The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-11-27 00:00:00

THE SALE AT HOOTON HALL,

There is something melancholy in the spectacle of the
break up of a noble house, connected for centuries, as the
elder branch of the Stanley family has been, with the
country; yet we are afraid that we are doomed, before
many years are past, to witness many such spectacles.
The gutting of Stowe, the magnificent seat of a descend.
ant of the royal Plantagenets, is fresh in our memory ;
and we know with what painful feelings it was regarded
by nine-tenths of the right-minded public, and even by
some of those who had aided in precipitating the ruin.
How many more there are of our territorial nobility, at
this moment contemplating the approach of a similar
crisis, we dare not venture to say. Certain it is, however,
that we are at the commencement of a social revolution.
The men of acres, and of pedigree that reaches into anti-
quity, whose ancestry presided over the councils of their
country, or led on its hosts to battle, are being rapidly
submerged beneath the feet of the men of yesterday ; of
the successful adventurers in the fields of commerce and
industry ; and we regret that we cannot altogether deny
the righteousness of the dispensation. The successful
merchant has earned his reward and generally deserved
his elevation : too often the man whom he supplants in
his position has contributed to some extent to his own
downfall. If he has not with his ewn hands quarried the
stone which has crushed him, he has at all events been
blindly regardless, whilst it was being loosened to its fatal
descent. But there are other cases, in which the ruin is
undeniably the result of legislation. Modern political
economy, and selfish greed urging the passions of the
masses into antagonism towards the aristocracy of the
land, have been working at the base of the time-honoured
pyramid. Happy will it be for society if the erections to
be raised upon its ruins cast the same protecting shadow
around.

A brief sketch of the origin of the House of Hooton,
so far as it is known, will not, at the present moment, be
unacceptable to our readers. We condense an account
from the succinct history of the family, recently published
by Mr. D. Ross, of the Liverpool Chronicle. The first
territorial ancestor of the Stanleys—Adam de Aldithley—
accompanied William the Conqueror to England ; and
his eldest son, Lydulph, was father to Adam de Aldithley,
who became possessed, in right of his wife, Mabella,
daughter and heir of Henry Stanley de Stoneley, of the
manor of Stoneley and Thiterley, Staffordshire. A son
of the second son of the original Aldithley married another
Stanley, (whose family was of noble Saxon descent,) and
from the progeny of this pair the Stanleys of Hooton de-
rive their ancestry. By the marriage of a grandson the
manor of Stourton and the Bailiwick of Wirral forest was
gained. They became afterwards, by marriage, connected
with the Masseys, of Dunham and Timperley, and the
Hootons. From the first branch of this family descend
the Baronets of Hooton, of whom Sir William Massey
Stanley is the present representative. The Derby family
are descendants of the second son, who died in 1397. We
presume it is well known that the Stanleys, of

Aiderley,

are descended from Sir John, a younger son of Sir Thomas
Stanley, the first Lord Stanley, who descended from Sir
John Stanley, K.G., younger brother of the first• Stanley,
of. Hooton. The Earl of Derby is descended from the
elder son of Sir Thomas, Lord Stanley, above-mentioned.
This Sir Thomas, Lord Stanley, was comptroller of the
household of King Henry VI., and he is the Lord Stanley
immortalized in the pages of Soakspeare.
From this era the Stanleys maintained a high position,
allying themselves with the first families in Cheshire anc
Lancashire, until the death of Sir Rowland Stanley, of
Storeton and Hooton, who died in 1613, and was buried
at Eastham. The eldest son of this Sir Rowland was a
prominent character in the Irish ware of the beginning of
the seventeenth century, when he particularly distinguished
himself in an attack on the lands of the Earl of Desmond.
He became subsequently, however, a traitor to his coun-
try, and aided Philip the Second of Spain, by furnishing
Lints for the invasion of Great Britain by the Spanish
Armada. The family subsequently was connected by mar-
riage with the families of the Molyneux of Sefton ;
Clemout Pastin, Esq., of Berningham, Norfolk ;
Rowland Eyre, Esq., of Hasson, Derbyshire ; Thomas
Parry, Esq., of Pyrtleymean, Flintshire ; and John

Townley, Esq. The last marriage brought no
issue, and the estate and title reverted (in 1792)
to an uncle, Sir John Massey Stanley, who married the
daughter of Thomas Clifton, Esq., of Lvtham. The son

of air John married a daughter of William Salvin, Esq.,
Croxdale, Durham, and was succeeded by his son Sir
Thomas, who was again succeeded by his eldest
William, who died (1803) in his minority,
devolved upon Sir Thomas, his brother, tl
The present Sir William Thomas Stanl

,n, Sir

hen the title

vlassey Stan-

of the family, and the maintenance of Hooton gall as an
appanage of the family, have been doomed to fall. We
should be sorry to cast any reflections upon the unfortu-
nate baronet. Early indiscretions, however, no doubt,
precipitated this doom. And it is more deplorable because
we have seen that Sir William, during his short career as

baronet of Hooton, showed a disposition to do honour to
his:station; and whether -as a gentleman, a landlord, or a
neighbour, there are few who will not find it a difficult
task to fill his place. Wherever he may be—away now,
perhaps for ever, from the house of his ancestors—many
- hearts cling to him, and many good wishes follow

We subjoin from Mr. Ross's work a brief description of
Hooton Hall :

" The ancient ball of Hooton, a very large timber building
erected by license from Henry VII., Ras taken down in 177

