The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 576 by Various
V >>
Various >> The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction, No. 576
THE MIRROR OF LITERATURE, AMUSEMENT, AND INSTRUCTION.
Vol. 20 No. 576.] SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1832. [PRICE 2d.
[Illustration]
WINGFIELD MANOR-HOUSE.
This interesting structure is referred to by a clever writer[1] as one
of the richest specimens extant of the highly-ornamented embattled
mansions of the time of Henry VII. and VIII., the period of transition
from the castle to the palace, and undoubtedly the best aera of
English architecture. This judgment will be found confirmed in the
writings of distinguished antiquarians; and the reader's attention to
the descriptive details of this building will be important in
connexion with several notices, in our recent pages, of old English
domestic architecture.
[1] See the paper in part quoted in our pages from the
_Quarterly Review_, No. 90.
The manor of Wingfield, or Winfield, is situated four or five miles to
the eastward of the centre of Derbyshire. The early lords had two
parks, which, according to a survey made in 1655, contained nearly
1,100 acres. These parks are now divided into farms: on the border of
one of them are a moat and other remains of an ancient mansion,
traditionally said to have been called Bakewell Hall; by some, this is
supposed to have been the original mansion, which is said by others to
have been near the Peacock Inn, on the road between Derby and
Chesterfield. The present Manor-House, (as represented in the
Engraving,) according to Camden, was built about the year 1440, by
Ralph, Lord Cromwell, in the time of Henry VI. This Lord Cromwell was
treasurer of England; and the testimony of Camden that he was the
founder, is strongly corroborated by the bags or purses of stones,
(alluding to the office of treasurer which he filled,) carved over the
gateway leading into the quadrangle. Bags or purses are mentioned to
have been carved on the manor-house of Coly Weston, in Northamptonshire,
augmented by this Lord Cromwell; and there were also similar ornaments
carved in wood, removed about a century ago from Wingfield Manor.
The Manor-House originally consisted of two square courts, one of
which, to the north, has been built on all sides, and the south side
of it forms the north side of the south court, which has also ranges
of buildings on the east and west sides, and on part of the south. The
latter court seems principally to have consisted of offices. The first
entrance is under an arched gateway on the east side of the south
court. The arch of this gateway being a semicircle, was probably
erected subsequently to the rest of the building: hence the
communication with the inner court is under an arched gateway in the
middle of the north side of the south court. One half of this range of
building seems originally to have been used as a hall, which was
lighted by a beautiful octagon window, and through a range of Gothic
windows to the south, now broken away, and a correspondent range to
the north. This part of the house was afterwards divided and
subdivided into several apartments: these have suffered the same fate
as the noble hall, the magnificence of which their erection destroyed.
In the other part of this range are the portal, the remains of the
chapel, and of the great state apartment, lighted by another rich
Gothic window. Little or no part of the east side of the building
remains; and only the outer wall and some broken turrets were a few
years since, standing on the west side of the north court.
In the thirty-third year of the reign of Henry VIII. it appears that
Wingfield Manor was in the possession of the Earl of Shrewsbury; and
in the time of Queen Elizabeth, the Earl of Shrewsbury held in his
custody here the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scotland. Her suit of
apartments, tradition informs us, was on the west side of the north
court. This, in the memory of persons living but a few years since,
was the most beautiful part of the building: it communicated with the
great tower, whence it is said the ill-starred captive had sometimes
an opportunity of seeing the friends approach with whom she held a
secret correspondence; and "this tradition appears to have been
founded upon good authority."[2] It is inferred that her captivity at
Wingfield commenced in 1569, in which year an attempt was made by
Leonard Dacre to rescue her; after which, Elizabeth, becoming
suspicious of the Earl of Shrewsbury, under pretence of his lordship's
being in ill health, directed the Earl of Huntingdon to take care of
the Queen of Scots in Shrewsbury's house; and her train was reduced to
thirty persons. This event happened the year after Mary was removed
from Bolton Castle, in Yorkshire, to Tutbury Castle, in Staffordshire,
and placed under the care of the Earl of Shrewsbury. Her captivity at
Wingfield is stated to have extended to nine years; but it is
improbable that so large a proportion of the time she was in the
custody of this nobleman, should be spent here: for it is well known,
that from 1568 to 1584, she was at Buxton, Sheffield, Coventry,
Tutbury, and other places, and, if her confinement here continued so
long, it must have been with many intervals of absence.
[2] Antiquarian and Topographical Cabinet, vol. i.
