A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



At the foot of this stair is the doorway to the 

 summer drawing room, with the original stone archi- 

 trave and semicircular head. The moulded abaci 

 and stopped jambs are semi -classical in type. The 

 summer drawing room retains its original panelling, 

 which is elaborately mitred, and divided into bays by 

 fluted Doric pilaster,, supporting a heavy cornice and 

 a frieze of a small order of Ionic pilasters. The 

 panels contain inlaid and 'planted' arabesque work. 

 The mantelpiece is a marble copy of the oak original, 

 which is now in King James's bedroom. The ceiling 

 is either completely restored or modern. 



In the morning room is a large mantelpiece of 

 17th-century date, of various coloured marbles with 

 caryatides and herms on either side, and some carvings 

 of figure subjects in high relief brought from else- 

 where. The remaining five rooms in the wing are 

 modern, but have mantelpieces made up of pieces of 

 1 6th and 17th-century carving, probably Dutch. 

 The Poplar staircase is modern. 



In the west wing the Adam and Eve staircase, 

 which takes its name from a picture hanging on its 

 wall, is either wholly remodelled or so re-tored as to 

 present scarcely any original feature. It has turned 

 balusters and a moulded rail. At the head of the 

 suits is a doorway leading to the west ante-room of 

 the long gallery, with two wooden Corinthian columns 

 attached to pilasters on either side, of early 18th- 

 century work. The walls of the staircase are panelled 

 with made-up old material. In the chapel the bay 

 window on to the court forms the sanctuary, and is 

 glazed with I "th-century glass with biblical subjects ; 

 this glass seems to be of French, Flemish and Dutch 

 workmanship. 01 " It was certainly made expressly for 

 these windows. The walls are covered to the soffit 

 of the gallery with panelling, original but much 

 restored ; the front of the gallery has a carved arcade 

 with closed panels below ; the openings are round- 

 headed, the pilasters between them are carved, and 

 the cornice is moulded. The ceiling is coved, and is 

 set with carved grotesque brackets of late 1 6th-century 

 date, which were brought here from Hoddesdon, 

 where they formed part of the old Market House. 

 The ceiling and gallery have been painted in modern 

 times. The old seating 6 " 1 has been replaced by modern, 

 and the west screen is also modern. The floor is 

 paved with marblc. s - 



The long gallery, running the whole length of 

 the north wing above the cloister, has its walls 

 covered with paneling divided into bays by fluted 

 Ionic pilasters. For these pilasters square columns 

 are substituted at either end, where the gallery opens 

 to the ante-rooms. The cornice has a considerable 

 projection, and is much enriched, and above it is a 

 small Corinthian order with detached columns and 

 a dentil cornice. The upper part of the panelling 

 in the bays of the lower arcade consists of rusticated 

 ■que decoration, all worked in 



thin applied ] 



nking. 



The 



panels of the upper 



order and the lower part of the bays of the lower 

 order arc filled with extremely elaborate mitred and 

 moulded panels, of the fitted L and square type. 

 This panelling is of the original design, and contain! 

 a large proportion of original material, though it is 

 said to have been entirely renewed early in the loth 

 century. The ceiling is original though much restored, 

 and is flat, richly decorated with pendants and a flat 

 arabesque pattern." 1 The mantelpieces are not original. 

 The ante-rooms at each end, and that of the winter 

 dining-room, have modern decoration copied from 

 that of the gallery. The door on the north side of 

 the west ante-room of the gallery opens on to the 

 Adam and Eve staircase through the Corinthian 

 portico described with the staircase. 



In the library, which also opens off this ante-room 

 is no decoration of original date except the mantel 

 piece, which is of large size in black and white 

 marble. It is of two orders, Doric and Ionic, with 

 detached circular columns. In a central panel is 1 

 mosaic portrait of Sir Robert Cecil, 1608, 



The summer dining room is lined with panelling, 

 either modern or wholly re-worked, and contains a 

 large marble mantelpiece with figures in high relief 

 and an achievement of the Cecil arms. This mantel- 

 piece is made up of portions of two 17th-century 



King James's bedroom, facing outwards in tJie 

 middle of the east wing, contains the original o»k 

 mantelpiece which was formerly in the summer 

 drawing room. This has square baluster columns, 

 moulded and enriched with carving, supporting a 

 heavy mantelshelf. Above this are three small Ionic 

 columns, and between them moulded panels contain- 

 ing arabesques surmounted by a deep cornice with 

 elaborate enrichment. There is some late 17th- 

 century furniture in this room. It is completely 

 covered with yellow damask, which is glued to the 

 woodwork. The Wellington room, on the opposite 

 side of the same wing, contains some 17th-century 

 tapestry panels. 



King James's drawing room, which occupies the 

 whole of the north-east angle of the first stage, con- 

 tains a massive original mantelpiece of black, white 

 and veined marble. The lower part has in the angles 

 black fluted Doric columns, with architrave and 

 metope. Above is the shelf, supported where it pro- 

 by a fluted bracket flanked by 



modillio 



The 



apper portio 



1 of four 



black Corinthian columns on pilasters with scrolled 

 cartouches, forming part of an order with a heavy 

 modillioned cornice, above which are panels, those 

 at the sides containing circles inclosing profiles in low 

 relief in black marble, and the central one a rectan- 

 gular black slab. The two side bays between the 

 columns have panels of veined marble, and the cen- 

 tral bay contains a semi-domed niche, in which standi 

 a statue of King James I, painted to represent bronie. 

 The ceiling of this room has elaborate arabesque) 



lJ« 



Mi 



"■ S, P. Dorr 

 Vut Jeni™ 



Bowie that he will bring a jmt 

 Id of the light of [he chapel -windows 

 rding to the proportion concluded of 



The Char pell. The 



sutabte readie (wanteth good indironi). 

 The chappell, the Iriie and pulpit to be 

 don uppon Thuradaie.' 



65 Ibid. Uiii, 88 (1). '17 May 1611. 

 The chapel 11 now a-paving by the 



«** Ibid. '17 May 1611. The frelt 

 ceiling in the gallery will be fully 

 finished with the whitening of it on 

 Tuesday, the gallery will then be reaoy 



fur the join 



f work which it framed * 

 July 1611. The Gallene. 



of plain » 

 The .outh tide wilbe ™n»- 

 cotted but not the friie, by TTniniue. 

 Both the end. wainjeotted but to I* 

 hanged. The retorne to be lunged for 

 the tyme and the pro.pect in it* I""'' 

 over the .kreene to be meuvea up tfc« 

 dale. The north tide to be hanged-' 



