DERBY CEILINGS. 225 



impaired. The ceiling in Mr. Storer's house represents the gods 

 in council. It is divided into two compartments ; in the upper 

 one, the gods are seated in Olympus — Jupiter, and his wife Juno, 

 Venus, Diana, and a crowd of other deities and attendants. The 

 deities have with them their emblems ; as Jupiter, an eagle ; 

 Diana, rays of light ; Juno, a peacock ; Neptune, a trident : &c. 

 In the lower compartment are other deities, as Hercules, Mercury, 

 &c, while scattered over the ground are twenty-four winged figures, 

 reported to represent the twenty-four hours of the day. The late 

 Mr. Storer used to state that there are initials in a corner of the 

 painting, but Mr. Chas. Storer, the present occupier and owner, 

 has not been able to detect them. The whole tone of the paint- 

 ing is dark, and it shews best on a fall of snow, which reflects the 

 light on it with excellent effect. The ceiling in the other room is 

 painted by the same artist and has a similar subject. 



At the back of the house there was formerly a large garden 

 with a small fishpond, which was surrounded by gilt iron railings. 

 Beyond this was a good sized summer-house, the ceiling of which 

 was painted similar to the room ceilings. The summer-house was 

 taken down to make way for business premises not more than 

 about thirty years since. 



This room has also connection with the same event of i745> as 

 we learn from Hutton, one of the historians of Derby, that " Lord 

 Elcho had his lodgings at Mr. Storer's," and, as an instance 

 that confidence may sometimes, at least, be placed in tradition, the 

 following story well illustrates : — 



" Some few years ago a Scotch gentleman called on the present 

 occupant (Mr. C. J. Storer) and apologising for his being a 

 stranger thus addressing him, said he had travelled a long way to 

 verify, or otherwise, a tradition they had in their family, viz. : On 

 the return of one of his ancestors to Scotland, with the army of 

 Prince Charles Edward, he reported that he was quartered in a 

 house in Derby, in which there was a very fine painted ceiling, 

 belonging to a Mr. Storer. His descendant had determined on his 

 first visit to England, to go on to Derby, and see if there was any 

 truth in the tradition. On being shewn the ceiling, which tallied 