The Manor-House continued to be the occasional residence of the
Shrewsburys till the death of Earl Gilbert, in the year 1616, who
dying without male issue, the whole of his estates in this part of the
kingdom descended to his three daughters and co-heirs by marriage, and
their descendants, till one of the latter, the Hon. Henry Howard,
becoming Duke of Norfolk, sold his portion to different tenants; and
in the year 1666, we find Mr. Emanuel Halton resident at the
Manor-House. He was a man of considerable literary and scientific
attainments, as well as of good family, his father being sheriff of
Cumberland in 1652. Being employed as auditor to Henry, Duke of
Norfolk, he was, through that connexion, introduced into Derbyshire,
and spent the latter part of his life, which was devoted to music and
mathematics, at Wingfield. In the Appendix to Foster's _Mathematical
Miscellanies_ are some of his pieces. In the year 1676 he observed an
eclipse of the sun at Wingfield, which was published in the
_Philosophical Transactions_ for that year. The Manor was, in 1817, in
the possession of Wingfield Halton, Esq., great grandson of the
aforesaid Emanuel; but it was not then inhabited. The last of the
Halton family who resided at the Manor-House became its spoiler; for,
desiring to build himself a house at the foot of the high hill upon
which the mansion stands, he pulled down and unroofed part of the fine
old structure--so that the hall, with its proud emblazonry of the
Shrewsbury arms and quarterings, became exposed to the decaying
influences of the elements.[3] The mansion had been, however,
previously much injured during the civil wars, in the reign of Charles
I.; and there are a few singular incidents in its fate. The house
being possessed by the royal party, was besieged and taken by Lord
Grey, of Groby, and Sir John Gall, of Hopton--brave officers in the
service of the parliament, who, according to Whitelock, voted them a
letter of thanks for this and other services. The assault was begun on
the east side, with cannon planted on Pentridge Common, and a
half-moon battery raised for its defence in this quarter was soon
carried; but a breach being found impracticable, the cannon were
removed to a wood on the opposite side. They soon opened a
considerable breach in the wall, and captured the place. Colonel
Dalby, who was the governor, was killed during the siege. He had
disguised himself in the dress of a common soldier, but being seen and
known by a deserter, he was shot by him in the face as he walked in
one of the stables. The hole through which the assailant introduced
his murderous musket might lately be seen, near the porter's lodge.
[3] The strange taste, or rather Vandalism, which despoiled
the Manor House, had well nigh led the Halton family to
consider the valuable MSS. and correspondence of their
philosophical ancestor as so much waste paper.
* * * * *
POSTS FOR THE CONVEYANCE OF LETTERS.
Posts of some kind or other appear to have been in extensive use, and
to have been held in high importance, by all civilized nations, from
an early period of history to the times we live in. Attempts were at
first made to carry on correspondence by the means of pigeons and
other birds, and though the attempt did not altogether fail, yet it
was never carried into extensive practice, and in the progress of time
was totally disused. The first establishment of Posts can be traced to
the times of the ancient Persians. The honour of their invention is
ascribed to Cyrus. It appears that on his conception of his Scythian
expedition, he caused certain Post-houses to be erected on all the
principal roads. These houses were a day's journey from each other;
and Cyrus employed horsemen to convey the intelligence from the army
to the first Post-house, and so to the second and third, till the end
of the Post-houses, which was at Susa. The news of his victories was
thus conveyed to his people in an almost incredible space of time. The
Greeks were also in the possession of regular posts, but we have no
data from which we can judge of the manner in which they were
conducted, who founded them, or where they were first established.
At Rome, Posts and Post-houses were established, and designated
_statores_ and _stationes_; they were founded by the senate at a very
early period of the Republic. They were at first very ill managed, the
delivery of the post being extremely irregular, and confined to the
great roads; but Augustus extended them throughout all parts of his
mighty empire, and issued commands which appointed certain days for
the delivery of the posts. At their first establishment the Posts were
carried by young men on foot, who were met by others at the appointed
post stations, but horses and chariots were substituted in their stead
by Augustus.
The earliest institution of Posts in modern times was about the year
807. Charlemagne after he had subjugated to his power Germany, Italy,
and a large part of Spain, seeing the inconvenience which the
Government suffered from the non-delivery of important despatches from
the governors of these distant parts of his dominion, caused Posts to
be established at the expense of the people; but like the majority of
the wise institutions of this warrior-statesman, shortly after his
decease, they were discontinued, and till a long period after no
traces are to be found of similar establishments. It is highly
probable that they were re-instituted in the year 1484, by Louis XI.
who employed in this department 230 couriers and messengers.
