Part 53

Quite unlike the others, it was, with the exception of the flanking towers at either end, nearly flat. The first, or western of these, called the Duke’s Tower, is very large and square, and of different heights, being, in fact, two towers laid together. Considerably in recess, a rather low curtain connected it with the end of the Great Hall, which, till lately, rose up tower-like, but without projection. Beyond, and nearly in a line, came another curtain, short, but lofty; and then the wedge-like projection of Bulmer’s Tower, which flanked the whole towards the east. This tower, which commemorates Bertram Bulmer, one of the Saxon ancestors of the Nevils, by two raised B’s in its upper story, being of somewhat unusual shape, viz. a pentagon, formed by the application of an equilateral triangle to a square, has given rise to comments and conjectures of the wildest sort. An underground passage, there is little or no doubt, extends from the substructure of this tower to a small blocked-up doorway in one of the bastions of the wall of enceinte above the lake, from which, again, there is reason to think, another traverses its whole length westwards. Passing onwards, we come to the east or north-east front. This is a very fine work, extremely bold and vigorous, set thick with towers, and broken by deep re-entering angles into immense masses. Thoroughly fortress-like and utilitarian in its character, without the least pretence to ornament, it is a masterpiece no less of artistic than constructive skill. Beginning at the south-east angle, we have, in the first place, the great pentagon of Bulmer’s Tower, and the short curtain spoken of as connecting it with the Hall, standing out transept-wise from the latter, and defending it to the east.

A little farther on, and about midway in its length, the Chapel, with its substructure terminating in a lofty tower, performs the same service. Projecting from the lower part of this tower, until destroyed in modern times, was an advanced portal, the exact nature of which cannot be particularised. Again, at about an equal distance, a third transeptal mass, terminating in a tower called Mount Raskelf, stands out from and protects the Hall. A short high curtain, extending between the Chapel Tower and this last, forms at the same time the limit of a small court-yard and a screen to that portion of the Hall which lies behind it. Mount Raskelf is the angle tower between what are, strictly speaking, the east and north fronts. Its northern face and curtain fall back deeply till they join the great square of the Kitchen Tower, which projects at right angles, and is connected by a strong machicolated curtain to the east fabric of Clifford’s Tower, by far the largest in the castle, and of immense strength. This tower is planned with consummate skill. In shape an oblong square, standing almost detached, and set diagonally to the north and west fronts, it not only completely flanks them both, but also, from its close proximity to the Moat-house, could either lend it effectual aid in case of an assault, or render it, if captured, utterly untenable. Turning the angle of Clifford’s Tower, we gain the west front. A strong machicolated curtain, bending slightly westward, connects it with a lofty tower of slight projection, and separated by a short wall space from the well-advanced and diagonally set turrets of the great Gatehouse. A deep recess in the elevation intervenes between the latter and our starting-point, the Duke’s Tower, which stands well out again, and terminates the whole. Passing under the long vault of the great Gatehouse, we reach the Court-yard. Lofty walls close it in on all sides with very picturesque and fine effect, the Great Hall lying to the east. A central tower of beautiful proportion, which stands out at right angles to it, shuts off a smaller court-yard to the north. There are many points about the exterior which require careful examination. First as to detail. What may be considered the typical form of window is very characteristic and peculiar—a single square-topped light, with a rounded trefoil in the head, the eye of which is either sunk or pierced. It is very domestic, and has an excellent effect. In Clifford’s Tower they are superimposed. The windows of the Chapel, which, though good in themselves, are of an ordinary form, square-headed, with net tracery, raise an important and interesting question, viz. What is their probable date, and can we possibly assign them to what may fairly be called the time of the builder of the great Gatehouse? Now the Chapel, which is unquestionably the earliest part of the castle, and thoroughly fortress-like in character, determines by its date the period when the general work of reconstruction and fortifying began. In the Moat Tower, above segmental, circular, and depressed four-centred arches, we have on the summit concave, shoulder-arched doorways of wonderfully pure and early-looking character. The side-windows of the Great Hall, again—pairs of long lancets set closely together, and without hood-moulds—though Transition or Early Perpendicular in date, are almost Early English in composition. We need feel no very great surprise, therefore, if in the Chapel we find a type adopted which was generally expiring. An examination of the masonry on either hand of the great Gate Tower will show that an extensive alteration was made in that part of the castle. It would seem that the face of the original Gatehouse, which probably stood midway between the back and front of the present one, just about where the inner doorway spans the passage, was taken down, and the whole structure brought forward as we see it. The roof proves this almost to demonstration. Within the central archway, towards the Court-yard, it is a simple barrel vault, strengthened with plain chamfered ribs. Without it, where the passage-way widens, it is a well-moulded, beautiful lierne, the ribs producing, perhaps intentionally, the Nevil saltire four times repeated. At the same time the short curtain which connected the old Gatehouse with the tower to the north was advanced level with the face of the latter, and the western half of the Duke’s Tower, already described as a double one, added, so as to flank the front, which now, instead of having a salient angle in the centre, as at first, was, so to say, made square. The outer entrance of the Gatehouse is very fine. Its boldly moulded four-centred arch is surmounted by a second of the same contour, but richly cusped and trefoiled. Above it are three shields, each surrounded with the garter. They are—1st, Nevil; 2nd, St. George; 3rd, Latimer; and fix certainly the erection of this Gatehouse, though it looks so much later, between 1382—the probable date of John Nevil’s second marriage with Elizabeth Latimer—and his death in 1389.

