have been found in the buried cities of Pompeii exhibited on The members and visitors were received at the end of the the doors of taverns or wine merchants. A. H. W. In bygone times the Warrens, Earls of Surrey, possessed the privilege of licensing public-houses, and they ordered that every licensed innkeeper should display the Warren arms-chequey, or and azure-upon the exterior of his house. ROB. H. MAIR, LL.D. Editor of "Debretts Peerage," &c. THE HASTINGS FAMILY (Vol. iii. 189, 202, 225).-Sir John de Hastings was summoned to parliament as Baron Hastings in the 18th Edward I. Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of Sir Hugh Hastings, Knt., the male descendant of the first Baron, married Hamon L'Estrange, Esq., and left a son and heir, Sir Nicholas L'Estrange, whose grandson, Nicholas, was created a Baronet in 1629. He married Anne, daughter of Sir Edward Lewknor, last Lord Camoys. The title became extinct in 1760, on the death of Sir Henry L'Estrange, the fifth Baronet, great-grandson of the first Baronet John Hastings, Earl of Pembroke, was actively engaged in the defeat at Rochelle in 1371. "In that yere was Rochel besegid with Frenschmen. And the Kyng sent thidir [year] the erl of Penibrok, Ser Jon Hastingis, for to remeve the sege," &c. He was accidentally killed" In this same yere, [1389.] Jon Hasting, erl of Pembrok, in justing in the presens of the Kyng, was wounded to the deth. He that suret him hite Ser Jon Seint Jon. It was seid of that Kynrod, that fro that tyme of Eymere of Valauns, whech was on of the juges that sat on the deth of Thomas of Lancaster, onto this Jon, that there was nevir erl of Pembrok that saw his fader." t W. WINTERS. long corridor by the chairman (Major Britton), the Honorary Secretary (Mr. Browning), and members of the Council. Divans, chairs, and seats, were placed here and there for the accommodation of the promenading multitude, and shortly before nine, that is, about three-quarters of an hour after the reception had commenced the band of the Royal London Militia struck up with the overture from Italiana in Algeria, by Rossini. The acoustic advantages of the building are not of a nature to permit vocal music being heard to perfecattempt at singing was the performance of a few verses of tion, and it was hence omitted from the programme. The only during the playing of Basquit's Fantasia. The selections "Come back to Erin," by the bandmaster and one of his men from Flotow's Martha were probably the best of the evening. If they did nothing else, they certainly created a lively movement among the crowd. There were evidently not a few among those assembled in these beautiful halls that had never set foot upon the mosaics of South Kensington Museum before this occasion, and to them the cases which we are wont to pass by almost unnoticed, had great attractions. One case particularly seemed to be of special interest to a party of young people, ladies and gentlemen in the full of their appreciation and merriment; others, evidently attracted by the curiosity of the young investigators, gathered round and shared in the enjoyment of the novel and appro priate remarks made on the relics of King Theodore's wealth. There was the crown, 134 inches high and II inches in diameter, which some one thought he must have been glad to get rid of, seeing that it was big enough for a good-sized bird cage, and heavy enough to require shoulder props. The Tarboosh was supposed to be a more suitable head gear, and more in keeping with the anklets exhibited beneath it. The slippers of silver filigree, intended by King Theodore to be sent with an embassy to England as a present to Her Majesty, and a token of his affectionate regard, were merrily discussed by the ladies. The pattern was declared to be a model; it would do either for skating or for walking on the water, the fore parts being somewhat elevated and pointed like an old-fashioned ship's prow. There was a similar pair of shoes, which had actually been worn by the Queen of Abyssinia, 10 inches long 4 inches wide, and it was suggested that one of them must have been the original Cinderilla slipper. The shield, mounted with silver and gilt filigree, was described as formerly having been in the possession of Dejatch Aboorbish, the Governor of the Province of Yejjo, who had been beheaded by King Theodore, at Debra Tabor, in July, 1867. It had been SOCIETY FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE FINE taken at Magdala, and this remarkable trophy was likened, ARTS.