The Stately Homes of England by Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt and S C Samuel Carter Hall

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Title: The Stately Homes of England
Author: Llewellynn Frederick William Jewitt and S. C. (Samuel Carter) Hall
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[i]

THE

STATELY HOMES OF ENGLAND

THE STATELY

HOMES OF ENGLAND

BY

LLEWELLYNN JEWITT, F.S.A., ETC., ETC.

AND

S. C. HALL, F.S.A.

COMPLETE IN TWO SERIES.

ILLUSTRATED WITH

THREE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD

NEW YORK

A. W. LOVERING, IMPORTER.

[ii]
[iii]

[iv]
[v]

E

INTRODUCTION.

NGLAND is rich—immeasurably richer than any other country under the sun—in its
“Homes;” and these homes, whether of the sovereign or of the high nobility, of the
country squire or the merchant-prince, of the artisan or the labourer, whether, in fact,
they are palace or cottage, or of any intermediate grade, have a character possessed

by none other. England, whose

“Home! sweet home!”

has become almost a national anthem—so closely is its sentiment entwined around the hearts
of the people of every class—is, indeed, emphatically a Kingdom of Homes; and these, and
their associations and surroundings, and the love which is felt for them, are its main source of
true greatness. An Englishman feels, wherever he may be, that

“Home is home, however lowly;”

and that, despite the attractions of other countries and the glare and brilliancy of foreign
courts and foreign phases of society, after all

“There’s no place like home”

in his own old fatherland.

Beautifully has the gifted poet, Mrs. Hemans, sung of English “Homes,” and charmingly

has she said—

“The Stately Homes of England,

How beautiful they stand

Amidst their tall ancestral trees

O’er all the pleasant land!”

and thus given to us a title for our present work. Of these “Stately Homes” of our “pleasant
land” we have chosen some few for illustration, not for their stateliness alone, but because the
true nobility of their owners allows their beauties, their splendour, their picturesque
surroundings, and their treasures of art to be seen and enjoyed by all.

Whether “stately” in their proportions or in their style of architecture, in their internal

decorations or their outward surroundings, in the halo of historical associations which encircle
them, or in the families which have made their greatness, and whose high and noble
characters have given them an enduring interest, these “Homes” are indeed a fitting and
pleasant subject for pen and pencil. The task of their illustration has been a peculiarly grateful
one to us, and we have accomplished it with loving hands, and with a sincere desire to make
our work acceptable to a large number of readers.

In the first instance, our notices of these “Stately Homes” appeared in the pages of the

Art-Journal, for which, indeed, they were specially prepared, with the ultimate intention,
now carried out, of issuing them in a collected form. They have, however, now been
rearranged, and have received considerable, and in many instances very important, additions.
The present volume may be looked upon as the first of a short series of volumes devoted to
this pleasant and fascinating subject; others of a similar character, embracing many equally
beautiful, equally interesting, and equally “stately” Homes will follow.

LLEWELLYNN JEWITT.

Winster Hall, Derbyshire.

[vi]

[vii]

CONTENTS OF FIRST SERIES.

PAGE

I. —Alton Towers, Staffordshire
1

II. —Cobham Hall, Kent
37

III. —Mount Edgcumbe, Devonshire
54

IV. —Cothele, Cornwall
70

V. —Alnwick Castle, Northumberland
78

VI. —Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire
116

VII. —Arundel Castle, Sussex
153

VIII. —Penshurst, Kent
172

IX. —Warwick Castle, Warwickshire
192

X. —Haddon Hall, Derbyshire
221

XI. —Hatfield House, Hertfordshire
294

XII. —Cassiobury, Hertfordshire
308

XIII. —Chatsworth, Derbyshire
322

[viii]

[ix]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIRST SERIES.

Page

I.—ALTON TOWERS.

Lion Fountain
1

Ruins of Alton Castle
2

Alton Towers, from the Terrace
4

”
from the Lake
6

The Octagon
8

The Conservatories and Alcove
11

The Temple
19

The Conservatories
22

The Pagoda
24

Choragic Temple
27

View from the Lower Terrace
29

The Gothic Temple
31

Part of the Grounds
33

Hospital of St. John
34

II.—COBHAM HALL.

Initial Letter
37

Cobham Hall
38

The Three Sisters
43

The Lodge
45

Interior of the Church
48

The College Porch
50

The College
52

III.—MOUNT EDGCUMBE.