Another most noticeable point about the work is the entire absence of buttresses. Every tower and curtain stands in its own unaided strength. The great diversities of design, especially as seen in the towers, should also be noticed. Without the least approach to affectation or extravagance in any, yet of all the nine included in the central group there are no two which bear the faintest resemblance to each other—the variety and beauty of proportion in its parts, and the admirable way in which they are combined, producing, as they did once, a sky-line perhaps unmatched in England, are really the glories of the castle. A perfect simplicity and directness of purpose, with infinite change and play of line, characterize the building throughout, and stamp it as the work of a master.

Modern alterations have so obscured and destroyed John Nevil’s work in the interior that there is little of it left to see. Still there is something. Leland, who mentions it, says, “The Haul and al the Houses of Offices be large and stately. The Great Chaumber was exceeding large, but now it is fals rofid and divided into two or three partes.” Now if by the “Haul” and “Great Chaumber” he refers to the same thing, which internal evidence seems to show he must, then the worthy itinerant was entirely mistaken. “A recent investigation, accompanied by a vigorous use of the pick, has shown me,” says Mr. Hodgson, “that the Hall, as its external appearance indicates, was always, from the very first, a double one, consisting, that is, of two halls of nearly equal height, one above the other. About ten feet below the present floor I came upon the line of the old one, which had been of wood carried on pillars (whence, perhaps, the mistake of being ‘fals rofid’), the mutilated remains of the great fire-place, and three doorways, all of which I partially opened out. The upper, or Baron’s Hall, called so, perhaps, to distinguish it from the lower, was a noble room. Ranges of long narrow transomed windows lighted it on each side, as well as two large traceried ones of three lights to the south, and another to the north. The roof, a very fine one of oak, was carried on cambered beams, each displaying the saltire on its centre. These were the ordinary arrangements. Extending the full width of the north end was a lofty stone music gallery, with arch cornice. In advance of it the screens, behind which, and leading to the Kitchen, Pantry, and Buttery, were once most likely the usual three doorways, but of these, owing to mutilations, I could only find one. At either end of the passage was a large arched doorway. One of these opened upon a staircase close to the Chapel door, the other upon the roof of a sort of cloister in the Great Court, which must have formed a promenade, and of which also I have found the traces. Platforms of this sort, carried on arches, and occupying an exactly similar position, occur in the castles of Coucy and Creil.”

