S. C. Hall

“ The mansion is approached from the principal Lodge Entrance by a drive through the park, which is finely timbered with forest trees of large growth. These are chiefly oaks, of which there are some remarkably fine and gigantic examples. Under these roam innumerable herds of red and fallow deer, which add much to the beauty of the park scenery. The Lodge, with its overhanging roofs, its mullioned windows, its geometrical chimney-shafts, and its advanced porch, is one of the most picturesque and pleasant in the county. ”

“ 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 ”

“ The entrance to the noble park of Kedleston is by a lodge, designed by Adams from the Arch of Octavia. From it the drive to the house is about a mile in length, amidst the finest forest trees, beneath which hundreds of deer browse in every direction. Nearing the house, the drive is carried over the magnificent lake on a bridge of purely classical design, enriched by statuary; and from it one of the finest views of the mansion and its surroundings is obtained. Near to the drive is a charmingly picturesque fountain, whose waters are constantly flowing through a lion’s mouth. ”

“ Every part of the venerable edifice contains, indeed, some object of interest. The rooms, and halls, and galleries are thronged with rare and beautiful works of Art; a series of perfect vases from Herculaneum lie on the tables of the Picture Gallery; several antique busts and statues line the hall; a magnificent bath, of red Egyptian granite, is placed in the entrance passage; and the furniture and interior decorations are all of corresponding excellence and beauty. ”

“ Surrounded on all sides by charming scenery, and the richest and most abundant land, Hardwick stands in all its majesty and grace, and forms—both in the distance, when a first glimpse of its bold outline is gained from Brackenfield or other heights, or when viewed from nearer points—a striking feature in the landscape. When approached from one of the great centres for Derbyshire tourists, Matlock, the drive is of peculiar interest, and may be, with profit to the future visitor, briefly described. ”

“ The roof is one of the finest imaginable, and from its centre rises a majestic louvre, which at once admits a subdued light and acts as a ventilator. It is of truly noble proportions, and the fire-places and carved stone chimney-pieces are grand in the extreme—the latter bearing the arms, crest, supporters, motto, chapeau, &c., of the Earl of Shrewsbury. The sides of the room were intended to be panelled, as was also the minstrels’ gallery, with carved oak, and a part of this is already placed. ”

“ If we have cathedrals grander, more extensive, and more magnificent than that of Salisbury, we have none more graceful: “the singular uniformity displayed in its design and style, the harmony which pervades its several parts and proportions, and the striking air of brightness, simplicity, and elegance, that reigns throughout the whole, all conspire to invest it with a charm peculiarly its own; whilst the great elevation of its graceful spire renders it without exception the most lofty building in the kingdom.” ”

“ 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. ”

“ The State Dining-room, an elegant apartment, has a richly decorated geometric ceiling and a recessed buffet, the recess being formed by well-proportioned Corinthian columns. The rich cornice, the gilt festoons that adorn the walls, the mirrors between the windows, the antique Venetian crystal-glass chandelier and side lights, and the silver-gilt service on the buffets give a sumptuous air to the room, while the four magnificent Snyders, and the other fine old paintings which adorn the walls, add materially to its beauty. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The Drawing-room opens from the Saloon, and is over the Library: it is an elegant room, with a ceiling of moulded pargetting in scrolls and foliage, and is of great elegance in all its appointments. At the opposite end of the Saloon a doorway opens into an apartment over the Dining-room. It is now disused, but, with its panelled frescoed walls and beautifully decorated ceiling, is an apartment of much interest.
The remainder of the rooms of this grand old mansion do not require special notice; it is enough to say they are all full of interest, and that they contain many pictures of value. ”

“ The visitor now stands before the old gateway, with its massive nail-studded door, and will note the noble flight of freestone steps, where time and use have left the marks of frequent footsteps. Indeed, the top step—just opposite the small entrance wicket in the larger door—is actually worn through in the shape of a human foot. He will also notice the extreme beauty and elegance of design of the Gothic architecture of this part of the building, and the heraldic bearings with which it is decorated. ”

“ Lloyd, in his “Lives of the Statesmen and Favourites of England since the Reformation,” thus speaks of Sir John Pakington:—“His handsome features look the most, and his neat parts the wisest at court. He could smile ladies to his service, and argue statesmen to his design with equal ease. His reason was powerful, his beauty more. Never was a brave soul more bravely seated; nature bestowed great parts on him, education polished him to an admirable frame of prudence and virtue; Queen Elizabeth called him her Temperance, and Leicester his Modesty. ”

“ The Cut-Velvet Room, leading from the dining-room, is a noble apartment, hung with tapestry, and containing a stately bed with plumes. Over the fire-place, in parget-work, as in other rooms, is a series of armorial bearings, among which again occur the arms of Hardwick, with supporters and coronet. Adjoining this is a charming dressing-room, hung with the most exquisite needlework in silk. Passing down the minstrels’ gallery from the dining-room to the drawing-room, some fine specimens of needlework, by the Countess of Shrewsbury, and by Mary, Queen of Scots, are carefully preserved in frames. ”

