460 



The Antiquart). 



[Dec. I, 



tending to clierifli and revive a fptritof ido- 

 liitry, came into general vogue. When the 

 queen pai-a,iicd tiirtjusiii a country town, 

 Jilmoft every pageant was a pantheon. 

 When (he paid a vilit at the houfe of 

 anv of her noliility, at entering the hall 

 file was fiduted by the Penates, and con- 

 ducted to iier pnvy chamber by Mer- 

 cury, liven tiie paitry-cooks were ex- 

 pert mythologiils. At dinner, fclert 

 transformations ol Ovid's Metamorjjhofes 

 were exhibited in conlectionary ; and 

 the fplen-did iceing of an imnienfe hif- 

 toric [iliinib-cake was eniboffed with a 

 delicious hull'o-relievo of the dcliriicnon 

 of Troy. In the afternoon, when Hie 

 condcfcendcd to walk in the i;arden, the 

 lake was covered with Tritons and Ne- 

 reiils ; the pages of the family were 

 con\erted into wood-nymphs, who peep- 

 ed fi'om every bower ; and the footmen 

 gambled over the lawns in the figure of 

 fatyrs. I fpeak it, (fays iMr. Warton,) 

 *vithout dedgning to inlinuate any unfa- 

 vourable fulpicions, but it feems dilficult 

 to fay why Elizabeth's virginity fliould 

 have been made the theme of per|-etual 

 and excclTive panegyric ; nor does it im- 

 mediately appear, that there is lefs merit 

 or glory in a married than a niiiiden 

 queen. Yet the next morning, after 

 deeping in a room hung with the lapedry 

 of the voyage of Eneas, when her nia- 

 je(ty hunted in t)ie park, fhe was met 

 by Diana, who pronouncing our royal 

 prude to be the brighteft paragon of 

 unfpottcd chafiity, invited her to groves 

 free from the intiufions of Acteon." 



Lord Lcieeller continvutd to make Ke- 

 nilworth an occafional reddence till his 

 death; when, by an inventory taken 

 the 14th day of November 1588, his 

 goods and chattels in the caftle amount- 

 ed to 2684/. ^.s. 1'/. Having no iffue by 

 his wife, he bequeathed the caltle to his 

 brother Ainhrole, Earl of Warwick, aud 

 in reverfion to Sir Robert Dudley, who 

 v\as by fome thought to have been his 

 leuitimate fon. Sir Robert Dudley, of- 

 fending King James by not returning 

 from his travels when fummoned, his 

 potrellions at Kcnilworth were feizcd, by 

 virtue of the ftatute of fugitives, to tiie 

 kinsi's ufe. In the furvey which was 

 made on the ocrafion, the walls of the 

 caftle are reprefented to have been 15 

 feet in thicknefs ; the park-ground to 

 C(;ntaur7i39 acres, and the pool to cover 

 HI. llie circuit of the caltle, manors, 

 parks, and chaee is rated at from 19 to 

 t-O miles ; and Uie value of Uw whole at 

 Sa,554/. 15s. 



Not long after this, the agents of 

 Prince Henry agreed to give Sir Robert 

 14,500/. for Ins right in the cafilc and 

 its appendages. <Jf this ^000/. alone 

 v\'ere paid ; but i!it(j tiie hands of a mer- 

 chant who broke, fo that no money ever 

 reached Sir Robc:t Dudley. Un the 

 death of Prince Henry, his brother 

 Charles claimed the caltle, as his heir; 

 and retained po!Veiii(}n of it till his ac- 

 cellion to tlie throne. In the iirlt year 

 of his reign, he granted it to liotjert 

 Earl of Rlonmouth, Henry Lord Carey, 

 his cldeft fon, an>l Thomas Carey, i fii., 

 for their lives. The inheritance was af- 

 terwards granted to Lawrence 'V'lfcuunt 

 Hyde, of Keiiihvorlh, m vvliole defcend- 

 ants, the Earls of Clarendon, the pro- 

 perty is fiill veiled. 



Dilapidated as the cafilc now is, fuf- 

 ficient may be traced among its ruins to 

 give us fome notions of its f jrmer fplen- 

 dour. The prcfent entrance is nearly 

 in the centre of the north hde, through 

 the gate-houfe erettnu by Lord Leicciter, 

 which is now the only inhabited remain. 

 R. L. is fecn in the fpandrils of the 

 door; and the fame letteis, with the 

 Garter, appear on each fide the fire- 

 place of one of the rooms, with rag- J 

 ged ftaves and " ])ro\l it loi/al." Be- I 

 tween every pannel of the wainfcot, the 

 ragged ftaff is repeated. 



For the appropiiation of the other 

 Ijuildings we are principally indebted to 

 Sir William Dugdale's Hirt()iy, vvhofe 

 plan of the calile Itill furnilhcs the belt 

 clue both to the antiquary and the tra- 

 veller in tracing its remains. 



Palling from the gatc-houfe, the veftiges 

 of what was once the garden may be 

 clearly fcen ; with the ancient ftables at 

 a coniiderable diliancc to the left, againft 

 the call wall which bounds the bafc 

 court of the caftle. A little further, on 

 the right, Hands Ca!l\\r'o tower, a fquare 

 building, llrengthencd by four iiiiall 

 towers at the corners. Thi^ is not only 

 the moll malfive, but, in its main ftruc- 

 ture, the moft ancient remnant of the 

 fortrefs. It feems to have been the 

 caltle as it was erected in the time of 

 Henry I., with a kw alterations by the 

 Earl "of Leicefter. Clofe beyond the 

 wellern fide, but detached from the 

 tower, are fecn the remains of the kit- 

 chens; joined by a finaller, though not 

 fo llrong a tov»er as the former, at tlie 

 north-weft corner. Nearly the whole of 

 the weftern tide is occupied by the hall ; 

 the \\ indovv's, walls, &:c. of which are 

 •oniauiented with the vicl:«ft tracery, 

 thouiik 