-This_society held its third Conversazione of the by a fair looker-on, to a large saucepan-lid, or the top of a session on Thursday week, at the South Kensington paper-basket. In spite of this merriment and good-humour, Museum. By the kind permission of the Council on Educa- developed in an out-of-the-way corner, the etiquette of the tion, the whole of the basement of the South Kensington evening and the occasion was in no way disturbed. There Museum had been placed at the disposal of the society for was no exhibition of novelties, such as is usually met with the occasion. There were between 300 and 400 persons at conversaziones of learned societies; but the graceful present, and among the guests were his Excellency the figures of the ladies, and the picturesque costumes of the Spanish Ambassador, with his lady and suite; Mr. E. B. Asiatic guests, helped to enliven the scene, and kept people Eastwick, C.B., M.P.; the Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Clay; on the qui vive until a late hour, when crowds were asking Major-General Espinosa de Los Monteros (Attaché à la for coats, shawls, umbrellas, cabs, and broughams for the Légation d'Espagne); Señor José Cort (Attaché à la Léga-journey home. This society has elected, as corresponding tion d'Espagne); Hafiz Ahmed Hasan; Szed Jaaffer Hasan; The Honourable Roger Molyneux; Sir E. Reid and Lady Reid; Sir David and Lady Deas; General Stevenson; Dr. Hemming; Messrs. Redgrave, R.A.; Calder Marshall, R.A.; Alexander Mackinnon; M. Roger de Felcourt; Mr. P. V. K. Naida; the Rev. Paxton Hood; the President of the Architectural Association; Mr. and Mrs. Rycroft Reeve; Messrs. Hyde Clark, Plumptre, Hawksley, J. E. Gardner, J. Prichard, Cameron, T. H. Wright, W. Bayliss, F. Fuller; Mr. and Mrs. Hardwicke Lewis; Messrs. Schuberth, John Dalziel, Hanse, Farjeon, and many other distinguished ladies, gentlemen, and artists. MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (Vol. iii. 211).-There are no entries in the chapter minutes relating to the removal of the tablet. Bishop Bennett's interleaved copy of Gunton does not allude to it. He has drawn a pen under the words "This Table continued not long." If neither Bishop Kennet nor Gunton knew anything about it, I do not think any other person or a thor did. I may add that Dr. Bonner does not allude to it in his "History of Fotheringhay." JAMES CATTEL. Librarian of Peterborough Cathedral. Proceedings of Societies. members, Señor José Valleyjo, of Madrid, and Signor Ettose Ferrari, of Rome. The next and last conversazione of the session will take place on Thursday, June the 26th. VICTORIA PHILOSOPHICAL INSTITUTE.-A crowded meeting of the members was held at the house of the Society of Arts, on the 6th inst., the Earl of Harrowby in the chair; the subject of investigation being the question of the flint implements of the drift. The paper, which was read by Mr. W. D. Michell, was illustrated by a large number of diagrams, and three collections of specimens, including one set produced by Mr. J. Evans. After showing the great importance of the question as affecting the origin and antiquity of man in his relation to the post-glacial epoch, after all the many attempts of proving the existence of man in the miocene strata, Mr. Michell was of opinion that these "chipped flints" of the drift-type are the only ever, up to the present hour, fully recognised evidences we possess, be they authentic or otherwise; how the flint-flakes, their chips or knives, scrapers, awls of the archæologist, were most of them the common and natural forms in which flint is noticed to break up, fracture, and cleave universally, wherever the flint and silicious stones are to be found. The drift-tools, called javelin or spear-head and ovals, were remarkable, and often wonderfully "chipped flints" were found in the beds, the finest in the world having been extracted from those at Stanton Downham. Mr. Poley's collection at Brandon was unique, yet all these, from whatever bed they may come, present universally the same identical characters, thus forming a type of their own most clearly defined and marked out; making a chasm and gulf between those of the first and those of the second stone age which it was impossible to bridge over. A gradation-1, size; 2, form, showing extent of chipping the surface of the flint boulder, illustrated by diagrams, from the worst up to the best specimen-was then | gone into. From this very important crucial test he (Mr. Michell), seeing it exactly corresponded with the chipped surface of thousands of shattered flints in the drift-beds, and as well from years of experience of the sea-boards of England, was compelled to come to the conclusion that an ape-human or savage-human hand never did or could have done this chipping on them. This opinion has been always fully confirmed by every flint knapper or other drift-tool hunter of Norfolk and Suffolk, he had ever talked over the matter with. Lapidaries and workers in stone and marble also fully agreed with him, as did mineralogists. These natural causes entered into detail, and first direct attention to the general mechanical and erosive forces of flint-sand as seen in denudation of rocks, the power of blown sand to form curious apparently worked stones, together with the tremendous power of the sand-blast, &c.; the grinding and marble polish given to the shattered flints in these beds by the combined action of