278 Kingston House, Bradford. 
After her trial she went to Russia, “en princesse,” in a ship of 
her own; was received graciously by the Empress, purchased for 
£12,000 an estate near St. Petersburgh, and proposed to erect 
works on it for the distillation of brandy. Soon afterwards she 
returned to France, where also she had an estate: and died rather 
suddenly at Paris, 26th August, 1788, aged 68. 
She resided occasionally at Kingston House, and no doubt by her 
fantastic performances infused a little vivacity into the orderly ideas 
of the townsfolk of Bradford. Old people there still tell traditional 
tales of her ladyship’s peculiarities. Upon her decease, in con- 
sequence of the Duke having died without issue, the landed estates 
which she enjoyed for her life, passed to his sister’s son Charles 
Meadows, who assumed by sign manual the surname and arms of 
Pierrepoint, and was created Earl Manvers in 1806. <A very large 
part of the property still belongs to his family, but Kingston House 
with about nine acres of ground, was sold in 1802, to Mr. Thomas 
Divett, who erected a woollen mill upon the premises. The house 
fell into the occupation of inferior tenants and was rapidly sinking 
to decay, when it was fortunately again sold by Mr. Divett’s re- 
presentatives in 1848, to the present owner Mr. Stephen Moulton. 
Mr. Moulton’s first act—one for which he deserves the thanks of 
all admirers of architectural elegance, was to put into complete 
restoration all that remained of the North Wiltshire Hall of John 
Hall. 
There is some slight reason for believing that the Duke of 
Monmouth lodged here, during one of his progresses amongst the 
gentlemen of the west of England; but no specific notice of this 
circumstance has yet been met with. Upon taking up the floor of 
one of the apartments in 1851, a curious discovery was made of a 
beautiful court sword of Spanish steel, which Mr. Moulton gave to 
the late Captain Palairet, of Woolley Grange, near Bradford. 
Along with it were found some fragments of horse equipage, 
holsters, &c.; and a quantity of ancient deeds and papers, chiefly 
relating to the Hall family and their property, in and near Bradford. 
As a sequel to the history of Kingston House, we introduce the 
substance of them in the two following schedules. Number 17 in 