Succeeding kings instituted officers expressly to superintend the
Posts, as great abuses had crept in from time to time, but the
multiplicity of the new made officers, and the frequent changes in the
organization of the Post Office, kept the public from putting any
faith in it, and it had almost ceased to exist when some spirited
official men by organizing a new plan, and by giving a certainty to
the public of the delivery of their letters, saved it from
discontinuance.
From France the institution gradually spread over the other countries
of Europe. In Germany, which country was one of the first to adopt the
system of the French Posts were established through the influence and
at the expense of Count Taxis, who was denominated "the Patriot." The
wishes of the people caught the heart of the Emperor Matthias, who to
reward Taxis for his public spirit, gave him the office of
Post-master, and assigned it to his descendants for ever.
In England Posts appear to have been established as early as the reign
of Edward III.; but the records of them handed down to us are obscure
and uncertain. In the reign of Edward VI. they were however in full
vigour: an Act of Parliament passed in 1548, which we have now before
us, fixes the rate of postage at one penny per mile. The Posts here
referred to were only used on important occasions. James I. erected a
Post Office, which he placed under the control of Matthew de Questor;
the office was claimed by Lord Stanhope, whose claim, however, was
disallowed; but owing to the detection of de Questor in some
mal-practices, the office was given and confirmed to W. Frizee and
Thos. Witherings. In the year 1635, Charles I. erected a letter-office
for England and Scotland, which he placed under the direction of the
before-mentioned Thomas Witherings, who conducted it honourably, but
was afterwards superseded for _supposed_ abuses--a charge which was
never proved. The rate paid about that time was "twopence for a
letter, from 30 to 140 miles." The Posts then established were shortly
after extended to the principal roads of England, and were from time
to time increased, till they were spread over the kingdom, to the
great benefit of a commercial people.
The Post Office forms one of the chief branches of the revenue, and
the total received for the conveyance of letters during the last
quarter amounted to 33,000_l_.
The present arrangements of the Post Office, at least as far as they
are known, the certainty of the transmission of letters, the economy
with which it is conducted, are the theme of admiration by the nation
at large, and more particularly by foreigners.
E.J.H.
* * * * *
ETHELBERT AND ELFRIDA.
AN HISTORICAL TALE.
Night wanes apace!--The crowd are gone;
The lamps have ceased to glow;
And Cynthia's beams reflect upon
The placid lake below.
The song of mirth is heard no more;
No guests the goblet fill;
The banquet's revelry is o'er,
All--all is hush'd and still.
No more, amid the stately pile,
The dance afford's delight;
Nor tale, nor jocund sports beguile
The silent hours of night.
All seek the downy couch of sleep--
The host, and worthy guest;
The drowsy guards on duty keep,
And envy them their rest.
No minstrels strike th' enliv'ning string--
None blow the twanging horn;
The nightingale has ceas'd to sing,
And slowly breaks the morn.
The portals of the dappled East
Assume their bright array;
The Sun, in new-born splendour drest,
Drives sable clouds away.
Thick vapours from the earth arise,
And pass away unseen,
Till night again shall veil the skies,
Now lucid and serene.
Above proud Offa's gate the gold
Embroider'd banners hung--
And 'scutcheon'd shields emblazon'd told
From whence his race had sprung!
The glitt'ring lance and crested plume
Adorn the sculptur'd wall,
And deep'ning shadows cast a gloom
Around his spacious hall!
On "South Town's" "heav'n directed" fanes
Sol sheds his glowing ray;
And Peace, and Joy, through Mercia's plains
Their gladsome sceptre sway.
How diff'rent far the scene will be
When night appears again;--
O'er all _now_ reigns festivity,
But lamentation _then_!
A richly silver-braided vest
The virgin train prepare--
A scarf, to wrap the snow-white breast,
And gems to deck the hair.
Elfrida, at her lattice high,
Sits with the bridal throng--
She looks and looks--then heaves a sigh--
"Why tarries he so long?"
He comes!--'tis he!--and by his side
Attend a noble band--
He comes to claim his royal bride--
His lov'd Elfrida's hand.
The wish'd-for hour is gone and past;--
Slow chimes the marriage-bell;
May Heav'n forbid it prove his last--
The bridegroom's fun'ral knell!
The priest before the altar stands--
The bride bends on her knee,
And lifts to God her heart and hands
In pious fervency!
But where is _he_, who should have knelt
Before his Maker, low?
And where are _they_, who might have felt
What none but parents know!
