pictures that so lavishly adorn Castle Howard have been long renowned. The collection contains some of the very finest examples of the great old masters to be found in Europe. The best of them once formed part of the famous Orleans Gallery, and were acquired by the Earl of Carlisle when the French Revolution of 1789 caused their distribution.
To name all the works in this collection would occupy more space than we can spare: chief among them all is “The Three Marys,” by Annibale Carracci; it suffices to name it as one of the world’s wonders in Art. And also “The Adoration of the Wise Men,” by Mabuse, the _chef-d’œuvre_ of the master. Other grand examples are by Titian, Correggio, Domenichino, Guercino, Carlo Maratti, Giorgione, Primaticcio, Julio Romano, Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese, Velasquez, Cuyp, Claude, Ruysdael, Vandyke, Rubens, Wouvermans, Breughel, Berghem, Jansen, Holbein, Huysman, Mabuse, Van der Velde, Teniers, and Canaletti. Of Canaletti there are no fewer than forty-five examples—his best productions in his best time—scattered throughout the corridors and rooms, with famous specimens of Reynolds and Lawrence, and family portraits by other artists; notably those of Jackson, an artist who, from his obscure boyhood in Yorkshire, was encouraged and upheld by the House of Carlisle.
The history of the dispersion of the Orleans Gallery deserves record here. When the French prince, Philippe of Orleans, surnamed _Égalité_, wanted a sum of money to carry out his political projects, he sold his entire gallery of pictures (in 1792) for a comparatively insignificant amount: those of the Italian and French schools to a banker of Brussels, and those of the Flemish, Dutch, and German schools to an Englishman, Mr. T. M. Slade. The Italian and French pictures subsequently passed into the hands of a French gentleman, M. Laborde de Mèreville, who, being compelled to quit his country during the Revolution, caused his pictures to be brought to London, and ultimately sold them to Mr. Jeremiah Harman, a wealthy merchant. “Thus matters stood,” says Dr. Waagen, in his “Treasures of Art in Great Britain,” “till the year 1798, when Mr. Bryan”—the well-known picture-buyer, and author of the “Dictionary of Painters and Engravers,” a standard book of reference—“prevailed on the late Duke of Bridgewater, Earl Gower, afterwards Marquis of Stafford, and the Earl of Carlisle, to purchase this splendid collection for the sum of £43,000, and thus to secure it for ever to England.”
The Conservatories are remarkably fine, and well ordered with all the floral treasures of the world, while the collection of hardy herbaceous plants congregated at Castle Howard, numbering upwards of six hundred species, is unmatched elsewhere.
Of the Gardens we give two engravings: the one chiefly to show a charming fountain, a work of great merit, the production of the sculptor Thomas; the other to convey an idea of the peculiar and very beautiful character of the grounds and their adornments—the terrace walks, the lake, the summer-house (Temple of Diana), and the Mausoleum, environed by umbrageous woods; here and there vases judiciously interspersed with memorial pillars, commemorating some striking event or some renowned benefactor of the race of the Howards.
The lawns and gardens are admirably laid out, somewhat trim and formal, but not out of character with the building of which they are adornments. The grounds are unsurpassed in beauty—that of which Nature has been lavish, and that which is derived from Art.
The ornamental grounds are of vast extent, and are beautifully diversified with the varied attractions of lake, lawn, and forest. The parterre “occupies several acres of a cheerful lawn, of which a considerable space on the south front of the mansion is laid out in the most tasteful and pleasing manner, and interspersed with flower-beds, clumps of evergreens and shrubs, and statuary.” The Raywood, approached by a gravel walk 687 yards in length, with its delightful walks and grand old trees, also abounds with statuary. Near the iron gates at which this walk commences is the Rosary, and close by is a pedestal erected by one earl, and inscribed with some chastely beautiful lines by his successor. The Green Terrace Walk, 576 yards in length, is adorned with statuary, and Lady Mary Howard’s Garden is one of the most lovely features on the south front.
The Temple of Diana, from which charming views of the mansion and its surroundings are obtained, is an Ionic erection, and bears in niches over its doors busts of Vespasian, Faustina, Trajan, and Sabina.