The Eddystone Lighthouse
54

Plymouth Breakwater
57

Mount Edgcumbe, from Stonehouse Pier
59

The Mansion
61

Lady Emma’s Cottage
64

The Gardens
65

The Ruin, the Sound, Drake’s Island, &c.
68

The Salute Battery
69

IV.—COTHELE.

The Mansion
73

The Landing Place
75

V.—ALNWICK CASTLE.

Lighting the Beacon
78

Plan of Alnwick Castle
80

Alnwick Castle, from the River Aln
81

The Barbican
83

The Prudhoe Tower and Chapel
85

The Keep
87

Norman Gateway in the Keep
89

The Armourer’s Tower
91

Figure of Warrior on the Barbican
93

The Well in the Keep
94

The Constable’s Tower
95

Figure of Warrior on the Barbican
96

The East Garret
98

The Garden Gate, or Warder’s Tower
99

Bond Gate: “Hotspur’s Gate”
103

Alnwick Abbey
105

The Percy Cross
107

Hulne Abbey: The Percy Tower
109

”
The Church
111

The Brislee Tower
114

VI.—HARDWICK HALL.

Ancient Pargetting, and Arms of Cavendish
116

Hardwick Hall, with the Entrance Gateway
118

The West Front
122

The Great Hall
125

The Grand Staircase
127

The Chapel
129

The Presence Chamber
131

Mary Queen of Scots’ Room
133

The Picture Gallery
135

Ancient Lock, and Arms of Hardwick
137

Hardwick Hall, from the Park
139

The Old Hall at Hardwick
142

Interior of the Old Hall
144

Fac-simile of the Countess of Shrewsbury’s Signature
145

Hault Hucknall Church
146

The Grave of Hobbes of Malmesbury in Hault Hucknall Church
148

VII.—ARUNDEL CASTLE.

Horned Owls in the Keep
153

The Quadrangle
156

Entrance Gate, from the Interior
158

The Keep
160

The Library
163

The Church of the Holy Trinity
169

Tombs of Thomas Fitzalan and Lady Beatrix in Arundel Church
171

VIII.—PENSHURST.

The Bell
172

Penshurst, from the President’s Court
174

North and West Fronts
177

View from the Garden
179

The Baron’s Court
182

The Village and Entrance to Churchyard
185

The Record Tower and the Church, from the Garden
186

The Hall and Minstrels’ Gallery
188

IX.—WARWICK CASTLE.

The Swan of Avon
192

The Castle, from the Temple Field
194

The Keep, from the Inner Court
196

Earl of Warwick and Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester
198

Earl of Warwick’s Combat before the Emperor Sigismund and the

Empress
199

Earl of Warwick Departing on a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land
200

Badge of the Earl of Warwick
201

Cæsar’s Tower
202

The Castle, from the Bridge
203

The Castle, from the Island
205

Guy’s Tower
206

The Warder’s Horn
207

The Castle, from the Outer Court
209

The Inner Court, from the Keep
211

Guy’s and the Clock Tower, from the Keep
212

The Castle, from the banks of the Avon
214

The Beauchamp Chapel; Monument of the Founder
216

The Confessional
217

The Oratory
218

Warwick: The East Gate
219

X.—HADDON HALL.

[x]

Dorothy Vernon’s Door
221

Haddon, from the Meadows on the Bakewell Road
223

The “Peacock” at Rowsley
225

Haddon, from the Rowsley Road
226

Arms of Vernon quartering Avenell
227

Arms of Lord Vernon
230

Haddon, from the Meadows
234

The Main Entrance
235

Inside of Gateway
236

Ground and Garden Plan of Haddon
237

The first Court-yard
239

Gateway under the Eagle Tower
240

The Chaplain’s Room
241

The Chapel
242

Norman Font in the Chapel
244

Wall-paintings in the Chapel
248

Steps to State Apartments
249

Roman Altar, Haddon Hall
250

The Banqueting-Hall: with the Minstrels’ Gallery
251

Old Oak-table in the Banqueting-Hall
252

The Hand-lock in the Banqueting-Hall
252

Staircase to Minstrels’ Gallery
253

Oriel Window in the Dining-room
255

Ante-room to the Earl’s Bed-room
256

The Ball-room, or Long Gallery
257

Steps to the Ball-room
259

Dorothy Vernon’s Door: Interior
260

Dorothy Vernon’s Door: Exterior
261

The State Bed-room
263

The Archers’ Room, for Stringing Bows, &c.
264

The Rack for Stringing the Bows
265

The Eagle, or Peverel Tower
266

Gallery across Small Yard
267

Room over the Entrance Gateway
268

The Terrace
270

The Hall from the Terrace
271

Arms of Family of Manners
272

Arms of the Duke of Rutland
278

The Foot-Bridge
279

Ring found at Haddon Hall
280

Washing-Tally found at Haddon Hall
281

Bakewell Church
283

Monument of Sir John Manners and his Wife, Dorothy Vernon
286

Ancient Cross, Bakewell Churchyard
290

XI.—HATFIELD HOUSE.

