TRAFALGAR HOUSE 
T H E date of the house shown on the oppo¬ 
site page and in the frontispiece will easily 
be determined by anyone who possesses even 
the smallest smattering ot knowledge ot 
Georgian architecture. The estate of which 
'it is the chief ornament is about four miles 
from Salisbury, England, and dates from a 
much earlier time than the middle of the 
eighteenth century. Stanlege or “ Stand- 
lynch ” as it was then called, was an impor¬ 
tant seat in the time ot Edward the Confessor; 
and although the ancient building has long 
been demolished, the situation ot the estate 
itself remains much as it was in feudal times. 
The old house was placed on a lower spot 
than the present building, the fine yews still 
standing in the park marking its site near 
the river. During the short reign of Rich¬ 
ard IIE the estate was seized and granted 
to a partisan of the usurper among the 
innumerable donations made to support his 
cause. Another interesting historical associa¬ 
tion is the supposition that Stanlege was a 
rallying point for some of the Papists who 
were engaged in the enterprise of overturning 
the authority of Oliver Cromwell. Sir Peter 
Vandeput, about the year 1753, took down 
what remained of the first house, and erected 
in a more elevated position the edifice 
shown. In 1814 it was bought by trustees 
appointed under an act passed in 1806 for 
the purpose of purchasing an estate for the 
successors of the hero of the battle of Trafal¬ 
gar, Lord Nelson ; and since that time it 
has been called by the name of the great 
naval victory. 
The chief external feature of the eastern 
front of Trafalgar House is the handsome 
porch by Revett, added in 1766 by a Mr. 
Dawkins who succeeded Sir Peter Vandeput 
in possession of the estate. The pillars of 
this porch, which are arranged in pairs, are 
of the Doric order, and support an entab¬ 
lature divided into compartments alternately 
fluted and plain. A variety may be observed 
in the planning of the center, which projects 
in front of the general line of the portico, 
this of course adding interest and richness 
to the effect. The two wings of the house 
—also additions by the same former owner— 
are connected with the main building by cor¬ 
ridors and balustraded terraces. 
Passing through the front door, the hall 
claims first attention on the inside. It is in 
the form of a cube of thirty feet, without 
the cove of the ceiling, and is decorated with 
a profusion of carved work in stone. The 
promise held out by this striking and char¬ 
acteristic entrance is not redeemed by most 
of the other apartments of the house, which, 
though convenient, are not so proportionally 
spacious. There is, however, a parlor on 
the eastern side distinguished from the rest 
by its decorated walls and ceiling, hav¬ 
ing been painted with allegorical subjects 
by Cipriani. To the west of the house the 
garden has been planned in terraces, lawns 
and formal flower beds, the flight of shallow 
steps up to the door, with its flanking vases, 
forming the center of interest. The char¬ 
acter of the closely clipped trees and their 
more or less symmetrical disposition about the 
ground carry out the effect of prim dignity 
which characterizes English houses and gar¬ 
dens of the period. 
The view from this side is diversified and 
broken, and the surrounding park is rich in 
the possession of a grove of magnificent 
beeches, occupying a steep bank, supposed 
by some to be the “ linch ” which gave the 
name to the estate. 
Near the river, close to the site of the old 
mansion, is a small chapel, whose foundation 
has been dated t T47. With the exception of 
the chancel it was reconstructed in the seven¬ 
teenth century by one Joane, wife of Maurice 
Bockland, as appears from an epitaph within 
its walls. Lord Nelson, in 1 8 1 8, discovered 
a cemetery, long disused, beneath the center 
of this chapel. In it were found two leaden 
coffins of the Vandeput family. Externally, 
the appearance of the little building is un¬ 
pretending and simple, a small belfry prin¬ 
cipally marking its sacred appropriation. It 
was, in all probability, originally an oratory 
of the family of LeDune, the ancient lords 
of the manor. 
E. W. G. 
75 
