COWDRY HOUSE,

SUSSEX.

COWDRY HOUSE, near Medhurst, in Sussex, is beautifully situated in a valley, between two well-wooded hills, a river running between them, through an extensive park, in which are some of the noblest chesnut-trees that are to be found in England. The adjacent country serves as a striking contrast to the beautiful scenery of the grounds, being sterile, and capable of little improvement; the father of the late lord Montague, however, attempted to render the vicinity of the park more agreeable by plantations of fir, which, in some measure, have the desired effect: the prospect from the house is rather confined in the directions of north and south, owing to the two ridges of hills, between which it lies. Cowdry and the manor of Medhurst belonged to the crown in the time of Henry VIII. and were given, in exchange for other lands, to the heirs of John Nevill, marquis Montague, and, upon the division of his lands, came to Lucy, his fourth daughter, who first married sir Thomas Fitzwilliams, of Aldwarke, in the county of York, knight; and, afterwards, sir Anthony Browne, knight, great standard-bearer of England. She was succeeded by her son, William Fitzwilliam, earl of Southampton, who built the present man.

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sion, as appears by his arms, and other devices, displayed in its various parts. It was built in form of a quadrangle, with the principal front towards the west, in the centre of which was the entrance-gate, flanked by two towers. The eastern side consisted of the chapel, hall, and dining-parlour: the chapel was superbly fitted up, and had an altar-piece of peculiar beauty. The hall was decorated with paintings of architecture by Roberti, and statues by Groupé; at the upper end was a buck standing, carved in brown wood, having on the shoulder a shield, with the arms of England; and under it the arms of Browne, with many quarterings, carved in wood: there were ten other bucks, large as life, standing, sitting, and lying, some with small banners of arms, supported by their feet. This hall and staircase were painted by Pellegrini, with the story of Tancred and Clorinda, from Tasso. The parlour was embellished by Holbein, or some of his scholars. On the south side of the quadrangle was a long gallery, in which was painted the Twelve Apostles, as large as life; and on the north side was another gallery, containing many ancient, wholelength pictures of the family, in their proper habits; likewise, four historical pieces, two copies of Raphael's marriage; of Cupid and Psyche, and several old religious and military paintings from Battle abbey. The rooms were all stately and well furnished, adorned with pictures by the best masters. In the breakfast-room was a cabinet, full of very curious pieces of ivory works, con

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sisting of small and delicate flowers, turned by one of the lords of this house, who used to amuse himself with such work: in one of the rooms was a picture representing him at his turning-wheel.

The pictures that were painted upon the walls were preserved, during the civil wars, by a coat of plaster, laid over the stucco: one of the officers quartered here, exercising his weapon against the wall, broke out from * one of the subjects the head of Henry VIII. which was afterwards replaced. This beautiful edifice, with most of its valuable contents, an enumeration of which would far exceed our limits, was ruined by fire on the night of Tuesday, Sept. 24, 1793; an account of which is given · by Mr. Gough, as follows:

"Mrs. Chambers, the housekeeper, who, with the porter, and one or two more servants, were the only inhabitants of this spacious mansion, had retired to rest at her usual hour, eleven, in full confidence that all was safe, and not the smallest light was to be seen; she had scarcely slept an hour before she was alarmed by the watchman, with the cry of fire in the north gallery, and immediately saw it in flames, with all its valuable contents, without the possibility of saving a single article. The inhabitants of Medhurst, from which the house is not a mile distant, were soon ready to assist, in great numbers, and no help was wanting to remove the furniture, pictures, and library, from the three other sides of the quadrangle; but the firmness of the materials ren

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dered it impossible to break down any part, so as to stop the progress of the flames; they quickly spread to the east side of the court, in which was the great hall, chapel, and dining-parlour; these there was opportunity to unfurnish, and to save the altar-piece, by Annigoni, but the historical paintings, on the walls of the diningparlour, were involved in the devastation, and the stucco on which they were painted, flaked off the walls."

Thus, this magnificent mansion was rendered a pile of ruins. on which the capricious hand of time continues to impress a diversity of forms, which are moulded by the luxuriant growths of nature into the beautiful and picturesque, The western side of the building contains the most perfect vestiges of its architecture. The opposite extremity, with the galleries on either side, though more dilapidated, retain many traces of their former splendour; upon the walls of the dining-parlour remains of the pictures are still visible, and the windows of the hall and chapel are almost entire: within the quadrangle lies the half-consumed trunks of some of the wooden bucks above mentioned. The whole site, collectively viewed from the heights within the park, exhibits an impressive scene of ruined and deserted grandeur.