grand-daughter, the sole heir, with other estates, to Robert Lord Hungerford: and Leland tells us, in the second volume of his Itinerary, that one of the Hungerfords built the grand apartments in the inner court, consisting of a hall and three chambers, by the prey of the Duke of Orleans, whom he had taken prisoner. This castle made a large quadrangular pile of building, with a spacious court in the middle of it; a round tower adorned every corner of the structure; and another was placed on each side the entrance into it: this was in the west front; be. fore which there was an outward court, with a gate at each end of it: and stupendous offices extended all along the west side of this external court. The chapel in this castle consists of a single aisle, the ceil ing of which is ornamented with (what was once) a fine painting of the resurrection. This chapel was the burying-place of the Hungerfords, and many other principal persons. Here is a very handsome monument in the recess, representing a man and his wife of the Hungerford family, carved in white marble, recumbent on a black marble slab. In a vault beneath the chapel, to which the decent is from without, are six leaden coffins, exactly resembling those enclosing Egyptian mummies. In the chapel stands a chest of old armour, brought from the castle, on opening of which were found three original letters, written by Oliver Cromwell: two of them, it is said, were lent to a gentleman who never returned them, the third is preserved in a frame by the proprietor, and the following is a copy: "I am very sorrye my occasions will not permit me to return to you as I would. I have not yet fully spoken with the gentleman I sent to wait upon you; when I shall doe itt, I shall be enabled to be more particular, being unwillinge to detaine your servant any longer. With my service to youre Lady and family, I take leave, and rest, "Your affectionate servant, "July 30, 1652. O. CROMWELL." "For my Honoured Friend Mr. Hungerford the Elder, These." CORSHAM-HOUSE, Wiltshire, the seat of Paul Methuen, esq. is situated ten miles from Bath, and four from Chippenham, in a most agreeable part of Wiltshire. The palace of Ethelred, one of the Saxon Kings, and after the conquest the retiring place of the Earls of Cornwall, stood near the site of the present mansion, which appears from an inscription on the south front, to have been built in the year 1582. In the last century it was one of the seats of Sir Edward Hungerford. It has been much improved by its present proprietor, who has added an apartment 70 feet long, 24 feet wide, and 24 high, for the reception of his pictures, which are reckoned the finest collection in the west of England. The park and gar. dens afford a variety of picturesque and beautiful prospects. Genteel company have permission to view the house and pictures, on Tuesdays and Fridays. BADMINGTON, the seat of the Duke of Beaufort, about thirteen miles from Bath: is a magnificent mansion, or rather palace, with a park enclosed by a wall, ten miles in circumfe. rence, in which are distinct parts for red and fallow deer, and beautiful plantations of trees. The house contains fine paintings; excellent antique sculptures, and a noble library. The parish church is near to the house, a handsome structure, lately built at the Duke's expence; and has two superb marble mo numents of the Duke's ancestors, both done in Italy. King William III. when passing that way, said to the Duke, that he did not wonder he never came to court, as he had so stately a palace of his own. About a mile from the Duke of Beaufort's, upon the top of the hill, in the parish of Little Sodbury, there is a large square camp, very perfect, supposed to have been made in the civil wars, containing about twelve acres within the fortifications, it is double ditched, is very deep, and in some places 40 feet wide, and the distance between the two ditches 80 feet. Part of the camp extends into the parish of Old Sodbury; and about half a mile from hence, in the parish of Horton, is a lesser square camp of eight acres, singly ditched. From both these camps are fine prospects over the vale of Berkeley and the river Severn. LONG-LEAT, Wiltshire, the seat of the Marquis of Bath, is 17 miles from Bath, in the road to Stourton; it is an an cient and magnificent structure, and for the size and number of apartments is equal perhaps to any house in England. The paintings in general are good, especially a head of the unfor. tunate Jane Shore; this picture is worthy of admiration, not so much for its execution or design, as for the beauty, humi. lity, and resignation, which are marked in the countenance. This seat has been greatly improved by the celebrated Mr.Browne; the park is very extensive and well planted, the wa ter pleasingly disposed, and the whole forms a scene of great beauty and magnificence. STOURHEAD, or Stourton, Wiltshire, the seat of Sir Rd. Colt Hoare, 7 miles from Long-Leat, and 25 from Bath. This seat, though not large, yet has an air of grandeur, and is well designed for pleasure and convenience. In the drawingroom is a very curious cabinet, which formerly belonged to the famous Pope Sextus Quintus, on which are paintings of the Pope, and others of the Peretti family, the last of whom was a nun, who gave it to a convent at Rome, from whence Mr. Hoare purchased it. In this and the other apartments, are a great number of fine paintings, by the first masters. Opposite the west front of the house is a lawn of consider. able extent, on each side of which are planted rows of Scotch firs, and at the end