House and Garden 
Never before 
had MoorPark 
seen such mag¬ 
nificence. The 
Cardinal’s 
chambers were 
garnished with 
the finest tapes¬ 
try. His couch 
and table-cloth 
were covered 
with gold, and 
he dined amidst 
the subtle per¬ 
fumes of musk 
and sweet am¬ 
ber. His dishes 
were silver, full 
of the daintiest 
viands, and he 
drank his wine 
always from 
silver and gold 
vessels. But 
his days were 
numbered, his 
disgrace nigh. 
The charms of 
Anne B o 1 e y n 
had made an 
impression on 
the capricious 
king. The di¬ 
vorce was sought and much delayed. Cam- 
peggio comes to “the More,” and long and 
deep are the confabulations of the two 
Cardinals over the matter. They hasten 
together to the court at Grafton. Wolsey is 
denied a lodging in the court. 1 he Cardinals 
return to Moor Park, sad and sorrowful. 
Campeggio hastens away to London. No 
sooner has he gone than hurried messengers 
arrive at the Moor in search of some of 
Henry’s love letters to Anne Boleyn, which 
that lady had missed from her boudoir. 1 hey 
ride after him, and do not overtake the 
Nuncio until he arrives at Calais, where they 
search his baggage; but the letters are not 
found. They are on their way to Rome, and 
there they remain until this day amongst the 
archives of the Vatican. 
Alarmed, anxious, and depressed, Wolsey 
passed his days at the Moor, dreading the 
58 
outbreak of the 
hostility of the 
King. You can 
see the chair 
at the mansion 
wherein he sat 
and dreamed of 
his approach¬ 
ing fate, the 
saddle on which 
he rode, and 
the old cardi¬ 
nal’s oak under 
which he sat 
brooding over 
his troubles. 
He left his love¬ 
ly home for 
London, never 
to return, and 
ere long his 
ambitious heart 
found rest with¬ 
in the cloister 
shade of Lei¬ 
cester Abbey. 
You can see 
in the British 
Museum a long 
inventory of 
the Cardinal’s 
goods—his car¬ 
pets and hang¬ 
ings, his beds and hats and vestments— 
which, together with the property, fell into 
the King’s hands. 
The poor abandoned Queen Catherine 
stayed a night at Moor Park on her way to 
exile from the Court, and to the grave that 
soon awaited her at Peterborough. Then 
came the rule of the Bedfords, John Russell, 
the first Earl, being appointed ranger. The 
State Papers contain some letters from the 
Earl to his friend, Thomas Cromwell. One 
of them, dated May 1st, 1535, mentions that 
the park palings at “the More” are in decay, 
that the deer are escaping, and immediate 
repair much needed. He reports that he has 
felled two hundred oaks, but he requires 
money and special directions what to do. He 
continues:— 
“Sir, —The garden goeth to great ruin. By 
my Lord Cardinal’s days it cost him forty 
ANOTHER MANTELPIECE 