“ Of the collection of trees and plants preserved in this giant conservatory, it is not necessary to speak further than to say that from the smallest aquatic plants up to the most stately palm-trees, and from the banana down to the papyrus and the delicate ferns, every conceivable rarity and beauty is here, flourishing in native luxuriance and in endless profusion. Beneath the conservatory a railway runs around the entire building, for fuel and other purposes. ”

“ PURSUING the carriage-way to Trentham, the visitor passes to the house from the park through a pair of gates, the posts of which are surmounted with life-size bronze stags. In the centre of the circular drive is a fine bronze statue of Diana at the chase. The carriage porch, which, unlike the rest of the building, is of solid stone, forms a square, arched upon columns, with an entablature and attic surmounted with a balustrade, and piers and bases. Over the arches are the arms of the Duke, boldly carved in stone; the supporters, wolves, as large as life. ”

“ The entrance doorway is in the centre of the north side, and immediately in front is the Grand Staircase, across the landing of which is a noble arcade of three lofty pointed archways rising from clustered columns. From the angled corners of the Hall doorways open to passages leading to the domestic offices. At each end of this fine apartment, and again in front of each pillar between and adjoining the flights of stairs, are suits of ancient armour standing on lofty pedestals, ranges of the old “Black Bess” guns of the old Cumberland Militia and other trophies of arms decorating the walls. ”

“ The Billiard or Music-room, and the Grand Drawing-rooms, which form one continued suite, are as well-proportioned, as chastely and elegantly decorated, and as magnificently furnished, as can well be imagined, and they contain a matchless collection of works of art. In the billiard-room, from which a door opens into the gallery of the chapel, are several remarkably good paintings, the most striking of which are an admirable full-length portrait of the present Duke of Devonshire, seated, and a full-length portrait of the father of the present noble Duke. ”

“ By the Earl of Shrewsbury the Countess had no issue, and he dying in 1590, she, “Bess of Hardwick,” became, for the fourth time, a widow. “A change of conditions,” says Bishop Kennet, “that perhaps never fell to the lot of one woman, to be four times a creditable and happy wife; to rise by every husband into greater wealth and higher honours; to have a numerous issue by one husband only; to have all those children live, and all by her advice be creditably disposed of in her lifetime; and, after all, to live seventeen years a widow in absolute power and plenty.” ”

“ The Staircase leads, almost direct, to King James’s Room, or the Great Chamber, one of the noblest apartments of the house, the extreme magnificence of which it is not easy to describe; in truth, it is too rich, and the eye turns involuntarily to the grand oriel windows for relief. The ceiling is of exquisite design, and was till recently plain white; now it is all gold and colours. The chimney-piece is massive, of white marble; and a central niche over the fire contains a life-size statue of James I. in dark stone. The fire-dogs are of silver; the furniture and the six chandeliers are gilt ”

“ There is no enclosed park; and park palings, lodges, bolts, bars, and locks are unknown. The Duke, in this noble [1003] mansion, rests in the midst of his immense estates, and draws no cordon around him. The roads, right up to the very castle, are open and free to all, and restriction is unknown. For miles in extent, and from every side, the public may wander on foot, or ride or drive, through the estate and up to the very doors, unmolested, and untrammelled by fear of porters, or deterred by appliances of state or ceremony. ”

“ Among other interesting features in this chapel—and they are many—is a fac-simile of the ancient tomb of Sir Richard Edgcumbe, at Morlaix.
The grounds are charmingly wild, yet graceful. Nature is in a great degree left to have her own way; the trees are of magnificent size (one of them indeed measures 28 feet in girth) , ferns and wild flowers grow in rich luxuriance: every now and then glimpses are obtained of the beautiful river, and, on the opposite side, of the hill-steeps and thick woods of Devonshire. A pretty landing-place for boats is among the most picturesque points in the landscape ”

“ Superb trees grow in the immediate grounds, huge chestnuts and gigantic cedars, that have sheltered the stout earls time out of mind: the walls are grey with age; but it is a sober livery that well suits the stronghold of the bold barons, and suggests the tranquillity of repose after the fever of battles, sieges, and deeds that cannot fail to be summoned from history as one looks from the filled-up moat to the towers and battlements that still smile or frown upon the environing town they controlled or protected. ”

“ The fourth doorway opens at the foot of a flight of stairs leading up to the apartments on the north side, which, for more than half its length, contains a second as well as a first floor. These rooms are many in number, and curiously labyrinthine in construction, and although not possessing attraction enough to be shown to the general visitor, are nevertheless among the most interesting in the mansion. Some of them are hung with tapestry which ranks among the best in the house: one room especially, where groups of children gathering fruit are depicted, is peculiarly beautiful. ”

“ In the chapel is the monument of the founder, which is, with only one exception, the most splendid monument of its kind in the kingdom. It is an altar-tomb of Purbeck marble, bearing the recumbent effigy of the great earl, in fine latten brass, gilt. His head, uncovered, rests upon a helmet, and at his feet are a bear and a griffin. The tomb is surmounted by one of the few “hearses” that yet remain in our churches. It consists of six hoops of brass, extended by five transverse brass rods, on which formerly was hung a pall, “to keep the figure reverently from the dust.” ”