330 Notes on Country Seats and Gardens. 



Antiquarians have mostly united in the notion that it is one of 

 the few remaining early houses of importance that were built 

 apart from towns : they assign it to the period of Richard II., 

 judging from the tracery and forms of the windows, &c. ; and 

 this conjecture is in some degree confirmed by some ancient 

 monuments in the church, of a style coeval with that reign. 



The grandfather of the present proprietor married the heiress 

 of a branch of the noble family of De Ligne, subsequently to its 

 alliance with that of the Dukes d'Arenberg. Our readers will 

 remember that it was the celebrated Prince de Ligne, chief of 

 this family, who was so conspicuous in the leading royal courts 

 of Europe, at the close of the last century, from his sparkling 

 wit and talents ; and that he, owing to his extensive travels, was 

 the first who was enabled to publish a general view of the style, 

 feeling, and taste of gardens throughout Europe, and who 

 created those of his own family seat at Beloeil, in Hainault, 

 which are mentioned in the poem of Les Jardins by De 

 Lille : — 



" Beloeil tout a la fois magnifique et champetre." 



Harlaxton was purchased at the end of the fifteenth century 

 by a younger branch of this family, who, having embraced the 

 reformed religion, came to England to avoid the persecutions of 

 the Duke of Alva, in the time of Philip of Spain. They brought 

 with them great wealth, and made those alterations in the 

 mansion-house which are of the period of James I,, and con- 

 tribute so much to give it the present striking appearance. 

 The family portraits, and the arms of the family in stained glass, 

 with a pedigree written in the French language of the day, are 

 still preserved in the house. It is an interesting family record, 

 showing how manv of this house have been knights of the 

 Golden Fleece, and borne many important charges of govern- 

 ment, both civil and military, during so long a period in the 

 annals of the Low Countries and the empire. 



The parish of Harlaxton, being I'emote from any public road, 

 has been scarcely at all noticed in topographical works, and 

 there is no county history. As a proof of this, it may be 

 observed, that, notwithstanding the great taste which has pre- 

 vailed for a number of years past for publications containing 

 engravings of manorial buildings, the unique specimen of Har- 

 laxton Manor-House has not, as far as we know, been either 

 described or engraved. This manor-house is situated in the 

 bottom of a rich valley, close by a small rill of fine water. It 

 is a single house, the hall extending lengthwise, and occupying 

 the whole breadth of the building; while the principal rooms, 

 which extend crosswise, are increased in size by projections of 

 considerable depth, which being carried up, and tex-minating in 

 gable ends, break the line of roof; and, combined with smaller 