The Kitchen, though it has a certain air of rudeness, and has lost its ancient fire-place, is still a very interesting relic, and one of the most perfect things in the castle. It occupies the whole interior of a large strong square tower. The windows, which have stepped sills, are set high up in the walls, and are connected by a perforated passage of defence provided with garde-robes, which runs all round. Two pairs of very strong vaulting ribs, intersecting in the centre, carry the louvre, which is of stone and of immense size. The lower part, twelve feet square, rises to upwards of the same height above the leads, and is surmounted by an octagon fifteen feet higher still. Externally it forms a very striking and effective feature. Below the Kitchen a cellar of the same shape and size has a well-groined vaulted roof carried on a central pillar. Another to the east, which has a large double fire-place at one end, has a strongly ribbed circular segmental vault. All the first-floor chambers of the west front, including Clifford’s Tower, have plain barrel vaults. The lower chamber of Bulmer’s Tower had till lately a richly groined vault of great strength and beauty. The Hall Tower has both its lower stories vaulted; the first ribbed, the second plain. The whole of this tower, inside and out, has been wonderfully preserved. Vaults, windows, grilles, doorways, stairs, garde-robes, all are nearly intact, and will bear careful examination. It is really the most perfect thing in the place. The Chapel, all mutilated as it is, still deserves notice. The Sanctuary, which forms the central portion of a tower, has a boldly ribbed quadripartite vault. Above it is a guard-chamber. Its exterior window, above the eastern one of the Chapel, is marked by a very remarkable little hanging machicoulis.

The entrance to Raby is by the Porter’s Lodge in the north-west portion of the embattled outer wall. In this Lodge are found some family relics; among others, the sword worn by Lord Barnard, son of the first Earl of Darlington, at the battle of Fontenoy, where a bullet, striking his sword, broke it, and then, glancing off, disabled its wearer. The Gateway is flanked by two towers, each of which is surmounted by a figure of a mail clad warrior.

The main entrance to the castle itself is on the west side, between two towers. It is a long passage, with groined roof and traces of portcullis; and carriages drive through this passage into the Quadrangle, or Court-yard. Crossing this, and facing the main entrance just alluded to, is the enormous doorway opening into the Great or Entrance Hall. Through this doorway the carriages literally drive into the mansion, and there set down the guests in the Hall itself, which is of great size, with an arched roof, supported by eight octagonal pillars in its centre. “When the brilliant gas above combines its glare with that of two enormous fires, and the roof is echoing to the tramp of horses and the roll of wheels, the visitor cannot but be struck with the unusual entrance,” says a recent writer. In this Hall is hung Turner’s famous picture of Raby Castle.

Above this Great Hall is the famous Baron’s Hall immortalised by Wordsworth, where

“Seven hundred knights, retainers all Of Neville, at the muster’s call, Had sate together in Raby’s hall.”

This Hall, which is 126 feet long by 36 feet broad, is ceiled with oak and contains a large number of family portraits; also “Interior of an Artist’s Studio,” by Teniers, and portraits of Queen Elizabeth, Cromwell, James II., and Frederick, Prince of Wales. The south end of the room is modern, being built over the Octagon Drawing-room. A staircase leads from the Baron’s Hall to the Chapel, renovated by the second duke. Some of the windows are filled with stained glass by Wailes; others with old German glass. The Chapel contains Murillo’s “St. Catherine” and “The Saviour bearing the Cross.”

In most of the apartments of the castle are many fine pictures, portraits and others, among which are the Duke of Cleveland, son of Charles II.; Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland; Lady Barnard, wife of Christopher, Lord Barnard; Harry, second Duke of Cleveland, in his Garter robes; and the first Duke of Cleveland in his uniform as Colonel of the Durham Militia. The Octagon Drawing-room, built by the second duke, is, in all its details, a most elaborate and highly finished apartment. The furniture is elegant. In this room is Hiram Powers’ celebrated statue of the “Greek Slave,” purchased by the second Duke of Cleveland for £1,800.

