Part 57

At a little distance across the park is Lowther Church, with the family Mausoleum in its churchyard. The Mausoleum, upon which the gifted poet, the Rev. James Dixon, wrote the following stanza—

“A grander, fairer spot of English ground To rest in till the trump of doom shall blow From the high heavens through land and sea below, In all this ancient realm could not be found. Sheer from beneath, the river’s amber flood, Breaking in white waves ‘gainst the stony shores, Round this green eminence for ever pours The loud voice of its waters, through the wood That clothes its banks, and crowns the airy hills And verdant slopes of Lowther’s wide domain, Swelling and falling with the grand refrain Of Nature’s voice omnipotent. What heart but thrills To these wild charms, lit by the vernal beams, Grey wood, green lawn, and river’s dancing gleams?”——

is a plain Gothic building, containing in its upper room a finely sculptured figure, by Stephens, of “William, Earl of Lonsdale,” 1863. The Church possesses some good Norman features which are worthy of careful examination, and many interesting monuments to the Lowther family. Among these may be named the following:—

In the north transept a large altar tomb to William, first Earl of Lonsdale of the second creation, who died March 19th, 1844; and Augusta, his countess (daughter of John, ninth Earl of Westmoreland), who died March 6th, 1838. Here, too, was buried the late third Earl, who died in August, 1876. There are also tablets to the memory of James, first Earl of Lonsdale, 1802, and his countess, Mary, daughter of John, Earl of Bute, 1824; and to Richard, Lord Lonsdale; and brasses to Colonel the Hon. Henry Cecil Lowther (father of the late earl), 1867; and to Lucy Eleanor, his wife, daughter of Philip, fifth Earl of Harborough, 1848; and to the Hon. Arthur Lowther, their son, 1855.

In the south transept are a remarkably finely sculptured monument with a reclining figure to the memory of John, Viscount Lonsdale and Baron Lowther, 1700, and Catherine, his countess; and other noble monuments to Sir John Lowther, 1637; Sir John, 1675; and Lord William Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck, who married the Hon. Mary Lowther, 1828. In the same transept is a recumbent effigy in plate armour, over which is a tablet of remarkable character, bearing a family pedigree. This almost unique example of inscription is as follows, each item being, on the tablet, enclosed in squares, which, however, we have not followed:—

“IOHN LOWTHER of Lowther in ye═╤═LUCYE his wife davghter of S^r Covetye of Westmerland Knight │ Christopher Curwin Knight │ ┌————————————————————————┬——┘ │ │ HVGNE LOWTHER Esqvire═╤═DORATHYE davghter of Hen^{ry} married │ L^d Clifford They had issve │ ┌——————————————┬————————┴———————┬————————————————————————* │ │ │ MARGARET ANNE married FRAVNCIS married married to Ioh to Tho Wibersh to S^r Henrye Richmond of of Clif to Goodyer Highet Esq^r Esqvire they of Powlswoorth Hath issve Have issve Knight they have iss^e

*——————┬————————————————————————————————┬———————————————┐ │ │ │ RICHARD LOWTHER═╤═FRANCES the GERARD LOWTHER BARBERRIE Knight │ davghter of Esqvier married to married and │ Iohn Middleton Tho Carleton Esqvier had issve │ of Middleton of Carleton Apprentice by │ Esq Esqvi of y^e Law │ they have iss^e │ │ ┌——————┬——┴—————┬—————————┬———————————┬———┬——————┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ANNE married │ GERARD LOWTHER │ HVGH LOWTHER │ WILLIAM LOWTHER to Alexander │ Esq: one │ Capitayne │ married Fetherston │ of y^e Ivstices │ in y^e voyage │ Elinor Wel-Berye of Fetherst │ of y^e Comon │ of Portvgale │ and by Esqvire they │ Pleas in Ireland │ A Dni is │ Her hath Have issue │ │ │ issve │ │ │ ┌—————┘ │ │ │ │ │ FRAVNCIS married S CHRISTOPH LANCELLOTT to Tho: LOWTHER Knt LOWTHER Esqvire Cliborne of married Elinor Sollicitor Cliborne Esq Musgrave General and hath and hath to Qveene Anne issve issve

