46 



GARDENS OLD AND NEW. 



describe the arrangement of the house itself, premising that 

 here we learn as much of the manner of life of the mediaeval 

 and Tudor gentlemen as can be learned in any other place in 

 England. The visitor passes into the lower courtyard by the 

 gate tower at its north-western angle, and is delighted with 

 the beautiful structures which form ihe enclosure. The area 

 is divided into two levels by three steps, which extend across 

 it from north to south, and thus gains much picturesqueness. 

 On the lower cr western side is the " Chaplain's Room," and, 

 opposite to the entrance, the Domestic Chapel, of which the 

 south aisle probably belongs to a time before the Vernons came 

 to Haddon. It is worthy of note that this chapel does not 

 stand at right angles to the line of buildings on the western 

 side, and that its chancel window thus stands external to the 

 line of building on the garden front outside, whence it forms a 

 noteworthy feature. The upper part of this lower courtyard 

 is formed chiefly of the splendid windows of the Great Ha 1, 

 and very picturesque is the projecting porch, through which 

 we gain access to the lobby separating the hall on the right 

 from the kitchen and offices on the left. The Minstrels' 

 Gallery is over the entrance passage, while the daTs is at the 

 other end, and still has the great oak table at which the 

 lord and his family dined in ancient days. Behind the hall 



are themselves most impressive and picturesque features, 

 with extreme quaintness, beauty, and attractiveness of 

 architecture. The gallery is entered by remarkable segmental 

 steps of solid oak, and is richly panelled and adorned. At the 

 further end is a doorway leading into the buildings which form 

 the uppermost or eastern side of the mansion, where is the 

 Ante-room, with " Dorothy Vernon's Steps," which lead down 

 to the lovely terrace. The finest view of the buildings is 

 gained from the lofty Eagle, or Peveril, Tower, which is or. 

 the higher level of the eastern side, and commands not only 

 the two courtyards, but the upper and lower gardens on the 

 south side, and a great prospect of the lovely valley of the 

 Wye. 



Before we pass out into the gardens, we shall glance at 

 something of the personal interests and legendary history of 

 the ancient place. The first recorded possessor was one 

 William Peveril, a reputed kinsman of the Conqueror's, the 

 last of whose family possessing Haddon tied abroad on suspicion 

 of having poisoned Ranulph, Earl of Chester.. It is conjectured 

 that some of the foundations of the mansion may go back even 

 to the Peverils' time. It was towards the end of the twelfth 

 century that the place passed to the Vernons by the marriage 

 of Richard de Vernon with Avicia, a daughter of William 



THE DESCENT FROM THE GREAT TERRACE. 



is the private dining-room, and the beautiful drawing- 

 room is above, and from the windows are delightful views 

 down the course of the Wye. The kitchen, on the other side 

 of the lobby, is approached by a sloping passage, and has a 

 vast fireplace and ancient culinary appliances, while the 

 buttery, wine-cellar, and sundry offices are near. 



This range of buildings, including the hall and kitchen, 

 forms the lower or western side of the second courtyard, 

 which, like the other, is surrounded by buildings of exceeding 

 quaintness The magnificent Long Gallery or ballroom, a 

 chief splendour of the place, extending along the southern side 

 and projecting on the east upon the terrace, has glorious bays 

 which command superb views of the garden, from which they 



and 



de Avenell, who had possessed the phce under the Kin<; 

 ultimately the whole estate passed into their hands. 



Those who investigate the history of the structure of 

 Haddon Hall will learn that it has been a creation to which 

 nearly every subsequent possessor up to the seventeenth 

 century added something. It was the first Vernon of Haddon 

 who surrounded his mansion with a curtain wall for protection 

 against the unruly. The later Vernons held the place through 

 a female descent, for Richard de Vernon's only daughter 

 married a certain Gilbert le Franceys, whose descendants 

 came to be known by the greater name of Vernon. In the 

 fourteenth century the place was broadly complete in its 

 general character, the Chapel and Great Hall with the various 