The Mausoleum, a circular domed structure, 35 feet in diameter in its interior, and 98 feet in height, contains in its basement sixty-four catacombs built under ground arches. Externally, it is surrounded by a colonnade of twenty-one Doric columns. In the vaults are interred many illustrious members of this truly noble family: among these are the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth Earls of Carlisle; Frances and Caroline, Countesses of Carlisle; and some of the sons and daughters of these “peerless peers and peeresses.” The Mausoleum is interesting as being the first, unconnected with a church, erected in England.
The Pyramid, on St. Ann’s Hill, 28 feet square at its base, and 50 feet in height, was raised in 1728 to the memory of William, Lord Howard, third son of Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, who died in 1639. It contains in its interior a bust, with the inscription—
“Gulielmus Dominus Howard, obiit x die Martis, ætatis suæ octogesimo primo, anno salutis MDCXXXIX;”
and on its north side, on the exterior, the following inscription in marble:—
“William, Lord Howard, third son to Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, who was beheaded by Queen Elizabeth, married Elizabeth, one of the co-heiresses of William, Lord Dacre; by which marriage, and the said William’s great industry and ability, are descended to me most of the estates that I now possess; in grateful remembrance therefore of that noble and beneficent parent, and of that pious and virtuous lady, this monument is erected by Charles, the third Earl of Carlisle of the family of the Howards, their great-great-great-grandson, Anno Domini, 1728.
“To thee, O venerable shade, Who long hast In oblivion laid, This pile I here erect; A tribute small for what thou’st done. Deign to accept the mean return, Pardon the long neglect.
“To thy long labours, to thy care, Thy sons deceased, thy present heir, Their great possessions owe. Spirit Divine, what thanks are due? This will thy memory renew, It’s all I can bestow.”
KEDLESTON HALL.
KEDLESTON, the seat of Lord Scarsdale, is justly considered to be one of the most pure and chaste in design of any of the classical mansions of our English aristocracy. It may, therefore, both on that account and from the beauty of its situation, the interest attaching to the family of its noble owner, and the many associations which surround it, well be called a “Stately Home,” and thus claim to be included in our present volume. At the time of its erection, in 1761, it was pronounced to be one of the most perfect specimens of architectural taste in the kingdom, and it has, consequently, been visited by many persons of note: these have, one and all been lavish in their praises of its proportions and parts, of the interior details and finishing, of the pictures and articles of _virtu_ which it contains, and of its grand old park, studded with the finest of oaks and other forest trees.
Bray, who wrote in 1777, says of the present building—then, it must be remembered, only newly erected—“Kedleston may properly be called the glory of Derbyshire, eclipsing Chatsworth, the ancient boast of the county; the front is magnificent and beautiful, the apartments elegant, at the same time useful, a circumstance not always to be met with in a great house.” This, of course, was before the great additions and alterations were made to and at Chatsworth, and therefore must not be taken to refer to that palatial residence as it now stands. Since Bray’s time, every writer who has spoken of Kedleston speaks in the same strain of praise of its symmetry and design.
