THE SEAT OF

LORD STAFFORD.

THE Lodge at Cossey Park stands about two miles from Norwich Turnpike, on the road to Lynn. The House is placed in a beautiful valley, the gentle acclivities of which are studded with woods and plantations, happily disposed, while the winding of the river Wensum, at the foot of a delightful lawn, and through meadows, visible from the rising grounds to a great distance, adds considerable interest to the scene. From a tower, upon an eminence, is an extensive prospect of the surrounding country; the city of Norwich, very distinctly seen, lies about four miles from Cossey. The local beauty of the neighbourhood of this venerable seat was much increased by the tasteful improvements of the late Sir William Jerningham, Bart., which were conducted upon a grand scale.

The Mansion was erected by Sir Henry Jerningham, Knt., Vice-Chamberlain to Queen Mary, and was commenced in the reign of that princess; but from the date of 1564, over the porch, it appears not to have been finished until that of Elizabeth. The plan of the edifice is that of an half H, with the front towards the east, and projecting wings terminating in gables, crowned with low pinnacles: the Porch in the centre is not without decoration, but there is none of the exuberance of architectural ornament so frequently introduced at that period. Its style has been strictly preserved, and no innovation permitted upon its antique front. The Mansion contains several spacious apartments, adorned with numerous family Portraits, and others of distinguished characters in English history; a very fine original portrait of Queen Mary the First, and a Cabinet of Miniatures of the Family, some originals, and others copies from large paintings, formed by the late Edward Jerningham, Esq. There is also a most exquisite original drawing, by Vandyck, of Thomas Earl of Arundel, and Alathea his countess, seated under a canopy, with all their children before them. One room contains a library of elegant and well chosen books. The ancient Hall, now used as a Dining-room, opens upon a Conservatory, upwards of ninety feet in length, which extends to the entrance of a splendid Chapel, lately erected. The domestic Chapel was an invariable appendage to Mansions of early date, and is now particularly necessary as a part of the establishment of a Roman Catholic family. It is 90 feet in length, 35 wide, and 20 feet high; and in the annexed View, taken from the south-east, forms a prominent object.

The Chapel is built in the pointed style of architecture, with all its appropriate decorations and members, its mullioned windows, ornamented buttresses, and pinnacle terminations, derived from pure models; nor has the customary heraldic embellishments been omitted in sculptured compartments, under the battlements, are shields alternately bearing the arms of Jerningham and Stafford; also over an entrance on the north-side are some of the family quarterings. The interior is arranged in exact conformity to ancient custom, all the seats being of oak, ornamented at the ends with carved finials, and the noble windows, twenty in number, filled with very fine old stained glass, collected from various monasteries on the Continent, and executed after designs of the German and Flemish school. In a series, beneath the windows, are carved in oak the armorial coat of Jerningham, three arming buckles, impaled with those of the various alliances of this illustrious family. The groining of the roof is at once simple and elegant.

The design of this chapel was formed by the correct taste of the late Edward Jerningham, Esq., the younger brother of his Lordship, a man pre-eminently distinguished for every generous virtue and talent, of heart and head, that can adorn the character of a perfect gentleman.

Through Mary, eldest daughter and heiress of Francis Plowden, Esq., by Mary the daughter of the Honourable John Stafford Howard, younger son of William Viscount Stafford, beheaded in 1680, the late Sir William Jerningham inherited the baronial castle, with several estates in the counties of Salop and Stafford, belonging to the ancient Barony of Stafford.

THE SEAT OF

LORD SUFFIELD.

GUNTON HALL is beautifully situated on an eminence, within five miles of the town of Aylsham, and four miles north-west from North Walsham, surrounded by extensive plantations, well laid out. The House, though not very large, is in every respect an elegant habitation; and the Offices erected by the late Lord Suffield, under the direction of Mr. Wyat, are said to be superior to any in the kingdom.

Not far from the House stands the Parish Church; it is adorned with a handsome portico, of the Doric order. This Church was rebuilt by Sir William Morden Harbord, Bart.; who became heir to the estate in 1742, upon the death of Harbord Harbord, Esq., who was descended from an ancient family of that name settled at Gunton.

Sir William Morden Harbord was a representative in Parliament for BereAlston, county of Devon. In 1744, he was elected one of the Knights Companions of the most honourable Order of the Bath, and installed the month of October following. On March 22, 1745, he was created a Baronet of Great Britain; in which title he was succeeded by his son, Sir Harbord Harbord, Bart., who was elevated to the Peerage, August 8th, 1786, as Lord Suffield, of Suffield, in this county, a village situated in the same hundred; that is, South Erpingham, and in the immediate vicinity of Gunton. His Lordship married Mary, daughter and co-heir of Sir Ralph Assheton, Bart.; and, dying in 1810, was succeeded in his titles and estates by his son, William Assheton Harbord, Lord Suffield.

The parochial Church, at Thorpe Market, within one mile of Gunton, was rebuilt by the late Lord Suffield. In it, Mr. Wood, the architect, has combined simplicity with elegance. It is built of flint and freestone: at each of the four corners is a turret, and the points of the gables are terminated by a stone cross; the interior displays a considerable degree of taste, consisting of a single aisle. The windows are ornamented with painted glass.

THE SEAT OF

THE EARL OF ORFORD.

WOLTERTON HALL, near Cromer, was built by Horatio, Lord Walpole, under the direction of Ripley, the architect, in 1730: the centre is surmounted by a pediment, containing the arms and supporters of his Lordship; the basement story is rustic. From the Offices being concealed under ground, the House does not make an appearance corresponding to its real magnitude: it is in every respect a commodious mansion, extending in front 100 feet, and 75 feet in depth; the principal floor may be termed magnificent. The Saloon, 30 feet square, is hung with tapestry, the sofas and chairs are also covered with richly-wrought needlework; the subjects are taken from the Fables of Æsop, admirably executed. The Hall is a spacious and noble apartment, its dimensions are 50 feet by 27. The Dining-room, measuring 30 feet by 27, contains a fine picture of King Charles. The Dressing-room, 21 feet by 11, is hung with tapestry of lively and spirited colours; another Dressing-room is 21 feet by 18. The Drawing-room is 25 feet long and 21 feet wide, also hung with tapestry, very fine: the pier-glasses, throughout the house, are large and handsome.

From the south-east front of the Mansion, the view is beautiful over the Park, which is adorned with some very fine plantations, and a piece of water fourteen acres in extent: the distant woods of Blickling bound the prospects. Upon thinning the woods of Wolterton, some years ago, was cut down a Spanish chesnut, which had been transplanted in 1724, and measured, upon an average, 44 cubic feet; one of the same age measured 74 feet.

This ancient family derives its name from Walpole St. Peter's, in the county of Norfolk, where its progenitors were settled even before the Norman. Conquest. The title of Earl of Orford, which had been granted to that celebrated statesman, Sir Robert Walpole, in 1742, became extinct in 1797, on the death of Horace, Lord Orford, a nobleman distinguished for his refined taste, politeness, and ingenuity. The title was then revived in the person of Horatio, Lord Walpole, of Wolterton, who was created Earl of Orford, April 1, 1806.