Scarisbrick HalL 245 



whose guidance Martin Mere was reclaimed. In 1814 

 all was changed. The old timbered building was cased 

 in stone so completely that now not a trace remains in 

 view; and the general form, a centre with projecting 

 wings, is all that exists in the shape of memorial. But 

 how magnificently effected ! The work was entrusted to 

 the elder Pugin, and continued by his son, without stint 

 as to cost, the result being an edifice in the Tudor style, 

 treated with power and opulence so astonishing that all 

 ordinary domestic buildings of similar character seem by 

 comparison insignificant. Sculptures and every kind of 

 decorative stonework contribute to the wonderful beauty 

 of the vast exterior. Along the base of the enriched 

 cornices or parapets scripture texts have been in- 

 troduced "I have raised up the ruins, and I have 

 builded it as in the days of old;" "Every house is builded 

 by some man, but He that buildeth all is God;" the 

 ample windows, in their turn, are freely traced with lines 

 and patterns of shining gold. The superb tower, which 

 in the distance seems a village spire, erected about a 

 dozen years ago, is over one hundred and sixty feet in 

 height, and is understood to be an exact copy of the 

 Victoria Tower of the Houses of Parliament. The cost 

 of this portion alone approached the sum of ^25.000. 

 Gardens and conservatories add to the interest of this 

 splendid place ; the former containing a holly, the stem 

 of which, at twenty inches above the ground, is six feet 

 in circumference; while the latter are renowned for their 

 tropical ferns. The very low situation, and the flatness 



