The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-12-25
WARWICK CASTLE.
A SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF tn.
FAMOUS OLD STRONGHOLD.
The Treasures OF the Castle-What was
Lost and what was Saved.

Lost and what was Saved.
The destruction of this famous castle by fire
which took place on the Sd instant, is an even
of more than ordinary interest, for the varied
historical and romantic associations which
clung to and clustered around It's venerable
walls and towers. The New York Times fur
nishes The following sketch Of its history snt
contents, which will be read with varying
emotions, for that venerable pile contained d
brief epltome Of England's history, and was
symbol and record of her glorious past:
From the New York Tmes.l
One of the oldest military buildings In exist
encp an heirloom and chronicle Of the cen
turles. precious to all the English-speakiDg
race. mas laely been destroyed. The outline
of the catastrophe given by the telegraph is
now filled up by the details. What time, and
war. and progress" have hitherto spared,
has fallen o vlctIm TO fire. and Warwick Castle
is among the things that were. The flames
are said to have originated IN the private
rooms of the countess, on the morning ol
Sunday, December 3, and It was lound I'm
possible to arrest them until the venerable
ediice was practically a ruin. The great an-
tIuuity and fame of Warwick Castle cause Its
loss 10 be regarded In England as quite q
public calamity and Americans Will share the
regret of Englishmen for the destruction OF
an object in which they have an equal hlstorl-
cal and national Interest.
The origin or Warwick Castle, or at least OF
the first buildings that stood on Its site, is 80
remote as TO be quite obscured by the m,sts
of time. 1t is known that the ancient Britons
had q stronghold here, the commanding posl-
ton OF the spot, overlooking the avon ana the
surrounding country, enabling them to make
a bold stand against the Roman invader.
When the SaXons came they built, as with
York Minister, fresh structure on the old
foundations. Traces yet exist OF the rnde
towers erected by ELheltiada, the Mercian
Queen. Additions were made to this as time
flowed on, until the momentous change OF
lO66 came, when the standard OF Harold went
down at Hastings, and the destiny OF England
was changed forever. Not long after Edith
OF the swan neck" sought her lover among the
slain, the Neuburgs, followers OF William
Of g9s rof heis h ene nsg
boring lands. The Neuburgs held on I'LL
the reign OF Henry III. Changes occurred
through female descent, and the property then
came Into the hands Of the Beanchamp family.
One OF these, Guy, was noted as the slayer OF
Edward It's favoriie, Piers Gaveston. The son
nous still He II was who led the van a.
Cressy; and covered himself with glory at
Polctiers. He, too, was one Of the founders OF
the Order of the Garter. The wsll-known
Caesar Tower" at Warwick was his cOntribu-
tiOn TO the noble pile. This Is said to have
been completely gutted by the fre, although
the walls which were, OF are, OF prodiglous
thickness probably yet remain. A Thomas
Beauchamp who came some time later built
the "Guy Tower" and made other fine add.
tlons to the castle. The son Of this Earl was
!, made 'sDuke Of Warwick" and "Kipg of the
was that the domain passed into the posses
sion of the celebrated Richard Neville, better
known as the 'sKing-maker."
The tsking- g-maker" thought more Of building
ND thrones than castles, and did little to tho
edihce ti,at had fallen TO him. It's next i'm
portant improver was that ill-ated Clarence,
who ended his woes in Malmsey butt.
During his occupancy. preparations were
made for the first time to mount cannon at
the castle. Loophol-s We're constructed ior
the purpose, remains Of which used to be
conspicuous on the northern gateway. From
this is said to date the downfall Of mill
tary architecture. Gunpowder was hence
forth destined to revolutlCnize the practice
of ages, the picturesque aspects OF feudalism
began to fade away, and cas.es, which
had once been all but impregnaele, became
mere man-traps. In the time OF Henry VIII,
Warwick was bullt by the Audleys. Ambrose,
OF that name, elder brother 10 the luckless
fuvCrite of the "Yirgin Queen" spent large
sums on the building, hoping to leave 1t 10 his
posterlty. He, too, however, died Without
issue, and his title laps.d to the crown. That
title was subsequently bestowed on Lord Rich,
but soon became extinct again, TO be revived
under James /, In 1853, when Greyille, Lord
Brooke, was created Earl OF Warwick. Queen
Elizabeth had, however, previously granted
the castle and estates to that Fulke Grevtlle,
who was ETY. led on his tombstone the SERVANT
to Queen Elizabeth. Counsellor to King James
and Friend to Sir Phllip sydney." Inis person
age was the founder Of the present family.
Hs greatly beautified Warwick Castle, and
since his time It's fame has continued 10 spread
throughout the world. The art treasures that
have been swallowed up by the fire never eau
be replaced. Pictures by Holbein, Vandyke,
Sir Joshua Reynolds, Romney and Sir Peter
Lely, by Murillo, Titan, Raphael and Ru-
bens were among the glories OF the place, and
many OF these have been consumed. In the
armOry was one of the finest collections OF
early weapons In the world. A helmet Of one
of Xerxes's soldiers and the iron skull-cap of
oliver Cromwell; arms from Bosworth and
from Flooden; revolvers of the fifteenth CEN
tury, aud mitraitle,rS Of an earlier date; an
Client armor of every successive epoch; and
innumerable standards and trophies falling 10
dust with time, but still glorious In their an
tiuuity and associations, nave been blotted out
forever Besides these, noble library, espe-
cIally rich In medieval literature, Is lost, TO-
pether with quantities OF priceless tapestry, OF
Limoges enamel, Of elaborate French carving |
OF the time of Louis XiV-XVI; while many |
pieces of sculpture, ancient and modern, have |
gone with the rest.
Some vauables were saved, among which /
are a famous table flowered with lapis lazuli, |
and once the property of Marie Anloinetle;
Vandyke's painting of Charles on horseback, |
attended by his equerry, considered the most |
valuable picture in the castle; the splendid |
tapestry that hung in Queen Anne's bedroom,
and considerable number of fine works by |
Guercino, Vandefvelde, Rubens, Teniers, Car
acci and others. 1t appears that, substantially,
the interior OF the private apartments, |
the baronial hall and the banqueting hal,
were totally destroyed; but that the stale
apartments and other portions Of the castle
we're saved. No doubt the work Of restoration
will be attempted and wOrthily carried out.
The burning Of Warwick Castle, however, Is
an event that has the air Of severing the con-
nection between the modern and the mcdi-
avail world, and like placing gulf, as 1t were,
batween the teudal and the democratic ages.
The habits, the policy, the costumes, the
whole colorlng of life, that were looked down
lpon and commemorated by those lofty
overs, are rapidly becoming more and more
oreign and uninteuigible to the humanity OF
o-day, and. to the great mass, will glide, with
. few years more, into the dim regions OF