134 



GARDENS OLD AND NEW. 



The Bible which Charles presented to Bishop Juxon on 

 the scaffold remains in the house, as well as many other relics 

 of the time, i; eluding a finely-executed miniature of the King 

 on copper, so contrived that transparencies may be placed 

 over it, upon which are various pictures representing the 

 different phases of the Monarch's chequered career. More- 

 over, two oaks on the estate were p'anted to commemorate 

 the Hestoratiun, but the storm > have laid them low. In 1694 

 Walter Jones of Chastleton married Anne, daugl.ter of Richard 

 Whitmore of Slaughter, and their son Henry, an ardent 

 Jacobite, ended by wasting his substance; but Henry's son 

 John, who never married, did a great deal to improve the 

 estate and house. He re-roofed the mansion and carefully 

 repaired its masonry. He appears to have been ai eccentric 

 gentleman, for Miss Whitmore Jones, who has wri ten a brief 

 account of her house, says that, when the workmen had left 

 off, he used to go with his knife and try to pick out ihe mortar 

 from between the stones, and if he succeeded, the work was 

 be^un again. While it was in progress, he covered the 

 courtyard gates with furze to disappoint the undue 

 curiosity of visitors. Neither Mr. John Jones nor his brother 

 Arthur left any heir, but the estate was bequeathed to 

 John Whitmore, then a boy of fourteen, who was the son 

 of a cousin, and in 1828 the new possessor, who had 

 added the name 

 of Jones to 

 his own, and 

 had married a 

 daughter of 

 Colonel Clutton 

 of Pensax Court, 

 removed to 

 Chastleton 

 He use, which 

 again became a 

 centre of life 

 in the country. 

 Mr. Whitmore 

 Jones, who was 

 universally 

 popular, lived 

 the true life of 

 a country 

 gentleman, 

 maintaining and 

 improving his 

 estate, and ever 

 looking after the 

 we fare of hii 

 tenants and 

 neighbours 



Miss Whit- 

 more Jones, in 

 recounts one fact 

 noted as of particular interest. In 1850 his tenant at 

 Chastleton Hill died, and the farm was thrown on his hands. 

 Having disposed of all his farming sto.k, he thought the 

 season's cultivation of the land w< uld be lost, but neighbouring 

 farmers came to his aid and offered, if he would provide seed 

 corn and bread and cheese and beer, to give him a "love 

 haul." The day was fixed, and Mr. Jjnes rode up the hill to 

 see the men at work. "A wonderful sight met his view. No 

 less than sixty-eight ploughs, ten of them double ones, were at 

 work. The horses were dressed out in ribbons, and the men 

 wore clean smock frocks. Altogether the scene had a most 

 animated appearance, and resembled almost a mighty fair. 

 One hundred acres were ploughed, harrowed, and nearly sown 

 in that one day, and the only regret expressed was that more 

 farmers had not heard of th- propos:il." Mr. Whitmore 

 J';nes lived until 18,3, and all his four sons having died, 

 the estate devolved upon his eldest daughter, the present 

 poss -ssor. 



The general aspect f the < 1 1 house has been alluded tt, 

 and the illustrations are all-sufficient as a description. The 

 structure is of grey stone and has not been altered in any way. 

 It is q laJrangular, with the Dairy Court i|) \\}<t midJe, and 



THE DOVECOTE. 



her n tes upon Chastleton House, 

 in relation to her father which may be 



thus retains the character even of an older period than that in 

 which it wa> built. Internally the work is very fine, and the 

 hall has a notable oak screen, with two segmental arches 

 between elaborated columns, and with richly carved entabla- 

 tures. The panelling is also old and good, and the furniture 

 mostly of the period. There is also much ancient armour, 

 some of it belonging to the Civil Wars. The Drawing-room, 

 or Great Chamber, is also very characteristic, with enriched 

 panelling, a splendid armorial mantel-piece, and a pla ter 

 ceiling with pendants. The mullioned windows and Chippen- 

 dale furniture complete a charming interior. The White 

 Parlour, another finely panelled chamber, opens from the hall, 

 and the Chestnut Parlour is interesting for its pictures and 

 deep cupboards full of old china. The Catesby Room is also 

 interesting, and there are the Cavalier Chamber, from which 

 the secret room is reached, the State Room, the Library, and, 

 abo.e aM, the very remarkable Long Gallery, with its impres- 

 sive panelling and its waggon-headed ornamental ceiling all 

 very remarkable apartments. Indeed, Chastleton House will 

 cede to few mansions of its kind in the interest of its interior. 

 The Long Gallery is at the top of the house, and runs the 

 whole length of the front, as was customary. 



The gardens and grounds have interests of their 

 own, and are appropriate in style to the house they 



adorn. There is 

 a forecourt 

 entered through 

 a c'~aracteris ic 

 gateway with 

 pinnacles, the 

 approach 

 flanked by 

 flower-beds, and 

 the enclosure 

 formed by a 

 laurel hedge. 

 The princ pal 

 and character- 

 istic feature is 

 the pleasaur.ce 

 of clipped box 

 at the side of 

 t!ie house. Here, 

 enclosed withi.i 

 a circular hedge 

 of yew, are 

 m any curious 

 bushes of 

 box, standing 

 like some 

 fantastic ring of 

 servitors about 

 the central sundial. They are of odd and nam less 

 shapes, toads or elves, perhaps certain of them resembling 

 somewhat an elephant w.th her young ; some of them 

 formed in rings and ghbes, but all of them curious and 

 interesting. Such a garden would not be formed in these 

 days. A.-tiquity is written upon it, though the precise 

 date of the curious girdenage is unknown to us. Evidently it 

 belongs to an earlier time, when delight was taken in such 

 quaint conceits. There is no lack of floral adornment, but the 

 b)x gar Jen is the great feature. There are ample lawns and 

 borders, and everywhere the tre s are particularly fine. The 

 turf walks and formal flower-beds add to the attraction of the 

 place, and in another part of the groan Js are the tennis lawns, 

 formed on what was originally the bowling green. There is a 

 memorial of the Jacobite times in the three Scotch firs which 

 stand at the end of the garden by the churchyard. Trees of 

 the kind were extensively planted by the friends of the 

 Pretender before the rising of 1745, and Mr. Henry Jones of 

 that time was an ardent Jacobite and a lea.ling spirit in a 

 Jacobite club in Gloucester. The attractive features of the 

 gardens will no', escape tho-.e who examine our pictures, 

 which, indeed, describe the place better than words can, and 

 the surrounding grounds are full of sylvan charm. The old 

 stone dovecote is particularly worth_, of no. ice. 