Armed Knight
294

The Old Palace at Hatfield
295

The Front View
297

The Garden front of Hatfield House
299

The East View
302

The Gallery
304

The Hall
305

XII.—CASSIOBURY.

Crest of the Earl of Essex
308

Back View
310

From the Wood Walks
313

From the South-west
315

The Swiss Cottage
317

The Lodge
318

Monument in the Church at Watford
320

XIII.—CHATSWORTH.

Entrance to the Stables
322

The Old Hall as it formerly stood
325

[xi]

Chatsworth from the River Derwent
333

The Entrance Gates
335

The Grand Entrance-Lodge at Baslow
340

Edensor Mill Lodge and Beeley Bridge
341

Entrance Gate
342

The Bridge over the River Derwent, in the Park
343

The Great Hall and Staircase
344

Vista of the State Apartments
346

Grinling Gibbons’ Masterpiece
348

The Old State Bed-room
349

The State Drawing-room
351

The State Dining room
352

The Drawing-room
355

The Hebe of Canova
356

The Library
357

Fireplace by Westmacott in the Dining-room
359

The Sculpture Gallery
360

Mater Napoleonis
361

The Pavilion and Orangery, from the East
363

Carving over one of the Doors of the Chapel
365

Carving over one of the Doors of the Chapel
366

Carvings in the Chapel
367

The Private or West Library
370

The Sculpture Gallery and Orangery
372

Bust of the late Duke of Devonshire
373

The French Garden
374

The Great Cascade
375

The Alcove
376

Waterworks—The Willow Tree
377

Part of the Rock-work

378

The Great Conservatory
379

Part of the Rock-work—The Rocky Portal
380

The Emperor Fountain
381

The Garden on the West Front
382

West Front from the South
383

The Hunting Tower
384

Mary Queen of Scots’ Bower
385

The late Sir Joseph Paxton’s House
386

The Victoria Regia
388

Edensor Church and Village
389

Monumental Brass to John Beton
391

Cavendish Monument, Edensor Church
392

Tomb of the Sixth Duke of Devonshire
393

The Chatsworth Hotel, Edensor
395

[xii]
[1]

ALTON TOWERS.

WE commence this series with Alton Towers, one of the most

interesting of the many Stately Homes of England that
dignify and glorify the Kingdom; deriving interest not alone
from architectural grandeur and the picturesque and
beautiful scenery by which it is environed, but as a
perpetual reminder of a glorious past—its associations
being closely allied with the leading heroes and worthies of
our country.

The Laureate asks, apparently in a tone of reproach—

“Why don’t these acred sirs

Throw up their parks some dozen times a year,
And let the people breathe?”

The poet cannot be aware that a very large number of

the “parks” of the nobility and gentry of England are
“thrown up” not a “dozen times” but a hundred times in
every year; and that, frequently, thousands of “the people”
breathe therein—as free to all the enjoyments they supply
as the owners themselves. Generally, also, on fixed days,
the chief rooms, such as are highly decorated or contain
pictures—the State Apartments—are open also; and all
that wealth has procured, as far as the eye is concerned, is

as much the property of the humblest artisan as it is of the lord of the soil.

And what a boon it is to the sons and daughters of toil—the hard-handed men—with

their wives and children—workers at the forge, the wheel, and the loom,—who thus make
holiday, obtain enjoyment, and gain health, under the shadows of “tall ancestral trees” planted
centuries ago by men whose names are histories.

Ruins of Alton Castle.

Indeed a closed park, and a shut-up mansion, are, now, not the rule, but the exception;

the noble or wealthy seem eager to share their acquisitions with the people; and continually,
as at Alton Towers, picturesque and comfortable “summer houses” have been erected for the
ease, shelter, and refreshment of all comers. Visitors of any rank or grade are permitted to
wander where they will, and it is gratifying to add, that very rarely has any evil followed such
license. At Alton Towers, a few shillings usually pays the cost consequent upon an inroad of
four thousand modern “iconoclasts:” the grounds being frequently visited by so many in one
day.

