together with XX1 more, added thereunto by his executors bestowed in land lying neere Kingston upon Thames, the rents whereof beinge now VIII. XIIs Ayeare and further to be advanced as the leases thereof made shall be expired are according to the said will to be bestowed by the Churchwardens and 4 of the discretest of this Parish according to certaiu indentures in that behalfe made and enrolled in the High Court of Chancery made for that purpose to viii feoffees of this Parish in trust to the use of the Poor and that after v of these viii shall be deceased then viii more of this Parish are to be enfeoffed to the vse afore, saide and so to bee continued for ever Vivit post funera virtus. He deceased the XIIII day of September 1608." In this church are also various monuments for the families of Gore, Dalton, Paget, Langstan, Cardall, &c. Letherhead is celebrated by Skelton, the poet, for its alc-wife, Elisor Rummin. A most dreadful accident occurred in this town, during the year 1806. Her royal highness the princess of Wales, on the afternoon of October 2, was on her way in a barouche, attended by lady Sheffield, and Miss Harriet Mary Cholmondeley, to pay a visit to Mrs. Lock, at Norbury Park, and was driven by the princess's own servants as far as Sutton. At this place post horses were put to the carriage, driven by the post boys belonging to the Cock inn; her highness's horses remaining at Sutton till she returned. On her arrival at Letherhead, the carriage, which was drawn by four horses, whilst turning round an acute angle of the road, was overturned. It appears that the drivers, through extreme caution, had taken too great a sweep in turning the corner, which brought the barouche on a rising ground, by which it was overset; but before its fall it. swung round a great tree. The dreadful consequence was, that Miss Cholmondeley was killed on the spot; provi dentially the princess received no other injury, except a cut on her nose, and a bruise on her arm. Lady Sheffield did did not receive the slightest hurt, besides that which over whelmed the royal party, by the shocking accident. Her royal highness returned next day to Blackheath. At the commencement of the road towards Dorking, on the bank of the Mole, is the beautful villa of HENRY BOULTON, Esq. lord of the manor of Thomcroft. One mile north-west from Leatherhead is Randal House, formerly the seat of Lewis Montolieu, Esq. at present belonging to Dalhousie Weatherston, Esq. situated on the east banks of the river Mole, with a pleasant lawn to the southeast, bounded on the west by the river. Between the church and the road is a large old house (almost concealed from sight by a high wall) called Church House. On the south are large gardens, from whence is a most delightful prospect. At Fetcham, over the bridge, is the fine seat of Mrs. Hankey. At Bookham, is the handsome house belonging to Mr. Laurel. POLESDEN, in this parish, is the noble seat of admiral Sir Francis Geary, bart. on an eminence, which commands a beautiful prospect. Behind the house are the finest beech woods imaginable. EFFINGHAM, three miles from Leatherhead, towards Guildford, was once, according to tradition, a populous place, in which were sixteen churches. There are still proofs of its having been much larger than it is at present; for wells, and cavities like cellars, have been frequently found in the fields and woods here; and in the church are several old stalls and monuments. This place gives the title of earl to a branch of the noble family of Howard. Pursuing the road towards Dorking, we arrive at NORBURY PARK, in the parish of Mickleham, the seat of William Lock, Esq. This estate was many years possessed by the antient family of Stydolfe, a name considerable in this and the adjoining counties ever since the Conquest. (In an old register, from 1549 to 1680, is a curious licence granted granted 1632 by Moses Wall, parson of Mickleham, upon the certificate of Lawrence Wright, M. D. to the worshipful lady Frances Stydolfe, to eat flesh during Lent, and on all fish days, on account of her ill health, she paying all dues for this indulgence. The next year the whole family were taken ill, and had the same licence on the same conditions.) This antient family declining in a female, the Tryons came into possession: from them it passed to Mr. Chapman, of whom the present proprietor purchased the estate, with all its manerial appendages. The old mansion house stood on the lower side of the park, near the road; but being decayed and ruinous, Mr. Lock pulled down the greatest part of it, reserving the north end for his farm, and erected, upon a well chosen eminence on the opposite side of the park, one of the most elegant and beautiful seats in the county. From the church-yard, the rising slopes of Norbury Park, beautifully variegated with stately trees, appear to the greatest advantage: the park itself