sand and water; the erosive and chipping action of this general combined action were brought clearly out by specimens and diagrams. A discussion followed the reading of Mr. Michell's paper, in which Mr. J. Evans, Mr. Whitley, Dr. Carpenter, and others took part, and a vote of thanks to the noble chairman terminated the proceedings. them, a pretext which the Eleians would not admit. The dispute was referred to the Lacedæmonians, but the Eleians, fearing a hostile decision, were proceeding to enforce payment, when the Lacedæmonians sent a force of a thousand men, who besieged the fort of Phyrcon, and garrisoned the city of Lepreum. This was in the second year of the war, just after the Eleians had proclaimed an Olympic truce within their own territory, and were about to proclaim it throughout Greece. Owing to this breach of the established rule, that all military proceedings should at such a time be suspended, the Eleians proceeded no further in proclaiming the Olympic festival which was to follow. This was allowed to drop, and was not held till two years later. It thus happened that one Olympiad extended over six years, instead of four only. This disordered the Olympic reckoning, and thence extended to chronology in general, throwing Sacred History in particular into great confusion. The discovery of the error has furnished a clue by means of which the present erroneous computation may be corrected, the historical accuracy of Holy Scripture may be established, and both Profane and Sacred History, from the great Semitic conquest down to the final destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, may be placed upon a firm basis. 3. On the Sites of Ophir and Taprobane, from Greek and Hindu Authorities, by A. M. Cameron.-After showing on what slight and insufficient grounds the Island of Ceylon was taken for the ancient great maritime kingdom of Taprobane, the author proceeded to consider all that was said of it by the ancient Greek and Roman writers, and showed how, in every particular, including even the philological argument from the name, Taprobane was none other than Tipperah or Tæpra-van, a kingdom which has now receded inland, and is shorn of most of its territories, but which in early times was washed by the ocean and was a most powerful maritime kingdom, and which, further, there is reason to believe, included the Island of Ceylon, as well as Aurea Chersonesus. The origin, seat, and centre of this kingdom, which sent ambassadors to Rome, and which was renowned all over the ancient world, was, and still is, at the north-east extremity of the Bay of Bengal. In the same way it was shown how extremely inaccurate were the general determinations of Ophir, of which there is so much said in the Scriptures, and which seems to have been a place of the highest commercial importance to the early Hebrew, Phoenician, and doubtless Egyptian traders and mariners. It was shown how all the marks of which the Hindus called Tæpara, or Tæpara-van, and the Ophir lead also to the same ancient great maritime kingdom Greeks Taprobane. These results, with reference to Tapro bane and Ophir, both being shown to be one and the same coincide with a shrewd conjecture of the learned Gesenius, great maritime kingdom, are thus very interesting, and who, in his notice of Ophir, drew attention, among other things, to an ancient place called Uppara, the Greek Hip. the mode of interpreting them, is placed at the southernmost puros, which, with the usual inaccuracy of ancient maps, and point of the continent of India. 4. Translation of an Egyptian Hymn to Ammon, by C. W. Goodwin, M.A.The Hymn, now translated for the first time, was taken from a Papyrus of the XIXth Dynasty, in the Museum at Boulac. The language of the poem is of a very sublime description, abounding with archaisms of language which show the hymn to have been founded upon an older sacred poem. The translation was accompanied by an exegetical comment upon the lesser known words and phrases used by the SOCIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY.-At the meeting of this Society, held on the 6th inst. (Dr. Birch, F.S.A., F.R.S.L., President, in the Chair), the following candidates were duly elected Members :-Signor Roger Bouhi, Rome; Lord Harrowby, K.G.; Isaac Brown, Esq., and Mrs. Julia Hussey. The following papers were then read:-I. On the Signification and Etymology of the Hebrew noun "Tirshatha," by Richard Cull, F.S.A.-The author objects to the Persian origin of the word, as conjectured by Gesenius, Lee, and Fürst, and shows that the term was not applied to Nehemiah by Artaxerxes, who appointed him to be Pecha or governor of the province, but by the Jews, as their chief or head. Nehemiah was governor, but the book is a record, not of his government of the province, but of his acts as the chief and leader of the Jews, and of his reorganizing them into a community. The word "Tirshatha" is shown to be a noun derived from a T-conjugation of the verb rosh, to be head, or chief, in power and dignity. 