“S^r Rich: Lowther Knig: succeded Hen: Lo^d: Scroope in ye office of Lo Warden of y^e West Marches, & was thrice a Commissionor in y^e grete affayres betweene England & Scotland, all in ye time of Qveene Elizabeth & after he had seene his children to ye 4th degree geven them vertuous edvcation & meanes to live advanced his brothers & sisters ovt of his owne patrimonye governed his family & kept plentifvll hospitalitye for 57 yeares together, he ended his life ye 27th of Ian: A^o Dni. 1607. Ætas. svæ 77 vttring at his last breth these verses followinge”

Beneath this inscription is a plain black tablet let into the stone, which has, there can be no doubt, at one time borne, or been intended to bear, the verses. It is now quite black and plain, so that the “verses” Sir Richard was “vttring at his last breth” are literally “blank verse.”

In the south aisle are tablets to Colonel Lowther (grandfather of the present Earl of Londale), 1867, and Lucy Eleanor Shorard, his wife, 1848; to Elizabeth, second daughter of William, Earl of Lonsdale, 1869; to Mary, third daughter of the same earl, and widow of Lord Frederick Bentinck, 1863; and to Anne, fourth daughter of the same, and widow of Sir John Beekett of Sowerby, 1871.

From Lowther Church a delightful path leads by the side of the river Lowther to Askham Bridge, near which are the village Church, the charming Rectory-house, and Askham Hall, a noble old Border stronghold, now the residence of the Rev. Dr. Jackson, the respected and venerable Provost of Queen’s College and Rector of Lowther. Few spots in the whole district can compare in loveliness with Askham Bridge. The rocky bed of the river—flat table rock, full of deep wide cracks—the masses of stone hurled down upon its surface, the rich green and brown of its water, the number of fish seen disporting among the rocks, and the rich, deeply tinted, and massive foliage by which the whole is overhung, form a picture of faultless loveliness.

Of the district around Lowther we cannot say more than a few brief words. It is, as we have already observed, a district rich in natural beauties of mountain and lake, of hill and valley, of wood and river; but it is also equally rich in places of historic interest and in objects of antiquarian importance. The whole of the Lake district, including the two counties of Westmoreland and Cumberland, is, indeed, one grand storehouse of places of note, and objects to which attention is worthy to be drawn. It is only of a few that we can speak.

Penrith, one of the oldest towns of the district, with its ruined castle, its beacon, its “giant’s grave” and other Danish or Saxon remains, its famous old grammar school, its interesting church, its plague record,[A] and its altar-piece, the exquisite work of Jacob Thompson; Clifton, memorable as the scene of the battle of Clifton Moor, and where the old border stronghold, the house where the Duke of Cumberland slept, and the oak-tree under which the slain were buried, are still pointed out; Eamont Bridge, where “A welcome into Cumberland” is held out as the sign of the inn on crossing the river into that county, and close by which are the curious earth-works of “King Arthur’s Round Table” and “Mayborough;” Brougham Castle, a grand old ruined fortress, on the site of the Roman station _Broconiacum_, and the place from which Lord Brougham derives his title; Brougham Hall, “the Windsor of the North,” the seat of Lord Brougham and Vaux, a fine castellated mansion, with a glorious chapel, full to repletion with Art-work of costly and elaborate character; the famous stone circle “Long Meg and her daughters,” three hundred and fifty yards in circumference; Dacre Castle, a grand old fortress, whose owners fought at the siege of Acre under Cœur de Lion, and thus named their own stronghold now in ruins; Eden Hall, famous as the hall where is preserved the goblet called the “Luck of Eden Hall,” about which hangs so much traditional mystery, and the prophetic import of the couplet—

