

E-text prepared by Giovanni Fini and the Online Distributed Proofreading
Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by
Internet Archive (https://archive.org)



Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
      file which includes the original 380 illustrations.
      See 51173-h.htm or 51173-h.zip:
      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/51173/51173-h/51173-h.htm)
      or
      (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/51173/51173-h.zip)


      Images of the original pages are available through
      Internet Archive. See
      https://archive.org/details/statelyhomesofen00jewiiala


Transcriber's note:

      Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).

      A carat character is used to denote superscription. A
      single character following the carat is superscripted
      (example: Conq^r). Multiple superscripted characters are
      enclosed by curly brackets (example: Esq^{re}).





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.




INTRODUCTION.


ENGLAND 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.




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