Before describing the hall, or speaking of its history, we will, as usual, give a brief genealogical account of the family of its noble owner. The Curzons are said to be descended from Geraline de Curson, or Curzon, who came over with the Conqueror, and was of Breton origin. This Geraline de Curzon was lord of the manor of Locking, in Berkshire, and held, by the grant of the King, many other manors and lands in that county and in Oxfordshire. He was a great benefactor to the abbey of Abingdon. He had three sons, Stephen, Richard, and Geraline, by the first of whom he was succeeded. This Stephen de Curzon, besides the estates in Oxon and Berks to which he had succeeded, had the manor of Fauld, in Staffordshire, granted to him by William de Ferrars, Earl of Derby. He had an only daughter, married to Nicholas Burton, of Fauld, and was succeeded by his brother, Richard de Curzon, who, in the reign of Henry I., held four knight’s fees in Kedleston, Croxhall, Twyford, and Edinghall, in the county of Derby. He was succeeded by his son Robert, who married Alice de Somervile, and was, in turn, succeeded by his eldest son, Richard, who married Petronel, daughter of Richard de Camville, Lord of Creek, or Creeth, by whom he had a son, Robert de Curzon, of Croxhall, “whose line terminated in an heir female, Mary, daughter and sole heiress of Sir George Curzon, who was married to Edward Sackville, Duke of Dorset. Of this family was Cardinal de Curzon, so famous about the time of King John.” Thomas Curzon, grandson of Robert, was succeeded by another Thomas, whose son, Engelard Curzon (_temp._ Henry III.), left issue a son, Richard, who (25 Edward I.) held a fourth part of a knight’s fee at Kedleston. His son, Ralph, was father of Richard de Curzon, who (4 Edward III.) held three parts of a knight’s fee at Kedleston, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Roger de Curzon, of Kedleston, Knt., who was living _temp._ Richard I. His son, Sir John Curzon, who was one of the King’s Council, married Eleanor, daughter of Sir Robert Twyford, and was succeeded by his son John, who married Margaret, daughter of Sir Nicholas de Montgomery, by whom he had issue three sons—viz. Richard, who succeeded him; Walter, who married Isabel, daughter of Robert Saunders, Esq., of Harrington, in the county of Northampton, from which marriage descended the Curzons of Water-Perry; and Henry, who was the great-grandfather of Sir Robert Curzon, created a baron of the German empire by Maximilian in 1500, and a baron of England by Henry VIII., but died without issue. The line of Curzon of Water-Perry, just now alluded to, passed successively from Walter Curzon through his son and grandson, Richard and Vincent, to Sir Francis Curzon, Knt., who married Anne, daughter of Judge Southcote; his son, Sir John Curzon, who married Mary, daughter of Robert, Lord Dormer; Sir Thomas Curzon, Bart. (son of the last), who married Elizabeth Burrow, and was created a baronet in 1661; his son, Sir John Curzon, Bart., who was succeeded by his son, Sir Francis Curzon, Bart., who died without surviving issue. The baronetcy thus became extinct, the family estates of Water-Perry devolving eventually upon Francis, Lord Teynham, who, in consequence, assumed the surname of Curzon in addition to that of Roper.
Richard Curzon, the eldest son and successor of John Curzon and his wife, Margaret Montgomery (just named), was, in the 11th year of Henry VI., Captain of Sandgate Castle, Kent, and was succeeded by his son, John Curzon, of Kedleston. This gentleman, generally known as “John with the white head,” was high sheriff of the counties of Nottingham and Derby in the 15th year of Henry VI., and, four years later, escheator for the same. He married Joan, daughter of Sir John Bagot, by whom he had issue one son, Richard, and four daughters, one of whom married John Ireton, of Ireton, in Derbyshire, and was great-great-grandmother of General Henry Ireton, the celebrated Parliamentarian officer.
Richard Curzon married Alice Willoughby, of Wollaton, of the family of Lord Middleton, and, dying in 1496, left issue by her, two sons—John and Henry—and a daughter, Elizabeth, who was prioress of King’s Mead, Derby. This John de Curzon was high sheriff on three different occasions, and died in the 4th year of Henry VIII. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Stephen Eyre, of Hassop, and was succeeded by his only son and heir, Richard, who married Helen, daughter of German Pole, of Radbourne, by whom he had issue four sons and three daughters. The eldest son, John, dying without issue, was succeeded by his brother Francis (aged twenty-five, 2 Edward VI.), who married Eleanor, co-heiress of Thomas Vernon, of Stokesley, through whom a claim to the barony of Powis was brought into the family. By this lady he had issue four sons (from one of whom the Curzons of Minley were descended) and two daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest son, John Curzon, who took to wife Millicent, daughter of Sir Ralph Sacheverell, and widow of Sir Thomas Gell, of Hopton. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir John Curzon, created a baronet by Charles I. Sir John, who represented the county of Derby in Parliament, 15 and 16 of Charles I., married Patience, daughter of Sir Thomas Crewe, and sister of John, Lord Crewe, of Steene, by whom he had issue four sons—John, Francis, and Thomas, who all died without issue, and Nathaniel, who succeeded him—and three daughters—Patience, who died unmarried; Eleanor, who married Sir John Archer, one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas; and Jane, who married John Stanhope, son of Sir John Stanhope, of Elvaston, brother of Philip, Earl of Chesterfield.