The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-20 00:00:00

--,i
on the origin end eteef's / 7
of eo_n c -instittaions,
and communicating to the m ie'. l'ikeme curious and
interesting antiquarian inf +:. goys- 'derived from
ancient records, with regard 'to e Abbey of New- •
stead, Mr. Pettigrew proceediel no describe the old
portions of the Abbey which stlited‘ilet, and have been
incorporated with the modern milk. The great
hall, he observed, was a fine ,ipeanien of
antique
style, and was formerly the refectory. The ieresent
_.
drawing-room was formerly the dormitory of the
monks ; the cloisters presented a most venerable
appearance, and resembled those of Westminster
Abbey, though upon a smaller scale. The Abbey was
besieged in the reign of Charles 1., by the Parliamen-
tary forces, and held out for some time. Mr. Pettigrew,
after stating that the family of the Byrons was to be
traced from Ralph de Burun, mentioned in Domes.-
day as living in the latter part of the reign of Wil-
liam the Conqueror, proceeded to give some historical
details of the family, and then observed that, although
many of its members had been distinguished in the
military service of the country, it was to George, Lord
Byron, of our own time, that the renown of the family
would in after ages be chiefly- attributed. With New-
stead the late Lord Byron was iadissolubly associated,
and it was impossible for them, assembled as they were
under the roof and within the walls of that abode in
which much of his imperishable writings was
mingled emotions arising
com-
posed, without experiencing
trom admiration of his works and regret at the early
decease of such unrivalled powers. Mr. Pettigrew
then referred to the attachment always evinced by
Lord Byron for this beautiful residence, and to the
pain with which he was compelled to consent to its
sale in 1810. It was not, however, till 1817 that a
sale was effected, and the Abbey then most fortu-
nately fell into the hands of its present worthy pos-
sessor, Colonel Wildman, who, in the restorations
he had effected, had not gone one inch beyond the
original ground plan, the walls now standing exactly
upon the old foundation.—(Hear, hear.) Lord Byron
and Colonel Wildman, it might be remarked were to-
gether at Harrow School, and on becoming the pur-
chaser of Newstead the gallant colonel received a
letter from the Noble Lord expressing his satisfaction
that the mansion had fallen into the hands of his old
schoolfellow and monitor. Mr. Pettigrew concluded
by observing that all lovers of archeology must rejoice
that a place so romantic in its character, associated
with so many interesting circumstances, and so
closely connected with the history of the greatest of
the modern poets of England, should have fallen into
the possession of a gentleman who bad exhibited so
true a sense of its value,
and who bad religiously
preserved every memorial in his
Lord Byron.—(Cheers.) power connected with
An adjournment then took place to the dining hall,
a noble apartment formed by Colonel Wildman out of
the ancient refectory of the Abbey, where an excel-
eidwtstle proposed the " Health '' '''.-...464"4"'
At the-conclusion of the .
, - lreenptaslut,ntcbleeeopn
of' Colonel Wildman," thanking him for the hospi-
uwkaesopir
Nov
hospi-
tality he had shown the members of the association.
The Gallant Colonel returned thanks, and the "Health
of Mrs. Wildman" was afterwards proposed by Mr.
Pettigrew.
The company left the Abbey for Linby about
seven o'clock, but, in consequence of the deficiency
of carriage accommodation, the railway train was
delayed long beyond the appointed time, and did not
reach Newark till ten o'clock.
NEWARK, THllRSDAY.—Yesterday morning, at ten
o'clock, the members of the Archeological Associa-
tion and their friends, to the number of upwards of
100,
left this place for Worksop by special train on
Railway, the Great Northern
the seat of the Duke of
Newcastle,
had invited them to pay him ' '
the President, who
a visit. On their arrival
at Worksop the party at once proceeded to the Ab-
bey Churcb, where theyt
i\w_i_eerwearmkeft by the Duke of
Newcastle, who had le
previous evening, in order to makeortbC Clumber on the
the necessary
necessary ar-
rangements for the reception of his guests. The
Abbey gateway, a fine specimen of G-othicarchitec-
ture, but which is rapidly falling into a state of di-
lapidation, excited much attention from the 8a
It contains a very handsome traceried vns.
win-
dow, and several ornamental niches, with figures
of the Virgin and Saints: The church, which
formed a portion of the old Abbey r
hurcb, is
a good specimen of late Norman architecture. It
has two towers, and consists of a nave and two aisles,
about 130 feet long. The chancel and the centre
tower have long since disappeared. The church has
recently been restored, both internally and externally,
at considerable expense, but a portion of the ruins of
St. Mary's Chapel, initnediately adjoining, and con-
taining some beautiful lancet windows, which are
perhaps the most perfect to be seen in England, re-
mains in a tolerably good state of preservation. Many
of the members of the association expressed a hope
that measures would be taken to prevent, as far as
possible, this fine specimen of ancient architecture -
from falling further into decay, or from being de-
stroyed by the ruthless hand of modern improvement.