In vain she waits, and looks around,
Still vainer are her cries;
With shrieks the sacred aisles resound;--
Save echo, naught replies:
Fell grief her throbbing heart enthrals,--
Her lips grow ghastly pale;
She weeps--she faints--and senseless falls
Before the altar-rail!
But where is he, by whom the vows
Of love were pledg'd so late?
Demand of Offa's artful spouse,
Whose fiat seal'd his fate?
The blush of guilt upon her cheek
Spreads forth its purple hues,--
And agitation seems to speak
What conscience dares refuse!
To Him who gives life's fleeting breath
His soul has ta'en its flight!--
He sleeps the last long sleep of death
Upon his bridal night.
His guards were gone;--no friends were near
To bless him ere he died!
None, none to dry the falling tear,
Or bid his pains subside.
Oh! where is she whom fate hath made
Dejected and forlorn?
She goes to Croyland's hallow'd shade,
To live--alas!--to mourn!
Weep, Anglia, weep!--thy monarch's dead!
To heav'n his spirit's flown;
And he whose hands his blood have shed
Will mount thy vacant throne.
He reigns!--but mark! how self-reproach
Pervades his inmost breast;--
And pangs of sad remorse encroach
Upon his fever'd rest.
He lives--but life has little left,
If aught, his love to claim;
Of all, save grief, 'tis now bereft;
To him 'tis but a name!
J.H.I.
The event which the foregoing stanzas have attempted to describe laid
the foundation of the future importance and prosperity of the
Cathedral church of Hereford.
"The restless ambition of Offa prompted him to attack the neighbouring
kingdom of the East Angles, with a view of adding it to his dominions;
but in this attempt he was defeated by the successful valour of
Ethelbert. Peace being subsequently concluded, Offa acceded to
proposals of marriage between Ethelbert and his daughter Elfrida;--and
the young and unsuspecting prince attended, invited, at the palace of
Offa (at South Town, now Sutton, near Hereford), with a splendid
retinue, to treat of the intended spousals. The queen of Offa,
Quendreda, is recorded to have prevailed upon her husband to violate
the ties of hospitality and humanity; and Ethelbert was treacherously
murdered, A.D. 793. His guards and retinue were dispersed; his
kingdom, taken by surprise, was annexed to the state of Mercia. The
faithful Elfrida retired to Croyland Abbey; and Offa, seized with
remorse, sought to appease his wounded conscience by actions which, at
that time, were thought to atone for the deepest delinquency. He
caused the body of Ethelbert to be removed from Marden, where it had
been previously interred, to the cathedral of St. Mary, at Hereford,
erecting over him a magnificent tomb, and endowing the church with
valuable gifts, chiefly situated in the immediate vicinity of his own
palace. The known virtues of the murdered prince caused his shrine to
be visited as that of a martyr; and such was the fame of his miracles,
that the city and cathedral attained a degree of opulence from the
pious contributions of devoted pilgrims."
_Wright's History of Hereford._
It is not asserted that Ethelbert was murdered on the day appointed
for his marriage; but poetical license will, it is hoped, be pardoned
for the variation, whilst the principal facts are strictly adhered to.
* * * * *
RETROSPECTIVE GLEANINGS.
* * * * *
PARLIAMENTS.
(_Concluded from_ vol. xvii.)
In 833, a parliament was held at London, in the presence of King
Egbert, with his son Ethelwolf, and Withlaf, the tributary King of
Mercia, and most of the prelates and great men of the realm, to
deliberate on the best means they could adopt to prevent the Danes
from invading England.
In 1210, King John summoned a parliament to meet him at his palace in
St. Bride's parish, London; where he exacted of the clergy and
religious persons the sum of 100,000_l._, and 40,000_l._ in particular
from the white monks. The present hospital of Bridewell stands on a
part of that palace.
In 1294, Edward I., in order to raise funds for the invasion of
Scotland, addressed writs to the sheriffs, directing them to send
"representatives for every city and borough in their bailiwicks." Many
of the boroughs at this time, on account of the expense of paying
their representatives, declined to send members; but the King took
care for his own purposes that the Royal and other boroughs where his
influence extended, should send members: hence in Cornwall and the
other counties on the same coast, where the King's power and property
chiefly lay, on account of the mines and tallages, almost every
village sent representatives.
In 1414, the fifth year of the reign of Henry IV., the Commons
proceeded in their design of regulating the King's household, with
whom the Lords accorded; and they required that four persons should be
removed out of the King's house,--namely, the Abbot of Dore, the
King's confessor, with Durham and Crosbie, gentlemen of his chamber.
