DERBYSHIRE. 



679 



Berby- 

 •hire. 



remains of this establishment. At Darley, in the im- 

 mediate vicinity of Derby, was another abbey. The 

 canons of the monastery of Austin friars of St Helen's, 

 Derby, removed here in the early part of the reign of 

 Henry II. The endowments of this house were great, 

 besides its possession of many churches in different parts 

 of the county, as well as extensive grants. At the dis- 

 solution, its annual revenue was valued at L.285, 9s. 6d. 

 Soon after it was sold, and the principal buildings de- 

 stroyed; but a few walls, some out- buildings, and a 

 house called the chapel, now converted into dwelling- 

 houses, may still be seen, and serve to point out the 

 situation of the abbey. The priory of Breadsall, was 

 the house of Friers Heremites, founded in the reign of 

 Henry III. and was afterwards converted into a small 

 priory for the order of St Austin. Its revenues did not 

 amount to more than L. 13, Os. 8d. The Abbey of 

 Beauchief, or de Bello Capite, was situated at a village 

 of the same name, in a beautiful little Vale, within a 

 short distance of Sheffield. It was founded between 

 the years 1172 and 1176, by Robert Fitz Ralph, Lord 

 of Alfreton. It was dedicated to Thomas a Becket. 

 Besides the endowments of its founder, many other 

 grants and privileges were bestowed upon it. On the 

 dissolution, its revenues were estimated at L. 157, 10s. 

 2d. Of this extensive building, only a small part of 

 the chapel now remains. 



Prior to the year 660, there was a monastery of re- 

 ligious men and women at Repton, a village a few 

 miles to the south-west of Derby ; but the Danes, on 

 their arrival in England, destroyed it. In 1172, it was 

 rebuilt by Matilda, wife of Ralph, Earl of Chester, who 

 founded a priory of canons of the order of St Austin. 

 This religious house continued till the dissolution, when 

 its revenue was found to be, according to Speed, L.167, 

 1,8s. 2d. Beneath the chancel of the church at this 

 place, an ancient crypt was discovered some years ago. 

 It is supported by two rows of round Saxon wreathed 

 pillars, and supposed to be formed in Alfred's reign. 

 A free school, with considerable endowments, was 

 erected at Repton in the reign of Henry VIII. by the 

 will of Sir John Port of Etwall, and continues to the 

 present time in a very flourishing state. 



Of the market towns of Derbyshire, the following 

 are the principal : Chesterfield, Ashbourn, Belper, Al- 

 freton, Wirksworth, Bakewell, Tideswell, Chapel-in-le 

 Frith, and Wrinster ; to which we may add Buxton and 

 Matlock, of more recent origin : an account of the prin- 

 cipal of which will be found under their proper names. 

 Derbyshire possesses several magnificent gentlemens' 

 seats ; but the following deserve particular notice : 

 About two miles from Bakewell is Haddon Hall, a ve- 

 nerable mansion belonging to the Duke of Rutland. 

 It is situated on a bold eminence on the banks of the 

 river Wye, and consists of several apartments and of- 

 fices, erected at different periods, round two quadran- 

 gular courts. The most ancient part was built in the 

 reign of Edward III.; the other parts were erected 

 from that time to the reign of Elizabeth, when the 

 last addition was made. It was stripped of its ancient 

 furniture about fifty years ago, and is now in a state of 

 dilapidation. The extensive park is divided into por- 

 tions ; and its gardens, which consist of terraces ranged 

 one above the other, entirely neglected. Haddon Hall 

 is considered as one of the most complete baronial resi- 

 dences now remaining ; and though not at present inha- 

 bited, nor in very good repair, is extremely interesting, 

 from the many indications it exhibits of the festive man- 

 aers and hospitality of our ancestors ; and of the incon- 



venient, yet social arrangement, by which their mode Derby. 

 of life was regulated. shire. 



Hardwicke-Hall, a celebrated seat belonging to the s — "~r— 

 Duke of Devonshire, is situated on an elevated ridge of 

 ground near the north-eastern boundary of the county. 

 It stands in a fine and extensive park, well wooded; 

 and between the trees, the towers of the edifice emerge 

 with great majesty, their summits appearing covered 

 with the lightly shivering fragments of battlements : 

 these, however, are soon discovered to be carved open 

 work, in which the letters E. S. frequently occur under 

 a coronet ; the initials, and memorials of the vanity, of 

 Elizabeth, Countess of Shrewsbury, by whom this" edi- 

 fice was built. The house is of stone, having a lofty- 

 tower at each corner : in the front is a spacious quadran- 

 gular court, surrounded by a high stone wall. It affords 

 a good specimen of English architecture in the 16'th 

 century. Mary Queen of Scots was confined here for 

 many years, when under the care of the Earl of Shrews- 

 bury ; and a bed of tapestry work, on which she em- 

 ployed herself, yet remains in good preservation. But 

 Hardwicke Hall is principally celebrated for its gallery 

 of pictures: it is 195 feet long, and contains portraits 

 of many illustrious characters by the first masters. 



Chatsworth, another magnificent seat belonging to 

 the Duke of Devonshire, was once reckoned one of the 

 seven wonders of the Peak. It stands on a gentle ac- 

 clivity, near the bottom of a high hill, finely covered 

 with wood, in a narrow and deep valley, bounded by 

 bleak and elevated tracts of land. The house, which 

 is built in the Ionic order, with a flat roof, surrounded 

 by a neat balustrade, may be considered as a noble spe- 

 cimen, of that highly decorated style of building, im- 

 ported from Italy about 130 years ago: magnificent 

 and heavy; expensive, but devoid of taste. Its form is 

 nearly a square of about 190 feet. The interior as well 

 as exterior of this edifice, is characterised by heaviness 

 and gloom ; and though splendidly ornamented with' 

 magnificent painted walls and ceilings, presents but 

 few of those captivating productions of the pencil, which 

 embellish the apartments of many other mansions in 

 this county. It possesses, however, some attractions of. 

 another kind, which amply repay the visitant's atten- 

 tion : these are the beautiful carved ornaments by Gib- 

 bon. The water- works in the garden, are the principal 

 objects of curiosity at Chatsworth. The famous cascade, 

 one of those grand water- works, which half a century 

 ago rendered it the greatest wonder of the neighbour- 

 ing counties, has not yet lost its celebrity. It consists 

 of a series or flight of steps, extending nearly 200 yards 

 from one end to another, down a steep hill. This cas- 

 cade is put in motion by turning a screw, at the temple 

 near its summit, and the water rushes in vast quantities, 

 and with great force and noise, from the dome of the 

 temple, and from a great variety of dolphins, dragons, 

 and a number of other figures that ornament it. There 

 are also several canals, basins, and fountains ; one jet 

 d'eau, throws the water ninety feet high. All those 

 works are supplied from a large reservoir of water on 

 the top of the hill, covering fourteen acres of land, 

 from whence the water is conveyed in pipes laid in the 

 ground. Chatsworth has a very extensive park; and is . 

 often the residence of the present duke. 



But Kedleston-Hou.se, the splendid mansion of Eord 

 Scarsdale, is by far the most magnificent seat in the 

 county. It is situated about three miles to the north- 

 west of Derby, on a gentle ascent on an open piece of 

 ground in the park. The front of this noble edifice 

 measures 360 feet in length, and is a grand specimen 