The Kitchen is a fine specimen of mediæval architecture, and is evidence of the lavish hospitality of a former age. “The enormous oven would have baked bread for an army, and is described by Pennant as being, in his time, used as a wine-cellar, ‘the sides being divided into two parts, and each part holding a hogshead of wine in bottles.’”

It is not necessary for us to enter further into the details of the interior arrangements of the castle. All we need say is, that the rooms are fitted and furnished with all the appliances of Art which might be expected in the home of so enlightened and so liberal-minded a nobleman as his Grace the Duke of Cleveland.

Staindrop, closely adjoining Raby Park, is an interesting town, whose Church contains many monuments to members of the noble families of Nevil and Vane. The Church was restored in 1849. Among the monuments, perhaps the most interesting are an altar-tomb, with recumbent effigies, to Ralph Nevil, Earl of Westmoreland, and his two wives, Margaret, daughter to Hugh, Earl of Stafford, and Joan, daughter to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster; and a monument in wood, with effigies of Henry, fifth Earl of Westmoreland (1564), and his two wives. There is also a magnificent white marble altar-tomb to the first Duke of Cleveland, by Westmacott, the recumbent figure on which is beautifully executed. In the chancel there is a monument, of exquisite design, in the purest white marble, in memory of Sophia, Duchess of Cleveland (wife of the second duke), who died in 1859. Within the altar-rails are other monuments, including those of Henry, second Earl of Darlington, who died in 1792; Margaret, Countess of Darlington, who died in 1800; and Katharine Margaret, Countess of Darlington, who died in 1807. There are also stained-glass windows in memory of Henry, second Duke of Cleveland; one erected by the friends and tenants of the Duke, and the other by Lady Augusta Powlett, his sister-in-law. A monumental brass of chaste design, on the north side of the Church, preserves the memory of William, third Duke of Cleveland. North of the Church is a Mausoleum, erected by the second Duke of Cleveland, in which the remains of the Duke and other members of the family repose.

CLIEFDEN.

OUR notice of “charming Cliefden” must necessarily be brief; not because the “Stately Home” itself lacks of stateliness, of beauty, of grandeur, or of interest; not because the episodes in its history are “few and far between,” or devoid of incident; not because its glorious situation and its picturesque surroundings present few features for the pen to dwell upon, and the poetic or artistic mind to linger over; and not because the genealogies of the families to which it has belonged will not vie both in point of antiquity, in fame, and in noble and illustrious actions with others; but simply because the space at our disposal will admit only of words where we would gladly have written paragraphs. In interest, in beauty, and picturesque surroundings, Cliefden will bear favourable comparison with most others of our series, while it yields to none in the loveliness, the romantic beauty, and the attractiveness of its situation. To take only a cursory glance at such a place is like peeping in at the door of a picture gallery, without having time to note any of the treasures spread on its walls.

Cliefden, now one of the seats of his Grace the Duke of Westminster, is situated in Buckinghamshire, and overlooks the river Thames in its most attractive part. It is to Cliefden that the river here owes its chief loveliness, but it is also to the river that Cliefden is indebted for one of its principal attractions. From the Berkshire side of the Thames the woods and the mansion form a magnificent scene, but it is from the bosom of the stream that its beauties are best understood and most enjoyed. “Cliefden runs along the summit of a lofty ridge which overhangs the river. The outline of this ridge is broken in the most agreeable way; the steep bank is covered with luxuriant foliage, forming a hanging wood of great beauty, or in parts bare, so as to increase the gracefulness of the foliage by the contrast; and the whole bank has run into easy-flowing curves at the bidding of the noble stream which washes its base. A few islands deck this part of the river, and occasionally little tongues of land run out into it, or a tree overhangs it, helping to give vigour to the foreground of the rich landscape. From the summit the views are really magnificent; both up and down the river they are of surpassing beauty. Looking over Windsor, the eye ranges far away till it loses itself in the hazy distance, to which the royal pile gives an aërial grace, while it adds majesty to the whole view. Looking up the river towards Hedsor the charming seat of Lord Boston, we have a prospect little less splendid, though of a different character. A vast extent of country lies at one’s feet, covered with dense wooded tracts, from which ever and anon peeps up an old grey tower; and the blue smoke marks a secluded village, while the glorious river winds away like a broad stream of molten silver.” The immediate grounds, whether Thamesward or landward, are well laid out, and present at every turn spots of beauty and loveliness not excelled elsewhere.