The good that hence arises is incalculable: it removes the barriers that separate the rich

from the poor, the peer from the peasant, the magnate from the labourer; and contributes to

[2]

[3]

propagate and confirm the true patriotism that arises from holy love of country.

Alton, Alveton, Elveton, or Aulton, was held by the Crown at the time of taking the

Domesday survey, but, it would appear, afterwards reverted to its original holders; Rohesia,
the only child of the last of whom, brought Alton, by marriage, to Bertram de Verdon, who
had been previously married to Maude, daughter of Robert de Ferrars, first Earl of Derby.
Alveton thus became the caput baroniæ of the Verdon family, its members being Wooton,
Stanton, Farley, Ramsor, Coton, Bradley, Spon, Denston, Stramshall, and Whiston.

From the Verdons, through the Furnivals and Neviles, Alton passed to the Earls of

Shrewsbury, as will be seen from the following notice of the Verdon family. Godfreye
Compte le Verdon, surnamed de Caplif, had a son, Bertram de Verdon, who held Farnham
Royal, Bucks, by grand sergeantry, circa 1080. He had three sons, one of whom, Norman
de Verdon, Lord of Weobly, co. Hereford, married Lasceline, daughter of Geoffrey de
Clinton, and by her had, with other issue, Bertram de Verdon, who was a Crusader, and
founded Croxden, or Crokesden, Abbey, near Alton, in the twenty-third year of Henry II.,
anno 1176. He married twice: his first wife being Maude, daughter of Robert de Ferrars, first
Earl of Derby (who died without issue in 1139), and his second being Rohesia, daughter and
heiress of a former possessor of Alton, through which marriage he became possessed of that
manor, castle, &c. He was Sheriff of the counties of Warwick and Leicester, and, dying at
Joppa, was buried at Acre. By his wife Rohesia (who died in 1215) he had issue—William;
Thomas, who married Eustachia, daughter of Gilbert Bassett; Bertram; Robert; Walter, who
was Constable of Bruges Castle; and Nicholas, through whom the line is continued through
John de Verdon, who, marrying Marjorie, one of the co-heiresses of Walter de Lacie, Lord
Palatine of the county of Meath, had issue by her—Sir Nicholas de Verdon of Ewyas-Lacie
Castle; John de Verdon, Lord of Weobly; Humphrey; Thomas; Agnes; and Theobald, who
was Constable of Ireland, 3rd Edward I., and was in 1306 summoned as Baron Verdon. He
died at Alton in 1309, and was buried at Croxden Abbey. His son, Theobald de Verdon, by
his first wife, Elizabeth, widow of John de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, and daughter and one of the
co-heiresses of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, by “Joane de Acres,” had a daughter,
married to Lord Ferrars of Groby; and, by his second wife, Maude, daughter of Edmund,
first Baron Mortimer of Wigmore, had issue, besides three sons who died during his lifetime,
three daughters, who became his co-heiresses.

Alton Towers, from the Terrace.

One of these, Margaret (who married three times), had Weobly Castle for her portion;

another, Elizabeth, married to Lord de Burghersh, had Ewyas-Lacie Castle for her portion;
and the other, Joan, had for her portion Alton, with its castle and dependencies. This lady
(Joan de Verdon) married, firstly, William de Montague; and, secondly, Thomas, second
Lord Furnival, who, for marrying her without the king’s licence, was fined in the sum of £200.
She had by this marriage two sons, Thomas and William, who were successively third and
fourth Barons Furnival, lords of Hallamshire. This William, Lord Furnival, married Thomasin,
daughter and heiress of Nicholas, second Baron Dagworth of Dagworth, and had by her a
sole daughter and heiress, Joan de Furnival, who, marrying Thomas Neville of Hallamshire,
brother to the Earl of Westmoreland, conveyed to him the title and estates, he being
summoned in 1383 as fifth Baron Furnival. By her he had issue, two daughters and co-
heiresses, the eldest of whom, Maude, “Lady of Hallamshire,” married, in 1408, John Talbot,
afterwards first Earl of Shrewsbury and sixth Baron Talbot of Goderich—“Le Capitaine

[4]

[5]

Anglais.” This nobleman, whose military career was one of the most brilliant recorded in
English history, was summoned as Baron Furnival of Sheffield in 1409; created Earl of
Shrewsbury, 1442; and Earl of Waterford, &c., 1446. He was slain, aged eighty, at
Chatillon, in 1453, and was buried at Whitchurch. This Earl of Shrewsbury, who so
conspicuously figures in Shakespeare’s Henry VI., enjoyed, among his other titles, that of
“Lord Verdon of Alton”—a title which continued in the family, the Alton estates having now
for nearly five centuries uninterruptedly belonged to them.

