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THE BARONIAL
BARONIAL HALLS OF KENT.

66

"OUR writings," says old Burton, are so many dishes, our readers the guests:" wherefore, as he very reasonably lucubrates, it is only becoming that we should endeavour to have them in some measure suitable to the time and the occasion. For this winter season, a culling from the old Baronial mansions of England, seems a not unseasonable dish to set before our friendly guests, the readers of 'THE LAND WE LIVE IN.' Those stately halls are beyond almost every object provocative of recollections of that large and hearty Christmas hospitality which was so eminently characteristic of England in the olden time. The very shadow of it has fled away long since; but even to recal to our memory that such things were, is neither without profit nor pleasure.

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Yet in truth it needs no apology of the season for introducing such a subject in our work. We should have a very incomplete series of sketches of our noble land, either pictorial or literary, if we had none of those old mansions which form so noticeable a feature in it. Nor is the subject merely an ornamental one: a history of our chief country mansions would form a theme of rich and various interest. Even to trace the history of some one at sufficient length, and in a genial spirit, would afford abundant information as well as amusement: the weather-beaten walls, and the dusty family records, would alike furnish matter which the wand of fancy might transform into vivid and speaking realities. The different parts of the building would recal and illustrate the varying phases of public and domestic life: the embattled towers would tell of those ruder times when the feudal chief might have to call around him his retainers and tenants, and prepare against the approach of some hostile band; the huge halls and capacious kitchens of ancient state and hospitality; the graceful bay-windows of the growth of elegance and security; while all would display the progress of architectural skill and taste. How distinctly, too, would the apartments and their garniture record the shifting habits of social life-changing slowly and almost imperceptibly from year to year, but showing so vast a difference between the present time and that when the foundations of the house were laid, it may be some four or five centuries ago! And then in the fortunes of its ownersoften the mighty, the famous, the unhappy-how impressive a story might be read! To most who visit these ancient halls some such thoughts occur; and some such history of them might, without extraordinary labour, be written. Of course that cannot be attempted here. We are to look lightly over two or three of these old buildings which lie at a few miles distance from each other, and in one county: and whilst strolling through the rooms we shall, without much regard to order, speak of such matters as we meet with, or as the objects we see may recal to the memory. XVII.-VOL. III.

HEVER CASTLE.

Kent is a beautiful county, and one full of all kinds of interest. Few counties can display so ample a variety of pleasing scenery, and few possess more objects that will repay the examination of the curious tourist. In old baronial and manorial residences it is especially rich; and they, with the fine parks that generally appertain to them, contribute in no small measure to the beauty and interest of the county. From them we select a few that have more than the ordinary amount of historical or other value, and that may serve at the same time as examples of the several kinds of structures that are characteristic of ancient baronial domestic architecture.

We may begin with the rudest-looking and oldest. Hever Castle is a tolerably perfect example of a castellated mansion of the earliest date. Though called a castle, that is an improper designation: it retains in part the form and character of a castle, but it was erected in an age when comfort as well as security was sought after; when, though it was deemed needful to build so as to be secure from a sudden attack, defence was no longer the first thing thought of and provided for. During the sway of the Norman monarchs, castles were raised all over the land. It is affirmed that above eleven hundred were erected in England, in the reign of Stephen. In the strong language of the 'Saxon Chronicle," "Every rich man built his castles and defended them, and they filled the land full of castles. And they greatly oppressed the wretched people, by making them work at these castles; and when the castles were finished, they filled them with devils and evil men." Henry II., however, put a stop to the mischief by making it unlawful to erect a castle without the Royal licence-which he but seldom granted.

The Norman castle was a large and enormously strong building. The walls, which were of immense thickness, were surmounted with battlements, and usually further fortified by small projecting towers or bastions. Where the nature of the ground did not render the approach nearly inaccessible, a moat encompassed the walls, and across it was thrown a drawbridge. The entrance gateway was flanked by towers: there were several thick doors; and portcullises were fitted into grooves, so as to be easily dropped in case of surprisal, and to prevent the danger which might arise from the application of fire. There was also near the centre of the castle a great keep, to which the garrison might retreat if the castle itself should be forced. No more efficient stronghold than the Norman castle could well have been contrived for withstanding the assaults of an army in the then state of warfare: but it made at best but a gloomy and uncomfortable abode, - every external aperture was of the smallest size, the rooms were confined and inconvenient, the whole wore a stern and forbidding air. It

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was not, however, till the splendid victories of Edward III. had ensured peace and safety in the land, that the English nobility thought of erecting for themselves dwellings of a more homely character. It was in the It was in the reign of Edward III. that domestic architecture may be said to have arisen in England; but even then, as has been mentioned, although comfort and elegance were sought after, security was not neglected. The result was the construction of that class of buildings which has received the name of castellated mansions.