“If that glass should break or fall, Farewell the luck of Eden Hall”—

is implicitly believed in; Askham, of which we have already spoken; Greystoke Castle, where “Belted Will” Howard and his wife, “Bessie with the braid apron,” lived; Shap, with its ruined abbey; Ulleswater, the grandest of lakes—wild, lovely, and beautiful, with its banks at its more sylvan end here and there studded with charming villas; Sharrow Bay, a “home of taste,” the seat of Anthony Parkin, Esq., where Art is more happily wedded to Nature than is usually the case, and where the views of the lake are more charming than from any other point; Lyulph’s Tower; Haweswater, another exquisite lake; Hackthorpe, rich in antiquarian interest, but rendered for all time famous as the residence of one of the most gifted sons of Art, Jacob Thompson,[52] from whose easel at the “Hermitage” emanate those marvellous conceptions which have created for him his “name and fame for all time;” Lowther village, planned in military style, and with adjoining battery; Bampton, Helton, and a score or two other places—these are not a tithe of the attractions which the immediate neighbourhood of Lowther Castle presents, and which are all easily visited by the stranger. Thanks to the railway companies—to the Midland more especially, by the formation of its Settle and Carlisle line—the Lake district is opened out to the world, and is able to be visited with real pleasure, with economy of time, with immense benefit, and with perfect comfort. By the line to which we have alluded the traveller passes along the side of one of the loftiest of the whole ranges of mountains, and sees the country mapped out beneath him in rich profusion of wood and meadow and stream, the towns and villages dotted about here and there, and the becks and streams, the tarns and lakes, the rocks and mountains, opened out before him, charmingly diversified and rendered rich in colouring by the ever-changing atmosphere. From London, without change, all this can be reached by the Settle and Carlisle route, and the visitor may thus in a few brief hours be transported from the busy town life of the metropolis into the very heart of the most lovely scenery the world can produce.

CLUMBER.

CLUMBER, the seat of his Grace the Duke of Newcastle, is charmingly situated within about four miles from Worksop, and on the borders of Sherwood Forest. The drive from Worksop, up Sparkin Hill, and so along the highway for the forest, is lovely in the extreme, the road being well wooded on either side, and presenting glimpses of forest scenery that are peculiarly grateful to the eye. Leaving the main road to the left, and entering the grounds by the Lodge, a carriage drive of a mile or more in length through the well-wooded park leads to the mansion, which is at once elegant, picturesque, and “homely.” To it, however, we are only able to devote very brief attention.

Clumber is of comparatively modern erection, having been first built in 1770, and received since then many important additions. It has, therefore, no history attached to it. The place was, till about that time, simply a wild tract of forest land, which the then noble duke who planned and carried out the works cleared and cultivated at an enormous outlay, forming the extensive lake at an expense of some £7,000, and erecting the mansion at a princely cost.

The main feature of the house is its west front, facing the lake: this we have engraved. Its centre is a colonnade, and this gives access to the entrance hall, the oldest portion of the house being a part of the shooting-box, to which magnificent additions have been made. Between the mansion and the lake are the Italian gardens, elegantly laid out in beds of the richest flowers, and well diversified with vases and statuary; in the centre is a fountain of large size (the bowl being nearly thirteen feet in diameter), of white marble and of Italian workmanship.

The family of Pelham, which, with that of Clinton, is represented by the Duke of Newcastle, is of considerable antiquity in the county of Hertford, deriving the name from the manor or lordship of Pelham, in that county, which, in the reign of Edward I., belonged to Walter de Pelham. He died in 1292, leaving two sons—William, who died without issue, and Walter, who was succeeded by his son, Thomas de Pelham. John de Pelham, the grandson of this latter, “was a person of great fame in the reign of King Edward III.; and in memory of his valiant acts, his figure, in armour, with the arms of the family on his breast, was painted on glass in the Chapter-house at Canterbury, being (’tis probable) a benefactor to the cathedral, or was buried there.” At the battle of Poictiers he shared the glory of taking the French king prisoner with “Lord la Warr, and in memory of so signal an action, and the king’s surrendering his sword to them, Sir Roger la Warr, Lord la Warr, had the crampet or chape of his sword for a badge of that honour, and John de Pelham (afterwards knighted) had the buckle of a belt as a mark of the same honour, which was sometimes used by his descendants as a seal manual, and at others the said buckle on each side a cage, being an emblem of the captivity of the said King of France, and was therefore borne as a crest, as in those times was customary.” The “Pelham buckle” is still the badge of the family. Sir John married Joan, daughter of Vincent Herbert, or Finch, ancestor of the Earls of Winchelsea and Nottingham, and was succeeded by his son, John de Pelham, who was no less famous than his father for many great achievements and honourable exploits. He was Constable of Pevensey Castle, Treasurer to the King, Ambassador to the French King, and held many other important offices, and was knighted. Dying in 1428, Sir John was succeeded by his son, Sir John de Pelham, who also held many offices. He married twice: first, Joan, co-heiress of Sir John d’Escures; and, secondly, Joan de Courcy, by whom he had issue, with others, his son and successor, Sir John de Pelham, who married Alice, daughter of Sir Thomas Lewknor, but died without male issue, when the estates passed to his brother, William de Pelham, who also died without issue, and was succeeded by his brother Thomas.

