Among the numerous portraits are the Earl of Shrewsbury, who was
slain by the second Duke of Buckingham in the notorious duel, and
his wife Lady Anne Brudenel, who was daughter of the second Earl of
Cardigan. Some time before the poor plain little duchess suspected
that she had a formidable rival in the beautiful countess, she was
returning from a visit to Deene to her house near Stamford, where her
reckless husband just then found it convenient to hide himself, as a
warrant for high treason was out against him, when she noticed a
suspicious little cavalcade travelling in the same direction. Ordering
the horses to be whipped up, she arrived in time to give the alarm.
The duke had just set out for
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Burleigh House with some ladies in his company, and, says
Clarendon, the sergeant "made so good haste that he was in view of
the coach, and saw the duke alight out of the coach and lead a lady
into the house, upon which the door of the court was shut before he
could get to it. He knocked loudly at that and other doors that were all
shut, so that he could not get into the house though it were some
hours before sunset in the month of May."[5] Pepys was strolling in the park and met Sergeant Bearcroft "who was sent for the Duke of
Buckingham, to have brought his prisoner to the Tower. He come to
towne this day and brings word that being overtaken and outrid by the
Duchesse of Buckingham within a few miles of the duke's house of
Westhorp, he believes she got thither about a quarter of an hour
before him, and so had time to consider; so that when he came, the
doors were kept shut against him. The next day, coming with officers
of the neighbour market-town [Stamford] to force open the doors,
they were open for him, but the duke gone, so he took horse
presently and heard upon the road that the Duke of Buckingham was
gone before him for London. So that he believes he is this day also
come to towne before him; but no newes is yet heard of him."[6] Many blunders have been made in reference to the duke's hou
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se of "Westhorp." Some have called it "Owthorp" and others
"Westhorpe" in Suffolk, the demolished mansion of Charles Brandon,
Duke of Suffolk. The place referred to is really Wothorpe manor-
house, the remains of which stand some two miles to the south of
Stamford and ten to the north of Deene. The existing portion consists
of four towers, the lower part of which is square and the upper
octagonal, presumably having been at one time surmounted by
cupolas. The windows are long and narrow, having only one mullion
running parallel across. Beneath the moulding of the summit of each
tower are circular loopholes. It is evidently of Elizabethan date, but
much of the ornamental detail is lost in the heavy mantle of ivy and the trees which encircle it.
DOORWAY, KIRBY HALL.
That that stately Elizabethan mansion, Kirby Hall (which is close to
Deene), should ever have been allowed to fall to ruin is most
regrettable and deplorable. It was one of John Thorpe's
masterpieces, the architect of palatial Burleigh, of Holland House and
Audley End, and other famous historic houses. He laid the
foundation-stone in 1570, and that other great master Inigo Jones
made additions in the reign of Charles I. The founder of Kirby was Sir
Christopher Hatton, who is said to have first danced into the virgin
queen's favour at a masque at
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Court. The Earl of Leicester probably first was famous in this way, if
we may judge from the quaint painting at Penshurst, where he is
bounding her several feet into the air; but was not so accomplished
as Sir Christopher, who in his official robes of Lord Chancellor
danced in the Hall of the Inner Temple with the seals and mace of his
office before him, an undignified proceeding, reminding one of the
scene in one of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
GATEWAY, KIRBY HALL.
Kirby must have been magnificent in its day; and when we consider
that it was in occupation by the Chancellor's descendant, the Earl of
Winchelsea, in 1830 or even later, one may judge by seeing it how
rapidly a neglected building can fall into decay. Even in our own
memory a matter of twenty years has played considerable havoc, and
cleared off half the roof. Standing in the deserted weed-grown
courtyard, one cannot but grieve to see the widespread destruction of
such beautiful workmanship. The graceful fluted Ionic pilasters that
intersect the lofty mullioned windows are falling to pieces bit by bit, and the fantastic stone pinnacles above and on the carved gable
ends are disappearing one by one. But much of the glass is still in the
windows, and some of the rooms are not all yet open to the weather,
and the great hall and music gallery and the "Library" with fine bay window are both in
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a fair state of preservation. Is it yet too much to hope that pity may be
taken upon what is undoubtedly one of the finest Elizabethan houses
in England? The north part of the Inner Court is represented in S. E.
Waller's pathetic picture "The Day of Reckoning," which has been engraved.
Some three miles to the south of Kirby is the village of Corby, famous
for its surrounding woods, and a curious custom called the "Poll Fair,"
which takes place every twenty years. Should a stranger happen to
be passing through the village when the date falls due, he is liable to
be captured and carried on a pole to the stocks, which ancient
instrument of punishment is there, and put to use on these occasions.
He may purchase his liberty by handing over any coin he happens to
have. It certainly is a rather eccentric way of commemorating the
charter granted by Elizabeth and confirmed by Charles II. by which
the residents (all of whom are subjected to similar treatment) are
exempt from market tolls and jury service.
A pair of stocks stood formerly at the foot of the steps of the graceful
Eleanor Cross at Geddington to the south of Corby. Of the three
remaining memorials said to have been erected by Edward I. at every
place where the coffin of his queen rested on its way from Hardeby in
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Lincolnshire to Westminster Abbey, Geddington Cross is by far the
most graceful and in the best condition. The other two are at Waltham
and Northampton. Originally there were fifteen Eleanor crosses,
including Hardeby, Lincoln, Stony Stratford, Woburn, Dunstable, St.
Albans, Cheapside, and Charing Cross. The last two, the most
elaborate of all, as is known, were destroyed by order of Lord Mayor
Pennington in 1643 and 1647, accompanied by the blast of trumpets.
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