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THE SEAT OF

SIR WILLIAM HEATHCOTE, BART.

THIS extensive Park is situated in the parish of Hursley, which is included in the manor of Merdon, distant about five miles south-west from Winchester; here was formerly a castle or palace belonging to the Bishops of that see, and a ruin still remains to mark the site of the Keep, standing in an area, which was surrounded by an immense double entrenchment of a circular form, parts of which have been levelled. This estate is particularly interesting, from its connexion in more modern times with the history of the Cromwells. It was purchased about 1639 of Sir Gerard Napier, by Richard Major, Esq., a gentleman of considerable fortune, who, having married Ann, daughter of John Kingswell, Esq., lord of the manor of Marvel, in the Isle of Wight, obtained some lands in that and other places. Dorothy, his eldest daughter and coheiress, was married, May 1, 1649, to Richard, eldest son of the Protector, who, after his marriage, resided much at Hursley Lodge, and indulged himself in the rural amusements of hunting, hawking, &c., for which this spot is well adapted. Ann, the youngest daughter of Mr. Major, was married to John Dunch, Esq. of Pusey, who became one of the county members for Berkshire from 1654 to 1659. His daughter's alliance with the Cromwells occasioned Mr. Major's acquiring great interest at court; and he was returned member for Southampton in that parliament which in 1653 gave Oliver the sceptre; after whose ascent to the protectoral throne, he was appointed one of his highness's privy council, but was kept from court by the gout: his absence was regretted by the Protector, who considered him a man of great capacity, and knowledge of the world. The misfortunes of his son-in-law, and the return of royalty, together with bodily infirmities, terminated his life in 1660—aged 56 : his wife, mother-in-law of Richard the Protector, died in 1662, and their remains are deposited within the rails of the altar of Hursley Church. This was the only estate belonging to the deposed Protector, which the government could not seize; it being settled in jointure to his wife and her issue, and hither he retired for a short period previous to the Restoration, and to his exile to the continent: his wife Dorothy dying in 1675-6, his eldest surviving son Oliver succeeded to the estate. Oliver died in 1705, aged 49, after which, Richard Cromwell, his father, became entitled to a life-interest in the estate, and sent his daughters down to take possession, which they did, and afterwards refused to give it up to him, pretending that he was superannuated, and proposed to allow him a small sum annually this he refused to accept, and was obliged to have recourse to the law, to obtain possession; on which occasion he was treated with much indulgence, and allowed to sit covered in court: Queen Anne is said to have expressed her approbation of the respect shewn to a man who had been a sovereign. He ended his days at Cheshunt, in 1712, at the great age of eighty-five, and his remains were conducted with funeral pomp to Hursley, and deposited near his lady in the chancel of the church. His daughters, after his death, sold the family estate to Sir William Heathcote, Bart., for £35,000. who caused the ancient manor house to be entirely taken down, when in one of the walls was found the die of a seal, considered to be the identical Seal of the Commonwealth, which Oliver Cromwell took from the Parliament. Sir William erected the present spacious edifice: the front of brick has rather a grand appearance, having lofty pilasters of stone, which rise from the basement story, surmounted by a pediment; the entrance is by a flight of steps on each side; which, with the continued entablature, are also of stone; the lawn in front is of considerable extent, and is ornamented with many fine old trees, and beautiful shrubberies. The Park is well stocked with deer and all sorts of game.

Sir William Heathcote had the title of Baronet conferred upon him in 1733; he married Elizabeth, only daughter of Thomas, first Earl of Macclesfield; and on her issue male are entailed the honours of the Macclesfield titles. By this lady he had Sir Thomas Heathcote, the second Bart., who dying in 1787, was succeeded by the present possessor of Hursley Lodge, who married Frances, daughter and coheiress of John Thorpe, Esq., of Embley in this county, by whom he has six sons and two daughters. He has represented the county in two Parliaments, and his eldest son, Thomas Freeman Heathcote, Esq., was returned one of the members for Hampshire.

Southwick Park, Hampshire;

THE SEAT OF

THOMAS THISTLETHWAITE, ESQ.

SOUTHWICK, PARK HOUSE is a truly elegant Mansion, having the principal Front towards the South; this is built of stone, and is of great extent, with a colonnade of fourteen columns. It has been erected only a few years, on the site of an old manor House, that was built in the time of James I. Two monarchs were, at various times, entertained at this place-King Charles I., and King George the First; the former, when the Duke of Buckingham, whom he had accompanied thus far from London, was assassinated by Felton at Portsmouth, in 1628, was here with his court, it being not much more than six miles distant. The House was then in the possession of Sir Daniel Norton.

