The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-11-26 00:00:00

TfIE "WONDERS OF WELitECIL''

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On Monday evening the Prince of Wales arrived at
Welbeck Abbey on a visit to the Duke of Portland.
His Royal Highness travelled by the Great Northern
Railway to Retford, and thence by the Manchester,
Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway to Worksop. On
the platform of the station at the latter place his
Royal Highness was received by the Duke of Portland,
in one of whose carriages he proceeded to Welbeck.
The Sherwood Rangers served as an escort, while at
the station at Worksop the local Volunteers were in
attendance. Upwards of 50 of the Portland tenantry in
hunting costume also followed the Prince on horseback
to Welbeck. On reaching Welbeck Abbey the Prince
was received by Lady Bolsover, the mother of the
Duke of Portland, and by Lady Ottaline Cavendish
Bentinck, his Grace's sister. In the evening the Abbey
and the splendid riding school were illuminated in
honour of the occasion,

The Sheffield Telegraph has a most interesting article on
the "Wonders of Welbeek,"—a ttice which will always be
lamed for its underground passa, 4, which extend for miles,
and for its subterranean apartments, including a spacious
ball-room and suites of rooms in the bosom of the earth,—
We make the following extract from the article
"The most striking feature in the buildings above
ground is the large Gothic hall, restored in 1751 by the
Countess of Oxford. .

"In the early part of his career the late Duke
devoted himself ardently to the cultivation of Art,
and the hundreds of paintings which adorn the walls
of the Abbey testify to the good taste he must have
possessed. In the great dining-room there are evi-
dences of his ingenious contrivances for minimizing
labour. An hydraulic shaft was constructed between
the great dining-room and the kitchen, and by means
of this shaft wagons could be raised from or lowered
to the underground passages. Rails were laid in the
passage along which the wagons ran to and from
a cupboard, which was also a stove, where food
could be kept hot until required to be hoisted to
the dining-room. Extending in all 'directions from
the Abbey are those lofty and spacious passages
which have been for so long the wonder and admira-
tion of the privileged visitor. They are brilliantly
lighted by means of costly apparatus for attracting
the sunlight, and where sunlight cannot be admitted
by gaslights. The celebrated riding school,' the like
of which is not to be found in the world, is reached
through one or two underground passages. Entrance
is gained by a trap-door, which is opened by a curi-
ously designed crank in the passage. The building
was used for the purposes of a riding school in the
Duke of Newcastle's time, but has since been converted
into a magnificent museum of art 180 ft. in length.
Large numbers of pictures are arranged in the gallery,
and on the oak floor are thousands of rare and
valuable books, ancient and modern. The gallery is
lighted by means of four chandeliers, each weighing a
ton, suspended from the roof. There are upwards of
2,000 gas jets, and when all are illuminated the effect
must be brilliant in the extreme. Mirrors adorn the
walls, and the ceiling of the gallery is beautifully
decorated with a design representing a midsummer
sky.

"The library as well as the picture gallery is under-
ground, and is the result of many years' labour. It is
236 ft. in length, and divided into five chambers, which
are so constructed as to form when desirable one very
large chamber or hall.

"Another immense and superbly Constructed apart-
ment was commenced seven years ago, but was not
completed before the late Duke's death. It is reached
by a spiral staircase at one end and by a subterranean
passage at the other end. It was supposed at one
time that it was intended for a church, but-there is
nothing ecclesiastical about its appearance. It looks
more like a ball-room, and what a magnificent ball-
room it would make! Its oaken floor is a wonderful
piece of work, so close and fine is it. The deep tone
of the wood has been obtained by regular washing
with rare old Welbeck ale. The roof is supported
by eight iron girders, each of which weighs 24
tons. By day illumination is obtained by 27
octagonal lights, and at night from magnificent
crystal chandeliers, each weighing a ton. The
room, which covers a rood of ground, has been
dug out of the solid clay. It is now used as a picture
gallery, and on the walls are 160 grand works by
Snyders, Raffaelle, Vandyck, Rembrandt, Rubens,
Holhein, Sir Joshua Reynolds, Wouvermans, and
others. There are many other underground chambers,
and all of them have been excavated at a great cost.
They are magnificently decorated, admirably lighted,
and are free from draughts. Altogether there are
many miles of subterranean passages, all of which are
pleasant to walk in and wide enough to allow of three
persons walking abreast. One of the long passages
was exclusively used by the late Duke himself,
and the stranger found in it was deemed guilty of a
grave offence.
"Another extraordinary work was commenced by
the late Duke, and remains unfinished. He spoke of
it as 'the bachelor's ball.' It occupies an acre of
ground, and is reached by a stone staircase. The en-
closure is all walled in with Roman cement mixed
with sand. On these walls and excavations £50,000
has already been spent. The place would make a
splendid winter garden, but it is not yet known what
the present Duke will do with it.