The titles of this great Earl of Shrewsbury are thus set forth by Shakespeare, when Sir

William Lucy, seeking the Dauphin’s tent, to learn what prisoners have been taken, and to
“survey the bodies of the dead,” demands—

“Where is the great Alcides of the field,
Valiant Lord Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury?
Created, for his rare success in arms,
Great Earl of Washford, Waterford, and Valence
Lord Talbot of Goodrig and Urchinfield,
Lord Strange, of Blackmere, Lord Verdun of Alton,
Lord Cromwell of Wingfield, Lord Furnival of Sheffield,
The thrice victorious Lord of Falconbridge;
Knight of the noble order of Saint George,
Worthy Saint Michael, and the Golden Fleece;
Great Mareshal to Henry the Sixth
Of all his wars within the realm of France.”

To which, it will be remembered, La Pucelle contemptuously replies—

“Here is a silly stately style indeed!
The Turk, that two-and-fifty kingdoms hath—
Writes not so tedious a style as this—
Him that thou magnifiest with all these titles,
Stinking and fly-blown, lies here at our feet.”

From this John, Earl of Shrewsbury,—“the scourge of France,” “so much feared abroad

that with his name the mothers still their babes,”—the manor and estates of Alton and
elsewhere passed to his son, John, second earl, who married Elizabeth Butler, daughter of
James, Earl of Ormond, and was succeeded by his son, John, third earl, who married
Catherine Stafford, daughter of Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham; and was in like manner
succeeded by his son, George, fourth earl, K.G., &c., who was only five years of age at his
father’s death. He was succeeded, as fifth earl, by his son, Francis; who, dying in 1560, was
succeeded by his son, George, as sixth earl.

Alton Towers, from the Lake.

This nobleman married, first, Gertrude Manners, daughter of Thomas, Earl of Rutland;

and, second, Elizabeth (generally known as “Bess of Hardwick,” for an account of whom,

[6]

see the article on Hardwick Hall in the present volume), daughter of John Hardwick, of
Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, and successively widow, first, of Robert Barlow, of Barlow;
second, of Sir William Cavendish, of Chatsworth; and, third, of Sir William St. Loe. She was
the builder of Chatsworth and of Hardwick Hall. To him was confided the care of Mary
Queen of Scots. He was succeeded by his son Gilbert, as seventh earl. This young nobleman
was married before he was fifteen to Mary, daughter of Sir William Cavendish of
Chatsworth. He left no surviving male issue, and was succeeded by his brother, Edward, as
eighth earl, who, having married Jane, daughter of Cuthbert, Lord Ogle, died, without issue,
being the last of this descent, in 1617. The title then passed to a distant branch of the family,
in the person of George Talbot, of Grafton; who, being descended from Sir Gilbert Talbot,
third son of the second earl, succeeded as ninth earl. From him the title descended in regular
lineal succession to Charles, twelfth earl, who was created by George I. Duke of Shrewsbury
and Marquis of Alton, and a K.G. At his death, the dukedom and marquisate expired, and
from that time, until 1868, the earldom has never passed directly from a father to a son. The
thirteenth earl was a Jesuit priest, and he was succeeded by his nephew as fourteenth earl.
Charles, fifteenth earl, dying without issue, in 1827, was succeeded by his nephew, John (son
of John Joseph Talbot, Esq.), who became sixteenth earl. That nobleman died in 1852, and
was succeeded as seventeenth earl, by his cousin, Bertram Arthur Talbot (nephew of
Charles, fifteenth earl), who was the only son of Lieut.-Colonel Charles Thomas Talbot. This
young nobleman was but twenty years of age when he succeeded to the title and estates,
which he enjoyed only four years, dying unmarried at Lisbon, on the 10th of August, 1856.
Earl Bertram, who, like the last few earls his predecessors, was a Roman Catholic,
bequeathed the magnificent estates of Alton Towers to the infant son of the Duke of Norfolk,
Lord Edward Howard, also a Roman Catholic; but Earl Talbot (who was opposed in his
claim by the Duke of Norfolk, acting for Lord Edward Howard; by the Princess Doria
Pamphili, of Rome, the only surviving child of Earl John; and by Major Talbot, of Talbot, co.
Wexford) claimed the peerage and estates as rightful heir. After a long-protracted trial, Earl
Talbot’s claim was admitted by the House of Lords, in 1858; and after another trial his
lordship took formal possession of Alton Towers and the other estates of the family, and thus
became eighteenth Earl of Shrewsbury, in addition to his title of third Earl of Talbot.