2. On the Olympiads, in connection with the Golden Age of Greece, by W. R. A. Boyle, Esq.-In this paper, after referring to the great battles between Greece and Persia, a rapid sketch was given of the internal divisions and political intrigues between different Grecian States during the Peloponnesian war. One of these arose out of a dispute respecting the payment by the inhabitants of Lepreum to the Eleians, who had the direction of the Olympic Games, of a talent, as a tribute to the Olympian Jupiter. This the Lepreates refused to pay during the war, by reason of the burthens which this imposed upon scribe. ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS.-At the annual general meeting of this institute, held on the 5th inst., the report of the council on the affairs and finances of the society was read and adopted. The report, after stating the increase of members during the past 12 months, made special reference to the recent death of Sir William Tite, C.B., M.P., former president, and to the great services which he had rendered to the Institute in that capacity. The advantages THE ARCHEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND will hold its annual meeting at Exeter on July 29th and following days. Lord Devon has consented to fill the office of President. Answers to Correspondents. which had attended the general conference of architects held from "The Report of the Proceedings of the Meteorological last year were pointed out, in connection with the several Conference at Leipzig," will be resumed :-No. 18 "Can subjects of professional practice, "architectural competi- uniform Times of Observation be introduced for the normal tions" and the "employment of surveyors." The revision observations ?" 20. "Division of the year for the calculaof rules for the architectural examination was stated to have tion of Mean Results." 26. "Regulations to be adopted given new impulse to the scheme, and to have induced more for carrying out the recommendations of a Congress." The candidates to present themselves for that test of professional following papers will be read:-"On Land and Sea ability. After referring to the unusual excellence of the Breezes, by John Knox Laughton, M.A., F.R.A.S. designs and drawings lately submitted for the Institute prizes "Notes on a double Rainbow observed at Kirkwall,” by and Pugin studentship, the report alluded to a petition R. H. Scott, M.A., F.R.S. "On some Results of Temperawhich the Lord Chancellor had undertaken to present to the ture Observations at Durham," by J. J. Plummer. House of Lords from the council of the Institute in connection with his lordships' Bill for the constitution of a Supreme Court of Judicature, under certain clauses of which, it was hoped, might be secured a more speedy and less expensive mode of investigating and settling questions affecting the practice of architects and surveyors than at present exists. A memorial had also been submitted to Mr. Gladstone on the subject of Northumberland House, and the advantage of securing competent supervision of public works, to which attention had been promised. The report announced that a professional dinner would be held at Willis's Rooms on the 11th of June, under the presidency of Sir Gilbert Scott, R.A., which the patrons of architecture would be invited to attend, and when mention would be made of the claims of the Architects' Benevolent Society. Mr. T. H. Wyatt, in retiring from the office of president, referred to the pleasure with which during the past three years he had occupied that position, and the confidence he felt in resigning it to so able a successor as Sir Gilbert Scott. After the election of that gentleman, who, as well as the out-going president, was greeted with loud applause, the meeting proceeded to elect as vice-presidents Messrs. H. Jones, J. Gibson, and G. Vul-quarter an escallop of the last. liamy; as ordinary members of Council, Messrs. G. Aitchison, J. Belcher, C. H. Cooke, H. Dawson, T. Chatfield Clarke, T. Talbot Bury, E. A. Gruning, E. H. Martineau, H. Oliver, W. Papworth, W. M. Fawcett, E. G. Paley, W. M. Teulon, R. J. Withers, and E. Salomons; as hon. secretary, Mr. F. P. Cockerell; and as secretary, Mr. Charles L. Eastlake. Messrs J. Jennings and T. Morris were appointed auditors; and Sir Walter Farquhar and Mr. F. Ouvry were respectively re-elected to the offices of hon. treasurer and hon. solicitor to the Institute. ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY.