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THE SEAT OF

VISCOUNT ANSON.

THE family of Anson have been seated in Staffordshire for several generations, originally at Dunston, in the parish of Penkridge. William Anson, Esq., in the reign of King James I., purchased the manor of Shugborough, now the chief residence of this noble family.

George Lord Anson, the celebrated Admiral, resided at Moor Park, in Hertfordshire; on his decease, in 1762, his immense property devolved to his elder brother, Thomas Anson, Esq., of Shugborough, a gentleman of a highly cultivated mind, who, upon this accession to his fortune, enlarged the family mansion, and first conceived the noble project of embellishing the whole surrounding country. He invited to Shugborough James Stuart, the architect, whose classic taste procured him the title of "Athenian ;" under his direction, a monument after the model of Adrian's Arch at Athens, was erected in a conspicuous spot, to the memory of Lord Anson: it is called "The Triumphal Arch," and is decorated with medallions emblematic of naval victories. Above the arch is a colonnade divided into three compartments, of which the centre is occupied by a military trophy, and the sides by a sarcophagi, with busts of Lord and Lady Anson; the whole of white marble. From Stuart's designs were also erected exact models of the Choragic monument of Lysicrates, and of the octagon tower of Andronicus Cyrrhestes. Besides these classical monuments, which are at a considerable distance from the Mansion, there are several tasteful buildings and seats in the pleasure grounds; a beautiful group at the lower end of the garden, the work of Scheemaker, is much admired. Two lovers, expressed in ancient pastoral figures, appear attentive to a shepherd, who points to an inscription," ET IN ARCADIA EGO," upon a tomb, conveying the moral, that there are no situations in life so delicious, but which death must at length snatch us from.

To the improvements of his predecessor, the late noble possessor has added very considerably. The principal front of the Mansion is now adorned with a magnificent portico of eight fluted columns of the Ionic order, and, without destroying the symmetry of the edifice, his Lordship added two apartments; one, a Drawing Room, 46 feet by 28 feet; the other, a Saloon, 54 feet by 22 feet, supported on each side by six columns of Scagliola.

The interior of this noble Mansion is decorated with many valuable pictures, and a fine collection of antique statues. Four of the finest statues are in the vestibule to the Drawing Room, viz. Paris, Amphitrite, Neptune, and a Faun and Satyr; also a beautiful Bacchus by Nollekens, inscribed Noλdeknyos emolel. Among the paintings are two by Guido-Susanna and the Elders, and St. Peter in Prison; two by Domenechino; a landscape by Claude; others by Nicholas and Gaspar Poussin; a portrait of George Lord Anson in the Dining Room. and several by Vandervelde, Teniers, and by the most celebrated masters of the Italian and Flemish schools. Here are also five productions of the pencil of the Dowager Viscountess Anson. The late Lord Anson carried the improvements of the surrounding country to a very great extent. His Lordship entirely removed the old village of Shugborough, which stood inconveniently near to a distant eminence, and also cut a new channel for the river Sow; on the banks of which, and opposite the back front of the present Mansion, the old house stood a stone bridge of three arches, which crossed the river at Hollisford, has also been removed about half a mile higher up the stream. The Lodges which his Lordship erected, at the entrances of the principal approaches to the House, are much admired.

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Engestrie, Staffordshire;

THE SEAT OF

EARL TALBOT.

INGESTRIE, anciently called Ingestrent, was a part of the great barony of Stafford, granted to Robert de Toeni, by King William the Conqueror. In the reign of King Henry II. it was held by Eudo de Mitton; and in the time of King Henry III., by the marriage of Isabella de Mitton with Sir Philip Chetwynd, it passed into the present noble family. The parish is small, and nearly all in demesne. It is bounded on the east by the river Trent, from which it rises by a gradual ascent, till it joins the parish of Tixall on the south. Towards this part is the Ley Park, adjoining to which is the Deer Park, and the Pleasure-ground commonly called the Wilderness. this is a handsome tract of forest scenery; one part being a close thicket, the other an open grove of majestic oaks, some of which are above twelve or fourteen feet in girth, at five feet from the ground.

The approach to the House from the north is through an avenue of beechtrees of uncommon size and beauty; beneath this magnificent shelter stands the ancient mansion, on the declivity of the hill. It is built in the style of architecture which prevailed in the time of Queen Elizabeth; the body of brick, with quoins and dressings to the windows, the large projections, &c., wholly of stone. The south front is a fine piece of the original work, and its appearance is very striking and venerable. The present Earl Talbot has lately pulled down the north front, which was of more modern date; and, with that good taste and discernment which are conspicuous in all his improvements, has re-erected it in the same style of architecture as the south front; by which not only the exterior grandeur of the whole is much increased, but a noble suite of apartments has been formed within.

The Entrance-porch and Tower are richly ornamented by a carved balustrade, rising from a base, within which is a cupola; the balustrade is continued along the whole length of the front.

Over the fire-place in the great Hall hangs an excellent picture of Walter Chetwynd, Esq. in a great wig, and crossed by a rich sash, the gentleman at whose sole charge the church of Ingestrie was erected, in the year 1676. He was a man of great learning, liberality, and piety, and particularly fond of the study of antiquities.

Among other judicious improvements made within these few years, his Lordship has also completed a handsome approach to the Mansion from the south; and, for this purpose, has planted a salt marsh, which, before it was drained, was almost incapable of vegetation; and has removed from the Pleasure-ground an ancient triumphal arch, which, with some additional buildings and decorations, now forms an elegant and appropriate entrance-lodge.

