Part 62

[29] In Domesday it is stated that in the time of King Edward the Confessor the Castle of Arundel yielded 40_s._ for a mill, 20_s._ for three feasts, and 20_s._ for a pasture. This is of itself sufficient evidence of the high antiquity—going back to Saxon times—of the Castle of Arundel.

[30] It is a curious fact that the ground-rents accruing from streets in the Strand, London—Arundel and Norfolk Streets—are still devoted to the improving and repairing of Arundel Castle. In 1786, considerable arrears being due, the tenants were called upon to pay them; but refused, unless it were agreed to devote them, according to ancient tenure, to such improvements and repairs. The then Duke of Norfolk was compelled to yield a matter in serious dispute; and the result was a thorough restoration of the venerable castle, which, up to that time, had been almost such a ruin as it was left by Sir William Waller during the war between the King and the Parliament. It is said that in these restorations, between the years 1786 and 1816, no less a sum than £600,000 was expended.

[31] In 1863 Penshurst was visited by the Kent and Sussex Archæological Society, when Mr. Parker, of Oxford (to whom archæology owes a large debt of gratitude), read a paper descriptive of the seat of the Sidneys. From that paper we shall quote:—“Mr. Parker said that in the time of William the Conqueror there was a house of importance in that place, occupied by a family named after it, Penchester (the castle on the hill), which showed that the house was fortified at that time, doubtless according to the fashion of the age, with deep trenches and mounds and wooden palisades, as represented in the Bayeux tapestry; and the house within the fortifications must have been a timber house, because if a Norman keep had been there built, there would certainly be some remains of it.”

[32] To the park and to the several state rooms the public are on fixed days freely, graciously, and most generously admitted; and the history of the several leading attractions is related by attentive and intelligent custodians.

[33] Dr. Waagen writes thus of this marvellous work of the great master:—“There is in these features a brutal egotism, an obstinacy, and a harshness of feeling such as I have never yet seen in any human countenance. In the eyes, too, there is the suspicious watchfulness of a wild beast, so that I became quite uncomfortable from looking at it for a long time; for the picture, a masterpiece of Holbein, is as true in the smallest details as if the king himself stood before you.”

[34] It is a pretty legend—and one to which we direct the attention of artists—that while Guy was doing penance as a hermit, his lady was mourning his absence, and praying for his return at the castle. It was her daily custom to bestow alms upon the suffering, sorrowful, and needy; and dole was, among others, frequently given to the husband by the unconscious wife. He was dying at length, and then made himself known to her by the transmission of a ring. So she watched, and prayed, and comforted, beside his death-bed, surviving him but fourteen days; and they were both buried in the cave where the poor penitent had lived and died.

[35] For an account of this stained glass see the “Archæological Journal,” No. 84.

[36] The bridge was erected at the commencement of the present century by George Greville, Earl of Warwick. It is a single arch, forming the segment of a circle, 105 feet in span.

[37] A very pretty little book, entitled “The Peacock at Rowsley,” by John Joseph Briggs. Esq., deserves a friendly recognition. As the journal of a naturalist, an angler, and a lover of nature, it is so sweetly written as to place its author, as a worthy associate, side by side with dear “Old Izaak” or “White of Selborne.”

[38] The old palace is now the stables; its roof of arches, supported by corbels, is intact, and singularly beautiful. Immediately underneath one of the windows is a stone with the inscription, “The last charger of Arthur, Duke of Wellington (descended from his Waterloo charger, Copenhagen), was presented by the second duke to Mary, Marchioness of Salisbury, June 18, 1852, and was buried near this spot Feb. 24, 1861.”

[39] Some highly interesting information upon this subject will be found in Mr. Jewitt’s “Chatsworth.”

[40] For the loan of the engravings of the Church, the Children’s Cottage, the Statue of Sir R. Leveson, and the View from Tittensor we are indebted to Messrs. Albut and Daniel, to whom we desire to express our best thanks.

[41] These are the charges which, according to Shakspere, Jack Cade urged against the Lord Say:—

“Thou hast most traitorously corrupted the youth of the realm, in erecting a grammar-school: and whereas, before, our forefathers had no other books but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used; and, contrary to the king, his crown and dignity, thou hast built a paper-mill. It will be proved to thy face, that thou hast men about thee that usually talk of a noun, and a verb; and such abominable words as no Christian ear can endure to hear. Thou hast appointed justices of peace, to call poor men before them about matters they were not able to answer. Moreover, thou hast put them in prison; and because they could not read thou hast hanged them; when, indeed, only for that cause they have been most worthy to live.”

[42] For an account of this lady and the noble House of Manners see “Belvoir Castle,” pages 6-14.

[43] See page 39 for an account of this lady and her family.

