A head, by fome called that of Erafmus, but the Cavendish arms are on it, and other arms, in fingle shields. Robert Cecil, third fon to William, fecond earl of Salisbury, a small whole length. Lord treasurer Burleigh. Sir William Cavendish, the husband of this lady, at 42, in a fur gown, long picked beard, whiskers, small flat cap, glove in his left hand. One of the countefs's husbands (which of them is not known) in black cloaths and cloak, large plaited ruff, fmall picked beard and whiskers. A head, faid to be of fir Francis Bacon. Over the chimney are the countefs's arms, in a lozenge, and underneath are these words; "The conclufion of all things is to fear God, and keep his commandments. E. S. 1597." From this room a paffage, open to the hall, leads to the drawing-room, which is wainscotted about fix feet high, and above that hung with tapestry. In this room is a picture of the countefs, where fhe appears in a more advanced age than fhe did in that which is in the dining room; the drefs is black, the fame chain of pearls, a large ruff with hollow plaits, a kind of figured gauze veil comes over her hair to the forehead in the middle, but leaves the fides of her hair uncovered, and hangs down behind; her hair is here of a golden colour. Quere, therefore, as the hair in the other portrait is brown, whether they are both meant for her. From this picture Vertue engraved his print of her. Over the chimney are her arms, in a lozenge, with two ftags for fupporters, and underneath are these lines, alluding to the great fortune The brought; Sanguine Cornu Corde Oculo Pede Cervus et aure Beyond this are three bed-rooms, in one of which is a bed worked by the Queen of Scots, when he was here under the care of the earl of Shrewfbury; it is in filks worked on canvass, and then fet on black velvet. The chairs and hangings are alfo by her. In the latter is a figure adoring the cross, and 12 whole lengths, females, with the names over them, of Conftans, Artemifia, Pietas, Chastity, Lucretia, Liberality, Perfeverance, Penelope, Patience, Magnanimity, Zenobia, Prudence. Another flight of stairs leads to the state apartments. On the ftair-cafe here is a whole length of the first duke on horfeback, in an embroidered coat, a large wig, and a feather in his hat. The state room, in which the firft duke used to have his levees, is very lofty, 63 feet long, 33 wide; and at the upper end of it is a chair of ftate, under a canopy. It is hung with tapestry to fome height, over which is colored ftucco, representing the court of Diana, hawks, dogs, &c. The ftate drawing-room is hung with tapeftry. Over the chimney is the ftory of Abraham offering up Ifaac, in the fame fort of ftucco as in the last room. Adjoining to this is the ftate bed-room, and the bed-room of the Queen of Scots. Over the door her arms are carved in wood, with MR in a cypher, and round it, Marie Stewart par la grace de Dicu Royne Defcoffe Douariere de France. Creft, a lion; motto, In my defens. Another bed-room. A gallery, about 195 feet in length, extends the whole of the east front, with windows in fquare receffes projecting beyond the wall. In this gallery are a great number of portraits of royal and noble perfonages, many of them hurt, and fome entirely deftroyed by damps. On the left hand going in is a whole length of Queen Elizabeth, in a gown painted with ferpents, birds, a fea horfe, fwan, oftrich, &c. her hair golden. James V. king of Scots, æt. 28, Mary, his fecond wife, æt, 24, in one piece. Henries IV. VI. VII. VIII. William, fecond earl of Salisbury. Mary the First of England. The countefs of Shrewsbury, a half length, à black gown faced with ermine, a ruff with fmall plaits, three chains of pearls, interfperfed with gold ornaments, not hanging very low; her hair yellow. James I. æt. 8. ao 1574, a hawk on his hand. George Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, æt. 58, ao 1580. Maria D. G. Scotia piiffima regina, Francia Doweria anno ætatis regni 36 Anglica captivia 10. Amongst thofe next the windows, which are almost defaced, are Arabella Stuart, lord Darnley, fir Thomas Wyatt, and King Richard the IIId. The duke fometimes fpends a few weeks here in the fummer, and indeed the fitua tion is a very noble one. To make the excurfion to Chatsworth, the pleasantest, though not the nearest ride, is by Bakewell. Turning on the right hand in the town, cross the river, and afcend the hill by a bridle road, going by the fite of the caftle, mentioned before; this hill is very steep, but from the fide of it the town, the river, and the meadows, prefent a very pleafing landfcape. From the defcent on the oppofite fide, Chatfworth is feen in the bottom, with its woods and numerous additional plantations made by the late duke, the tops of the ftony and barren hills fhewing themselves behind it. It does not appear to advantage from hence, as the vale is fo narrow, that the lawn in the weft front is hardly diftinguifhed, and the woods behind feem to rife clofe to the house. At the entrance of the park a handfome houfe is built by the duke for his chaplain' (who has the living of the place) on the fpot where the inn, called Edenfor (pronounced Enfor) inn, lately ftood; and the inn is removed to the left of the village, in the road from Matlock (which paffes through part of the park) to Bafslow and Tidfwell. In the way to the houfe, crofs the river Derwent, by a very elegant ftone bridge of three arches, erected by Mr. Paine; the sculpture is the work of Cibber; thofe in the niches of the piers are of ftatuary marble, the others of stone from a neighbouring quarry. On the left of this, by the river fide, hid by trees, is the