-At the ordinary meeting held at King's College, on the 7th inst. (Dr. J. Millar, F.L.S., vice president, in the chair), five new Fellows were elected. A paper written by Dr. Maddox was read to the meeting, describing a cestoid parasite which he had found encysted in the neck of a young sheep. The general characteristics of the cyst and the minute structure of sections of it examined under the microscope were fully described, and the presence of immature ova in portions of the parasite was particularly noted. Mr. Charles Stewart thought that the parasite described by Dr. Maddox was no doubt a species of Tonia, the case being one in which the larva of a tapeworm was passing part of its existence in the body of the sheep; he called particular attention to the fact of ova being found during the encysted condition of the creature, a circumstance which he believed to be unique. A paper was also read by Mr. W. K. Parker, F.R.S., "On the development of the facial arches of the Sturgeon," in which the distinguishing characters of the ganoid fishes were explained, and the formation and development of the sturgeon's curious sucker-like mouth were described and illustrated by numerous drawings. The comparative anatomy of the jaws of the ganoid and osseous fishes and of the mammals, during the earliest stages of development, was also clearly pointed out. METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY.-At the Ordinary Meeting of this Society to be held on Wednesday, the 21st inst., at at 7 p.m., by kind permission of the Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers, at 25, Great George Street, Westminster, the adjourned discussion on the following questions, R. A. H.-The Court of Woodmote was held every forty days, for the purpose of inquiring into all offences that had been done in the forest within that time. F. S.-The office of Great Chamberlain of England is hereditary, and of great antiquity. It was enjoyed by the family of De Vere, Earls of Oxford, for nearly six centuries, and is now held jointly by the Marquis of Cholmondeley and Lady Willoughby d'Eresby. counts, or dukes, until it was sold to Burgundy, in 1444. K. P.-The province of Luxemburg was governed by independent J. R.-The second marriage took place in May, 1741. L.-The author of "Mary Powell "was Miss Anne Manning. A. Paget.-The arms are-Sa., a cross, engr., arg., in the dexter T. J. F-Mr. Millais' first picture exhibited at the Royal Academy was Pizarro seizing the Inca of Peru," in 1846. Mountfort, an actor, in 1692, and was himself killed in a duel with the H. Richards-Write to the Hon. Secretary, 4, St. Martin's-place, F. J. S.-The information you require may be obtained from Hart's Army List. R. Oliver-No letter of recommendation is necessary; you are simply required to enter your name and address in a book kept for that purpose. A. H.-The Earldom of Shrewsbury was conferred, in 1442, on Sir John Talbot, K.G., who was twice Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, and "one of the most renowned captains of the warlike age in which Peerage of Ireland. he lived." He was subsequently created Earl of Waterford, in the W. W-The office of armour-bearer to the queen and squire of the royal body in Scotland, is hereditary, and has been held from time immemorial by the family of Seton, of Touch, co. Stirling, now represented by Sir H. J. Seton-Stuart, Bart. M. C. (Durham).-The brasses, &c., in Cobham Church, were restored about ten years ago at the expense of F. C. Brooke, Esq., of Ufford, Suffolk. for distinguished services in the field, but in consideration of a cerThomas Wardle.-The baronetcy you allude to was not conferred tain sum of money which had been lent to Charles II. during his exile, and which had never been refunded. NOTICES. Correspondents who reply to queries would oblige by referring to the volume and page where such queries are to be found. To omit this gives us unnecessary trouble. A few of our correspondents are slow to comprehend that it is desirable to give not only the reference to the query itself, but that such reference should also include all previous replies. Thus a reply given to a query propounded at page 48, Vol. ii., to which a previous reply had been given at page 20, and another at page 32, requires to be set down (Vol. iii. 48, 20, 32). We shall be glad to receive contributions from competent and and generally from any intelligent reader who may be in possession capable persons accomplished in literature or skilled in archæology, of facts, historical or otherwise, likely to be of general interest. Communications for the Editor should be addressed to the Pub lishing Office, 11, Ave Maria-lane, E.C. LONDON, SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1873. CONTENTS.-No. 64. THE CASTLES, HALLS, AND MANOR HOUSES OF ENGLAND:-Wollaton Hall, Nottinghamshire, 241. NOTES:-Antiquities at the International Exhibition: Costumes 243-Inns of Court-Northumberland Antiquities: A Turret on the Roman Wall-The Harrington Tomb in Harpswell Church -Verdict of "Not Proven "-Stonham Aspal, St. Lambert, Suffolk. QUERIES:-St. Thomas the Apostle, 249-"Histoire de l'Eglise Cathedrale de Rouen "-The word "Chapel "-William of Gainsborough, Bishop of Worcester-Enactment against SorcerySheriffs taking the Sacrament-Anne Askew-Sculpture in Lincoln Cathedral-The "Maiden Queen's" Son-Chaucer-Little Gidding-Thule-Hide of Land-The family name of Clive Benbow's Grave-Loxley in Warwickshire-Merchants' MarksAncient Tomb at Stubbers-Dumersquex Family-Did St. Paul ever Visit Britain?