[44] The old castle of Henderskelf, an ancient seat of the Greystocks, was built in the reign of Edward III.; it passed into the hands of the Howards by the marriage of Belted Will with Bessie of the braid apron, “the word Henderskelf; meaning hundred-hill, or the hill where the hundreds meet.”

[45] This bowl and the inscription are still preserved in the Almshouse

[46] We believe, however, these interesting objects have been removed.

[47] The prioress was, in right of her title, a baroness of England. It was of the Benedictine order.

[48] A _catalogue raisonné_ of the marbles is printed in the “Salisbury Volume” of the Archæological Institute (1849), by Charles F. Newton, Esq., M.A., of the British Museum.

[49] The following is this curious report:—

JOHN ROBINSON, ESQ., SECRETARY-GENERAL OF WOODS.

_Report of Acorns planted in and about Windsor Great Park, &c._

Year when Computed number planted. of Acorns planted.

1788 } 1789 } 4,220,000 1790 }

1791 1,098,000

1792 1,530,000

1793 680,000

1794 260,000

1795 136,000

1796 1,160,000

1797 280,000

1798 720,000

1799 420,000

1800 441,000

1801 280,000

——————————

Total 11,225,000

[50] We cordially recommend readers, for a description, with engravings, of many of the principal inscribed stones in this collection, to consult our friend Dr. Bruce’s superb work, the “Lapidarium Septentrionale,” in which many of them are figured; to this we are indebted for the accompanying beautiful engravings, which have been placed at our disposal by Dr. Bruce.

[51] The dimensions of some of these trees are as follows:—The Douglas Fir (_Abies Douglasii_), 75 ft. in height, 6½ ft. circumference a yard from the ground, and 49 ft. across from point to point of the branches; _Abies Menziesii_, height 65 ft., girth 6 ft. at a yard from the ground; _Picea Cephalonica_, 50 ft. high, girth 4 ft. at a yard from the base; _Abies Canadensis_, 42 ft. in height, girth 3 ft.; _Picea pinsapo_, 40 ft. high; and the “Adam and Eve” ash-trees, one of which measures 21 ft. in girth at 5 ft. from the ground. For these dimensions we are indebted to that admirable publication, the _Gardener’s Chronicle_, in which an excellent account of the grounds of Lowther appeared. To that publication we have to express our obligation for the woodcut of the north front of the castle. “A.D. MDXCVIII ex gravi peste, quæ regionibus hisce incubuit, obierunt apud Penrith 2260, Kendal 2500, Richmond 2200, Carlisle 1196. Posteri, Avertite vos et vivite.”

[52] We need only to name one or two of Jacob Thompson’s pictures—the “Harvest Home in the time of Queen Elizabeth,” the “Highland Ferry Boat,” “The Proposal,” “Ulleswater from Sharrow Bay,” the “Highland Bride’s Separation,” “Going to Church,” the “Mountain Ramblers,” “Proserpine,” “Sunny Hours of Childhood,” the “Pet Lamb,” “The Signal,” “Rush-bearing,” “The Vintage,” and “Homeward Bound”—to direct attention to the marvels of high Art which issue from his pencil.

[53] “Transactions of the Architectural Society of the Diocese of Lincoln, 1860.”

[54] Those who desire to know more of the neighbourhood cannot do better than consult Mr. White’s “Worksop, the Dukery, and Sherwood Forest:” it is an interesting, valuable, and useful book. To it we are indebted for the engraving of the Greendale Oak on page 354.

[55] “Le Methode nouvelle & Invention extraordinaire de dresser les Chevaux, les travailler selon la nature et parfaire la nature par la subtilité de l’art; la quelle n’a jamais été treuvée que. Par Le tres noble, haut, et tres-puissant Prince Guillaume Marquis et Comte De Newcastle, Viconte de Mansfield, Baron de Bolsover et Ogle, Seigneur de Cavendish, Bothel et Hepwel; Pair d’Angleterre, Qui eut la charge et l’honneur d’estre Gouverneur du Sereniss’me Prince de Galles en sa jeunesse et maintainant Roy de la Grande Bretagne; Et d’avantage qui est Lieutenant pour le Roy de la Comté de Nottingham et la Forest de Sherwood; Capitaine-General en toutes provinces outre la Riviere de Trent et autres endroits du Royaume d’Angleterre, Gentil-homme de la Chambre du Lit du Roy; Conseiller d’Etat et Prive; et Chevalier de l’Ordre tres-noble de la Iartiere, etc. A Anvers, chez Iacques Van Meurs, l’an M.DC.LVIII.”

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Transcriber's note:

Obvious errors were corrected.

Several occurences in the text of unpaired double quotation marks were not corrected.