Beaudesert Park, Staffordshire ;

TRE SEAT OF THE

MARQUESS OF ANGLESEA, K.G.

THIS princely Seat stands on the side of a lofty sloping eminence, five miles north of Lichfield, and about one mile west of the great road from London to Liverpool and Chester, sheltered above, and on each side, by beautiful rising grounds, and embosomed in trees, commanding in front, over the tops of far subjacent woods, a most extensive and agreeable view, so that it well vindicates the propriety of its name.

The mansion was partly rebuilt by Thomas, Lord Paget, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but many parts of the building are of far more remote antiquity. The exterior is very magnificent, having been greatly embellished and improved by a late noble owner; being now totally disengaged from the gateway, walls, and other obstructions that formerly encumbered it. Its original character has also been very happily preserved, in the extensive alterations it has recently undergone by direction of the noble Marquis. In the interior, particularly, it has received such improvements as render it, as well as one of the most capacious, one of the most comfortable, dwelling-houses in England. It is built with stone and brick; its plan is that of an half H. The old Porch of Entrance in front leads into a spacious and grand Hall, eighty feet by twenty-one, with a lofty groined roof, and adorned by a splendid window at the end, enriched by the armorial bearings of William, Lord Paget, K.G., and of his Lady, Anne, daughter and sole heir of Henry Preston, Esq., of Preston, in the county of York. Here is also a magnificent Gallery, ninety-seven feet long by seventeen feet wide.

The Drawing Room, forty-two feet long by twenty-seven feet wide, contains a fine original Portrait, by Holbein, of the first Lord Paget, who was ennobled by King Edward VI. It is a three-quarters length, and he is represented in a bonnet, black gown furred, with a great forked beard, the George, a stick, and a dagger; a fine performance of the artist. Of this Lord Paget, it is related by Fuller, as the saying of a foreign potentate, that " he was not only fit to represent kings, but to be a king himself."

There are, among many other portraits of distinguished personages, those of Henry, Earl of Holland, and Henrietta Maria, the Queen of King Charles the First, full-lengths, by Vandyck; portraits of their late Majesties, by Ramsay; a Portrait of the late Earl of Uxbridge, in his parliamentary robes, by Pocock; and a very animated Portrait of the noble Marquess's brother, Sir Arthur Paget, of which the face was painted by Hoppner. In compartments of the side windows are Portraits, in stained glass, of Edward the Fourth, Henry the Eighth, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, and King James the First, besides the celebrated Boar Hunt, and the Larder, by Snyders. The Drawing Room is adorned by four very large and highly-finished Landscapes, the performances of Ommeganch, of Antwerp. In compartments, over recesses for books in the Gallery, are a series of Paintings, representing some of the most important battles fought by the armies under John, Duke of Marlborough. In a Gallery over the entrance into the great Hall, is a fine Organ, by Pyke, in a neatly carved mahogany case, which was the gift of his late Majesty to this noble family. The furniture of this magnificent abode is in correspondence with the date and style of the building.

Beaudesert originally belonged to the Bishops of Lichfield, and was granted to Sir William Paget by King Edward VI. Richard Sampson, then Bishop of Lichfield, accepting of certain impropriations of the value of one hundred and eighty-three pounds a year, instead.

THE SEAT OF

THOMAS LISTER, ESQ. LL. D.

THIS is a most beautifully sequestered Park, situated about six miles from the city of Lichfield, and two miles from the market-town of Rugeley. The Mansion, a large stone-coloured building, forms a perfect square; having at each angle a turret, surmounted by a cupola. In the centre of the principal front is a projection, or bow; and the entrance to the house is through a portico, consisting of three Gothic arches. The whole house is embattled. The Library is a spacious room, fifty-four feet long, lighted by two Gothic bay windows, and contains a valuable and extensive collection of books. In the house also is a large collection of pictures, of ancient and modern masters. Amongst the family portraits are those of Sir William Lister, and his Lady, daughter of Sir Henry Bellasis, ancestor of the Earls of Faulconberg: also the portraits of Sir Martin Lister, and his Lady, daughter of Sir William Fairfax. There are also curious and ancient original portraits of Elizabeth, Countess of Chesterfield, daughter of Butler, Duke of Ormond; of Francis, first Earl of Westmoreland; of Dr. Butts, the physician of Henry VIII.; and of Claudius Gabriel Cibber, the sculptor, father of Colley Cibber.

From the Park is a fine view to a great extent over the adjacent country. The principal entrance to the place is through a Lodge, situated on the great road leading from London to Liverpool and Chester; and the drive to the house, of about a mile and a half in length, exhibits a beautiful specimen of picturesque scenery. Adjoining the pleasure-grounds, the Grand Trunk Canal passes through a very noble subterraneous cavern. The Parish Church, placed on a rocky eminence, forms a pleasing object from the Park. Armitage is in the hundred of Offlow, south; and was so called from a tradition that a hermit resided in a solitary place, between the river Trent and the church, whence its original name.

The proprietor is of the ancient family of Lister, of Gisburne Park, in Yorkshire. His father, Nathaniel Lister, Esq., was many years representative in parliament of the borough of Clithero, and uncle to the present Lord Ribblesdale, who is the head of the family. In Debrett's Peerage, we find that the possessions of this noble family, upon the borders of the river Ribble, which gives origin to the title, are by descent of extraordinary antiquity. From a pedigree, in the hand-writing of Sir William Dugdale, and drawn up by him, it appears, that by the marriage of John, son of Sir Thomas Lister, in the reign of Edward the Second, A. D. 1312, with an heiress of the house of Bolton, the family of Lister derive a descent from the Saxon Earls of Mercia, through the families of Clare, Gaunt, and Romara.

Thomas Lister, Esq., the present proprietor of Armitage Park, married, first, Harriett, youngest daughter of John Seale, Esq. of Mount Boone, Devon; to whose memory an elegant monument is erected in the Cathedral Church of Lichfield; secondly, Mary, eldest daughter of the late Wm. Grove, Esq. LL.D. of Warwickshire, by Lucy, daughter of Edward Sneyd, Esq. of Staffordshire.