A HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 



century the east front was rebuilt and the court 

 between the wings on the south almost completely 

 filled in with new rooms. The north front, how- 

 ever, with the exception of the parapet and cornice, 

 retains its old character. The house is faced with 

 wrought stone in two stories, and is entered from the 

 north through a two-story porch in the middle of the 

 front. The doorway has a panelled semicircular 

 arch flanked by pilasters carrying an enriched frieze 

 and cornice, and above it is an extremely handsome 

 projecting semicircular oriel window, with stone 

 mullions and transoms springing from a large conical 

 corbel richly carved with lines of architectural orna- 

 ment. The porch is flanked on either hand, but 

 not with exact symmetry, with tall mullioned and 

 transomed bay windows, that on the east side lighting 

 the hall, and the other a room now the butler's 

 pantry. Both bays have similar windows on the first 

 floor. The hall has a large fireplace in the south 

 wall, and is a handsome room somewhat over- 

 decorated with plaster panels and ceiling during the 

 18th-century operations; it preserves none of its 

 original fittings, all traces of the screens at the west 

 having disappeared. At the south-east are doorways 

 to the main staircase and to the breakfast-room. The 

 north ends of the two wings of the house project 

 some 1 5 ft. from the north front of the main block, 

 and have, at what was the old first-floor level, large 

 projecting bay windows resting on moulded corbel 

 courses. The present first floor is at a higher level 

 and cuts across the lower lights of the windows. 



At the south-west of the hall a doorway, originally 

 opening from the south end of the screens, now leads 

 into a large semicircular lobby two stories in height, 

 lit by a skylight and with a gallery running round at 

 the first-floor level. The decoration of this is some- 

 what later in character than the other 1 8th-century 

 work, being in the style of the brothers Adam. The 

 great staircase south-east of the hall is part of the lyth- 

 century house, and an unusually fine example of its 

 style. The stairway is 8 ft. wide, all of oak and 

 decorated at intervals by large panelled newels sur- 

 mounted by statues of gods and heroes, &c., amongst 

 them Samson with the Jawbone of the Ass and Her- 

 cules in his Lion Skin. A curious feature is that the 

 swords and spears carried by these figures are loose 

 and may be removed, possibly in order that, upon 

 state occasions, they might be replaced by flambeaux. 

 The breakfast-room, east of the hall, is panelled with 

 lyth-century oak panelling in small squares. The 

 east wing was presumably gutted in the 1 8th century 

 and completely rearranged. The great chamber was 

 probably at its north end lighted by the large bay 

 window which still shows on the north front ; the 

 wing now contains the dining-room, drawing-room 

 and library, all of which are decorated in a manner 

 somewhat similar to the hall. The library in par- 

 ticular is an excellent piece of work, with ranges of 

 white-painted book shelves with gilded wire screens, 

 containing an interesting collection of books. From 

 the east side of the library an observatory was 

 built out early in the iQth century, but has now 

 been pulled down. A chimney-piece in this wing 



bears the date 1658, but its original position is- 

 uncertain. 



On the first floor above the hall and beyond it to- 

 the west is the long gallery now used as a museum, 

 and west again of this is a small bedroom completely 

 panelled in lyth-century oak and furnished with 

 some very fine carved oak, part of which came from 

 the hall, and part was brought here in recent years. 

 It also contains some good tapestry of about the same- 

 date. 



The west wing is mainly occupied by the servants' 

 quarters, and the space corresponding to the staircase 

 on the east is taken up by a room formerly used as a 

 chapel. 



The entrance to the park, quite close to the house 

 on the west, is by means of a monumental arch, in a 

 range of 18th-century stabling. The house contains 

 a number of good paintings by Vandyke, Reynolds, 

 Kneller, &c., and collections of Egyptian antiquities, 

 fossils, and illuminated manuscripts. Historically it 

 is interesting as the abode of the exiled French court 

 from iSloto 1814, when its accommodation seems 

 to have been severely tested, as some 140 persons 

 were crowded into it and the outbuildings. 

 Louis XVIII used the library as his reception-room, 

 and the study and an adjoining room as his private 

 apartments. The Prince and Princess de Condi 

 inhabited and slept in the drawing-room, and the. 

 Duke and Duchess d'Angoulgme in the upper floor 

 of the east wing. During the residence of the court 

 the queen died, and the room over the library was 

 fitted up for her lying in state. An interesting relic 

 of this part of the history of the house is the confes- 

 sional of the royal family in the room used by them 

 as a chapel, and there are also pictures of the king 

 and the Prince de Conde, the missal and lectern of 

 the Archbishop of Toulouse, &c., and the names then 

 given to the rooms are still to be seen painted over the 

 bells, 'The King's Room,' 'The Queen's Room,* 

 ' The Archbishop's Room,' and so forth. 



Alwin, a thegn of King Edward, held 

 M4NOR the most important part of the township of 

 HARTWELL? After the Norman Con- 

 quest this manor was granted to William Peverel, and 

 in the Domesday Survey it was assessed at 6 hides and 

 3 virgates of land. 6 It belonged to the honour of 

 Peverel of Nottingham, which came into the hands of 

 the Crown shortly after the accession of Henry II.* 

 In 1086 William Peverel had sub-infeudated Tekel 

 with this manor. 7 At the close of the I2th century 

 Walter de Hertwell held one knight's fee of the 

 honour of Peverel. 8 He died before 1205, in which 

 year Barnabas son of Walter gave the king 40 marks to- 

 have seisin of the knight's fee 9 in Hartwell, which had 

 belonged to his father Walter de Hertwell. 10 Bar- 

 nabas probably died before 1229, when Walter de 

 Hertwell paid a fine to be quit of military service 

 across the seas, due from his lands." He also paid 

 scutage in 1234." Soon after this he was succeeded 

 by William de Hertwell, who, however, died before 

 1247." In 1254 his heir was still a minor 14 in the 

 wardship of Ralph son of Nicholas, and was presumably 

 the William son of William de Hertwell who held 



< V.C.H. Bucks, i, 2533. 

 6 Ibid. 



6 Testa de Nevill (Rec. Com.), 245* ; 

 Pipe R. 2, 3 & 4 Hen. II (Rec. Com.), 39. 

 ' y.C.H. Buck,, i, 2533. 



8 Red Bk. ofExch. (Rolls Ser.), 109. 



9 Rot. de Finibus (Rec. Com.), 292. 



10 Little Hampden was included in this 

 fee. See Little Hampden, and Feud. Aids, 

 '. 97- 



294 



11 Cat. Close, 1227-31, p. 220. 



u Testa dsNe-vill (Rec. Com.), 258(2. 



13 Cal. of Inj. p.m. Hen. Ill, no. 

 116. 



14 Hund. R. (Rec. Com.), i, 31. 



