Arden Hall. 103 



east of Manchester, that is to say, not until we are fairly 

 into Derbyshire, than is spread before the windows of 

 forsaken Arden. There is not a spot upon its slopes 

 where we may not pause and admire, and wish for our 

 friends. As at Beeston, the mind quickly travels back 

 to the lang syne. Out of those windows, through the 

 open casements, how often have the eyes of fair girls 

 gazed, in sweet summer evenings, long and peacefully, 

 upon the woods and winding water, and painted sunset, 

 one generation after another, all gone now, their ancient 

 home crumbling to dust but the woods and winding 

 water and sunset the same. The poets talk of nature's 

 sympathy with man; there is nothing so marked as her 

 lofty indifference to him. 



Archaeologically, Arden is interesting as a fine specimen 

 of the domestic architecture of the sixteenth century, and 

 is remarkable for its unusually large bay windows. The 

 waterspouts are inscribed 1597. The history of the 

 estate and its proprietors dates, however, as far back as 

 the time of King John, and though no direct evidence is 

 within reach, there is reason to believe that an earlier 

 building once stood near, and that the present ruin is 

 the second hall. John o' Gaunt is said to have been an 

 inmate of the original. The family history may be seen 

 at length in Ormerod's "Cheshire," in the third volume 

 of which work, p. 399, is a drawing of the hall as it 

 appeared before relinquished to decay. Visitors to the 

 Art-Treasures Exhibition of 1857 will recollect Mr. 

 C. H. Mitchell's pretty water-colour view of the same 