Thomas Pelham was consecutively succeeded by his sons, John and Sir William, the latter of whom married, first, Mary, daughter of Sir Richard Carew; and, secondly, Mary, daughter of William, Lord Sands of the Vine, Lord Chamberlain to Henry VIII. By his first wife he had issue, with others, a son Nicholas, of whom hereafter; and by his second, with others, a son William, who became famous: from him descended the Pelhams of Brocklesby. Sir Nicholas Pelham married Anne Sackville, and, at his death in 1559, was succeeded by his son, Sir John Pelham, who married Judith, daughter of Oliver, Lord St. John of Bletsoe, by whom he had a son, Oliver, who died young four years after his father. He was succeeded by Thomas, brother to Sir John, who was created a baronet in 1611. He married Mary, daughter of Sir Thomas Walsingham, and was succeeded by his son, Sir Thomas Pelham, as second baronet, who married three times, and left issue by his first and third wives. The eldest of these was his successor, Sir John Pelham, Bart., who married the Lady Lucy, daughter of the Earl of Leicester, by whom he had a family of three sons and three daughters. He died in 1702-3, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Thomas Pelham, Bart., who, in 1706, was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Pelham of Laughton, in Sussex.

Lord Pelham married, first, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Jones, Attorney-General, and, secondly, the Lady Grace Holles, youngest daughter of Gilbert, Earl of Clare, and sister of John Holles, fourth Earl of Clare, created Duke of Newcastle (who had married the Lady Margaret Cavendish, daughter and co-heiress of Henry Cavendish, second Duke of Newcastle), by whom he had issue two sons—Thomas and Henry—and five daughters. He died in 1711-12, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Thomas, as second Baron Pelham.

This peer was born in 1693, and by the will of his uncle, John Holles, Duke of Newcastle, “was made his heir, and authorised to bear the name and arms of Holles.” Besides many other important offices, he was made Steward, Keeper, and Warden of the Forest of Sherwood and the Park of Folewood, in the county of Nottingham, and in 1714 was promoted to the dignity of Earl of Clare and Viscount Haughton, with remainder, in default of male issue, to his brother, the Hon. Henry Pelham and his heirs male. In the following year he was created Marquis of Clare and Duke of Newcastle, with the like remainder, and was made a K.G. He married, in 1717, Lady Harriet Godolphin, co-heiress of Lord Godolphin, and granddaughter of John, Duke of Marlborough, but died without issue in 1768. His brother, Henry Pelham, who had married Lady Catherine Manners, daughter of the Duke of Rutland, having also died without surviving male issue, the estates and the titles of Duke of Newcastle and Baron Pelham passed to Henry Clinton, ninth Earl of Lincoln, who had married Catherine, daughter of Henry Pelham, and whose mother was the Lady Lucy Pelham, the Earl assuming the name of Pelham in addition to that of Clinton. His grace had issue—Henry Pelham-Clinton, Earl of Lincoln, who died during his father’s lifetime without male issue, and Lord Thomas Pelham-Clinton, who succeeded to the titles and estates.

Thomas Pelham-Clinton, third Duke of Newcastle, was born in 1752, and married the Lady Anna Maria Stanhope, daughter of the second Earl of Harrington, and by her had issue two sons and two daughters. He died in 1795, and was succeeded by his eldest son—

Henry Pelham Pelham-Clinton, fourth Duke of Newcastle and eleventh Earl of Lincoln, who held many local appointments, and was a man of high attainments. He married, in 1807, Georgiana Elizabeth, daughter of Edward Miller Mundy, Esq., of Shipley Hall, Derbyshire, and by her had issue five daughters—viz. the Ladies Anna Maria, Georgiana, Charlotte, Caroline Augusta, and Henrietta—and six sons, viz. Henry Pelham, Earl of Lincoln (who succeeded him), and Lords Charles Pelham, Thomas Charles Pelham, William, Edward, and Robert Renebald. His grace died in 1864, and was succeeded by his eldest son—

