same race, but on the death of Earl John Scott, in 1234, the earldom and all the powers annexed 

 thereto were claimed by the Crown, and from that time to the present have been invested in the heir 

 to the British throne. One of the followers of William I was Gilbert le Grosvenor (a name originally 

 written Grosveneur, and which, according to Camden, signifies the great hunter), who was nephew to 

 Hugh Lupus, and consequently related to the King, to whom was granted, among others, the manor of 

 Allostock, in Cheshire : from him descended the Grosvenors of Hulme and Eaton. And it is a singular 

 and interesting fact, that the Allostock property has been held successively by the descendants of that 

 nobleman to the present time. 



After the death of Ilbert, the Eaton estate passed in succession to the Rullos, the Pichots, and the 

 Pulfords, which family eventually adopted the local name of Eaton, and by the marriage of Sir Ralph 

 Grosvenor, of Hulme, with Joan de Eaton, the heiress of that race, the property passed finally to the 

 Grosvenors in the 22nd Henry VI. The value of this acquisition to the family possessions was 



further' increased by the emoluments arising from the Serjeancy of the river Dee, called in the 

 royal warrants, " Custos reparise aquas de Dee," which was confirmed to Sir Ralph Grosvenor by 

 Henry VI, and by other sovereigns to successive owners of the estate down to Sir Richard Grosvenor, 

 in 24th Henry VIII. They also had from the same date the exclusive privilege of demanding 

 a certain amount of toll on all passengers and merchandise that crossed the river by means of the ancient 

 ferry called " Eaton Boat," at the adjoining village of Eccleston. The ferry still exists, but by the 

 erection, in 1824, of a magnificent iron bridge, consisting of a single arch of 150 span, higher up the 

 river, by the late Marquis of Westminster, the communication with the opposite shore is materially 

 improved to the diminished importance of the old ferry. 



The original ancestral residence occupied the site of the present Hall, and, under the quaint designation 

 of Eaton Boat, was for many centuries considered a building of much importance. At the end of the 

 seventeenth century, a strong castellated brick mansion, from designs by Sir John Vanbrugh, was erected 

 in its stead. This occurred on the marriage of Sir Thomas Grosvenor with Miss Davies, the heiress 

 to the valuable estate in Westminster, now popularly known as Belgravia. In the year 1803 the Hall in 

 question was pulled down by the late Marquis of Westminster, and the erection of the present magnificent 

 structure commenced, which is undoubtedly one of the most highly -finished and beautifully decorated 

 secular buildings in England. It is essentially a Gothic fabric, composed of a light and fine description 

 of freestone, obtained from the Manley quarries ; and the numerous pinnacles, niches, and projections that 

 characterise the external walls are strikingly rich in tracery and embossed carving. Porden and Burns 

 successively were the architects of this stupendous pile, which consists of a centre and two wings, crowned 

 with numerous turrets, and a complete range of embattled parapets ; the whole being relieved by shields 

 charged with armorial bearings, and presenting a gorgeous fagade upwards of four hundred and fifty feet 

 in length. The eastern front is the most elaborate ; and from its elegant portico our artist has delineated 

 the extensive and beautiful prospect that stretches before it. 



The architectural embellishments of the interior of the Hall are of corresponding elegance, and the 

 numerous works of art that decorate the capacious and superbly-furnished apartments belong to the hio-hest 

 and most beautiful order. Many rare and interesting works in MS. constitute a portion of an extensive 

 and valuable collection of ancient and modern literature ; and there is also, carefully preserved in the Library, 

 one of those very few remaining relics of Romano-British times, a Golden Torque. 



Referring to the Plate : The abrupt towering rock in the far-distance is the terminal point of the 

 Peckforton and Broxton hills, on which stand, in frowning relief, the ruins of Beeston Castle, erected by 

 Randle Blundeville, the sixth Earl of Chester, in the year 1220. It was anciently a strongly fortified, 

 important place, but its eventful history was brought to a close by Prince Rupert during the great civil 

 war. A short distance from the ruins is Peckforton, the noble castellated residence of — Tollemache, Esq., 

 M.P. The intervening vale of Cheshire, which doubtless, at some remote period, formed an inland bay, 

 is celebrated for its excellent pasturage, and it is likely enough that here the Romans first taught the 

 British the art of cheese-making, which was unknown in the island before their arrival. The beautiful 

 garden immediately before us is divided into three successive terraces, the two principal ones being in 

 the Italian style, and laid down, in the year 1852, from designs by Mr Nesfield. The upper terrace 

 combines two large departments, intersected by broad gravel walks, and embellished with vases and 

 statuary. The box-edged, elegantly scrolled flower-beds are planted with verbenas, calceorarias, geraniums, 

 and various other sorts of a gay-flowering character, whose rich tints harmonize so well with the 

 general features of the place. Lines of Irish yew, and others of the same order, with box-trees cut in 

 a spherical form, are interspersed at regular intervals, the whole being surrounded by a stone balustrade, thickly 