On February 9, 1414, the confessor, Durham and Crosbie, came into the
parliament before the King and the Lords, when his Majesty took
occasion to excuse those officers himself, saying, that he knew no
cause why they should be removed, but only because they were hated by
the people: yet he charged them to depart from his house, according to
the desire of his Commons, and would have proceeded in the same manner
against the Abbot of Dore, had he been present. The printed roll of
Parliamentary proceedings adds these remarkable expressions:--"And our
Lord the King moreover said that he would see that the Same measures
were taken with regard to any one about his Royal person, who might
incur the hatred or indignation of his people." A proceeding similar
to this took place in 1451, when Henry VI., at the request of the
House of Commons, removed from his court and presence several
individuals of either sex, against whom there was universal noise and
clamour.
On November 27, 1621, the House of Lords sentenced John Blount to
pillory, imprisonment, and labour for life, for counterfeiting a
Lord's protection. This was the first case of imprisonment beyond the
session, by the House of Lords. The first precedent for their
infliction of fines appears about two years afterwards, when they
sentenced one Morley to pay 1,000_l._, and condemned him to the
pillory for a libel on the Lord Keeper.
The number of Bishops having seats in the House of Lords is thirty;
namely, the two English archbishops, twenty-four English bishops, and
four Irish bishops; and they all sit in the house, not as churchmen,
or peers representing the clergy, in their various grades, (for these
are all represented with the commonalty in the lower House,) but as
soldiers, that is, as barons holding certain land by military
tenure--tenants _in capite per baroniam_; and therefore compelled,
under the feudal system, by which they were created, to furnish their
quota of knights, or men-at-arms, and do other military service to the
crown.
The following account of the manner of speaking and voting by the
Lords and Commons, is given in _A Key to both Houses of Parliament_:
"In the House of Lords, the Peers give their votes or suffrages, by
beginning with the lowest baron; and so on with the rest, _seriatim_,
until all have expressed their opinions; each one answering apart,
'Content,' or 'Not Content.' If the affirmatives and negatives should
happen to be equal in number, the question is invariably presumed to
be in the negative, (semper praesumitur pro negante,) and the Not
Contents have the effect of an absolute majority. In the House of
Commons, the members vote by _Ayes_ and _Noes_, altogether: but if it
be doubtful which is the greater number, the House _divides_. If the
question be whether any bill, petition, &c. is to be brought into the
House, then the _Ayes_, or approvers of the same, go out; but, if it
be upon anything which the House is once possessed of, the _Noes_ go
out. Upon all questions where the House divides, the Speaker appoints
four _tellers_--two of each opinion; who, after they have told or
numbered those within, place themselves in the passage between the Bar
and the door, in order to tell those who went out; who, till then, are
not permitted to re-enter the House. This being done, the two tellers
who have the majority take the _right_ hand, and all four placing
themselves within the bar, make three reverences as they advance
towards the table, where they deliver the written numbers, saying,
'the _Ayes_ that went out are so many: the _Noes_ who remain are so
many:' and _vice versa_ as it may happen. This the Speaker repeats,
declaring the majority.
"In a committee of the whole House, the way of dividing is by changing
sides, the _Ayes_ taking the _right_, and the _Noes_ taking the _left_
hand of the Speaker's chair. On such occasions there are but two
tellers.
"In each House the act of the majority binds the whole. This majority
is openly declared, and the votes, with the names of their authors
attached, are generally published in the newspapers; so that the
people at large are well enabled to judge of the conduct of their
legislators and representatives. This notoriety doubtless produces a
very beneficial effect in preserving the integrity of the members of
both houses. It is true that when the House of Commons is about to
_divide_, the speaker orders the gallery to be cleared, and all
_strangers_ are compelled to withdraw, that the members may be free
from popular influence in giving their votes. But, as tellers are
appointed to count the votes on each side, there can be no collusion
or deception in the decision of any question; at the same time, this
method is attended with sufficient publicity for every constitutional
purpose. Indeed, it has ever been held the law, rule, and usage of the
House of Commons, that all strangers are there only by sufferance,
consequently, whenever a member gives notice to the Speaker that he
perceives a stranger or strangers, it is the invariable custom of the
latter to order them to withdraw; otherwise the sergeant-at-arms will
take them into custody, and so enforce the Standing Orders of the
House for their exclusion. The publication of the speeches and votes
delivered in Parliament is a modern practice, and certainly a breach
of the privileges of the members; consequently it may at any time be
prohibited by the enforcement of the Standing Orders of either House.