is an obelisk, 100 feet high, encircled by a range of elms. From the obelisk, through an avenue, you discover a most enchanting prospect of a pavillion, at the foot of which is a fine piece of water, and over it a bridge, formed of one arch, wonderfully light, and easy of ascent. Leaving this bridge, you enter into a shrubbery, which leads along the confines of the river, and brings you to a most romantic grot to, in one apartment of which to the right are these lines: "Nymph of the Grot, these sacred springs I keep, The figure of the nymph herself is elegantly formed and the waters tinkling round her, with the gloom and stillness of the place, have an effect that is pleasingly melancholy to the ima gination. Quitting this grotto, which is in the truest stile of rural simplicity, you next ascend a flight of steps into the shrubbery, which leading along the borders of the river, brings you to the Pantheon, where you see at one view the choicest assemblage of beauties. In the front is an elegant formed piece of water, with the cavern of Neptune, a temple dedicat ed to Flora; and on the right an ancient cross, which for merly stood at the top of High-street, in the city of Bristol; a handsome stone bridge, the temple of Apollo, and a profusion of groves properly diversified and adapted to their situations. From the pleasure-ground you enter a gloomy wood, which leads you by a gentle ascent to a rustic pile called the Convent, in which is a good painting, dug out of the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, and an ancient drawing of our Saviour. From the Convent you descend into an extensive wilderness, which leads to the summit of the brow on which Alfred's tower is placed; the building is triangular, of modern date, and built of brick; the height is 155 feet, and the number of steps 321. Nothing can be conceived more striking than the pros. pects from every side of this structure, round one turret of which, for the benefit of the view, a gallery has been railed in, in the securest manner. Over the portal on the outside is the following inscription: "Alfred the Great, A. D. 879, on this summit, crected his standard against Danish invaders; to him we owe the origin of Juries, and a creation of naval force, Alfred, the light of a benighted age, was a philosopher and a Christian, the father of his people, and the founder of the English monarchy and liberties." From Alfred's tower to the house, the eye is charmed with a number of delightful views; and in many other parts of the garden are interspersed temples, statues, and other buildings, which altogether display the most exquisite taste. FONTHILL, Wiltshire, the seat of William Beckford, esq. was in the time of the late William Beckford, esq. (twice Lord Mayor of London) burnt down on Feb. 12, 1755, when nearly finished; but is now rebuilt very magnificently. The loss was computed at 30,0001. The whole building is of stone dug out of quarries not half a mile distant; the plan is elegant and superb. There are many remarkable fine marble chimney-pieces by Rysback and other artists, and in the chief rooms are a number of valuable pictures. The grotto and the gardens are very beautiful, and the shrubbery continues round the park, nearly three miles in a regular zig-zag. The river is not inelegantly shaped, and the whole conveys the idea of care and cultivation, WARDOUR-CASTLE, Wiltshire, the seat of Lord Arun. del, 5 miles from Fonthill, was upwards of ten years building. It is truly magnificent; and the grounds around it are dis. posed of to a great advantage. The ruins of the old castle, which is a mile distant from the new house, has still the appearance of ancient grandeur. This castle, in the time of the civil wars, was remarkably defended by Lady Arundel, daughter of Edward Earl of Worcester, she having held the castle with only 25 men against the parliamentary army of 1300, and surrendered it at last only on honourabe terms. The house contains a great number of fine pictures, painted by the best masters, particularly one of our Saviour painted by Spagnoletti; and another of Lady Arundel, who defended the castle. The pleasure-grounds, shrubbery, groves, and woods are elegantly formed; the beauties of the terrace-walk have met with general admiration, and altogether convey the most pleasing and picturesque ideas. PIERCEFIELD, Monmouthshire, the seat of Col. Wood, (who permits it to be seen only Tuesdays and Fridays) is about 26 miles from Bath, just across the Severn, and near the town of Chepstow; it possesses the most beautiful and magnificent scenery, take it in all its parts and varieties, of any place in the kingdom. From a small shrubbery you are led to a spot railed in, called from its frightful eminence, the Lover's Leap, the perpendicular height of which is 300 feet. It commands the conflux of the Wye and the Severn, and looks down the latter to the. Bristol Channel, while stupendous rocks, immense woods, distant prospects, and all the softer beauties of elegant improvements, render Piercefield a scene that fills the beholder with the utmost admiration. About six miles from Piercefield is the ABBEY of TINTERN, a most beautiful ruin, situated in the bottom of a vale. Never did the eye behold a more venerable object than this Abbey presents on the entrance at the great door. Nothing remains now but the walls, some of the arches, and the stone casements of the windows; but the charming simplicity of the whole, with the native verdure of the turf, strike the delighted fancy, while festoons of evergreen tendrils, climbing through the in |