HERTFORD HUNDRED S t. andrew rural 



a prince of the Holy Roman Empire by Joseph II, 

 a title which George III empowered him to accept 

 In 1785." In his obituary notice in the Gentleman's 

 Magazine it is stated, however, that the dignity was 

 necessarily territorial, and that Lord Cowper was 

 therefore correctly only prince of the Milanese in the 

 empire. 6 * He died in 1789 and was succeeded by his 

 son George Augustus, who came of age in 1797. 

 That event was celebrated in the traditional manner 

 by the roasting of an ox whoie at Cole Green ; — 



io a wooden axletrce between two cart-wheels, before a large 

 wood fire, at two in the morning, and after being turned by two 

 men suitably habited and decor ;i:rd wiili ribbon j, who were the 

 same that assisted at this ceremony on that day it years, 

 being his lordship's birthday, was cut up and distributed, with a 

 proportionable quantity of strong beer, to an innumerable crowd 

 of spectators, at two in the afternoon ; at which time his lord- 

 ship, who had previously received the compliments of the 

 neighbouring nobility and gentry at his steward's house on the 

 edge of the green, was mounted on one of the beer but s, and 

 received the homage of the multitude in nine successive cheers. 

 . . . The whole festivity concluded with a display of fireworks 

 from the front of the steward's house. 1 " 



la the following spring Lord Cowper, said to have 

 been a young man of great promise, had a fall from 

 his horse from which he never completely recovered. 

 He caught cold while serving with the Hertfordshire 

 militia, in which he was a captain, and died at Cole 

 Green in 1799." His heir was his brother Peter 

 Leopold," a student of the Middle Temple in 1 794." 

 Of him Lord Campbell said : ' He had too much 

 delicacy of sentiment to take a leading part in public 

 life, but to the most exquisitely pleasing manner he 

 joined a manly understanding and a playful wit. 

 From him I received kind and encouraging notice 

 when I was poor and obscure, and his benevolent and 

 exhilarating smile is one of the most delightful images 

 in my memory of pleasures to return no more.' 6 ' 



This Lord Cowper in 180 1 pulled down the 

 house at Cole Green, and built that which is now at 

 Panshanger, 69 and which had in 1 808 recently under- 

 gone improvement and alteration. ss He died in 

 1837, and had for heir a son George Augustus 

 Frederick. In 1855 the house was considerably 

 damaged by fire, and narrowly escaped destruction. 10 

 In the next year George Lord Cowper was succeeded 

 by his son Francis Thomas de Grey, who in 1865 

 was envoy-extraordinary for the investiture of King 

 Christian IX of Denmark with the order of the 

 Garter, and from 1880 until 1882 Lord Lieutenant 

 of Ireland. He died in 1905 at Panshanger, and 

 left no children. The house is now the seat of his 

 widow Katrine Cecilia Countess Cowper, who has in 

 it a life interest. 7 ' It stands in a picturesque and well- 

 wooded park, about 2^ miles due west of Hertford 

 and 1 J miles to the north-east of Cole Green. It is 

 a long stone and stucco building of two stories and 

 attics, designed with battlements and angle turrets in 

 the Gothic taste of the early years of the 1 9th century ; 

 a central tower of three stories projects slightly from 

 the garden front. From the top of a slope it over- 

 looks the park and the little River Mimram, at this 

 point artificially enlarged into a small lake, and faces 

 nearly south-west. 



The main entrance is by a spacious porch, pro- 



jecting from the north front and opening into a 

 well-proportioned hall hung with some valuable 

 ancient tapestries and sever.il examples of the art of 

 Burne-Jones. Here is a fine Italian mantelpiece of 

 carved stone, and opposite to the entrance is the 

 well-known bust of Clytie, by G. F. Watts. On the 

 south-east of the entrance hall is the inner hall, 

 whence rises the grand staircase ; opening out of it 

 is a lobby leading to the picture gallery, which 

 occupies the south-east end of the house, and the 

 north library. The picture gallery is a stately room, 

 wherein are many treasures of furniture and china, 

 together with the more important of the pictures 

 collected by George Nassau, third Earl Cowper, 

 during his long residence in Italy. 



Next to the picture gallery, and entered from the 

 lobby between it and the inner hall, is the library, 

 lighted by windows on its south side, and giving 

 beautiful views across the park. The most notable 

 picture in this room is a grand portrait group, painted 

 by Vandyck in 1634, of John Count of Nassau and 

 his family ; it formerly hung in the old house at 

 Cole Green. West of this room and opening out 

 of it is the ante-library, where are three fine Knellers, 

 a portrait of Admiral van Tromp by Lely, and one 

 of William Prince of Or.inge by Wissing. Beyond 

 the ante-library is the drawing room, a pleasant 

 room lighted by a great south bay window, and 

 containing many choice examples of English, foreign 

 and oriental porcelain. The pictures are mainly 

 by English portraitists ; among them three by 

 Reynolds and a portrait of William Cowper the poet 

 by Jackson are specially noteworthy. 



Across a long corridor on the north side of the 

 drawing room is the great dining room, which lies to 

 the west of the entrance hall. This lofty room, 

 lighted by windows in its north wall, is panelled in 

 walnut, and has a great marble mantelpiece at either 

 end. Here hang three portraits by Lely, two perfect 

 Reynoldses of the Viscountess Melbourne with her 

 son, and the children of the first Viscount Melbourne, 

 and other notable pictures. 



In the corridor stand several fine cabinets of 

 European and oriental workmanship, and on the 

 walls are portraits of Auverquerque and Nassau, 

 ancestors of Henrietta Countess Cowper. 



Beyond the drawing room on the south side of the 

 house, and entered at the western end of the corridor, 

 is the small dining room, which has on its south side 

 a bay window similar to that in the drawing room. 

 Its walls and ceiling are of good moulded plaster 

 work. On the walls hang a few admirable Dutch 

 paintings. 



In the corridor leading westward from this part of 

 the house to the late earl's study and the offices are 

 many fine pieces of oriental china and Delft. The 

 china cupboard near the garden entrance contains a 

 valuable collection of dessert and dinner services, 

 and other pieces of French, English and oriental 

 porcelain. 



The north-east corner of the house is occupied by 

 the north library, a long room entered from the 

 inner hall and hung with family portraits of Lambs, 

 Cowpers and Auverquerques. An interesting portrait 



11 V.C.H. Hern. Families 

 " Gent. Mag. lix, 1213. 

 ' B Ibid. Iivii, 706. 

 '' Ibid. hcix, 174, 



s Recov. R. Hil. 4.2 Geo. Ill, rot. 14.6. 



;s y.C.H. Htrtt. Families, 141. 



'" Campbell, op. cit. iv, 420. 



* Cussans, op. cit. Hertford Hu»d. 71. 



rayley, Beauties of Engl. a„d IValu, 

 ussans, op, cit. Hertford Hund. 77, n. 