Hever Castle is of this kind, and of this date. William de Hever, lord of the manor, obtained a license of Edward III. to erect his manor-house at Hever, ' more castelli,' with towers, battlements, and machicolations; and in virtue of this grant he built the castle we are now to examine. Hever Castle does not remain as it was originally erected; alterations, additions, and modernizations have been made at different times, but in its general form and character it is pretty much as he left it.

It is situated about three miles south-east of the Edenbridge station of the South-Eastern Railway. There is a pleasant walk to it from the village of Edenbridge, along by-lanes and field-paths. Little is seen of the castle till you come close upon it, owing to its lying in so low a spot. The site was chosen, no doubt, from its proximity to the river Eden, affording so much facility for surrounding the building by a moat. When fairly seen the appearance of the castle is rather striking, as well as picturesque. (Cut No. 1.) The building is quadrangular, enclosing a court-yard. The place of the original draw-bridge is supplied by a fixed wooden one; but the moat remains undrained. The principal front, which presents itself to the view on approaching the castle, is the fortified part. It consists of a large and lofty gatehouse, flanked by two square towers. It is built of stone, and is evidently of great strength, answering in some measure to the keep of the Norman castle. As this was the only entrance to the castle, the architect has expended upon its defences all his skill. Over the gateway impend bold machicolations from which missiles might be poured on the heads of assailants. The towers are pierced with oilets and loop-holes, through which arrows might be discharged, without chance of reprisal. Three stout gates and as many portcullises are arranged one behind the other, within the gateway. In the gatehouse are guard-rooms: the chambers above were provided with furnaces for melting lead and pitch; and all other defensive appliances were carefully provided. The strength of the castle, however, does not appear to have been tested. It owes its celebrity to other than warlike recollections. It has been the abode of two of the many wives of Henry VIII. It was the birthplace and the residence of Anne Boleyn; and here it was that she dwelt a part of the tedious six years, during which, to borrow the words of Mr. Sharon Turner, she patiently listened, " to the solicitations and aspirations of a Royal and interesting admirer." Several of this "interesting admirer's" still-existing loveletters (or as Mr. Turner prefers to call them, con

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Poor Anne! hers was indeed a hard lot. row and wrong she had brought upon another were with fearful interest returned into her own bosom. Hardly is the lofty eminence she had so long panted for attained, ere clouds gather around, and she sees darkness and danger on every hand. The "interesting admirer" is changed into a brutal tyrant; in place of love and hope, come alienation and misery. Then follows that hideous mockery of a trial, where the womanly ear is outraged by every insult which the depraved imaginations of coarse old men can, at the bidding of a reckless master, shape out of the vile tales of shameless attendants: and then that graceful form is, without trace of compassion, consigned to the bloodstained hands of the common executioner. But her husband was not her only-hardly her worst-persecutor. Even in the grave she has not been suffered to rest at peace. Her miserable doom has failed to excite a merciful consideration of her failings. It has been her fate to be the object of more and angrier controversy, and more bitter vituperation, than ever was any other Englishwoman,-except her daughter. Down to our own day she has been subjected to the grossest accusations which even theological rancour could inspire; and only in the case of her daughter, where to theological rancour national enmity is superadded, has the persecution been as long continued and as unrelenting.

Hever Castle was purchased by William Bullen, the great-grandfather of Anne. He was a wealthy silkmercer in London,-of which city he was, in 1459, elected lord-mayor: but the Bullens (for so they spelled their name) were an ancient and honourable Norfolk family. Upon the death of the father of Anne Boleyn "without male issue," the manor accrued to the crown. After his divorce from Anne of Cleves, Henry granted Hever Castle and manor to her for life, or as long as she should remain in England: and in Hever Castle were spent the remaining days of that most fortunate of the tyrant's unhappy wives. She died here in 1556, after a quiet sojourn of sixteen years. Shortly after her death the estate was sold by Royal commission. It has since passed through many hands; but nothing of interest has occurred in connection with it. It is now the property of a family named Medley. Hever Castle has become a farm-house.

The gate-house by which you enter is the original stronghold. It is in capital preservation, and retains to a great degree its primitive appearance. The only alteration of any consequence is the insertion of some windows of Tudor date. On the front is some rather elegant tracery; but as you enter the gateway, the bold impending machicolations and triple portcullises, render it a sufficiently formidable-looking structure. The rooms inside this building are also in tolerable preservation. The principal is the great hall, the original state-room of the castle: this is a noble apart

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