The present mansion, which is beautifully situated on a gentle
eminence, near the eastern extremity of the hundred of Wirral,
commanding an extensive view of the river Mersey and the
oast of Cheshire and Lancashire, to the sea, was erected

from designs by Wyatt, with stones fro-m
the Stanley quarries
in Storeton. The grand circular stone stair-case is universally
admired. Several ancient portraits, removed from the old
house, are now at Hooton Hall, one of which is of Alan Silves-
tre, the ancestor of the Storetons, upon whom the office of chief
forester of Wirral was conferred, by Randal de Muschines, Earl
of Chester, in 1120. Sir William Stanley is in possession of the
ancient bugle by which the bailiwick of the forest was held, on

consideratiOn Of the forester blowing, or causing that born to
be blown, at Gloverstone, in Chester, on the morning of every
fair day, to indicate that the tolls or duties, payable on all
goods bought or sold in the city, or within sound of that horn,
during the fair, belonged to the Earl and his tenants there.

The born, which is preserved at Hooton, and of which an en-
graving is given in Mortimer's History of Wirral, is nearly
seventeen inches long, nine inches and a half in circumference
at the broad end, and two inches and a quarter at the top,
which is decorated with a brass rim. The colour varies ; it is
principally of a light or yellowish brown, spotted with shades
of black or blue. A similar horn is in possession of the Arden
family, who held Delamere forest under a tenure nearly comes-
ponding to that of Wirral."
The furniture, and the entire of the magnificent and
interesting contents of the mansion have been placed in
the hands of the Messrs. Churton, of Chester, for dis-

posal by auction. During the past week they have been
on view, and the hall has been visited by the elite of the
families of Cheshire, Lancashire, and the neighbouring
counties. The sale is fixed to last twelve days, and com-
mences this day ; and we anticipate a very

numerous

attendance. By a glance over the catalogue, WC observe
that the spirited auctioneers, Messrs. Churton, have very

judiciously divided the effects into smaller lots than are
usual in sales of such importance and magnitude. By
this course the public will be enabled to purchase any
particular class of articles in convenient quantities, whilst

the interests of the owners of the property will also be
benefitted by the probably increased yield of the whole

property

The entrance to the h,,11 is on the south side. The
vestibule is not very capacious, but the visitor is imme-

thately struck with the light but elegant appee
of the grand stone staircase which, is formed in
circle of great size, carved from the ground-floor to the
roof, and finished with a beautiful dome, which, as well as
the walls. is coloured in a delicate light blue, relieved
with chaste white ornaments. On the ground-floor is the
principal breakfast-room, which is most handsomely fur-
nished—the green-room, in which there still remains the
reminiscences of the favourite sports of Sir William—the
powder magazines, the shot belts, &c. The study, the
ante-room, and all the kitchens, &c., which are in the

wing, are on this floor ; and the latter, we need scarcely
say, are supplied with not only every requisite but with a
perfect prolixity of implements for conducting the cuisine
of such an establishment. On the first-floor we enter
the dining-room, in which was piled gorgeous designs in
dessert and dinner services, in Bohemian glass and china,
in some of which the efforts of the artists (for the china
is principally hand-painted) are most successful ; while in
the glass the brilliant ruby colouring is rendered more
attractive by elegance in design, and introduction of
chaste foliage in sombre and relieved gold. The china
service is painted mazarine blue and gold, and was im-
ported from one of the first continental houses. It con-
sists of 124 pieces, and every plate, dish, and vase, is
painted differently ; 37 plates, with portraits of Louis the
14th and 15th ; 37 with fruit, and 32 with flowers ; and all
these paintings are done in the most exquisite style, more
like the finest miniature painting than anything else. On
one dish is pictured a bunch of strawberries, so exquisite
that it seems a pity a work of such admirable art should
be committed to a security so fragile. Adjoining this is
the saloon, which is furnished in rosewood, and in which
were displayed the articles of taste and vertu, but they are
of so diversified a character as to defy description. We
next approach the large drawing-room, which is furnished
in the elegant antique. The tables are inlaid with great
beauty, and are chaste in design; the curtains for the
windows are of crimson satin, and the general upholster-
ing is to match. It is not alone the excellence and ele-
gance of the furniture in this apartment that arrest atten-
tion,: it is the diversity of design in every article; there
are chairs that would seem to present ease to the gouty—
sofas to accommodate conversation, reserve, or, in fact,'
everything to invite you to take a seat. The grand draw-
ing-room, which adjoins the last, has been recently fur-
nished in the style of Louis Quatorze. The ceiling and
walls are divided into pannels, formed by deep gold mould-
ings. The window hangings are of crimson and gold satin.
At the top of the room, there is a magnificent console
table of statuary marble, surmounted by a glass that
reaches the ceiling. The table is supported by scroll work,
held by cherubim, as also are corresponding slabs between
each window ; the chairs, (of which there are six varieties)
sofas, ottomans, &c., are in gold and satin. There is a
splendid chandelier for twenty burners, which, when lit,
lends to the richness of the furniture an indescr.bable
brilliancy.

The architecture of the hall is simple, and the mould
ings, columns, and entrance rather ephemeral.
ever, the stone of which it is constructed has rc

it presents a more mod

pearance than the generality of houses built c
past century. Hooton Hall itself is three stories.
and occupies a space of about thirty yards sq

fronts ha.ring northern, eastern, and southern aspc

western end (as shewn in the sul

cupied by a range of stone outbuildings, ab
length and two stories in height; the gro

) yards