-The Hussey Family-Law Circuits-Introduction of Potatoes to England-Masonry in England-Antimony: REPLIES:-Fish as a Christian Symbol, 251-Ancient Inscription at Skirbeck Church, Boston-Charlecote Church-Early Bibles Origin of the word "Parson"-Rood-screen at Eastchurch, Sheppey-Earls of Huntingdon-Ancient Law Terms-Wards of the City of London-"Law-worthy"-Epitaph on Mary Queen of Scots-King Alfred-Dogget's Badge-Cirencester-Public House Chequers. FACTS AND JOTTINGS, 254 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES, 255. THE CASTLES, HALLS, AND MANOR In which all pleasures plenteously abownd, And none does others happinesse envye. The painted flowers; the trees upshooting hye; WOLLATON HALL, the seat of Lord Middleton, is situated about three miles west of the town of Nottingham, near the road leading to Derby. The park is very extensive, and well stocked with deer; whilst the surface of the ground, everywhere broken into gentle undulations, is amply wooded with oak and elm, and being crossed by four stately avenues, presents a succession of sylvan scenery of the most interesting nature--- "Majestic woods of ever vigorous green, Stage upon stage, high waving o'er the hills." The verdant and sloping lawns are here and there diversified by spacious sheets of water, enlivened by swans and other aquatic birds, which, combined with the magnificent appearance of the house itself, constitute a picture scarcely to be surpassed. The village of Wollaton, on the outskirts of the park, is exceedingly rural, and adjacent to it are some extensive coal-pits, the produce of which, or of some others upon the estate, was, it is recorded, given in exchange for the fine freestone from the quarries of Ancaster, in Lincolnshire, with which the mansion was erected, and every stone is said to have been brought from the Ancaster pits on pack-saddles. The chief entrance lodge is a splendid building, in the style of the hall itself, and erected by Wyatt about fifty years ago. Thence a noble avenue of lime-trees, nearly a mile in length, winds with a graceful sweep up to the north front of the mansion. The edifice is in the style of architecture known as the "revival," and is "a combination of regular columns, with ornaments neither Grecian nor Gothic." The building, which is simple in its plan, is square, of two stories, and surrounded at the top by an elaborate parapet, or balustrade, of the fashion prevalent in Queen Elizabeth's time. At the angles are four large towers or wings, rising one story higher than the body of the building, and crowned with ornamented pinnacles and scroll-work. The centre of the fabric rises to a much greater height, and has at the angles circular projecting turrets, or bartizans. The mansion stands on a knoll, and the grouping of the towers and turrets, varying in perspective as it is approached, is in the highest degree picturesque. The effect of the exterior is considerably enhanced by the great extent of the windows, and the elegant scroll-work and tablets with which it is decorated. The house was erected by Sir Francis Willoughby, Knt., the lineal ancestor of Lord Middleton, who, says Camden, built it, "out of ostentation to show his riches." John Thorpe has been named as probably the architect, and as having for his assistant, Robert Smithson, who was buried in the church at Wollaton. Britton gives a copy of the inscription recording his interRobert Smithson, Gent"., Architector and Survayor unto the ment there, as follows: "Here lieth ye body of Mr. most worthy House of Wollaton, with diverse others of great account. He lived in ye Fayth of Christ 79 yeares, and then departed this life ye xvth of October AN'O D'NI 1614." An inscription on the garden front of the building thus records the date of its erection-"EN HAS FRANCISCI WILLUGHBI MILITIS ÆDES RARA ARTE EXTRUCTAS WILLUGHBÆIS RELICTAS: INCHOATE 1580, ET FINITE 1588." Britton, in his "Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain," says that "though the architect's name is not positively recorded, yet when the general design, in composition and detail, be carefully examined and compared with the same in Longleat House, there can be no hesitation in attributing the two buildings to the same artist. Indeed the uniformity of proportion, in the pilasters, windows, and architectural ornaments, would induce a supposition that these members of the two houses were erected from the same working drawings."