Speaking of the river scenery about Cliefden, Mr. Hall, in his “Book of the Thames,” says, “Those who accuse our great island river of insipidity, who, if they concede its claims to beauty, deny its pretensions to grandeur, will do well to row beneath the thick woods of Taplow and Cliefden, and, looking up, they will have no difficulty in imagining themselves in one of the grandest and richest, in picturesque attractions, of our English lakes; indeed, they will require only the near and distant mountains to fancy themselves under the heights of Glena, in all-beautiful Killarney. Well may we rejoice to scan the charms of our glorious river, and ask the aid of Poetry and Art to give them fame and power. But the painter will fail here. He may select graceful nooks, and a thousand objects will, singly or in groups, present themselves as fitting subjects for his pencil; but he cannot convey to the eye and mind a just idea of the mingled grandeur and beauty of this delicious locality; while the poet will find only themes which have been, ever and everywhere, the chosen and the favoured of his order. Those who row past these charming woods, and note what has been done by taste, in association with wealth, to render every part delightful, ascend any of the heights and examine the ‘prospect,’ near or distant, their enjoyment will be largely enhanced. It is impossible, indeed, to exaggerate the beauty and harmony of the foliage which everywhere surrounds us:—

‘Beautiful in various dyes, The gloomy pine, the poplar blue, The yellow beech, the sable yew, The slender fir that taper grows. The sturdy oak with broad-spread boughs; And, beyond., the purple grove. Haunt of Phyllis—Queen of Love!’

But there are here hundreds of other trees which the poet could not commemorate, for they were unknown in England in his time. All climes and countries have contributed to the wealth of foliage at Cliefden—woods, lawns, and gardens are enriched by tributes from every land to which enterprise has conducted British science to gather treasures converted from exotics into subjects naturalised and ‘at home.’”

Cliefden formerly belonged to the ancient family of Manfeld, of Buckinghamshire, from whom it was purchased by the infamously profligate George Villiers, second Duke of Buckingham, who built the mansion, and expended large sums of money in laying out the grounds and planting them with all the rarities of arboriculture he could procure. He employed Archer, the architect, to design and erect the mansion, and to adorn the grounds with alcoves and other buildings of a like nature.

The house was a commanding square structure, of three stories in height, besides the terrace (440 feet long), and it had wings connected with the main building by a colonnade. It was built of red brick, with stone dressings. He furnished it in a sumptuous manner, and hung its walls with fine tapestry and valuable pictures. Here the Duke brought his mistress, the Countess of Shrewsbury, and here gave full bent to his licentious habits. Thus Cliefden gained an unenviable notoriety, and has been immortalised in song and in prose:—

“Gallant and gay, in Cliefden’s proud alcove, The bower of wanton Shrewsbury and love.”

In 1667-8 the Duke had taken part in a singular triple duel about the Countess, and had mortally wounded her husband by running him through the body. Pepys thus wrote of this duel:—“January 17th. Much discourse of the duell yesterday between the Duke of Buckingham, Holmes, and one Jenkins, on one side, and my Lord of Shrewsbury, Sir John Talbot, and one Bernard Howard, on the other side: and all about my Lady Shrewsbury, who is at this time, and hath for a great while been, a mistress to the Duke of Buckingham. And so her husband challenged him, and they met yesterday in a close near Barne-Elmes, and there fought: and my Lord Shrewsbury is run through the body, from the right breast through the shoulder; and Sir John Talbot all along up one of his armes; and Jenkins killed upon the place, and the rest all in a little measure wounded.