Ingestrie is in Pyrehill Hundred, and is three miles north-east from Stafford. By the will of Walter Chetwynd, it was inherited by John Chetwynd of Rudge; John's eldest son Walter was created Viscount Chetwynd, of Ireland, and was succeeded by both his brothers, John and William Richard, in title. From the latter descends the present Viscount Chetwynd; but this estate went to Catherine, eldest daughter and final heir of John, the second Viscount, second wife of John Talbot, third son of the Lord Chancellor Talbot. Her eldest son, John Chetwynd Talbot, succeeded his uncle, William, Earl Talbot, in the title revived to him; and his son, Charles Chetwynd, is the present Earl, and proprietor of this estate.

King's Bromley Hall, Staffordshire ;

THE SEAT OF

MRS. LANE.

KING'S BROMLEY HALL was built in the beginning of the last century, and is a handsome edifice, surrounded by beautiful and extensive shrubberies, through which the river Trent flows. There is a flower-garden on an island, romantically situated, from which is a good view of the falls of the river. The interior of the house contains many good apartments: there is also an extensive and very fine Library, the books of which were chiefly collected by the late John Lane, Esq.; and a good collection of Coins and other curiosities, among which may be ranked an original Letter from Charles II. to Mrs. Jane Lane, from Paris, with a Miniature of himself, sent to her at the same time.

King's Bromley Hall is situated in the rich vale of Trent, five miles from Lichfield, and eight from Wolseley Bridge, and was originally the residence of the Earls of Mercia. It continued in the king's hands until the time of Henry III., when it passed to the Corbets, and from them to a family of the name of Praers, in the reign of Edward IV. In 1508 it passed to the family of Partrich, with whom it remained till the reign of Elizabeth, when, after some litigation, it was transferred by Edward Partrich to F. Agard, of Derbyshire. King's Bromley remained in the family of Agard till, in 1670, it was sold to Mr. Newton, of South Wingfield, in Derbyshire, and of the island of Barbadoes. The last Mr. Newton died in 1783, and, by his will, left his estates of King's Bromley, and his property in Derbyshire and Barbadoes, to his sisters, Lady Holte and Mrs. Elizabeth Newton. Lady Holte died in April, 1784, and Mrs. E. Newton in December of the same year. The latter, by her will, devised King's Bromley and some of her West Indian estates, to her cousins, John and Thomas Lane, Esqrs. On the division of the property, King's Bromley was allotted to the elder brother, the late John Lane, Esq., an eminent barrister of Lincoln's Inn, who, on his accession of fortune and marriage, quitted his profession, and constantly resided at King's Bromley, which he much improved. It is now the property and residence of his widow, who was Sarah, only daughter of John Lloyd, Esq., of the Wyle-Cop, Shrewsbury, and who married, first, John Amler, Esq., of Ford Hall, Shropshire. This gentleman died about two years after his marriage, and left an only daughter and heiress, who married, in 1811, William Edward Tomline, Esq., M. P., eldest son of the late Bishop of Winchester. In 1799, Mrs. Amler married the late John Lane, Esq., and by him had two sons; John Newton Lane, Esq., married, January 8th, 1828, Agnes, second daughter of Lord Bagot, by Lady Louisa Legge, daughter of the late Earl of Dartmouth; and the Rev. Thomas Leveson Lane, Vicar of King's Bromley.

The family of Lane is of great antiquity, and came over (if the Battle Abbey roll is to be credited) with William the Conqueror. In the 9th Edward II. Richard de la Lona, or Lane, descended from Adam de Lona de Hampton, lived at Wolverhampton, in Staffordshire. His great-grandson, by a marriage with the heiress of the family of Hyde, came into possession of Hyde, in the same county. His son, John Lane, purchased Bentley, and was styled, in the reign of Henry VI., John Lane de Bentley et de la Hyde, Arm. It was Colonel John Lane, of Bentley, Esq., who received and concealed King Charles II. after the battle of Worcester; and whose sister, Jane Lane, afterwards Lady Fisher, rode on horseback behind that monarch, in disguise, and thus conveyed him from Staffordshire to a friend's house near Bristol, from whence he afterwards safely escaped to France. For these signal services, after the Restoration, pensions were granted to Colonel John Lane and his sister; and the family was anoreover dignified with this special badge of honour, the Arms of England in a canton, in augmentation of their paternal Arms. It is also handed down in the family, that a peerage was offered to Colonel Lane, but refused. The family of Lane continued to live at Bentley till 1740, when it was sold, and became the property of Viscount Anson.

PICTURES. A Head, Rembrandt-Landscape, Ruisdael-Landscape, Gainsborough Landscape, Van Goyer-Doge's Palace at Venice, Canaletti-two Landscapes, Artois a Harper, Mieris-Bagpipe and Violin Player, Ostade-Duke of Gloucester, son of Charles I., Vandyke-Sir- -Holte, Cornelius Jansen-Mrs. Jane Lane, Sir Peter Lely-Colonel John Lane, Unknown-Colonel Thomas Lane, Vandyke-Sir Thomas Lane, Sir Godfrey Kneller-King Charles, ditto-Mr. and Mrs. Newton, Gainsborough-Miss Seymour, ditto-Mr. Alleyne, ditto-Miss Alleyne, ditto-Lady Alleyne and her Children, Unknown.

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