1S06.] 



TU AntiqiuiTy. 



45» 



ofterwards fell to Blanch, his grand- 

 daughter, who raanicdjoiin of Gaunt ; 

 who in the lotli year of Riciiard II., on 

 Ins rctnrn from Spain, madt couiiderable 

 additions to tl;c works. In the polfelhon 

 of hii ibn, it once more reverted to the 

 croivn ; aiid remained a roytd palace till 

 15S2. Henry V. and Henry V'lII. ap- 

 pear to i'.ave made I'ome few additions, 

 liie greater part of which may be eahly 

 dillinguiJhed at the prcfi^nt hour. 



In 15(J3, Eiizabeti) i;,ri;nted it, vvidi 

 all its royakies, to Ilohert Dudley, third 

 fou to the Duke of Norllmnibeiland, 

 v.hom flie afterwards created Earl of 

 Leicefter. 



By him no money was fparcd in mak- 

 ing alterations, additions, and improve- 

 ments in the .caftle. The chace bccau!e 

 extended, and even the back part of 

 the caltle was made the front, -^vith a 

 Irandfome gatchoufc at the entrance. 



In IqTO, we arc told by Strypc, as 

 Tvell as in fome of the court-letters of 

 the day, tliat plots and diftm-bauccs had 

 fo awa'iened the Earl of Leicefter, that, 

 i\hether it were for his own fafe recefs, 

 or the queen's, or for the bringing of 

 the Queen of .Scots thither, he had now- 

 many workmen at his feat at Kenilworth 

 to make it firong, and had furniflied it 

 ■with armou)-, munition, and all nccef- 

 faries for defence. (See Strype's An- 

 nuls, vol. i. p. 579; and Lodge's Illuf- 

 trations of Britiili Hiftory, vol. is. p. 

 49.) 



In 1572, in her progrefs to \Varv.ick, 

 *ve find Elizabeth paying a fliort viht 

 liere to her favourite ; but her capital 

 vifit was in 1575, on which Leicefter 

 exerted Jjis Avjiole magnificence, in a 

 manner fo fnlendid, fays Bifliop Hurii 

 (Dialogues Moral and Pohtical, p. 125), 

 as to claim a remembrance even in the 

 annals of our country. Accounts of it 

 were given at the time in two very fcarce 

 and curious tra6ts, which have been re- 

 printed in " Queen Ehzabeth's Pro- 

 igrelfes ;" one by Lanehawi, and the 

 btirer by George Gafcoigne : the latter 

 entitled ""The Princely Pleafuras of Re- 

 njlvvortii CaiUe." 



At tlie queen's firft entrance, which 

 appears to have been by what is called 

 tlie Gallery To^er, a floating illand was 

 difcerned upon the pool, glittering with 

 torches, on which fat the Lady of the 

 Lake, attended by two nymphs, who 

 •^dd-elVed lier .Majefty in veriie v.ith an 

 bill n-ic;d acc()\nit of tlie antiquity and 

 owners of the cdftle ; and the fpeerli 



»ra#i dulcd wiUi tjb.« iouud of cvroets, 



and other Infirumentt of loud mufit, 

 Within thd bale-court was ereCled » 

 ftateiy bridge, 20 feet wide and 70 long, 

 over which the queen was to pals; iuid 

 on eicii l:de lluod culuinus, with pre- 

 fents upon them to her Majeiiy from 

 the godi. Silvauus oifered a cage of 

 wild-fowl, end Pouioiia divers forts <d 

 fruits ; Ceres ga\ e corn, and Bacchu« 

 wine; Neptuue jirefented I'ca-liih; x\Iar« 

 the hdbihmeuts of war ; and Phoebus aU 

 kinds of niulical inUrumci.ts. Duriu» 

 the left of her Itay, a vaiMiety of fport* 

 and ihcws were daily exhibited. In th» 

 chace was a faviigc man with fatyrs; 

 there were bear-bailip.gs and ire-works, 

 Italian tumblers, and a country brido- 

 alc, running at tha quintin. a.nd mor- 

 ricc-dunciug. And, that no fort of di- 

 vcrllon might bo omitted, hither cam* 

 the Coventry men, and acted the an- 

 cient play, fo long lince nfed in Liieir 

 city, called Hocks-Tuefday, rej)refeut-« 

 ing the defti-uclion of the Danes in tlie 

 reign of King Etheired ; which proved 

 fo agreeable to her jVIajeily, that Ihe 

 ordered them a brace of bucks, and 

 five marks in money to defray the chargt* 

 of the fealt. There were befides, oa 

 the pool, a Triton on a mermaid 18 feet 

 long, and Arion upon a dolphin. Ta 

 grace the entertainment, the (juecn hers 

 knighted Sir Thomas Cecil, eldell ion tu 

 the lord treafurer ; Sir Henry (Jobham, 

 brother to the Lord Cobiiam ; Sir Prancii 

 Stanhope, and Sir Thoma* Trelhani. 

 An eftimate may be formed of the ex- 

 peuce from the quantity of ordinarj 

 beer that was drank on the occaliou, 

 amountiiig S20hcigiheads. (Sec the Lif« 

 of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicefter, 

 1727, p. 91, Dagd. Warw. &c.) Tli« 

 queen Itaid here nineteen days; during 

 which time, befides the expence of tht* 

 recreations, the callle appears to hav« 

 been Itill furclier furnilhed wiih artillerj 

 and ammunition from fome of the royal 

 arfenids. The former, it is particularly 

 faid by Strype, were never carried back. 

 Here alfo Elizabeth touched nine peifon# 

 for the Ovil. The verfes, plays, and 

 pageants, were devlfcd by the moll ia- 

 genious writers of the time. 



It was in particular allufion to th# 

 fcsiies here depicted that Wi'. Wartou, 

 in dctcribing the great features in th* 

 poetry of the a:;e, obfeiTcs, that " the 

 books of antiquity being familiarifcd to 

 the great, every thing vva- tinctured with 

 aacient hh'tory and mythology. Th« 

 heathen i>uds, alth nigh difcouiitenanced 

 by the CiidviutUii; t>u ii fufpicivit uf their 

 tuudiii^ 