"During the late Duke's lifetime Welbeck was like
an industrial villige, about 2,000 workmen usually
being employed upon the 'works.' Wood yards,
machine shops, manufactories, and gasworks were to
be found within the grounds. It was acknowledged
that the Duke had refined taste and skill in architec-
ture, and he was ever a builder of good work and a
puller down of bad. . . .
"Of the many striking buildings outside the Abbey
the most remarkable is the New Riding School, nearly
400 ft. in length, 100 ft. in width, and divided into a
great centre and two aisles. The central department
is decorated with a frieze or painted brass work repre-
senting animals, birds, and the foliage of trees, and is
elegant in design, and perfect in workmanship. The
building, with its walls of solid stone and roof 50ft.
its height, formed of iron, glass and wood, is chaste
in design, as well as gigantic in its proportions. The
interior is lighted by 8,000 gas jets. In this magnifi-
cent Riding School the late Duke took pleasure in see-
ing his horses exercised. The Bentincks were always
known as lovers of the horse, and in this, as in other
respects, the late Duke supported the family tradi-
tions. When a young man he was famous as a rider.
The Portland Handicap was due to the Bentincks,
and Lord George created great excitement by com-
peting for the Blue Riband of the Turf under the
name of 'Mr. Bowe.' The tan-gallop, for exercising
the horses in winter, is unequalled in Europe. It is a
glass-covered arcade, 1,270 ft. long, and containing
upwards of 64,000 ft. The Welbeck stables, poultry.
houses, sheds, &c., are as large as a village, and every-
thing is on the grandest scale, the very fittings of the
doors being of polished brass.
"The hunting stables, which are in the form of a
quadrangle, stand in a square acre of ground. There
is accommodation here for about 100 horses, and
nearly all the stalls and boxes we pass are occupied
with handsome creatures most handsomely "housed."
The stalls are remarkably roomy, and equipped with
every comfort that can be thought of for the occu-
pants. The name of each horse is inserted in gilt
letters on the wall over its head. The late Duke was
very fond of his horses, many of which used to feed
from his hands. The present Duke inherits the Ben-
tinck characteristic in that respect

"A glance at the coach-house reveals vehicles of
every description—from the landau to the state car-
riage. Though they were rarely used m the days of
the old Duke, they were always kept as bright as a
mirror. Nothing went wrong for want of attention.
A curious old conveyance is the late Duke's favourite
carriage. It is a kind of waggonette, completely
covered with a thick curtain arranged in cube form
with flat top. Through eye-holes ' cut in the cur-
tain, and containing oval glasses, the Duke, if he
pleased, could see what was going on about him with-
out being observed in return. In the harness room,
where there is a remarkable collection of all kinds,
everything is hung in glass cases, and is always kept
ready for use. . .

"The cowhouses, dairy, and poultry-houses form
imposing blocks of buildings. The cowhouse has stalls
of galvanized zinc and slate—there being separate
troughs for the hay and the turnips or other food. It
is very lofty, with a roof of pitch pine, and the cattle
have as much room as the horses in the hunting
stables. A second co vvhouse, of similar proportions,
is used for ' housing ' the animals while tho other is
being cleansed. Here, too, deserves to be noticed a
cowshed, with a roof of pitch pine, and fitted with
revolving iron shutters, enabling the place to be closed
or opened according to the weather.

"-The dairy is the model of a-pl:ce of the kind. It
is a neat building of stone. The floor is laid with en-
caustic tiles, which are also used in lining the walls.
From the centre of the tiled floor sprirgs a crystal
fountain, set in a marble basin. Around the base gold
and other fish are disporting themselves at pleasure.
The milk dishes' which are of china, and cost some
two guineas each, are placed on benches of marble;
and jars for the cream, which are also of china, are
placed higher up in niches let into the walls. All the
dishes are full to the lip with milk which looks like
cream, and there is not a speck to be seen anywhere
about the,place. The very sight of the dairy is grate-
ful to the eye—everything is so bright and cool and
clean, from the Minton tiles beneath our feet to the
massive crystal chandelier over our head.

"At Welbeck the late Duke also took great pride in
the gardens, absorbing whole farms in his desire to
plant fruit trees. He was what the world calls eccen-
tric. He neither visited nor encouraged visitors.
Hating all ceremony, it was said the penalty of dis-
misstkl followed upon a workman lifting his hat or
specially noticing him as he passed. A man who
wanted work could always obtain it at Welbeck,
but his Grace held idlers in contempt, and if he
found a man dawdling, over his task he was in-
stantly discharged. According to the current talk
about his income, he had coining in 'a thousand
pounds a day and two for Sunday.' A published
estimate computes his rent roll at something like
£400,000 per annum. In addition to the Welbeck
estates he had landed property in Middlesex, Norfolk,
Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, North-
umberland, Ayrshire, and Caithness-shire. The
ground rents of the valuable property in the metro-
polis consisting of houses in Great Titchfield-street,
Great Portland-street, and Portland-place, helped to
swell his princely revenues. In the county of Not-
tingham the lands extended to 35,209 acres, with a
gross estimated rental of £00,555; in Northumberland,
10,822 acres, realizing • a rental of £8,462; in Derby-
shire, 7,740 acres, realizing £9,917; in Lincolnshire,
894 acres, realising £1,203; and in Norfolk, 591 acres,
realizing £986. The Scotch estates are also very ex-
tensive, the acreage in the county of Caithness alone
amounting to 81,609. There are four seats—namely,
Welbeck Abbey; Fullarton-house, Ayrshire; Lang-
well, Golspie, Caithness; and Bothal Castle, North-
umberland, besides the London mansion.
"For twenty-six years the Duke of Portland lived
the life of a recluse—at least, from those of his own
order. Heliad for his companions the men who were
carrying out his remarkable works. He used to dine
alone, no one approaching him except his valet.
There were drawn for himself every day two quarts
of beer and two of ale, but he never drank them. On
the Ist of Se!?tember, 1878, he left Welbeck for
London. He drove to Worksop in his own carriage,
which was put on a truck at the railway station, and

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