* Lord Orford, in speaking of Wollaton Hall, seems inclined to carry its style of building to a much earlier date than the reign of Elizabeth, when it is said to have been first introduced. He says, "the taste of all these stately mansions was that bastard style which intervened between Gothic and Grecian architecture; or which, perhaps, was the style that had been invented for the houses of the nobility, when they first ventured, on the settlement of the kingdom after the their fortified dungeons, and consult convenience and magnitermination of the quarrel between the Roses, to abandon ficence; for I am persuaded, that what we call Gothic archientered into the decoration of private houses." tecture was confined solely to religious buildings, and never From the few remaining examples of the style of architecture prevalent immediately after the "contest of the Roses," or even during the time of Henry VIII., which consist, for the most part, of ranges of low apartments, with square-headed windows, with mullions and tracery, it is clear that the style of architecture of Wollaton Hall is not of that period. "Wollaton," says Camden, "is rich in seams of coal, where Sir Francis Willoughby, Knight, nobly descended from the Greys, Marquis of Dorset, in our days, built out of the ground with great charges (yet for the most part levied out of the coal-pits) a stately house with artificial workmanship, standing bleakly, but offering a goodly prospect to the beholder far and near.' Mr. John Throsby, in his additions to Thoroton's "History of Nottinghamshire" (1797), says that "this fabric, taken as one built for a commoner, exceeds the loftiest ideas of imagination; it is wholly of stone, and must have cost the owner an immense fortune." The windows are large, square-headed, and without tracery, and the front and sides of the house are adorned with square projecting Ionic pilasters, with elaborately carved capitals, in pairs. The too great uniformity of the whole is broken by oblong niches, circular ones filled with busts of emperors, em. *Longleat House, Wiltshire, was completed in 1579; and the architect is supposed to have been John of Padua, the designer of several mansions in England about that period. presses, philosophers, &c., and by some very rich mouldings; to which the approach is from the roof of the house, and whilst on the north side there is a porch of grand proportions. where there is a very extensive prospect, the view including A broad flight of steps leads to the entrance hall, which the castles of Nottingham and Belvoir. The chimneys are is appropriated as an armoury, muskets and accoutrements highly ornamental and deserving of attention. In the being displayed on the walls in a regular and ornamental pleasure grounds which adjoin the house much of the ancient style of landscape gardening is preserved, and there are also some statuary and ornamental grottos. manner. Mr. Throsby, in the work before alluded to, concludes his notice of this grand old mansion with the following enthusiastic outburst : -"Lovely art thou, fair Wollaton; magnificent are thy features! In years now venerable, thy towery crested presence, eminently bold seated, strikes the beholder with respectful awe. Unlike many of the visionarybuilt edifices of the present day, designed with but little variation of style, and uniform in disordering architectural order, thee we must admire, chaste in thy component part and presenting an harmonious whole." The great hall, a lofty and spacious apartment, is fitted up and ornamented in the Italian style; but it has been altered from its original appearance, as have some other parts of the house, by Mr. Jeffery Wyatt. It is about seventy feet in length, and the same in height, and has an elegant ceiling, supported by oaken arches of light and open workmanship, arranged in compartments, somewhat similar to the roof of Westminster Hall. At the upper end is a painted screen, with Doric pillars and elaborate carved work, supporting a gallery, in which is a handsome clock and an organ. The walls of the hall, which were originally panelled, are adorned with family portraits and other paintings: among the latter According to Sir Bernard Burke, the family of Willoughby, may be mentioned "Neptune and Amphitrite and C The now represented by Lord Middleton, the present noble Rape of Europa," by Luca Jordano; Wolves and Dogs, by owner of Wollaton Hall, descends from a common ancestor Sneyders; three Landscapes, with figures, by Rosa de with the extinct Lords Willoughby, of Parham, namely, Sir Tivoli; an ancient bird's-eye view of Wollaton Hall and the Christopher Willoughby, K.B., whose youngest son, Sir gardens; a portrait of Charles I., after Vandyck; and a large Thomas, was Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common family piece, in which is introduced the portrait of Sir Hugh Pleas in the reign of Henry VIII. Sir Thomas Willoughby Willoughby, the famous navigator, who was sent out with having married the heiress of Sir Robert Read, of Bore three ships in the reign of Edward VI., for the purpose of Place, in the county of Kent, that property, upon his death. making discoveries in the Northern Ocean. He sailed in in 1545, was inherited by his son Robert, who married May, 1553, and having spent much time about the northern | Dorothy, the daughter of Sir Edward Willoughby, of