is extensive and well diversified it is asserted that, when Sir Richard Stydolfe, was owner, it was famed for containing forty thousand walnut trees. The extent and richness of prospect from the house fill the beholder with admiration. To the north a large expanse of country displays a varied and magnificent scene. The south presents a picture equally striking: elegant villas and plantations on each side; Deepden, late the duke of Norfolk's, but now belonging to lady Burrell, majestically closing the view. The hanging hills, adorned with stately beech on the right, contrast with the fine downs covered with evergreens, and the chalky crags of Box Hill, on the left. Beneath is a fertile vale through which the river Mole silently pursues its course, and then sinks imperceptibly. The far-famed banks of Arno cannot excel this scene. Mr. Lock's saloon unites this grand amphitheatre of nature with the most excellent production of the late Barrett's inimitable pencil: an attempt unprecedented. The magnificent scenery with which he has embellished the walls, walls, being artfully managed to appear as a continuation of the view, introducing in the western compartment an assemblage of the lakes and mountains in Cumberland and Westmoreland, blended together, forming a landscape expressive of the most majestic idea of rural grandeur. The rude crags and distant summit of Skiddaw, are contrasted with the placid meer below, which seems genially heated by the warm rays of a summer's setting sun, rendered more brilliant by the tints of a retiring storm, shadowing the mountain's side. The second compartment presents a nearer view of immense rocks in the dreary complexion of those stupendous deserts: the sun here scarcely affords a ray to cheer the gloomy scene. The fire-place forms the third: here the chimney glass is so let into the wall, that were it not for the real appearance of the hearth, imagination would suggest the entrance of an elegant arbour. In the fourth compartment the scene is continued, but with the placid effect of evening serenity: here the shepherd tells his amorous tale to the attentive fair. The figures are happily introduced. This scene opens to an organ, with a figure of Cecilia, by Cipriani, who painted the landscape figures as did Gilpin the cattle. The ocean, bounded on one hand by hills and rocks, with a variety of characteristic accompaniments, complete the fifth scene. The ceiling represents a correspondent sky, seen through a circular treilliage, by Pastorini; the carpet resembles a mown lawn. The whole is admirably connected with the view from the windows, and adapted to convey the classical idea of a perfect landscape. The water to supply the house is raised by an engine, from a depth of three hundred and sixtyone feet. At Norbury many Roman coins have been found*. Of Mr. Lock's fine taste in rural scenery, the late rev.. Mr. Gilpin, in his Poem on Landscape Painting, inserted this merited eulogy: * Barrow's Picturesque Views of Churches, 1789. -If -If taste, correct and pure, Grounded on practice; or, what more avails Then boldly deem thyself the heir of fame. The village of MICKLEHAM, is situated near the foot of Box Hill, which, with the opposite eminences, give the village the appearance of a Punchbowl, which it is sometimes called. It is watered by the river Mole, and is orna. mented with several gentlemen's seats, particularly MICKLEHAM MANOR, belonging to Sir Charles Talbot, bart. JuNIPER HOLE, built by Sir Cecil Bishop, and lately possessed by Mr. Jenkinson, who accumulated a fortune by a lottery and servants's office at Charing Cross; and now the residence of Sir Lucas Pepys. At the back of the inn, the sign of the Horse and Groom, lived Guthrie, the historian, and here he compiled many of his works. Mickleham CHURCH, is a very old structure; the western door being Saxon. Within is a chapel, now the family seat of Mr. Lock. Here is an antient monument to one of the WYDDOWSON family; it is called by Aubrey Wyddolkson. Box HILL, in this parish, received its name from the box trees planted on the south side of it, by the earl of Arundel, in the reign of Charles I. but the north part is covered with yews. These groves are interspersed with a number of little green spots and agreeable walks. From the highest part of this hill, in a clear day, is a prospect over part of Kent and Surrey, and the whole of Sussex, quite to the South Downs, near the sea, at the distance of thirty-six miles. The west and north views overlook a large part of Surrey and Middlesex; and advancing to the place called the Quarry, upon the ridge of the hill that runs toward Mickleham, the sublime and beautiful unite together in forming a delightful scene: we look down, from a vast and almost perpendicular height, upon a well-cultivated vale, laid out in beautiful inclosures, and see the river Mole windVOL. V. No. 115. T t ing |