His lordship (the Hon. Henry John Chetwynd Talbot, son of Earl Talbot) was born in

1803. He served in the Royal Navy, and became an admiral on the reserved list. He was also
a Knight of the Order of St. Anne of Russia, and of St. Louis of France, a Knight of the
Bath, and a Privy Councillor. In 1830, his lordship, then Mr. Talbot, represented Thetford in
Parliament; and in the following year was elected for Armagh and for Dublin; and from 1837
until 1849, when he entered the Upper House as Earl Talbot, he represented South
Staffordshire. In 1852 his lordship was made a Lord in Waiting to the Queen; in 1858
Captain of the Corps of Gentlemen at Arms; and was also Hereditary Lord High Steward of
Ireland.

[7]

[8]

The Octagon.

He married in 1828 Lady Sarah Elizabeth Beresford, eldest daughter of the second

Marquis of Waterford, and by her had issue living four sons, viz.—Charles John, present,
nineteenth, Earl of Shrewsbury; the Hon. Walter Cecil Talbot, who, in 1869, assumed, by
Royal Sign Manual, the surname of Carpenter in lieu of that of Talbot, on his succeeding to
the Yorkshire estates of the late Countess of Tyrconnell; the Hon. Reginald Arthur James
Talbot, M.P. for Stafford; and the Hon. Alfred Talbot; and three daughters, viz.: Lady
Constance Harriet Mahunesa, married to the Marquis of Lothian; Lady Gertrude Frances;
and Lady Adelaide, married at her father’s death-bed, June 1st, 1868, to the Earl Brownlow.
The eighteenth Earl died in June, 1868, and was succeeded by his son, Charles John,
Viscount Ingestre, M.P., as nineteenth earl.

The present peer, the noble owner of princely Alton, of Ingestre, and of other mansions,

Charles John Talbot, nineteenth Earl of Shrewsbury, fourth Earl of Talbot, of Hemsoll, in the
county of Glamorgan, Earl of Waterford, Viscount Ingestre, of Ingestre, in the county of
Stafford, and Baron Talbot, of Hemsoll, in the county of Glamorgan, Hereditary Lord High
Steward of Ireland, and Premier Earl in the English and Irish peerages, was born in 1830,
and was educated at Eton and at Merton College, Oxford. In 1859 he became M.P. for
North Staffordshire, and, in 1868, for the borough of Stamford. In 1868 he succeeded his
father in the titles and estates, and entered the Upper House. He formerly held a commission
in the 1st Life Guards. His lordship married, in 1855, Anne Theresa, daughter of Commander
Richard Howe Cockerell, R.N., and has issue one son, Charles Henry John, Viscount
Ingestre, born in 1860; and three daughters, the Hon. Theresa Susey Helen Talbot, born in
1856; the Hon. Gwendoline Theresa Talbot, born in 1858; and the Hon. Muriel Frances
Louisa Talbot, born in 1859.

The Earl of Shrewsbury is patron of thirteen livings, eight of which are in Staffordshire,

two in Worcestershire, and one each in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Shropshire.

The arms of the earl are, gules, a lion rampant within a bordure engrailed, or. Crest, on a

chapeau, gules, turned up, ermine, a lion statant, with the tail extended, or. Supporters, two
talbots, argent.

We have thus given a history of this illustrious family from its founder to the present day,

and proceed to describe its principal seat in Staffordshire—the beautiful and “stately home”
of Alton Towers.

The castle of the De Verdons, which was dismantled by the army of the Parliament,

stood on the commanding and truly picturesque eminence now occupied by the unfinished
Roman Catholic Hospital of St. John and other conventual buildings, &c. A remarkably
interesting view, showing the commanding site of the castle, and the valley of Churnet, with

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