remain of an old fquare tower, moated round, called Mary Queen of Scot's bower, or garden, from a garden which there ufed to be on the top of the tower, in which the probably was allowed to amufe herself. So So much has been faid of this houfe, at a time when there was no houfe in the country to be compared with it, that it is no wonder if the vifitor is difappointed. It was built in the reign of William III. and is certainly magnificent, but you look in vain for those beautiful productions of the pencil, which now fo frequently adorn the feats of our nobility and gentry; a few whole length portraits in one of the ftate apartments are nearly all you fee. The chapel is elegant, and there is a good deal of the exquifite carving of Gibbon, who loft his life here in putting it up, by a fall from a fcaffold in the library, which is feldom opened, are a few antiques. The manner in which you are fhewn the house, does not prejudice you much in its favour. Nor can I fay any thing in praise of the garden, as it is now kept; the conceits in the waterworks might be deemed wonderful when they were made, but those who have contemplated the water-falls which nature exhibits in this country, and in various parts of the kingdom, will receive little pleasure from seeing a temporary ftream falling down a flight of fteps, fpouted out of the mouths of dolphins or dragons, or squirted from the leaves of a copper tree. The little current in the wood above, which defcends in a perpetual rill from the refervoir on the hills, would, if properly exhibited, furnish a much more pleafing scene, though it could not be faid to be in the ftile of the houfe, magnificent. The walks which lead to the highest part of the wood, are clofe, without openings to let in views of the country, or of particular objects, and yet in many parts the underwood is cut down for ufe, close to the walks, which has a very difagreeable appearance. At the point of the wood is a building, called the Hunting Tower, probably intended to furnish a fight of the hunters on the furrounding hills, but it does not now answer the purpofe, the trees being in fome parts grown fo high as to intercept the view. It is a fquare, with a rounded tower at each angle, two ftories above the ground floor, the top leaded, about 90 feet high in the whole. There is a better view to the weft and north, before coming to it, than there is from the building itself, owing to the growth of the trees, and a very fine one this is. The house, the park, the river, the kitchen-garden (of fix acres) lie immediately below; beyond is Mr. Eyre's, at Haffop, with the plantations about his houfe; Bafslow, Stony Middleton, diftinguished by the fmoak of its lime-kilns; and Stoke-hall, with the barren hills called Bafslow-barrow, forming a contrast to the other cultivated parts. By a view of Chatsworth, taken by Knyff, and engraved by Kip, about the year 17c9, it appears that the wood extended only to the foot of the hill where this tower ftands, except that there were two fmall round clumps near the farther end; though the whole is now covered, and many of the firs are of confiderable fize, fo that the profpect was then clear and uninterrupted. From hence the date of the plantation may be nearly afcertained. Above the wood is level ground, in which is a large nursery of firs, oaks, &c. removed hither from the warmer nursery below, by way of being hardened for the still colder climate of the bleak hills, which rife beyond, and where the duke is making a plantation of about 120 acres. He plants about 20 acres of it in a year with Scotch fir, oak, and larch, of three years old. The ground is trenched a foot or 16 inches deep, the turf thrown at bottom, the earth on that, and then the trees are planted at about three feet distance. This work is done from Chriftmas to April. By being planted fmall, the roots get good hold of the ground before the wind has much power over them, and afterwards they fhoot with great ftrength. It is on these hills that the refervoir is made which fupplies the water-works and the houfe; it contains about 16 acres. Return Return by a boundary walk near the outfide of the prefent woods, and crofs the rill from the refervoir, which defcends very fwiftly for about 100 yards to the water-temple, and might be fhewn to much advantage. Pafs by fome pieces of water to the grand canal, which is 325 yards long, and 25 broad, and is on the fpot where originally tood a hill, which was removed to open a view to the country. Here are fome fine trees, and from hence Bafslow-barrow fhews its naked top over the house. A wood on the high parts of it, not hiding the whole of the ground (or rather rock) would have a good effect, but it is not the property of the duke. From the end of this canal there is a noble terrace walk leading to the house, feparated by a balustrade from a walk in a fhrubbery below, which is parted by a funk fence from the park, and has a fine flope down to the river, with a view of that and the bridge. The balustrade and the underwood fpoil that view from the terrace. The great ftables are magnificent and well contrived. The weft and north fronts extend 202 feet; the centre part of the fouth front contains ftandings for twenty-one horfes; there are two ftables for feven hunters each, and two for three each; a three ftall ftable for ftallions; a farrier's fhop, other workshops, lodges for the domeftics, and different offices adjoining. Befides this, there is ftabling for thirty-fix horses in the buildings adjoining to the house. These ftables and the bridge were built about 1760. The alterations made in the grounds by the late duke, were under the direction