A finer situation than Southwick can hardly be imagined: the prospects from the front are of great extent and variety; Portsmouth and its spacious harbour, together with Spithead and the Isle of Wight, bounded by a noble view of the British Channel-objects, in point of interest not to be excelled. To enliven and animate the whole, multitudes of ships and vessels, of every denomination and size, are seen navigating the channel.

The Park is well stocked with game of every species, and the grounds are disposed with much beauty, independent of the advantages derived from nature. A beautiful winding stream flows through them, giving a delightful variety to the pleasing scene.

Within the boundary of the Park stood the ancient Priory of Black Canons; where the marriage of Henry VI. with Margaret of Anjou was celebrated.

The site and demesnes of this Priory, at the dissolution, were granted to John White, Esq. and Catherine his wife; from them it descended, by the female line, to the Nortons; and its possessor, Colonel Norton, in the time of the civil wars, distinguished himself in behalf of the Parliament.

His grandson, Richard, was the last male heir of that family, and by his will he devised his property, to the amount of £6000 per annum, and £60,000 personal property, to the Parliament of Great Britain, in trust, for the use of "the poor, hungry, thirsty, naked strangers, sick, wounded, and prisoners, to the end of the world." The will was, however, set aside, and the property devolved to the maternal descendant, Robert Thistlethwaite, Esq.

The present proprietor of Southwick is the third son of the late Mr. Thistlethwaite : his possessions in this county are large, and he was its representative in the Parliament called in 1806.

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SIR THOMAS

THE SEAT OF

BARING, BART. M. P.

THIS Park and Estate belonged to the Wriothesley family. After the death of Thomas, Earl of Southampton, the Lord High Treasurer of England in 1667, it became the property of his daughter and heiress, the celebrated Lady Rachel, whose second husband was Lord William Russel, a character immortalized by his patriotism: her Ladyship's letters also place her in a most amiable point of view, a sa model of piety, virtue, conjugal affection, and exemplary fortitude under affliction. This illustrious lady died in 1723, aged 87, when the property descended to her son, Wriothesley, the second Duke of Bedford. From that noble family it was purchased by the late Sir Francis Baring, Bart.

Stratton is in Mitcheldever Hundred, and the Park adjoins the great road between Basingstoke and Winchester, at the distance of seven miles and a half from the town of Basingstoke. It is in the midst of a fine sporting country; and it is no mean testimony of the beauty of its situation, that that circumstance induced a late Duke of Bedford to pull down a great part of the Mansion which formerly stood here, leaving only one wing, lest its attractions should induce his successors to neglect the magnificent residence at Woburn, which he had built: very extensive improvements were made in the grounds, and the House has been rebuilt by the late proprietor, Sir Francis Baring, Bart., a gentleman whose name was intimately connected with the financial interests of his country, and whose conduct has contributed to raise the character of the British merchant to the highest elevation. On his decease in 1810, his estates and title devolved to his eldest son, Sir Thomas Baring, Bart., whose liberal patronage of the arts is deserving our warmest acknowledgments. The Mansion was built by Dance, the architect; and is admitted to combine comfort with magnificence equal to any nobleman's or gentleman's seat in England. It contains a splendid collection of Paintings chiefly of the Italian and Spanish schools, and also some fine specimens of the English school.

Amongst those deserving of notice, are the following:

A Reposo.-Titian.

Flora.-Leonardo da Vinci.

Virgin, Child, and St. John.- Ditto.

Holy Family.-Sebastian del Piombo.

Holy Family.-Parmigiano.
Landscape.-Domenichino.

Three Landscapes.-Claude Lorraine.

Virgin, Child, and St. John.-Julio Romano.

Three Landscapes.-Gaspar Poussin.
Assumption of the Virgin.-Murillo.

Holy Family and other Figures.-Spagnoletto.

Portrait of a Warrior.-Velasques.

Portrait of Abbe Seaglia.- Vandyck.

St. Mark. Vasari.

St. Luke.-Ditto.

Vision of Ezekiel.-Raffaelle.
Ecce Homo.-Guido.

Landscape.-Annibal Caracci.

Nativity.-Lodovico Caracci.

Bathsheba.-Ditto.

Landscape.-Salvator Rosa.

Herodias bearing the Head of St. John.-Giorgione.
Angels' Heads.-Corregio.

Christ bearing the Cross.-Carlo Dolci.
Magdalen.-Ditto.

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