Henry Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, as fifth duke. This nobleman was born in 1811, and, as Earl of Lincoln, represented South Nottinghamshire and the Falkirk burghs in Parliament. His grace, who was a man of the highest integrity, was the confidential friend of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales (who visited Clumber in 1861), was successively Lord Warden of the Stannaries, Chief Secretary for Ireland, Secretary of State for the Colonies, and Secretary of State for War. He married, in 1832, the Lady Susan Harriet Catherine, daughter of the tenth Duke of Hamilton (which marriage was dissolved in 1850, the Duchess in 1860 being married to M. Opdebeck, of Brussels), and by her had issue three sons and one daughter. These were—the present duke (of whom directly); Lord Edward William Pelham-Clinton, born in 1836, married to Matilda, daughter of Sir W. E. Cradock-Hartopp, Bart.; Lord Arthur Pelham-Clinton, M.P., born 1840, who died in 1870; Lord Albert Sydney Pelham-Clinton, born in 1845, and married to Frances Evelyn, widow of Captain E. Stotherd; and the late Lady Susan Charlotte Catherine Pelham-Clinton, born in 1839, married to Lord Adolphus Frederick Charles William Vane-Tempest, son of the third Marquis of Londonderry.

The present head of this illustrious house, Henry Pelham Alexander Pelham-Clinton, sixth Duke of Newcastle, of Newcastle-under-Lyme, and thirteenth Earl of Lincoln, was born in 1834, and educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford. He sat, when Earl of Lincoln, for Newark, and was attached to Lord Grenville’s mission to Russia in 1856. In 1861 his grace married Henrietta Adela, only daughter of the late Henry Thomas Hope, Esq., of Deepdene, Surrey, and Castle Blaney, county Monaghan (by his wife, the Hon. Gertrude Elphinstone, daughter of the fourteenth Lord Elphinstone), by whom he has issue living—Henry Pelham Archibald Douglas, Earl of Lincoln, born in 1864; Lord Henry Francis Hope Pelham-Clinton, born in 1866; the Lady Beatrice Adeline Pelham-Clinton, born in 1862; and the Lady Emily Augusta Mary Pelham-Clinton, born in 1863.

The arms of the Duke of Newcastle are—quarterly, first and fourth _argent_, six cross-crosslets, three, two, and one, _sable_, on a chief, _azure_, two mullets pierced, _or_, for Clinton; second and third, the two coats of Pelham, quarterly, viz. first and fourth _azure_, three pelicans vulning themselves, _argent_, second and third _gules_, two pieces of belts with buckles erect, in pale, the buckles upwards, _argent_ (being an augmentation in commemoration of the part Sir William Pelham took in the capture of the French king at the battle of Poictiers). Crests—first, out of a ducal coronet, _gules_, a plume of five ostrich feathers, _argent_, banded _azure_, for Clinton; second, a peacock in pride, _proper_, for Pelham. Supporters—two greyhounds, _argent_, plain collared and lined, _gules_.

His grace is patron of ten livings—viz. Worksop, Shireoaks, Cromwell, Elksley, Bothansall, Brinsley, Markham Clinton, East Markham, Kirton, and Mapplebeck.

It will not be necessary to describe minutely any of the apartments of this “Home” of the Newcastles—Clumber. The house has been said, very absurdly, to be “a second Chatsworth,” and that “it embraces magnificence and comfort more than any other nobleman’s mansion in England;” but it is not so. It is a noble mansion, some of its rooms being characterized by great elegance and beauty, and by pureness of taste, while others are of a more mediocre character. To some of the apartments and their contents we proceed to direct attention.

The Entrance Hall, with an arcade supporting its ceiling, contains, among other works of Art, a semi-colossal statue of Napoleon, which has usually been ascribed to Canova, but has also, with reason, been stated to be Franzoni’s reproduction of Chaudet’s great work: it was purchased at Carrara, in 1823, by the then Duke of Newcastle. In the same hall, besides others, are Bailey’s statue of the poet Thomson, a fine figure of Paris, and busts of the Duke of Newcastle by Nollekens, Sir Robert Peel, Cromwell, Verschaffer’s Triton and Dolphins, &c.