The Duke of Newcastle, and the vicar, the Rev. Mr.
Appleton, promised that steps should be taken to
effect this object. A similar hope was expressed with
regard to some remains of the Abbey on the north
side of the church, including two beautiful Norman
arches, but it appeared that contemplated alterations
would render it difficult, if not impossible, to pre-
servj them.
Soon after one o'clock the party left Worksop for
Clumber-house, which is about four miles distant
but was found-no easy matter, in a small country
to nn, to provide for the conveyance of so many per-
sons, and vehicles of every description, from the
smart " clarence" to the lumbering farm-waggon,
were put into requisition for the purpose. The last
of the party, however, reached Clumber by two
o'clock, and the Duke of Newcastle, who had pre-
ceded his visitors, received them in the library as
they arrived.
The mansion is a plain edifice, of white freestone,
and was erected towards the close of the last cen-
tury. The front fagade possesses no pretensions to
architectural beauty or elegance, and its uniformity
has been entirely destroyed by the addition of a
small wing, which contains the chapel, and which
does not correspond with the rest of the building.
The interior, however, combines magnificence and
comfort in the highest degree. The rooms, especially
the library, the drawing-room, and the state dining-
room, are well proportioned, and most superbly fur-
nished, and contain numerous valuable paintings
and family pictures by the first masters, besides
many articles of vertu. The situation of the
house is most beautiful. It lies in the bosom of a
valley, and the surrounding hills are richly clothed
with plantations of different ages and growths. The
garden front of the ho use consists of a light lonic
colonnade, which has a pleasing
appearance, and opens
upon a fine terrace, facing an extensive lake, on the
bosom
of which were reposi •
ng craft of various sizes
up to a miniature frigate of 40 tons. These vessels
were all fully dressed in colours, and, from the great
extent of the lake, and the richness of the surrounding
shrubberies and p
rpas
lantations, a coup dad was produced
d I
which could not probably be sused'
could be equalled, in the private groundsif of any indee
not
-
bleman or gentleman in this kingdom.
The visitors, after viewing the
paintings, Sco., were conducted.
room, where a splendid colloaonuorse, p
The Duke of Newcastle, ef
ny,
observed, among the copy%
family, Mr. Heywo- Oliveira, _...e.
Mrs. Wildman, Mr.n
&c. After lunchesos
such amusements as
spective tastes. S apartments
varioushe state dining'
collation been rand-rded, we
Sir 0. Mosley and
Pipe Colonel Wildman and
iu r•, and Mrs. Oliveira,
the party dispersed, and sought
were most congenial to their re-
employed themselves in a close in-
ictures, or in examing the numerous
spection of theanPuscripts and rare works to be found
illuminated ne.
others in taking sketches of the house
in the library ,
or the surrounding
scenery ; many visited the con-
led gardens, or promenaded in the beautiful
servar°rY a
hrubberies which afforded
an agree-
and extensive s ,
from the rays of a summer sun ; while
able shelter
numerous boating parties were formed on the lake.
At 6 o'clock, the party re-assembled, and returned to
Worksop, whence they proceeded to Newark by the
special train engaged for the occasion.
At half-past Bin the evening a meeting of the asso-
ciation was held at the Town-hall, the Duke
of New-
castle presiding.
Mr. PETTIGREW read a paper, written by Mr.
Bateman, of Lincoln, containing notices of
burial-places discovered in the Count _early
y of Notting-
ham. The writer described the barrows which had
been opened in various parts of the c
arms, ornaments, and other articlescounty, and the
found in them. He also stated not longwhich had been
urns, which were doubtless of Saxon ago. 15. or _
been discovered on the Nottinghamroad origin,
wad.
ark, and were found
calcined
human near
bones.Ne
to contain
Mr. HEYWOOD observed that discoveries
0_
the same kind were lately made at some.Lshirewhen
f
a dispute arose as to whertheyinwearnectahe property
of the lord of the soil or the lord of the manor. It
was decided eventually that the lord of the soil was
entitled to any gold coins that might be discovered,
and that the property in any Roman or Saxon re-
mains was vested in the lord of the manor.
A paper prepared by Mr. Jewitt, on ancient customs
and sports of the county of Nottingham, was read by
Mr. Planchia but most of the customs mentioned
differed in no material points from those which exist
in many of the midland nod northern counties, and,
indeed, generally throughout the country.__
Mr. PETTIGREW, cn behss.f of Mr. Baigent, then
read a paper written by
that gentleman on discoveries
recently made in the church of St. John,
at
'Win-
chester. The writer described several curious paint-
ings on the wall of the church, which were acciden-
tally discovered upon the removal of a portion of the
plaster in the course of some repairs. They repre-
sent the last judgment, the crucifixion of St. Andrew,
and other subjects, and were of very great antiquity.
The paper described other discoveries which were
made in the same church.
The meeting did not separate until a late hour.