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Loxley Park, Staffordshire;

THE SEAT OF

THOMAS SNEYD KYNNERSLEY, ESQ.

LOXLEY PARK is situated in that part of the county called the Woodlands, on the borders of Derbyshire, two miles west from the town of Uttoxeter. The estate is well wooded, and watered by the river Blithe, and a small stream, which, rising above Bromshall, passes through Loxley, and falls into the river Dove below Uttoxeter.

The House has been partly rebuilt, its front cased with stone, and adorned with a portico of the Doric order. It stands upon a considerable elevation, and commands a picturesque view of the hamlet of Loxley, the villages of Bromshall, Churleigh, and of a beautiful tract of country.

The Entrance Hall, forty feet by twenty-four wide, and thirty high, is a curious relic of old wainscot, embellished with paintings, in panel, of the Saviour Virgin and Infant—the Flight into Egypt-the Apostles and Evangelists, and the Last Supper-with a frieze or cornice of the Arms of the Royal Family of Stuart-the Nobility and Gentry of the kingdom, and the Potentates of Christendom, about the year 1607, in good preservation

As early as the reign of Henry II. it was settled upon a younger son of Ferrers, Earl of Derby, whose principal seat was at Tutbury, in this county, and was possessed by a branch of that great family for some generations. It passed about the time of Edward III. to John de Kinnardsley, junior, (of Kinnardsley Castle, in the county of Hereford, where the family were established at the time of the Norman Conquest,) who married Johanna, sister and heiress of Thomas de Ferrers, Lord of Loxley, ever since wnich time the family of Kynnersley, or their representatives, have had possession.

The last male possessor, Clement Kynnersley, Esq., who died in 1815 bequeathed the estate to his nephew, Thomas Sneyd, the youngest son of his eldest sister, Penelope, the wife of John Sneyd, Esq. of Bishton, and afterwards of Belmont, in this county; and the said Thomas Sneyd, with the estate, took the additional surname of Kynnersley.

THE SEAT OF

JOHN ATKINSON, ESQ.

MAPLE HAYES is situated on a pleasing eminence, at the distance of two miles south-west from Lichfield, of which city and its venerable cathedral, it commands a most delightful and interesting view. This mansion, the property and residence of John Atkinson, Esq., by whom it was principally erected, is spacious and commodious, and contains a choice collection of valuable paintings, chiefly by ancient masters. The prospect on every side the house is exceedingly picturesque and grand, comprehending, in the distance, the royal forest of Needwood, a most interesting spot, presenting a great and beautiful variety of aspect, as well as the luxuriantly rich domains of the vale of the Trent. The engraving represents the south-east front of the house.

From the pleasure grounds at Maple Hayes rises a never-failing spring, which supplies the inhabitants of the Cathedral Close with abundance of the purest water. Attached to this property is the Botanic garden of the celebrated Dr. Darwin, and the identical scene of his elegant work bearing this title, which is amply furnished with notes, containing the natural history, and accounts of the properties of plants. This sequestered spot contains a spacious bath, stated by Sir John Floyer, Physician to King Charles II., who wrote a treatise on Cold-bathing, to be the coldest in England. The garden abounds with ornamented walks and secluded dells, and was the subject of Miss Anna Seward's beautiful poem; the following classical lines are inscribed for the Naiad of the Fountain by Dr. Darwin:

"If the meek flower of bashful dye,
Attract not thy incurious eye;
If the soft murmuring rill, to rest,
Enchant not thy tumultuous breast;
Go, where ambition lures the vain,
Or avarice barters peace for gain!"

List of the principal Pictures at Maple Hayes.

Mary Washing the Feet of Christ-Paul
Veronese.

The Adoration of the Shepherds-Innocenza
da Mola.

Solomon's Idolatry-Young Franks.
Centurion with a Group of Figures-Albert
Durer.

This is a chef d'œuvre of the Master.
The Finding of Moses-Mola.

The Holy Family--Rembrandt.

St. John Baptizing Christ-Domenichino.
Pilgrims at the Gate of a Convent-Terbergh.
Cattle-Cuyp.

Boors-Teniers.

Venus attired by the Graces-Albano.
Defeat of the Saracens Julio Romano.
Portrait of King Edward the Sixth-Holbein.
Venus and Adonis-Titian.

Edmund Burke-Sir Joshua Reynolds, R.A.
Sir Robert Walpole-Sir Godfrey Kneller.

There are also many other pictures of great merit in this collection.

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