MONTACUTE, BRYMPTON, AND PRESTON. Ixxxiii. 



led. He died in 1638. His son, Colonel Edward, whose portrait in armour 

 hangs at one end of the hall, so far from adding to the house, in 1642 sold some 

 hangings and. tapestries, and rode off to join the King. He was in the sieges of 

 Bristol and Exeter, and at the end of the war his estates were sequestrated, and he 

 died in 1679. It seems clear, therefore, that the house must have been built 

 between the years 1593 and 1614. This argument is also borne out by the fact 

 that there is very little internal decoration. There is only one decorated ceiling, 

 and only the chief rooms have any attempt at ornamental mantelpieces or 

 friezes. Taking the rooms in the order in which you will view them, I would call 

 your attention to the screen in this hall, which is entirely stone, although a later 

 taste has painted and plastered it. The style of ornamentation was introduced 

 into England from Holland in the year 1 580. The interest of the room centres 

 in the plaster work at the north end, representing the old custom of 

 "Riding the Stang," or "Skimmity Riding." The story represents the master 

 of the house helping himself to beer with one hand, while with the other he 

 nurses the baby. His wife an early example of the Suffragettes (laughter) is 

 just about to chastise him with her shoe, while an interested neighbour is 

 watching the proceedings from the background. The sequel is also shown, 

 when the poor man is paraded round the village, exposed to public ridicule for his 

 inability to keep his wife in order. The heraldic glass is also of the period, and 

 displays intermarriages of the Phelips with the Spekes, the Comptons, and the 

 Pigotts. Proceeding to the billiard -room, formerly the dining-room, the 

 panelling round the room is contemporary with the house. The curious frieze of 

 animals, alternating with the Phelips' coat of arms, is also, doubtless, the work of 

 the same period. The Jacobean mantelpiece, half stone and half plaster, has a 

 Georgian head in the centre, said to be that of the Edward Phelips who between 

 1766 and 1790 carried out considerable alterations in the house, The drawing- 

 room contains pictures by Sir Joshua and Gainsborough, as well as some 

 Louis XV. furniture. The great chamber, now used as a library, has a fine 

 mantelpiece, frieze, and ceiling. The great feature is, however, the heraldic 

 glass in the windows, contemporary with the house, displaying the arms of 

 intermarriages of the family and the more prominent courtiers of the reigns of 

 Elizabeth and James I. The Long Gallery on the top floor extends the whole 

 length of the house 180 feet and terminates at each end in a fine bayed 

 window. The present ceiling was put in about 1830, when the main beams of the 

 house were removed by John Phelips in order to make it suitable for a dining- 

 room, his ideas of hospitality being on a lavish scale. In consequence of this 

 the walls began to bulge, and the stone tiles had to be removed and replaced by 

 slate. Last we come to the dining-room, formerly known as the Common 

 Parlour, which was constructed as late as 1787 by the Edward Phelips of the day, 

 with materials taken from Clifton Maybank. The panelling is of contemporary 

 date with the house, and you will notice that the mantelpiece is a fine bit of 

 plaster work. May I also call your attention to the pictures of James I. and his 

 daughter, Elizabeth of Bohemia, 