of Mr. Lancelot Brown*. In returning to the inn, you may go on the right hand, when over the bridge, and from fome round clumps of trees fee all that fide of the park. A new gate is made here, which comes out juft by the inn. By going to the high ground on the left fide of the park, above the road from Matlock, that part is feen to advantage, and it is the most beautiful, the trees being finer, and better difperfed. However little the noble owner may be inclined to lay out his money in difpofing his grounds according to the modern, fimple and beautiful ftile, he is not backward, when he is here, in diftributing it to the diftreffed. The poor, the widow, and the fatherless, bless that providence which has bestowed fuch wealth on one fo ready to relieve their wants. The landlord of the inn at the park gate is an intelligent, fenfible man, and can furnish very good accommodations. To fee the Peak, &c. a lodging will be wanted either at Caftleton, or at Tidfwell; the latter is much the most comfortable, and the ufage at the George is very civil, in a plain ftile. If the travelier dines at Edenfor, he should fleep at Tidfwell, and go to Caf tleton in the morning. The road to either, from Edenfor inn, is by Middleton-dale; crofs the river by a bridge at Bafslow, another at Calver, and then come to Stony Middleton, where the unusual figure of the church, or rather chapel, which is an octagon, ftrikes the eye. Over the town is feen the fmoak of the numerous kilns, used for burning the rocks into lime for manure, by means of which the most barren of these hills are fertilized. These kilns are built at the foot of the rocks, from which the ftone is got to be burnt; they work only in the fummer, except one, which is conftantly employed in burning lime for a fmelting cupola here. It takes up two days to burn a kiln; the lime is drawn out at bottom, and fold for two-pence a strike, or bufhel. The men earn from eight Paine's Plans, ke. to to ten fhillings a week. Small carts bring a load of flack (the small part of the pit-coal) from about Sheffield and Chesterfield, and receive for it a load of lime. Three strike of lime are confidered as a load, and from 40 to 50 loads are laid on an acre. Coals are fold here for 6d. the hundred weight. The lime-ftone is one mafs of fhells, all of the cockle and oyster kind*: The chapel is a chapel of ease to the church of Hatherfage, was rebuilt in 1759, and is very neat in the infide. Land letts from a guinea to 50 fhillings an acre. Little wheat or barley is grown, but large quantities of barley and malt are brought from Wirkfop and Mansfield, for the Manchester carriers, who come hither to receive it. In this place is a tolerable inn, called The Man in the Moon-and on the north fide the town there is a bath, called St. Martin's, nearly as hot as that at Buxton, bubbling up continually like that; it is enclosed by four walls, but is open at the top, and has been used by poor people with good fuccefs in rheumatic cafes. Near this a drinking warm fpring rises out of a rock, and falls on the earth below, having no bafon to receive it. There are alfo three perpetual warm bubbling fprings on the weft fide the church-yard. These warm waters, like thofe at Matlock, are petrefyingt. There is also a chalybeate fpring heret. In the lead-mines on the other fide the mountain, above these springs, and about two fathoms above the lead ore, was a bed of Boulder-ftones, any one of which being broken, is found to contain from half a pint to a gallon of foft bitumens, like Barbadoes tar; it melts before the fun or fire to oil. There were also several springs in the mines, that took fire with a candle, and would burn a week or fortnight; and all the water drilling through this ftratum of Boulder-ftones will take fire, and burn many days. This bed was continued between two and three miles all along Hucklewedge, with its burning waters. The first discovery of thefe ftones happened by a workman's breaking one of them; the outfide was only a fhell of ftone, filled with a foft matter, in which he stuck his candle, which burning down to this fubftance, it melted and burnt, and was then a fine clear balfam, without fmell, except thrown into the fire. When cooked, it hardened like fine fat, and at first was used for greafing boots and fhoes, but was found to fhrivel them up. On the north fide of the mountain, oppofite these springs, is a mine which cannot be worked, for in picking or striking the ore, the fudden shaking of the metal gives fuch a violent motion to the fulphur, that it makes an explosion like fired gunpowder, fo as great lumps rife and fly about. This is the entrance of Middleton-dale, through which the turnpike road runs. It is a narrow valley, or rather cleft, between lofty rocks, which feem to have been rent by fome great convulfion of nature; they are moftly bare, or with a few scattered bushes, or trees. In confirmation of the opinion that the rocks have been torn asunder, it has been obferved that the veins of lead in the mines on one fide, have correfponding veins in the fame direction, on the other. A ftreamlet runs down by the side of the road, great part of the way. Where the road turns off to Eyam (pronounced Eme) Mr. Longstone has placed a feat on the fummit, has planted fome trees, and made a grotto with spars, &c. found in the neighbourhood. One Bennefon earns a livelihood here by collecting them, and has a number of fpecimens at his house. In the church* Short, p. 96. § Qu. If this is the rock oil, or fairies butter, mentioned by Mr. Pennant, in his Tour in Wales, 1773, P. 421. + Short's Hiftory of Waters, p. 94. 102. Ibid, p. 20. Short, p. 97. yard |