Wollaislands, was forced, about the middle of September, to put ton. One of the grandsons of the above Robert, namely, into a Lapland harbour, called Arzina, where he and his Sir Percival Willoughby, married Bridget, the eldest whole crew were frozen to death. Over the doors commu-daughter and co-heir of Sir Francis Willoughby, Knt., of nicating with the various apartments on either side of the Wollaton, and thereby acquired that noble scat and the hall, stags' heads with wide-spreading antlers impart a truly greater part of Sir Francis's large estates. Sir Percival baronial effect to this grand apartment. Willoughby represented the county of Nottingham in the The saloon is at once elegant and airy, and contains first parliament of James I., and on his death, about the some good pictures; among which are a Boar Hunt, by beginning of the Civil War, was succeeded by his only surSneyders; some family pictures of the time of Elizabeth, viving son Francis, who also received the honour of knightSir Francis Willoughby, his lady, and their son and daugh-hood, and who died in 1665. He was father of Francis ter, painted by Zucchero; also portraits of the first Lord Willoughby, Esq., one of the greatest virtuosi in Europe, Middleton and the Duchess of Chandos, and a large view whose renowned History of Birds was published in Latin of the house and park at Middleton. From the windows after his death in 1676, and subsequently translated into of this apartment there is a charming prospect of the plea- English. He wrote also, besides some other treatises on sure grounds, with their various ornaments of buildings Natural History, a work entitled "Historiæ Piscium libros and water, backed by fine shady groves. Quator," &c., which was published in 1686. At his death in 1672 he left, besides a daughter-the Duchess of Chandos -two sons, Francis and Thomas. The elder son, Francis, was created a baronet in 1677 with remainder to his brother Thomas, who succeeded him. served in six several parliaments during the reigns of This gentleman, having William III. and Queen Anne, was elevated to the peerage in 1711 as Baron Middleton, of Middleton, Warwickshire. On the death of Thomas, fourth Lord Middleton, without issue, in 1781, the honours and estates of this family passed to his cousin, Henry Willoughby, Esq., of Birdsall, in the county of York. Henry, the present and eighth Lord Middleton, who succeeded to the title and estates on the death of his father's cousin, in 1856, is great-grandson of the Honourable Thomas Willoughby, who was the second son of the first lord. The great staircase on the north side is beautifully painted in fresco, said to be by La Guerre; the ceiling represents the mythological heaven, with an assembly of the Gods and the story of Prometheus; on the walls in the centre is a Roman sacrifice to Apollo, in which the portraits of several of the family are introduced; on the left side Prometheus is represented animating the female statue, and on the right he is seen chained to the rock; the whole group is surrounded by nymphs, graces, &c. The staircase leads to the dining-room, which extends over the entrance hall and armoury; here are some good pictures and family portraits, one of the latter being Sir Richard Willoughby, Knt., who was Lord Chief Justice in the reign of Edward III. The drawing-room is an elegant apartment, and contains some fine paintings. In the billiard-room, over the fireplace, is a portrait of the Earl of Strafford and his secretary, the night The church of Wollaton is old and interesting, and has before the earl's execution, said to be by Vandyck. The some monuments in fair preservation. One to Sir Richard secondary staircase is ornamented with several good landscapes Willoughby and his wife, who died in the fifteenth century, and other pictures. The library contains, a valuable collec-is a fine canopied tomb, and underneath lies the figure of a tion of books, amongst which are an ancient folio missal, skeleton on the floor. This tomb bears date 1481. Another highly illuminated, and the ancient service book of Wollaton monument commemorates Sir Henry Willoughby, who died Church; here are also portraits of Francis Willoughby, the in 1528; he appears, clothed in armour, with his hands eminent naturalist, and a few others. Among the other clasped in the attitude of prayer; two female figures lie on pictures in the house not mentioned above are some by well- either side of him, and upon the lower part of the tomb known Dutch masters. "Grace before Meat," by Heem-are four other figures, two of which are sons, in armour, skirk; "Lions hunting Deer," attributed to Rubens; "A and two daughters habited in the dress of the time. Three Flemish Lady bargaining for Provisions;" and also good pointed arches in the body of the tomb disclose a statue of portraits of Sir Francis Willoughby and Lord Middleton, by a corpse in graveclothes. Sir Joshua Reynolds. In two of the turrets are neat rooms, W. D. |