Star.
London, England, 1828-09-01 00:00:00

ELTHANI PALACE.

The following account of the ancient Palac,. at El•
tham is given by LAMBARD, in his Preamoulation of
Kent, published in 1656
Anthony Becke, the Bishop of Durham, who in the
reigns of King Henry 111. and King Edward hit son,
built Auckland Castle, in the Bishoprick of Durham;
Somerton Castle, in Lincolnshire, and Durham Palace,
at London, was (by report of Joho Leland) either the
builder or first beautifier of this, the• Prince's house, here
at Eltham.

It is noted, in the history of that proud man, that he
was in his life and port so gay and glorious, that the
Nobility of the realm disdained him therefore; but they
did nut consider, belike, that he was in possession of
the Bishoprick of Durham, which had. Jura regalia, the
prerogatives of a small kingdom, and that be was by
election Patriarch of Jerusalem, which is sear cousin to
a Popedom. In resFect to those things. he might well
enough be allowed to have donuts splendidas luxes regali,
his houses not only as gay as those of Noblemen ; but also
as gorgeous as the King's own. But segmanter prodi-
gum rapine (pillage is the handmaid of prodigality);
for, as it is the condition cf prodigal men, to catch from
some, and cast to others, so this man, having gotten
this and other lands by defrauding that trust which the
last Lord Vesey reposed in him for the benefit of an
ille_itimate son, bestowed it (as Master Camden writeth)
upon Eleanor, the wife of King Edward the First, for
support tion, I think, of his own haughtiness and vain-
glory.
King Henry the Third (saith Mat.Parise) toward the
latter end of his reign kept a Royal Christmas, as the
manner-thus was (1270) at Ethan% being accompanied
by his Queen and Nobility, and this (belike) was the
first warming of the house, as I may call it, after the
Bishop had finished his work. Ido not hereby gather
that the King had then any property in it, for the
Princes in those days used commonly to sojourn for
their pleasures, and to pass their solemnities also in
abbies and Bishops houses. But yet, the house came
to the possession of-the Crown : for more proof whereof
I pray you hear and mark what followeth
The wife of Henry the Second bare unto him a son
at this house, who was thereof surnamed John of Eliham.
At the time King John of France, who had been pri-
soner in England, came over to visit King EdWard the
Third, who had m,,st honourably treated him. the King
and the Queen remained at Eichorn to entertain him.

King Henry the Fourth also kept his last Christmas
at Eltham ; and King Henry, his son and successor, lay
there at Christmas likewise, when he was Fein to depart
suddenly for fern of some that had conspired to mut-
der him.

The remains of this once gorgeous Palace are now
in the occupatiiin of a farmer, and the hall, which our
Norman Kings made resound with minstrelsy and re-
velry, is convertei into a barn. There are yet to be
seen vestiges of the arts and atchitecture of the 12th
century. The style called Gothic, or Arabesque, which
came into Europe after the Crusader, is conspicuous.—
The roof of the hall presents that prodigious quantity
of ornaments which 'marked the compositions of the
12th and 13th centuries. The frame-work of the roof
bears some resemblance to that of Westminster Hall;
but the lequent efforts of man to prttect the building
front the all-powerful scythe of Time has changed the
original features. We may venture to describe ►t in the
words of a Noble Bard—

—" A Olefins Castle:—
.-----breathing stein farewells
From gay but leafy walls, where ruin greenly dwells."

Tradition has affixed to the Palace of Eltham a Royal
amou►, which will keep the name in memory when all
traces of the building are lost. King John, on his way
from the Palace at Stepney to Eltham, crossed the
Thames, and landing at Charlton, saw the wife of a
miller, named J.'hn Percival. She was beautiful, and
the Prince became her admirer. The miller was ever
upon the watch for the protection of his wife; but John,
lon one occasion, contrived to obtain an interview with
Dame Percival. It was, however, not so private as the
King wished. The miller surprised him in a situation
which shall be nameless, and drew his dirk. The Mo•
narch begged his life, and promised Percival, if he
would abate his resentment, to make him Lord of as
much land as he could discover westward of his mill.
The miller wisely pteferred property to revenge, and
obtained a grant of a very considerable extent of land.
To commemorate the transaction, a hare was to be
caught alive on Charlton Common, on St. Luke's day,
and a fair is held annually called Horn Fair. Such is
the tradition, and to this day there is a custom among
the warermen which has some relation to the millet's
'misfortune.

The lease granted by the Crown to the manor of El-
tham, which conveys the land and Palace to the present
_occupiers, together with the reports made by the Board
of Works respecting the state of the premises, are before
Eirliament, for the purpose of seeing whether any far-
ther repdiis can be made ; and as the subject is a topic of
conversatiJn, the above extracts may prove amusing.

It is reported in the p9litical circle*, that the Speaker
of the House of Commons is a candidate for the office
of First Lord of the Admiralty.
It appears from the Gazette that 70,000 quarters of
various descriptions of grain were imported during the
month of July; the quantity in bond amounted on the
Ist. ult. to 430,000 quarters.
Tuesday, Mr. Ralph, of No. 10, Commercial-road,
was knocked down at the door of a public-house in
Mile end road, by a fellow, and robbed of seven sowe-
, reigns.

PARALYTIC ATTACK orJUDGE HEYWOOD.

CARMARTHIM, Auo. 29.—We regret to state that
we have just learnt that Mr. Justice Heywood has had
an attack of paralysis at Haverfordwest, and that the
business t f the Carmarthen Ses,ions will necessarily be
postponed. The Sheriff And a large company, as usual,
went out in procession to meet his Lordship, when
they received the above distressing intelligence, Which
caused them to return.

The Attorney-General. Sir Wm. Owen, in apprising
the public of this melancholy event, stated that he
would lose no time in transmitting an Account of it to
the Lord Chancellor, who would, doubtless, make every
arrangement for furthering the business of the Court,
and for remedying the inconvenience which has resulted
from the untortmee interruption to the trAnsaction of
the legal business of the County.