A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



right up to the house on the south side, and were in 

 the then prevalent Dutch style, with yew hedges, 

 flights of stone steps, labyrinths, fountains and lead 

 statues. They were entered at the south-west corner 

 of the building through a great iron gate, 169 the stone 

 piers of which are now in front of the west entrance. 

 The ponds on the west side were enlarged to their 

 present dimensions in 1 706, and ' in the centre of 

 each a group of mythological figures formed foun- 

 tains.' 17 The west entrance probably took its 

 present form at this time, the steps being then intro- 

 duced and the carriageway to the quadrangle done 

 away with. The inner or middle arch, though 

 replacing an older one in the same position with a 

 smaller doorway on the left-hand side, bears evidence 

 of later date, and is most likely Sir Nicholas's work. 171 



There were in Sir Nicholas's time, though it is not 

 known when they were erected, large coach-houses to 

 the north-west of the mansion, on the site of the 

 present infirmary building. 172 



As left by Sir Nicholas Shireburne the house re- 

 mained till its abandonment as a residence, the only 

 structural alteration of importance being the facing in 

 stone, already noted, of Hugh Shireburne's building 

 by the Duchess of Norfolk during the time of her 

 residence between 1732 and I754. 173 After the 

 duchess's death the house was abandoned, the new 

 owners never caring to occupy it, and during the 

 forty years between 1754 and 1794 it fell into such 

 a state of disrepair that there were serious thoughts of 

 taking it down altogether. 174 From this fate it was 

 saved by Thomas Weld's action in handing over 

 the building to the Jesuit refugees from Liege in 1 794, 

 and since that date the history of Stonyhurst is the 

 history of the great public school which bears its 

 name. 



When the Jesuit Fathers arrived at Stonyhurst they 

 found the building in parts roofless and the greater 

 part of it uninhabitable. They immediately set about 

 putting the house in repair, but in so doing, while 

 preserving the building, wrought no little damage to 

 the gardens, which had suffered less than the house 

 itself in the lapse of years. Trees were felled, and 

 the greater number of the lead statues melted down 

 to provide the new roofs. 175 The house, too, suffered 

 in some degree, the long gallery being divided into 

 two stories. 



The later history of the fabric resolves itself into a 

 mere list of the various building operations carried 

 out by the authorities of the College. In 1796 the 

 great hall was turned into the refectory, in 1797 the 

 old stables on the south-west of the house were con- 

 verted into a church, and two years afterwards the 



building known as ' Shirk,' which still stands between 

 the church and the south-east wing, was erected. 176 

 The west front was completed northward by the 

 erection of a plain building, since removed, in 1800, 

 and in 1809-10 the old playground front on the 

 south side, a plain classic building, was set up, the old 

 great drawing-room and Hugh Shireburne's building 

 being demolished to make space for it. 177 A new 

 church was built in 1832-5 on the site of that 

 previously formed out of the stables, and the 

 infirmary, on the site of the old coach-houses, was 

 erected in 1842-4. In 1843-4 the present north 

 end of the west front took the place of the building 

 erected in 1800, and in 1856 the old pre-Shireburne 

 buildings on the north side of the quadrangle were 

 cleared away and the quadrangle completed on that 

 side, Sir Nicholas Shireburne's carved staircase being 

 removed at the same time. Many internal alterations 

 were effected during the middle years of the century, 

 a new domestic chapel (now part of the library) 

 being opened in 1857 and the Sodality chapel 178 ' 9 in 

 1859. New kitchens and offices were built in 

 1 86 1 -2. The present college buildings, replacing 

 the old playground front, took shape between the 

 years 1877 and 1889, the west wing being completed 

 first in 1879, the east wing in 1881 and the middle 

 block in 1883. The boys' chapel block was begun 

 in 1884 and completed in 1888, and the Angels' 

 chapel block, the final block of the new college 

 buildings, in iSSg. 180 



It remains to describe briefly those portions of the 

 Elizabethan mansion which remain. Externally the 

 west front and the elevations to the quadrangles are 

 substantially unchanged, but the house inside has 

 been necessarily very much altered to suit it to its 

 present requirements. It is of three stories and built 

 throughout of stone with ashlar facing, with mullioned 

 and transomed windows, straight parapets and flat 

 lead roofs. The quadrangle as now completed 

 measures 79 ft. 6 in. from west to east and 91 ft. 

 from north to south, the former dimensions being 

 the width of the original building between its west 

 and east wings. The present west front is about 

 195 ft. in length, with the central gateway tower 

 and end wings each projecting 7 ft. 6 in. The 

 length of wall between the gateway and the south- 

 west wing is 5 1 ft. 6 in., but the modern northern 

 end of the front is 2 ft. longer. The three projecting 

 blocks each measure about 30 ft. on the face. The 

 elevation, as already stated, is one of much merit, 

 combining picturesqueness and dignity, the large wall 

 spaces between the windows helping materially to 

 set off" the architectural features of the gateway tower. 



189 The 'ieran gates' cost 190 and 

 were made at Winslow, Bucks. ' For the 

 two flower-pots, festoons, and cornishes at 

 the ieran gates, ,35.' 



170 Ibid. 70. The water for the foun- 

 tains was brought from Longridge Fell 

 through wooden pipes. The gardens are 

 said to have been designed by Beaumont, 

 who was once in the employ of James II, 

 and who was responsible for the gardens 

 at Levcns Hall and a portion of those in 

 Hampton Court ; Gillow, Haydock Papers, 

 $! 



171 Stonyhurst Mag. (1885), 35. 

 174 Gerard, op. cit. 74. 



173 This part of the house then became 

 known as the Duchess's Rooms. 



174 Rev. Joseph Keating, Stonyhurst 

 (1909), 14. 



175 Father Chas. Wright, the procura- 

 tor, who was in charge of the reparations, 

 is described as having been ' not a man of 

 artistic or aesthetic taste." He laid hands 

 on any materials he could and when 

 remonstrated with replied, ' Stuff and 

 nonsense ! I want the money ' ; Gruggen 

 and Keating, ibid., 54. 



176 The building is described as ' an 

 extremely ugly but very useful piece of 

 debased Renaissance ' ; Keating, ibid. 

 (1909), 14. It was called Shirk, 'as the 

 ordinary residence of veteran Fathers past 

 work ' ; Gruggen and Keating, op. cit. 61. 



177 Parts of the walls of the old south- 



10 



east wing (demolished in 1808) were, 

 however, utilized in the new building. 



178 ' 9 Designed by Chas. E. Buckler. It is 

 on the fi rst floor and measures 6 1 ft. by 1 9 ft. 



180 The old south front of 1809-10 

 was 300 ft. in length, the centre and two 

 wings being each looft. The new front 

 measures 560 ft. in a straight line, the 

 end wings projecting each 100 ft., forming 

 a courtyard open on the south side. The 

 middle block is 280 ft. long and each 

 wing 140 ft. The style of the building 

 is modelled on that of the Elizabethan 

 mansion, with two towers with cupolas 

 each 100 ft. high, in the middle block. 

 The architects were Messrs. Dunn & 

 Hansom of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 



